Redline Cycles Chicago area

got some of the special copper gaskets from Redlne, they were nice to me

i got my 79 ltd from him and would would buy from him again. im very satisfied

No reason to dislike redline cycles but they dont seem to carry the smal 4 stough and z1e has always made shure my parts were what I needed and at times that was as dumb as a tank lid rubber lol :woohoo:

Thanks Jeff

You're right, he doesn't deal with the little bikes, and his prices may be a little higher than the forum sponsors, but he doesn't deal with parts or service for anything outside of the Z1/KZ. His devotion to these bikes shows through even on his website, for an example, on his exhaust page he makes it a point to let people know about some V&H having a fitment issue, and has gone so far as to test fit them to bikes in his shop to make sure there are none before he ships them out. He'll even tune your carbs on a test bike if you want him to so all you have to do is put them on and ride, that kind of stuff alone seems like it's worth a few extra bucks to me. Just my .02 though. :blink:

I trade with both.

andy9802gt wrote:

but he doesn't deal with parts or service for anything outside of the Z1/KZ

Hmm...but he lists the following on the top of the web site's home page:

"Harley - Honda - Kawasaki - Suzuki - Yamaha"

www.redlinecycle.com/

Try to find parts for anything but a Z1/KZ, he used to service the other brands but if you look at the tuning and repair page it saus he only deals with the big bikes. It does say he will work on other stuff, but his focus is big kawi's.

I've known Jim since about 1983 and worked for him as a mechanic and bike builder/restorer from about 1985 to 1995. He worked his way up from virtually nothing to where he is today. I've kept in touch every few years and moreso in the last few weeks since I bought my 1000A.

He's a straight up guy that is not into ripping anyone off for any reason whatsoever and he is dedicated to the big KZ's. You might find cheaper parts, but not better parts somewhere else. I shop both Z1E and Redline for my parts, but when I need the straight dope on stuff that matters, I give Jim a buzz. He'll tell me where it was made, who made it and the failure ratio. I also get to hear about bikes I built back in the day that made it back to him or was featured in a magazine. Cool stuff and it brings me back to when life was easier, maybe that's why I bought another Kaw. I wouldn't doubt for a minute that some member here may be riding a bike I built years back.

Please don't confuse my user name with my former employer though, it refers back to when I used to race and I'd stay after work late on Thursday and Friday, thrashing to get ready for my racing fix on Saturday, lol. I've got a wall full of pictures and trophies that brings me back to better days.