what made you buy your kz

In the fall of '76 I was 15 and my neighbor came home with a brand new 1976 KZ900 Ltd.....I was in love. Between parents, college, Navy, and family, I wasn't able to get on a bike until 2005 when I found a broke down '79 KZ400 for sale. After 4 years of fixing bikes I finally found my dream, a non-running, weathered 900 Ltd. Another 3 years of on and off restoration I got her finished this summer and I'm livin' the dream! :woohoo:

The look. I have wanted one for 35 years but I put the idea on the shelf because I never could afford one. Well finally 30-35 years later I got one.
Now I understand why the guy driving the 911 or the corvette usually has grey hair.

It was an old bike sitting on a hill in godfrey Il. I never realy thought about riding, altho my hole family was riding harleys I wanted somethin diffrent If I was gona ride.

The sign said 1000 but the poor bike looked rough and the waiting game began.
First thing first find out what it was the side said KZ700.
My uncle worked at a kaw dealer at the time so I went down to see what he thought.
"KZs were good bikes the 700 was the slow 750 fast 650 it would be a steel at 500 bucks."

I beged the ol lady till she couldnt take it any more. I just had to get closer

On my way to school I noticed the price had been marked down to 800 now we are getn somewhere
stoped took a look the owner came out told me how bad it was and that he didnt know 2 much about bikes.

FF 2 weeks the price was at like 200 this guy had to be on somthin. I talked my uncle into comin to look this time he laughed and said buy it we will make it work. :evil:

Everyone tryed to warn me that it was fast but I didnt realy want a fast bike I wanted to ride LOL.

FF had some issues getting it goin mostly people telling me they knew things they didnt but what ever. Once it has started it was love at first ride.

I would buy all the kzs If I could !!! I love these old kaws and I still havent rode the lovly kz 1000 mabe some day.

For the record the bike has lasted the girl has not !!!
altho I see many more kzs in my future. My 700 was my first and it will be my last I dont want to be like so many of the guys on here tryin to find there first bike lol beeing the od ball that mine is in 20 years that is gona be imposible lol.

It was a steal.

Rewind: I've been 'around' bikes since I was a kid. Split family, dad had other priorities but in my mind he wanted us to be into this stuff (if you want it bad enough you'll project your desires onto others right?). We lived in rural Iowa, had some ATVs and a suzuki 80 that almost killed my great aunt (don't teach newbs how to ride near a cliff, eh?). When I was 10 the family picked up an early 70's suzuki dirtbike - about a ton of unrideable, beaten rust. But my dad wouldn't let me ride the top-of-the-line suzuki 500 quad in race trim so I did what I could on the old dirtbike.

FF about 15 years and he picked up a 2001 Kawi Super Sherpa 250 dual sport. We'd go out on the Jamez (in New Mexico) and hit forestry trails and that little bugger, all 300-ish pounds of it, could go anywhere. When you have to put your faith in your moto 35 miles from literally nowhere, trust is hard-boiled into you.

Then last year while I was working at Thunderbird Harley-Davidson, riding that 250 super sherpa to work about 25 miles every day, one of the techs rode in on(my future) an '83 KZ1100 shaft drive. Painted Kawi green, tank, fenders and rims even, I fell in love. I didn't know the history behind the bike. I didn't know the genealogy, or how an earlier KZ750 (or something similar) had almost killed my father. I didn't care. I wanted that bike. I didn't say anything, just respected the awesomeness parked behind the shop and logged it as such in my mind.

Three weeks later that tech mentioned he was considering selling the bike. He only rides it once a month or so, to keep it fresh, he said. Maybe he'd heard me bitching about the bullshit games the salesmen at Thunderbird played (oh we could get you financing for a new H-D, why would you want an older bike? 'Because I've only got $1,500 to spend' I'd say, at which point they'd snicker and walk away to their next victim). I didn't want a fat POS anyways...

I gave him $300 on the spot and worked out arrangements to pay it off next paycheck(s). He insisted I test-ride it before the end of the day. I managed to not kill myself on that test ride, and now the bike is mine. I fell in love instantly. The buttery-smooth acceleration, the endless power, the sound the 4-to-2 pipes make at just a certain RPM, the luxury ride given by the air shocks.

Even now, as snow falls and the temp hovers below freezing outside, I search my soul for any reason to go for a ride somewhere. I've always found solace on the road as miles melt under the constant spins of the tires, and have loved several Mazda models, but this, this is heaven. KZ1100 FTW!

Mad Max

I moved back to the States a little over 2 years ago, and all I wanted was a bike. I kept feeling like God was telling me to get a truck, so I did. For the last 2 years, we've had some crazy winters, so I guess He knows what He's talking about, but I still wanted a bike. My truck sucks on gas mileage, getting around 15-17 mpg, so I needed something better, I needed a bike!
I scoured CL looking for something I could afford. I came across a 650 that someone was selling, and thought that would be great. I called him up only to find out it was sold, but he had a few other bikes for sale, and he told me about them. He mentioned he had a kz1000 for sale, and told me a little about it. It was sitting in his yard for about 2 years, but when it ran, it ran great. I told him I'd think about it, and give him a call later.
Well, I called up my brother to tell him, and to see if he knew anything about the bike. All he said was, "Call him back and tell him we'll come out tomorrow to take a look at it!" I wanted a more detailed response, but he just repeated, "Call him back now!"
We drove the 2 hours out to take a look at it, and all I could see was the horrible paint job and rust all over it. It had 2 flat tires, and a lot of work that needed to be done to it, but my brother had a smile all the way across his face. He told me to get it, and that I wouldn't regret it. The PO promised to get it running for me if I bought it, so I agreed.
The first time I rode it, it blew me away! I had a 883 sportster before, but was unprepared for the power of the kz. I really got on it once to see what it could do, and that was enough to know that I would never lack in power, and that I never had to do that again.
I only got to ride it for 3 weeks before I had to tear her apart to fix the PO's "work", but 7 months later, I am still eager for when I will have her put back together for me to ride again. 3 weeks of riding, and it changed the entire way I look at motorcycles. I can't wait to ride my kz again.

I had decided to get a street bike for the first time so I started checking bike shops, craigslist ect. I didnt really know exactly what I wanted when I first started looking but after a viewing several bikes it hit me that I liked the looks of the 70-80's bikes. I still didnt have an exact bike in mind but believed I would know what I wanted when I saw it. Saw the ad on craiglist for the kz1000 and set up an appointment to check it out at an industrial facility where the guy worked. As soon as he rolled it out of the building I knew it was what I had been looking for! Did the test ride and made the deal! Been happy with my choice since day one!

Waiting at the bustop 9-10 grade in the morning I used to see a guy fly by on a green bike that was loud as crap. I could hear him comming a mile away and hear him for up to a mile after he passed by each morning. I had to find out what that green bike was it sounded so cool................ KAWASAKI! So fast forward 30 years and I buy a green zx9r from a pawn shop. Sold it because it had high miles and bought another in premo conditon with only 5k miles on it. Sold it before I killed myself on it. Fastest bike i ever had and it wasnt happy unless I was twisting the throttle 5-12k. So I thought to myself I want something with low end grunt, class and style, Not another cookie cutter crotch rocket ( even though the 2002 zx9r is one of the best looking bikes in that class ). I saw an add in craigslist for an 81 kz1000 and have been building my dream bike ever since.

The Bike I gave up to build my KZ

I got my 78 kz650 SR for free from a coworker, 5 years and 3 teardown an rebuilds later its where i want it to be (see avatar) this started the love affair with not only vintage bikes but Kaw's in general, my next project is my kz1100 shafty but i really want a kz900... all the stories i read on this before posting doesnt help either!

man lots of good story's

it was either the dope or alcohal,who can remember 30 yrs later? :sick: :woohoo:
oh yeah i remember,my first z1 was given to me as a basket case when i was 13.ive never stopped collecting since!

I had always wanted a bike, but never really thought much about them until the gas prices sky-rocketed a few years ago. I looked at a lot of different new bikes, and ended up deciding to go for a used bike in case it scared the crap out of me (lol). I found a 1980 kz 250 for sale locally, and bought it. It was in near perfect condition. I got my permit, and then my license, and rode the hell out of it. My only complaint was the size, until one day I met a guy at my local Autozone. Long story short, I traded the 250 for the 750 I have now. I miss the 65 mpg, but would trade again if I had the chance. The 250 got me hooked on kawasaki's, and I don't think I will ever try any other make (unless it's free LOL).