TOPIC:

Hi guys,
I have a 1980 Z1R and I was wondering what it might be worth. I really wanna figure out what its worth before I put any more money into it. There aren't a lot of examples of these bikes being sold to use as a reference, so I figured I'd ask you guys. The bike has just over 15,000 miles, and is complete, including the airbox and intake tubes. It's mostly original with the exception of a 4-1 Kerker, a oil cooler, engine guards, and aftermarket seat. It runs and drives and everything works, but the paint could use some work, especially on the tank. It's on its third coat of paint and is dark green in color. It has a head gasket leak, but its slow and it doesn't leak onto the ground. I also know the tach cable leaks where it meets the cylinder head, but thats it for mechanical issues. Ive attached some photos, have a look at let me know what you think.
Thanks

A One Hundred Dollars Bill will fix the bike mechanically.
Paint ??? Will you do it yourself ?
These bikes are a labor of love and yours looks real nice
Dave

kzrider.com/forum/13-bike-related/614881...ion-about-z1r#839114

I think the numbers in that thread apply to the 80 D3 as well. There are way fewer 1980 Z1Rs, so there is less data. But they seem to sell for roughly the same. But I honestly can't tell why one bike sells for 10k and another for 15k, when they look the same to my eye (and I have looked at a LOT of z1r photos).

At any rate, if I were to take an educated guess, I'd say your bike is an easy $8000. With better pictures and a story, $10k is possible.
With a fresh coat of original black and pinstripes, and the original seat foam (even with a recover) you could see $12k on a good day. But here we start to get into a lot of variability, so it's hard to say how likely that is. And the details start to really matter at that point.

Is your speedo an 85mph or a 160? I can't see too well, but it looks like the 1978 speedo. The 1980 should have an 85mph speedo.

>>>>> I have a 1980 Z1R and I was wondering what it might be worth.
Z1R sell from $3000 to $10k range, yours looks nice, my guess is $6000 or $7000 on ebay.

I would pay someone to do the paint right. And yes it has been I spent about 9 months and $3,500 reviving it. And the speedo is a 160, i must say im pretty confident the bike is a 1980, a 85mph speedo doesnt make much sense for a bike that can do 100+, my father was the second owner of the bike and when he had the bike it was black and had the pinstripes of the 80 and it has the larger 19" front wheel of the 80. My best guess is that the original owner swapped the speedo before my dad bought it, because he always remembers it being a 160 speedo. We know the third owner personally and he just housed the bike in his garage for 28 years and did nothing to it or with it.

The vin or frame # would be one way to know what year it is.

Check out this post for some links to zedder.com with vin/frame numbers
kzrider.com/forum/13-bike-related/614881-question-about-z1r

The engine number matches a 1980 as well and it has the frame characteristics of the 1980 with the double walled front tubes, the first owner mustve swapped the speedo

1980 Z1R D3 wrote: i must say im pretty confident the bike is a 1980, a 85mph speedo doesnt make much sense

The 85 mph speedo was federally mandated in 1980.

Otherwise, everything I can see looks correct for the 1980 D3. The mk2 engine. the brake rotors, the front fender and wheel, the tank. I don't doubt it's a D3. But without the original speedo it makes it hard to state the original milage.

For the record, I like the color and the mods. The seat and pipe are much nicer than the original pieces. I'd hold on to it and ride it and enjoy it. One of my Z1Rs was owned by my father. It's the bike I took my motorcycle road test on.

Haha nice, and yes that seat is very comfy and the kerker sounds awesome, and I like the color too. This is my first bike and the bike i learned to ride on. Is there any chance the first owner couldve swapped the odometer into the 78 speedo? And if not how bad is the undetermined mileage going to hurt the value of the bike?

1980 Z1R D3 wrote: And if not how bad is the undetermined mileage going to hurt the value of the bike?

If someone is being honest with themselves, it shouldn't matter at all. These bikes are 40 years old, and it's nearly impossible to verify the true mileage. There is no car-fax type record for these bikes. My blue Z1R has about 45,000 on the clock, but I have a box of speedos in the basement. Give me 30 minutes and it'll have 15k.

On the other hand, I can't think of any better way to remind a potential buyer that the true mileage is unknown and unknowable than by having an obviously not-correct speedo.

The fact that you know at least 30 years of the history of this bike probably matters a lot more than the number on the odo. Knowing the history is pretty rare. And what matters most is the hard to find or Z1R specific parts and the overall condition, specifically lack of corrosion and oxidation. From the pictures your bike looks to be above average.

Ok that makes total sense. The bike was stored inside, thank god, for those nearly thirty years it sat. We cleaned off all the corrosion, which was really only surface level, and it has all the hard to find Z1R specific parts and they all work thankfully! And actually we know about 35 years of the bikes history directly, and the five before that we know indirectly, as my father bought the bike from a buddy's father who owned it for the first five years. He then rode it for five and then sold it to our friend who parked it, then I bought it! So yes the bike has a very story to it that only adds to the cool factor. And that's what these bikes are all about.