KZ305 ease of MX and good first bike?

Hello all,

I've got a 1982 KZ750 that I really enjoy and take my girlfriend on the back of. Lately she has been making noise about getting a bike of her own and last night she found a 1982 KZ305B close by for sale. They are asking $575 for it. It looks to be in great condition from pictures but it does not run. The person says it needs a new stator/flywheel and maybe a battery. We were going to go look at it tonight and check it out. Couple of questions; Would this be a good learner bike for her first off? She is petite (about 100 pounds and 5' 4" tall) so she doesnt need/want a big beefcake bike like the 750. How hard are these to find parts for and work on? Just looking on ebay I found a FSM quick and a couple stators too, but any known issues with these bikes? I can post a link to the ad if requested but otherwise not much to see there. Any insights are appreciated, thank you for your time!

kevinskaggs46 wrote: ......... It looks to be in great condition from pictures but it does not run. ..................

In that case it is in very poor condition! Ed

Some of the parts for the 305 are getting hard to find. Many have been out of production for a while.

While I certainly appreciate your girlfriend's fondness for old KZs, and for bargains, it might take so long to get running well, that she could loose enthusiasm. It might be better to find a newer, well cared for bike for her to start riding, and if she is still jonesin' for a little KZ, y'all can take your time to find a really sweet running example. All of the Japanese manufacturers make or have recently made good, inexpensive beginner bikes, and their resale value plummets like a rock, so bargains can be had. My wife started on a 250 Ninja, and I think I enjoyed it even more than she did. Something about the sound of a small twin at 13,500 rpm!

Tex nailed it, a newer bike that is turn key will a big help in getting her confidence up.
We looked at old kz's for a while and realized that they are set up for taller folks, my wife is about the same size as your girlfriend.
I found a great deal on a Suzuki 250 that had a low seat and forward controls and she really liked it, the big problem is you can't take a 250 on the highways and nor should you try, after a year of her riding and putting over 10,000 miles on it, it was obvious that she needed something bigger to ride 60 mph all day so we found a Yamaha V-star 650 that she loves, it too has forward controls and she still likes them fine but I have been looking for a deal on a smaller Ninja as a second bike for her to carve up the corners on
I think a 250 is a great bike to start on, then see where it goes,
be patient, make sure she has good tires and brakes, don't drink and drive.

I agree with getting a working motorcycle now and get what you want later. The first motorcycle I bought was a 74 cb550, it was a parts bike really. I lost interest and it sat in the back yard for about a year. Then my brother bought a working motorcycle and let me ride it around the yard. I immediately sold the cb550 and bought an 83 KZ1100 for $800. The battery was weak, but it worked good enough to get it down the road. Also the low seat height will give confidence if she wants a bigger (and taller) bike. I am 5' 6" and am not close to being able to flat foot the bike, but after riding it for awhile I got a Versys 300 which has a 2 in taller seat height and am fine with it. Another point if you keep the turn key bike, is that if you have other people who want to learn to ride you can sell or loan them the bike.

PS if you get a ninja 300 (I don't know about older ones) they will do highway fine. The versys 300 has the same engine as the ninja and my bike, which is geared lower, maxes out at 100 mph. I went one a 100 mile ride on the highway doing ~90 mph the whole way and it didn't have any problems.