What keeps you on a KZ?

Well what can I say?
After reading Cycle and Cycle World that showed me the light and after traiding in my Z500B2 I realized that life actually has a mening and there is I higher power.



/Anders
 

The style and the beautiful lines, the sound, the image, candy colors. Always thumbs up when taking a ride.
  

Still have the KZ650 C2 I bought when I was in High School.
Just over 127,500 kms on her now.
I don't think I will ever sell her.
I did buy a more modern KZ, a ZRX1100.
She's also a keeper.
The C2 and my Wife's Ninja:

First, I'll say a part of what keeps me on a KZ is this site and the group of folks here, who offer plenty of inspiration and encouragement.  I wouldn't be as fun if I didn't have anyone to share it with.

And they are great machines, no doubt.  As others have said, I like the look, sound, character, and charm of the KZs.  

Some part of it is nostalgia, although maybe once removed.  I was a baby when the Z1 came out, but my dad bought his Z1 in '75.  I remember riding on it with him when I was 7 or so.  But I didn't really pay any attention to motorcycles at all until the early 90s.  My first two bikes were KZ650s, but they came to me mostly by accident.  They were owned by close friends, and they were for sale for cheap, so I didn't really think much about it.  When I got my first 650 I don't think I even realized it was similar to the bikes my dad owned.  I also owned an 88 Suzuki Katana 600 after those two.  The kz650s and Katana were great bikes that I enjoyed very much, but I thought of them as fairly utilitarian.  

The KZ that really hooked me was my dad's '78 Z1R.  I borrowed his bike to take my motorcycle license test, between owning my two kz650s.  I totally fell for it the first time I rode it.  It had such unique styling, and it just seemed so much cooler and meaner than my kz650.  The problem was that they were impossible to find.  It took about 7 years, and the invention of Ebay, but eventually I found one for myself.

At this point I'm in too deep to get out.  I inherited my dad's Z1 and Z1R, and I have several other kz projects as well.  I have often thought about getting some new bike, but I never see anything I like enough to pay real money for.  They either seem really sexy but really uncomfortable, or they look like a very angry insect, or like a motorized couch.  And I don't even feel like I'm giving up that much by riding a 43 year old machine.  I have a 2000 ZRX1100 as well, and riding my '78 Z1R and ZRX back to back the experience is pretty similar.  The ZRX handles a bit better, and has more grunt down low, but not that much (let's not mention the brakes).  Not enough that I have any interest in giving up the character and charm (swagger?) of the Z1R.

Another aspect is that I'm drawn to old machines, especially things that were the peak of technology when they were new but are now mostly outdated.  Mechanical watches, mechanical calculators, vintage computers.  And I'm sure everyone agrees that motorcycles are pretty much the coolest machines ever invented.  I like the idea of both using and preserving old machines.  Somehow old things are just more interesting than new things.

Another part that's really inspirational is the great restomod KZs that are on this site, and Japanese sites like AC Sanctuary ( www.ac-sanctuary.co.jp/rcm/ ).  There is something really interesting about mixing vintage and modern technology, and it takes serious skill and hard work to make the results look natural and beautiful.  Not that it makes them compete with modern bikes, but if it's done well it's a way to give old machines new life and power and vitality.

I aspire to someday build a custom KZ that is not ugly.  That dream is another reason why I'll stick with the KZ, as long as it's still on my to-do list.

What's not to LOVE.
Still own my 78 LTD . Bought new after having a 750 H2  triple. 
Being on the fastest bad ass machine as a young man sure didn't hurt.
A lifetime of  thumbs up from all lovers of  new / , then classic  machines
And a lifetime of hanging out with like minded  riders with  classic Kaw's
Here's a shot of  some of those who came out to my place to celebrate all things  KZ
Thanks for coming out guys

 

@DOHC - I feel the same about old tech, I find mechanical designs a lot more satisfying than computer code.

@Everyone - I wasn't meaning to call into question the appeal! I was just curious as to everyone's individual attachments and feelings. Being pretty young myself I didn't know what a KZ was until I bought my 750, I grew up thinking that a ZX-12R or Aprilia RSV was the coolest you could get (and in a sense, I still do). 

I do love my KZ, like I said. It feels so muscular and I don't have to risk a ticket to go full throttle - which I like to do as often as possible since it sounds so cool. Now that I have a good second bike I think I'll do some engine work that I've been putting off. 

wrote:

 

Swagger. That’s the word that eluded me. 

Started on a Sears Allstate at 16. At 18 I got a Honda CL 350 and rode it everywhere. On fire roads in the Malibu hills, the Rock Store, to the desert house on weekends, everywhere.  Always wanted a CB 750 but then My boss bought a 73 Z1, my best friend got a 74 Z1 and they would leave me behind.   I told my friend at Handy Cycle I was going to buy one but he tried to sell me a H2 murdercycle for $900 telling me it was faster and I'd blow them away with it. I took it on a test drive got on the FWY onramp, grabbed a handful, the front tire came up, I kept switching gears and the tire finally came down in third so I went back to the shop and told him to keep it.  I bought my Z1b the next day for $2300. It was a demo model with 84 miles on it. That day a headline in the paper told about a guy on a Z1 T boned A Jag at 80 MPH in LA going through one door out the other killing two in the car and the rider. I rode it to my favorite places like my 350 and it was just as tame unless I got on it hard.   Riding "The fastest motorcycle in the world" made it hard not to push it to the redline until I reached 1000 miles. It was 2 AM on the 405 coming from the SF valley when it rolled to the 1k mark so I downshifted to first grabbed a handful tucked in, banged it through the gears and was at WOT until I saw 155 on the Speedo. The street lights are 1/8 mile apart and they looked like a picked fence. That was the only time I saw that number on this bike in 40+ years. 130 sure but after that it would feel too light to push it any further.   It was a blast going to the Rock Store and all the attention the bike would get plus there were lots of customized Z1;s up there to look at but I liked my Z1 as it was. Larry had his bored out to 1015 with cams to beat the new 1000's that were coming out at the time and that bike was QUICK.   I broke a cam chain in 78 so I wound up doing the same thing. By that time I was living out here and was the only Z1 in 60 miles. Bossie was Queen of the road for a decade.   Only got beat by a sleeper Dodge Charger I came up to at a light at 1 AM. The thing sounded terrible like it was missing on a few cylinders. The driver said "You think you got it?" I said yup, he left me like I was back on my 350. That wasn't missing that was "loping" lesson learned. 
By that time there were faster bikes coming out but even then it was rider against rider. I wrenched in two shops, rode plenty of bikes but still preferred my old Z1. Was able to get Lester mags and a few goodies I always wanted but then the wreck happened. 
A year later I started putting it back together little by little, 33mm carbs, Andrews cams, V/H exhaust until she needed a overhaul. Got my kids so there was no money for the bike.   She sat 15 years until I could get to her again. Probably better this way so now it's our turn. Salvage title so anything goes. Getting all the things I want not caring if it's stock or not. Each time she gets better and better.   More stable, more powerful and it's the only one like it in the valley. Sure there's a few KZ's but this one's the sleeper. There's faster bikes out there but if I get the drop on them they have to catch me.   I never thought it would be this way 40 years ago and I wouldn't have it any other way. 
BTW these machines were built so anything can be replaced without replacing the head, barrels etc. If there are not many. 
Steve

 
 

For me it's a bucket list thing. My first experience of a big Z was in 79. I was 16 at the time riding a DT50 and a friends older brother had a 77 Z1000. The guy was a psycho and I was dared to take a ride with him, when I got off I was shaking but also knew I had to have one. I went through a CB250, RD250 (air cooled) a mono shocked KH400 (bought for next to nothing because the guy couldn't get it to run - £1.20 later for three diodes and it never let me down) I swopped it for an imported GS750 which I restored. This was followed by a Harris Magnum which I seriously modified with a big bore CB1100R motor, early GSXR front end, custom frame mods and a rising rate monoshock from a YZF750. That was twenty years ago now (was featured in streetfighter magazine) So finally now I have my KZ, it's an 82 Ltd so not a classic Z1000 (prices are crazy) but I am confident by next summer it will be a unique big Z the way I want it without having upset the purists by modifying a classic Z1 or breaking the bank. 

Man, so many great stories and comments in this thread. You guys are awesome. 

For me, I’m a new rider, and my KZ (or ZR as it were) is not exactly my first bike (long story) but it’s the first bike I’ve ever really ridden, and it absolutely has me in it’s spell.

For one thing, it’s a damn good-looking bike. There are few bikes that compare, or go beyond, and even then you’re comparing apples and oranges. You know, most people don’t give a shit that I ride a motorcycle, but when I meet those that do, they see my bike and they say “that’s a beauty.” 

Another thing I appreciate is the reliability and serviceability. So far I have done all my own maintenance which has been a walk in the park, and honestly kind of fun, and as time has gone on, my bike has been increasingly reliable. My bike was the oldest bike in my most recent training/safety class, and one of only two fully carbureted bikes, and I flew through that class with zero issues, and my coaches even came around to admire it. 

Performance-wise it does everything I need and more. It’s almost too fast at idle when sometimes I want to crawl (maybe me being a little too cautious, but again, new rider), and sometimes I wish it had just slightly more get-up-and-go (again, probably new rider syndrome as I’m fairly timid on the throttle). But it never fails to give me exactly what I’m asking for, even when I’m being a dumbass and asking for the wrong thing (i.e., being a new rider). Honestly I couldn’t ask for a more predictable bike, if such a thing exists I imagine it would be almost weird. 

I’m so proud to be the caretaker of such a spectacular bike, one that is rare, beautiful, and worthy of recognition. Though it be small, it be mighty, and it looks good doing it.