KZ900 NEVER BEEN RIDDEN!!!!

I'd love to see first hand one of these old engines started after sitting 30 yrs and see the leaks. For sure paper gaskets don't care if they sit. Once assembled they won't leak regardless of time. It's the rubber we are talking about. Rubber orings and cam end caps should still be fine as they have not been exposed to heat. Seals may have gone dry from sitting, but as soon as oil touches them they will seal just fine. So it is my contention there will likely be no leaks of if there are any, they will reseal almost instantly.
Of course only my opinion. My only experience is my own stuff that sits anywhere from 4 yrs to 10 yrs and I've never had one leak yet.
So if anyone does ever start one of these, please post up how it goes. I would sure be interested.

id be more concerned about stuck rings and flat valvesprings,34 years is a long time for a valve spring to bench press a valve open! :laugh:

"Kawasaki took a perfectly good 900 and butchered it by putting cheap Jardine pipes on it, turning calipers around on the forks so you can't bleed them, and welding a half-assed bracket on the stock brake pedel to support the rear disk brake. The peanut sized tank only gets about 80 miles between fill-ups. There's no center stand on the bikes, so they are a pain to work on. The bike drags the pipes in any serious cornering..."

If butchered is the case that is exactly what a lot of Z1 buyers were doing to their bikes after buying them. All of the changes you mentioned were done because KAw had the forsight to ask what happened to their bikes after getting into the customers hands. Business wize it was a stroke of genius and continues as a business model today. In effect they created a whole new class of manufactured bike. A very successful model at that. Your points are well and true too. Lack of a centerstand is a PITA and cornering is reduced. But even on a Z1 if you want to race it and make a decent handling machine you need to address some pretty big flaws like the noodle frame/crank. The engine is the real gem of the stock Z1 along with the style. It is the same one in the B1. It was not made to scrape things. Although it does this with ease. Easier than the Z1 which is not a bragging point. It is a business idea that worked very well, in fact so well it has been copied across the manufacturers and across the years. It's no Z1, no ELR, no Z1R , GPZ or Ninja but it never ported to be of those types. It does what it was meant to do and does it quite well and has made a lot or riders happy and manufactures of "cruisers" happy for a lot of years. It pretty much started with the 76 900LTD like them or not.

Kawasaki had some foresight - while I don't really like LTD's, I can see the attraction for some riders - but unfortunately the finished product had piss poor execution. If someone did this in their backyard I would say fine - you've made it your own - you've limited resources, so I don't expect perfection. But for a factory to produce a bike with some many half-assed things on it, it's a shame.

Front Turn Signals in a position where they are barely visible - with throttle cables running in front of them.
No center stand making it impossible for the average person to change tires.
Pipes that scrape the ground - just poor design - esp. as it stopped the center stand being installed on the bike.
Single skinned header pipes that yellow and blue within hours of owning the bike - just cheap inferior quality.
My personal pet peeve is the front calipers - impossible to bleed without removing them from the forks - stupid.

Jeff, Jeff,Jeff, Quit knockin my bikes.:laugh:

I like LTD's. I don't know how many i've owned. A bunch.

See, i am a wimpy rider that only likes to ride 40 miles or so before i have a nicotine fit and have to pull over. The next smoke comes with me at the gas pump with a smoke hanging out of my mouth. :blink:

Really, I like them. Roy :woohoo:

i too had a 78 ltd 1000...p.o made it glossy black, really nice job and all new kawi tags,sides ,tank,... new yosh chrome header...dyna coils and purty yellow wires....three disks... kinda heavy...but strong like bull....one tough to kill or hurt bike..i am no huge fan of the ltd ...that said when they are finally all either bought up or junked or lost....there will be no more....if it is clean and has low to no miles...i got an idea.....never start it...just buy it and...point at it when company comes to dinner:woohoo:

Bla Bla Bla Bla:laugh:

roy-b-boy-b wrote:

Jeff, Jeff,Jeff, Quit knockin my bikes.:laugh:

I like LTD's. I don't know how many i've owned. A bunch.

See, i am a wimpy rider that only likes to ride 40 miles or so before i have a nicotine fit and have to pull over. The next smoke comes with me at the gas pump with a smoke hanging out of my mouth. :blink:

Really, I like them. Roy :woohoo:

I agree 100% That a good way to not sell parts....

My 75 Z1-B had 5,600 miles and was all original except the Dunlop tires and the LTD front signals. It needed paint and two of the baffle inserts. It even had the factory hand grips. After we had baby number two, we needed cash....

Put the Z1 on evilbay and sold for $2650. The buyer had a "Partner" in Japan who sent him NOS body parts in the factory boxes. He told me (AFTER he got the bike home) that he would get over $15,000 for the bike in Japan! I'm still sick, but did what I had to for my family, it was worth it.

Then there is the story of the Triumph chopper I swore I wouldn't sell.....

My point is that a bike will bring what the seller and buyer agree on.

roy-b-boy-b wrote:

Jeff, Jeff,Jeff, Quit knockin my bikes.:laugh:

I like LTD's. I don't know how many i've owned. A bunch.

See, i am a wimpy rider that only likes to ride 40 miles or so before i have a nicotine fit and have to pull over. The next smoke comes with me at the gas pump with a smoke hanging out of my mouth. :blink:

Really, I like them. Roy :woohoo:

What he said!!!



I've always liked the LTD's as well. A month or so ago I found a complete 79 LTD 1000 with 4000 original miles on it. This one is going to be a keeper so I'm going to take my time and restore it to like new condition this winter.

And who you kidding Roy? You can't make it 40 miles without a smoke.

I've also been a big fan of the Ltd's, that's why I was so thrilled I found my 900 Ltd....the one that started it all!
(Now if I can just get it running by next spring )

I'd take offense to Jeff's comments, but I'm going to be depending on Z1 too much during my rebuild!

i'm with roy i can't go more than forty miles without a smoke or a wizz anymore. but if i have to i can sometimes stretch it to 60. but no more a man has to know his limits