What's it worth... and what would be a good offer

Russ Jackson wrote:

zoro wrote:

MikePotter86 wrote:

Hey everybody,
When visiting a friend recently, we visited a neighbor briefly and on the way out through the garage I saw this, I know it is a bad photo, but it was a quick look, with my phone.
Gray Shaft drive 1000, thinking around an '80
It has around 15k on it, and doesn't seem to have anything more than surface rust, rumor is it ran when stored, around 10 years ago.
It looks to be all original from what I can tell, it is grey, not my favorite color, but still nice.

Any Ideas on what its worth? What year it is, etc.?
Thanks Guys,
Mike

The question is,whats it worth to you? Its an 80-E2.The STs are the unique unsung sleeping giants of the KZ1000s! They are MKIIs with shafts instead of chains.The frames are like no other KZ1000,STOUT!The Kawasaki engineers went overkill on the design of their first big four shafties!40mm fork tubes!Twin spring dampening within those tubes,very unique and effective!No damper necessary!When you unload the fairing,luggage rack,and bags,you reveal a monster KZ! Add 4 into 1 header,stage 3 jet kit and pods,correctly tuned,you wind up with an "UNCHAINED BEAST!"Add a few more tweeks and a set of 29mm Smoothies,that 1015 inside the 600lb ST frame becomes untouchable,and uncatchable!No V-twin,including Screaming eagles and Buells can touch them! So the question is...Whats it worth to You! I wouldnt take 10K for mine! Offer the guy $500....and have $2000 more in your pocket! Its like finding a GTX in a barn, Whats that worth?

Comparing it to a GTX in a barn might be a little bit of a stretch...LOL...Russ

True,LOL,Just trying to make a point...wish I could find a GTX...LOL..Anywhere!

I would also like to find a Shaftasaurus barn find. If it's all there and won't need a lot of unobtanium just some elbow grease, blinker fluid, magic dust and consumables you'd be getting a gem. If not well maybe it's rarity would be appreciated on the parts market. It certainly is doing no good where it is.

omr your just viscious i have never seen this side of you i'm ascared.:dry: :dry: :dry: :ohmy: :ohmy: :silly: :silly:

I remember just after I graduated from school and saw an ad for a zr1100 a lawyer was selling. He was a panty waist at heart I think.
Was selling a zr with only 5k and a little dent on the tank but beautiful. Worth every bit of 5grand they were selling for at the time. Now, I beat him down to 3800 and the day I was supposed to pick it up something came up and I couldn't get the money or make it to his house.
The next day scared someone else would snag it away I hurried over only too excited he had gone for much less when I gave him the money his wife was like "When are you gonna pick it up and take it away." To make a long story short I coulda got that bike so much cheaper! He dumped it coming up the drive in front of his wife as she was washing the driveway or something. The black on the pipes that took a few hours to clean were the garbage cans he hit as his bike slicked out on the soapy water.
He was prepared to give that bike to me to save his marriage. Day I sell a bike to please my wife will be the day I commit myself to a mental institution. He tried to sound like a real man but I could see he was a whooped a man as I had ever seen. Probably bought that bike thinking it was cool then dumped in and dropped a load in his pants and let it sit for a year or two with the gas gone bad because he was scared shitless.
The bike obviously looks maligned so it's apparent the guy doesn't care what you pay, he just wants it out of his sight.
Be strong man! Don't look the part of the kawaholic or he will smell it and bend you over and ......
Ask him how much he will give you to carry it away. Doesn't run not worth 200 and that is it! Tell him you will give him what it's really worth if he can get it to where it should be. Fixing up a bike is no small task physically or financially.
Bye now my wife is ready for some fun.

or better yet wait till he's not home and offer his ten year old a big bag of quarters for it!!!!

why try and be an honest guy?...i mean sure the thing is gonna fire right up when you put a battery and some gas in it ....but pretend that you don't know that ....lying is always good buisness i mean we are americans right????

there is no such thing as karma so just do this guy and get it over with.....he has a newborn coming and is not gonna want any money for the property that he rightfuly owns....

that is how we got new york city from the dumb natives ....some glass beads and a blankett or two....we sure showed them who came to visit.......

do the right thing....even when it hurts...you will get a good bike...you will feel better about being fair.....you will get healthy from it....and your luck will reflect how you treat others.....

nothing stinks worse......than fear from a hero...

O.K. - Being a sucker for old, collectable, or just interesting machinery, I'll wager $500 on it!

Good to see you this morning - if she is serious, lets take a look at this next time you are home.

chicago.craigslist.org/nch/mcy/1070519752.html
This is one with 7000 miles and in great shape according to owner has been garaged since owned. If you like shafties. 1600 obo
The zr I bought was owned by a lawyer who supposed he knew how to ride and the bike cost me a lot over the years in the way of headaches trying to sort out the stupid vacuum problem, including a visit to the er in Canada, Port Dover. He knew the exact cost to get it fixed and sold it fully knowing that it needed work. I bought it figuring it just had bad gas when it was more like needle valves and crazy pollution garbage I could never figure out how to disconnect. I took it off and the bike ran really bad and well.... I could never get that damned thing to stop pissing gas when it was humid which led to a broken knee as an indirect result of that happening one Friday the 13th.
So, really, a bike that doesn't run or run right isn't really worth paying good money and having to bust your knuckles trying to get it right. A price, any kind of price is like nothing in comparison to headaches and trying to get things straight. Besides it may not be that easy to fix and well....it's your deal but just my personal opinion. I wouldn't go for anything that wasn't 73-80 chain drive 900-1000 leaning toward ltd 1000 80 models as being a better all around bike or the z1r of course.

MikePotter86 wrote:

Hey everybody,
When visiting a friend recently, we visited a neighbor briefly and on the way out through the garage I saw this, I know it is a bad photo, but it was a quick look, with my phone.
Gray Shaft drive 1000, thinking around an '80
It has around 15k on it, and doesn't seem to have anything more than surface rust, rumor is it ran when stored, around 10 years ago.
It looks to be all original from what I can tell, it is grey, not my favorite color, but still nice.

Any Ideas on what its worth? What year it is, etc.?
Thanks Guys,
Mike

If you are asking then I assume you don't work on bikes much? Carbs and tank after sitting for 10 years? :ohmy: I wouldn't want to see the gunk in them. I got my first kz for 500 and thought it a deal 79 ltd 1000 back in '86. The deal with that bike is that it sat only with 5k on the click for five years and can I tell you I put carbs and a new tank on the bike to get it to go as the old carbs were a complete mess and besides that the valves seals were just shot bike smoked and smoked who knows after all that time if moisture got in. Does it turn over with the kick? If you want to spend more than 600 just think about first even if you got the bike for free what you will need to put in it just to get it going right. Carbs maybe but for sure a serious cleaning, battery, tires, more money if the valve seals are shot to take apart and fix, the seat looked torn. Mine looked like brand new and a week later was all cracked along the seams. Now while these things are are things that are needed to maintain a bike but doing all of that at once costs a bit. If you don't do the work yourself you are looking at quite a bit of money to get running right and looking right. Like Ron said those are rare and guess what? Parts are not plentiful so why would you want that headache? Buying a newer used bike would be a way better deal if you look at it that way. As you can get something you won't need to mess with right away and you can get parts and not worry about rust in the tank and crapped out carbs. For sure if the bike sat for ten years you are not just going to put a battery and gas in and start it right up.

MikePotter86 wrote:

Hey everybody,
When visiting a friend recently, we visited a neighbor briefly and on the way out through the garage I saw this, I know it is a bad photo, but it was a quick look, with my phone.
Gray Shaft drive 1000, thinking around an '80
It has around 15k on it, and doesn't seem to have anything more than surface rust, rumor is it ran when stored, around 10 years ago.
It looks to be all original from what I can tell, it is grey, not my favorite color, but still nice.

Any Ideas on what its worth? What year it is, etc.?
Thanks Guys,
Mike

Mike if you decide to pass on it I would love to make the guy an offer. I am not too far away. If i get it cheap I would give you a finders fee...Russ

Just because it sat idle a long time does not for sure mean it's junk. I documented my 10 yr sitting 1800 original mile KZ650 a couple years ago and most stuff I read was it would never run, leak from all the gaskets and all. Guess what? Put the battery in, gas in the tank, fired up and a brand new bike still. No smoke, no leaks. Of course I did drain the gas before the 10 yr sit.

this has been my experience too....RonKZ650 wrote:

Just because it sat idle a long time does not for sure mean it's junk. I documented my 10 yr sitting 1800 original mile KZ650 a couple years ago and most stuff I read was it would never run, leak from all the gaskets and all. Guess what? Put the battery in, gas in the tank, fired up and a brand new bike still. No smoke, no leaks. Of course I did drain the gas before the 10 yr sit.

I got mine with 5 thousand miles on od. Looked really nice carbs were frozen so much so that the throttle would not move. I cleaned the bowls and had to pry the crap out with a screw driver. Gas is baaaaad to a bike. Tank was all rusty. I cleaned it and the carbs more than I care to say. Never got the bike to run right until I got the smooth bores and put a new tank on. Didn't know about how good the expensive fuel filters really were at the time or I would have used one on mine instead of the cheap 2.50 one with copper insert and clear body.
My 80 was looking pretty nice and came from california. I couldn't get it to idle right when I started. Turned out the head gasket was blown from someone overfilling the oil. So now she is getting an early workover. And this bike was good didn't smoke just liked to backfire every once in awhile and now I figured it out after taken it down that it was on cylinder one. Had a really lopsided idle at first. So maybe you guys have been really lucky but I have had other experience. So truly, you can never know what it is until you get her started. You can't assume this bike will run good at all.
Oh and the zr1100 I bought ran rough when I rode it. Thought a carb cleaning and fresh gas woulda taken care of it but those gremlins keep a coming back.