Looking at KZ550

I have to agree with Bob. My 550 has treated me really well. I'm 6'1" 300+, and it will still truck me down the Interstate at 75 mph. Combine that with the mileage (I'm getting 58), and it's really a well-rounded bike. And there really aren't any glaring weaknesses for the LTDs. Styling is all about personal choice anyway - if it looks good to you, everyone else can buzz off!

That's a pretty steep price though. My brother originally paid $1100 for mine, with a fairing & trunk, and it's an '81. Good luck with the negotiations!

Well, went to look at it yesterday. What a joke. Original paint, but was pretty rough, several dents in the tank, very dull like it'd set in the sun for years. Rusted exhaust and engine block. I'd told him it's worth about $800 and promptly left.:blush:

Not to get into a I like , he likes, she likes discussion here but I did get to see a 6 foot 9.5 wookie ride a 550 LTD and it was not a pretty sight(hehehehe!). He loved the bike but was locked into 1 position and could do no long rides. He also had the luxury of owning both cruisers and standards and for long distance or carving a blacktop a standard is heads above the laid back position. Some of that has to do with the seat that restricts sliding your butt around. Then there is the bars that put you on your tailbone and not on your thighs which can stand considerable more abuse than your tail and butt. He left me 3 seats for the 900LTD. The original king/queen, a straight lillypad (as he called it) and a corbin gunfighter. My favorite is the gunfighter although it does not let you slide around it is very comfortable (he did not have it long enough to judge it, he also put a set of superbike flat bars on it at the end), his fav seat was the lillypad cause he could adjust where he sat, but the original was the best looking. We all ride differently. Short hops, distance, road carving, cruising and there are all kinds of bikes that do some of these well and others not so well it all depends what we need and what we like. As he said he never saw a bike he didn't want or like....me too.

As you can see I'm a fan of the GPz550 3rd Generation. Great power, parts still available, and getting 55 mpg riding it to work everyday. For a first streetbike, I've gone through just about everything, and still progressively working on it from time to time, because I like to, nnot because I have to. The looks it gets from others that "...use to have one", and the sound from the 4-1 exhaust is worth keeping tuned up. My '85 will be something I always plan on keeping even when I upgrade to something bigger. I'm 5'12", and around 195 lbs. and this bike pulls hard above 6000 rpm with all I've done to it....so far.

Check on craigslist in your area for what's out there. For the price you mentioned, a good GPz can be had for low miles. Ask me how I know. They always seem to be for sale at the wrong times.

Corey wrote
"I'm 5'12", and around 195 lbs."

Is that metrics? Cause around here that would translate to 6'. Just asking. Seems odd to say it that way....:huh:

Always wanted a GPZ....