Kawickrice wrote: Offer him $500 in non running condition. Clean the carbs and she will fire right up. The Kaws are pretty resilient bikes and have a history of firing up after a long sit, that is if it was not beat on before hibernation.
+1
My fathers Z was parked for 14+ years. He stored it properly 'mechanically'. When we got her running all we did was squirt some oil down each cylinder and gave it a few slow, easy kicks. I clearly remember hearing the rings "click" and free up. Installed new plugs, oil/filter, new battery and some fresh gas. Had it running perfectly in about an hour.
Now, the reason I said 'mechanically' is, I'm not even sure there is a way to prevent it but, the original paint was mint. I mean MINT. After some time, few months, out in the open the clear coat lifted and the paint began to fade pretty quickly.
Make a long story short, during the restoration of the bike there were a few things you need to look out for. For one, some engine seals began to leak like the shift shaft seals, tack drive and generator grommet (don't know if your bike has all this stuff). I rebuilt the carbs but the kits didn't come with the little o-rings for the bowl drain screws and they began to leak. You'll definately need tires and tubes. The fork oil will need to be changed. I had a slight amount of rust in my tank that I cleaned up using mineral spirits and a small length of chain and sloshed it around. OH! You'll have to remove and clean the steel clutch disks of tarnish and you'll probobly want to install new cables and brake pads. Change the brake fluid too. The fluid in my front master was nasty as all hell, I just kept flushing it out with new fluid and it's been fine so far. (knock on wood) Check and lube the swingarm, wheel and steering bearings. Spray some WD in the switch housings and clean the throttle tube.
Good luck! I love finds like these, any pics?
Topic Author
