1979 KZ650 SR1

A friend knows that I am looking for a 650 and put me in touch with someone who has a 1979 KZ650 SR1. Is this bike worth $2,500? 28k miles EXCELLENT condition. How does it stack up to the earlier KZ650s? I looked it and top speed is only 115 which is a bummer.

I don't know why your friend said that is a "SR1"; it is NOT an SR, actually it is a better looking bike that the SR (to me). The bike in your picture is a 1979 KZ650-C3, also called a KZ650 Custom. It's top speed is right around 120 mph, not 115 mph. I've owned my 1977 KZ650-C1 since it was new (April, 1977), and I love it.

If you plan to keep it stock, and assuming it runs as well as it looks, I believe that bike is worth the price. 28k miles is low mileage as long as the bike was maintained, and that bike looks like it was well maintained. If you plan to modify it you would be MUCH better off finding a bike that has not been kept all stock for almost 40 years and buying it instead because you will get it for a better price. Paying a premium price for a bike that has been kept stock only makes sense if you plan to keep it stock. Otherwise as soon as you make a change to it the value will drop significantly, so if you plan to mod it I HIGHLY recommend you look for a better deal as finding one that hasn't been kept stock all these years for a better price would be very easy to do.

Here's mine; it has a bit more than 60k miles......

A KZ650 is a fast bike with quick acceleration. But a modern sportbike is much faster.
A ZX600 for example has a top speed of about 140 mph --- ~600cc, 85 hp & weighs less than 400 lbs.
I think even a little ole' Ninja 500 has about the same top speed as a KZ650. A modern 1000 will destroy a KZ650.

Looking at that bike and how clean it is, you could sell them at that price all day long over here in the UK, you could almost double the asking price here.

I have to be honest. The internet is a curious thing. In another post I posted a photo of a bike i saw on Craigslist but did not include the link because I did not want competition in buying it. So what did a poster do? he reverse searched the photo and then posted the link. I passed on that bike, but i thought it strange and sad that a poster would "detective" the bike and post the link when it was clear I did not want it posted.

So, the pic I posted of the bike in this post is NOT the pic but a stock photo. I didnt want to post the photo from the craigs listing for obvious reasons.

I have since passed on that bike and am looking at another KZ.

Now that I am no longer interested in it, this is the bike I was going to buy, a true SR

That is still a nice bike, not an SR, and still would sell for plenty more over here, and everybody looks up the bikes be they on craigslist ebay or any other form of internet sales site, sounds like you also have trust issues as well.

kevski wrote: That is still a nice bike, not an SR, and still would sell for plenty more over here, and everybody looks up the bikes be they on craigslist ebay or any other form of internet sales site, sounds like you also have trust issues as well.

On the side cover of the bike it clearly says "SR1" Its an SR.

And, in the other post I made it clear I didnt want the link posted. Someone reverse searched the photo and posted the link anyway against my wishes.

The internet has been proven to be a place that brings out the worst in ppl. Its not that I have trust issues, its that ppl have proven themselves to be unsavory, time and again.

We live in pathetic times. I was raised to be private. The world and the internet are anything but.

Anyway, today I closed the deal on this bike

Would you have been upset if he posted it in the ebay/craigslist thread? It was your thread, but the internet is open to the public.

I'm just saying we all have an interest in KZ's here, and sometimes it becomes a bidding war over a good deal. I am apprehensive posting threads with links to what I am interested in, but if I am not sure I would do something good with it, let someone else on here who would fix it up get the second offer in before it becomes another bike on 650ed's list of bikes ruined. (just my 2 cents)

Have fun with the new bike,
Matt

JWKZ750 wrote: On the side cover of the bike it clearly says "SR1" Its an SR.

It doesn't really matter, but I would recommend you do a bit more research on the KZ650 SR model, and how it compares to the KZ650B and KZ650C.

awi3d.plus.com/kawapics/sr2.jpg

The KZ650B and KZ650C shared the same bodywork. Compared to those, the SR had a narrow tank, shorter fenders (body colored), no rear duck tail, a 16" rear wheel, and a different seat (the list goes on). Also, no SR ever said "SR1" on the side cover.. They just said "SR".

If it helps your research, the designation for the SR was KZ650D1 ('78) and KZ650D2 ('79).

JWKZ750 wrote:

kevski wrote: That is still a nice bike, not an SR, and still would sell for plenty more over here, and everybody looks up the bikes be they on craigslist ebay or any other form of internet sales site, sounds like you also have trust issues as well.

On the side cover of the bike it clearly says "SR1" Its an SR.

And, in the other post I made it clear I didnt want the link posted. Someone reverse searched the photo and posted the link anyway against my wishes.

The internet has been proven to be a place that brings out the worst in ppl. Its not that I have trust issues, its that ppl have proven themselves to be unsavory, time and again.

We live in pathetic times. I was raised to be private. The world and the internet are anything but.

Anyway, today I closed the deal on this bike

That one looks nice and tidy, enjoy riding it, the blue one in the your previous post is most definately not an SR the sr1 badges have been added by a previous owner and kawasaki would not have put them on looking like an after thought, i also am a private person, but being secretive is more dangerous as it attracts attention people think you have something to hide and look for it.

The side cover may say SR but the bike positively is not an SR. The SR models look very different than the KZ650 B, C, and F models. For more info take a look at the pictures of the KZ650-SR models at the link below and you will see the obvious differences (tank, seat, tail, etc.). Ed

jarlef.no/Kawasaki/Series/Z/650/z650sr.htm

kevski wrote:

JWKZ750 wrote:

kevski wrote: That is still a nice bike, not an SR, and still would sell for plenty more over here, and everybody looks up the bikes be they on craigslist ebay or any other form of internet sales site, sounds like you also have trust issues as well.

On the side cover of the bike it clearly says "SR1" Its an SR.

And, in the other post I made it clear I didnt want the link posted. Someone reverse searched the photo and posted the link anyway against my wishes.

The internet has been proven to be a place that brings out the worst in ppl. Its not that I have trust issues, its that ppl have proven themselves to be unsavory, time and again.

We live in pathetic times. I was raised to be private. The world and the internet are anything but.

Anyway, today I closed the deal on this bike

That one looks nice and tidy, enjoy riding it, the blue one in the your previous post is most definately not an SR the sr1 badges have been added by a previous owner and kawasaki would not have put them on looking like an after thought, i also am a private person, but being secretive is more dangerous as it attracts attention people think you have something to hide and look for it.

The world and its pressures will not change my value system or my desire to be private in comparison to most.

My cut off age for buyign bikes is no younger than 1977. So i passed on the 1979 and got a 77 which doesnt have the emission stuff the 79 does.