Could this be her? And advice needed.

I know when it comes to steamy relationships gone sour and never going back, but I saw an old girlfriend (one just like her anyway) on Craigslist. Our relationship was very passionate, yet oh so short. She was a real screamer right up until she tried to kill me. She scared me so bad I had to drop her.
But here I am, suddenly reminded of her in a picture, and I find my self strangely attracted.
stlouis.craigslist.org/mcy/1069957056.html

And I'm hoping one of you gurus can tell me what to look for besides the obvious, does-it-turn-over and why-is-there-a-sissy-bar-on-a-two-stroke advice.
And what all is involved with changing those dreaded internal case seals I heard about?

I'm far from a 2 stroke guru since I don't currently own any and it has been years since I've worked on them but I'll try. That bike looks to be pretty complete so depending on how much they want for it it could be a no lose proposition in that there is a huge amount of interest in the triples and people seem to be willing to pay big bucks for them. If the center seal in the crank is bad you are looking at a huge bill to get it fixed so keep that in mind when you are making an offer. The triples in comparison to a KZ are for lack of a better word, fragile. They will not take the neglect or abuse a KZ will. They are also as I'm sure you already know, evil in the handling department.

I wouldn't mind having one again but I'm not really looking for one too hard either. If one were to fall into my lap fine but I'm much happier messing with the middleweight KZ's. As for why it has a sissybar on it...well for the same reason I wore polyester leisure suits and platform shoes back then, it was cool.:laugh:

Oh and I like screamers too, problem is I always seem to wind up with sweaters instead.:S

Edit: I just looked at it again and realized it was a 76, besides being the last model year for the 500 the KH was the lowest on HP of the 500's. I believe due to the milder porting on the cylinders.

Perhaps you should contact Rick at

www.classickawasaki.com/

He is the unofficial Triples Guru and I actually think he answers email.

Thanks Gringo.
It's that center seal that scares me. I've seen ads with these bikes before, all saying "hasn't run in years", and I wonder if that's why.
Know of any shade tree methods of testing the seal?

:laugh: OK, I wore the liesure suits and platforms too, but I NEVER had a sissy bar.
Although I do recall a few times where one coulda come in handy, right after the discos closed.

Another Kawasaki 2-stroke guru is Kawah1c. I don't know if he hangs out on KZR, but he is a frequent poster on the Vintage side of the BTK Kawasaki forum. Take a look at the pics in this thread about his club's new workshop. I think you'll see he's quite an authority on them:

www.kawasakimotorcycle.org/forum/vintage...69-new-workshop.html

Oh yeah, he's in Sweden (I think), hence the large license plates on the bikes.

Thanks Mcdroid and WPBill. I'll ask them.

hey one question why does a triple have a sissy bar on it ! you had to know that was coming didn't you. buy it if the thing needs crank seals it's not such a bad deal. just get some two-stroke guru to pressure test the crankcase to make sure. there has to be some one in your area that works on sleds or watercraft they can check it for you easy.

Well, I'm still thinking about it, but I finally got to talk to the guy, and it turns out the engine is locked.
Not that big of a deal, but right now I don't have the room for a teardown, plus I have this lazy streak going on and I don't want to mess that up. But I'll call him later to see what his highest bid is so far.
Then there's the wife factor. She doesn't think motorcycle carcasses make good yard ornaments.
She just don't get it.

riverroad wrote:

Then there's the wife factor. She doesn't think motorcycle carcasses make good yard ornaments.

Yeah these look so much better.