ol kz hangin in there like a champ!!! Sturgis/strip

My daily driver bike is a 1982 kz750 4cyl. On tuesday August 5th. Me and my trusty kz left for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, about 370 miles from my house. At an average of 40mpg she ran beautifully the whole way. I pulled the baffle out of my 4 into 1 just so i could my bike over all the others. It definately got a few looks from everyone trying to figure out what sound differed from all the others. On the way up, it rolled over 29,000 miles. After a couple of days in sturgis it was time to head back home. only saw 2 other kz's on the trip, A well built kz1000 street/strip bike, and a BEAUTIFULLY restored Z1.

Since it wasn't too far out of the way I met a couple friends at the oahe dragstrip. They talked me into taking it down the track. I was hesitant for 2 reasons. I didnt know if the old girl was up to getting rodded down the strip, and if something did happen I would have no ride home! I ran it down the track about 3 times with a best time of 13.56 in the 1/4. My 1/8 mile speed was 85mph, and my 1/4 mile speed was 97. This shows how much it lacks in top end.

After all of the abuse it was still running great. I had about 150 miles to go, and it was now about 5:30. About 30 miles down the road it began to lightly sprinkle. i left for the next town, and the rain was coming down harder and harder. At the next station I borrowed a plastic bag to wrap around my air filter pods. BTW, I don't have a front or rear fender on this bike so there is a steady stream of water being thrown at my face and back, and my wiring harness is probably more exposed than it should be. I talked with the other riders stopped for the rain, and by that time the rain resumed to a sprinkle. I headed out after the harley guys left and planned on making the whole trip home that night. About 30 miles down the road it began raining HARD. I could barely see through my helmet and every part of me was soaked through my suit. With the cloud cover, It was getting really dark really fast. Then ahead i could see a group of lights. As I got closer I could see that it was the harley guys i met at the station going back the other direction. That was it, if they couldnt make it through the rain on big baggers there was no way i was going to tough it through the storm. Luckily a friend's parents live only about 10 miles from where I was,and they were happy to see me stay than try to ride it out. I pulled into there barn and began attending to my kz. I pulled the pods off and let them dry out any water that was in them. After i was certain that everything was in working order i dryed off and slept. I finished the ride the next morning, and was never happier to be home. The entire bike was filthy, and looked like it went through hell and back after this 1000 mile trip. I dont like beating on it like this usually but it makes me proud this old kaw can still handle whatever i throw at it.

This is kinda a stupid thread but i just thought i would share my story of the experiences me and one of my kz's went through in a matter of days. This just makes me enjoy these old bikes even more. OLD KAWS NEVER DIE!!!

jordan, thanks for a good story well told.

Best of success.

Bill

Great story jordan. Thanks for telling.

STUPID? uh uh, Dont think so Jordan , I love hearing stuff like this thanks for shareing : Scrap!

Great story,Jordan...right on.
Sounds like our trip up north(last month)...about an hour of heavy rain,but not as bad as your rainy venture.
Out of 1400 miles we put on,only an hour of rain...no biggy.

I know what you mean though...my bike purred like a tiger the whole way there and back...like a champ.

Again...great story bud.

Great story, these KZ's can handle anything, I even took the 250 on a road trip last year :laugh:

On the topic of dirty bikes (pretty much completely off topic, haha) a guy posted this on an alberta riders forum with the title "This is what Calgary to Fairbanks to Anchorage and back to Whitehorse looks like" :silly:

Thanks for sharing...good story:)