Help Me Decide On My First KZ

I found an '89 KZ1000P8 with 45k on the clock. Valves and carbs were just done 1k miles ago. The bike looks very clean. The guy is asking $2k, but I can probably get it for around $1,700. Is this reasonable?
The major concern is the guy's mechanic told him the cam chain needs replaced in about 5k miles. It was my belief that all components should be changed when replacing the chain, and not just the chain itself. Is this not true on these for some reason?
Parts will be around $500+ doing it myself.
What do you think? Thanks!!

Thre is a ton of stuff available for the older Kawasaki's and I'll list some websites:
1. www.murdochracing.com
2. www.redlinecycle.com
3. www.overstockpartsgalore.com
4. www.z-power.co.uk
5. www.dynoman.com
6. vintagecyclepart.com
7. www.z1enterprises.com
8. www.bikebandit.com
9. www.oldbikebarn.com
10. www.oldkawman.com
11. www.babbitsonline.com
12. www.sudco.com

For control cables:
1. www.motionpro.com
2. www.barnett.com

For stators (alternator windings and regulator/rectifiers):
1. www.ricksmotorsportselectrics.com
2. www.rmstator.com
3. www.electrosport.com

As for changing the cam chain I would look at the tensioner, cam sprockets and the condition of the sprocket that guides the chain as these will wear and need replacement.

The bike looks to be in really good shape for it's age.
Does it start and idle well?

For one that pretty, I think it's worth doing some engine work to give it more life.

Is it a police bike? (looks like it) The good news is they got consistent maintenance, the bad news is they rode the crap out of them.

Did you by chance get to do a cold/dry compression reading followed by the oil squirt to get a guess on cylinder/ring wear? I'd want to see that before I paid the money. That coule really crank up the engine $$$.

Thanks for your replies, guys!
I haven't looked at the bike in person, yet. I'm going there tonight.
The guy says the mechanic thought the motor looked good. The only issue was the cam chain. I'm trusting the guy a bit more than I normally would because he's a cop in a small town, and people are pretty trustworthy around here. You never know, though.
I'm probably not going to ride it more than 1k-2k per year. Just short trips with the wifey.
The chain is something I could probably do myself, but I've never done it before, so I'm a little worried. I know my way around a bike, but haven't been into more than a couple of motors, and neither were like this.
I called around to see how much it would cost to have this done. The chain only would run around $300. If the cases have to be split, it's around $1,300. I know you shouldn't just do the chain.
What do you think about the price for the bike knowing this issue? I think it's a little high.
I'm going to check if the tensioner has any more room tonight, too. Maybe the mechanic was just trying to get some work and it's not as crutial of a repair as seems?
Thanks again!!

The P models have J motors that run a hy-vo cam chain and sliding block cam chain guides as opposed to the KZ900/1000s that run single roller cam chains and use guide sprockets.

The benefit of this is that it is substantially cheaper (parts wise) to rebuild the cam train on a J engine than on a KZ 900/1000. Where the guide sprockets on a KZ 900/1000 cost around $ 110-125 a piece (you need 3) the J type guides can be had for $ 25 - 40 (you'll need 3 of those too).

There have been many discussions about master link vs. endless cam chains - master link chains don't require splitting the cases, obviously endless chains do, so having an endless chain installed will cost you more (if you don't do it yourself, which isn´t really that difficult). I don't have a qualified opinion of which metod is preferable, all I know is that even if you buy an endless chain it usually comes with a master link...

Btw, is the guy's mechanic a psychic? I mean, how can he know that the cam chain will need to be replaced in 5,000 miles and not now? To me it sounds like he's following some kind of maintenance schedule rather than adressing a real problem.

The 5k mile comment was suspect to me, too. That's why I'm really going to lean on the $500 worth of parts I'll have to spend and the countless hours of work I'll have to put in almost immediately after I buy the bike. Hopefully it'll get him down some on the price. I don't think he's going lower than $1700-$1800, though.
Good to hear about the cost being a little less on these parts. Can you replace everything in the assy without splitting the case if you use the linked chain? If so, this make me feel a lot more comfortable doing this myself. I really need to look at a manual, which he has.
What do you guys think about the price, knowing this issue?
Thanks a bunch!!

Telling you that stuff will have to be changed in 5K miles sounds like hes went in there and just patched itup to keep it running just to sellit and get out from under all that repair work and whatever else it might need,thats not been made known to you.Use caution.Good luck.Like Bountyhunter said those police bikes are usualy rode to death,even with good maintenance.

Just got back from looking at it. Good shape for a 20-year-old bike.

Valve cover leaks a little out of the very outside bolt holes. I'm assuming this is due to the gasket not being installed properly. Otherwise, no real oil leaks.

It has 65k, not 45k, on the clock.

Just off idle, the carb knocks, and the rpm's hang a bit when revved. He trailered the bike to CO to ride it. I'm assuming the mechanic set it up for the ride because it seems to be lean here. Oh, and it had 85 octane in it. All these may be contributing to the knock. Thoughts?

He's going to talk to the mechanic tomorrow to get answers on the carb set up and the leaks. He's also going to ask him about replacing the cam line.

He went down to $1750 on his own. Seems like a nice guy.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I'm talking to him again tomorrow.
Sorry so long.
Thanks!!

steve3408 wrote:

Telling you that stuff will have to be changed in 5K miles sounds like hes went in there and just patched itup to keep it running just to sellit and get out from under all that repair work and whatever else it might need,thats not been made known to you.Use caution.Good luck.Like Bountyhunter said those police bikes are usualy rode to death,even with good maintenance.

I wonder if he has the service log on it and is saying that the engine is due for a new chain?

The cop bikes had strict maintenance on valves and chains and stuff. They didn't wait for failures, they fixed them on schedule.

I think a bike that nice is worth saving, but at 65k on a police bike, I would be assuming the engine will need boring soon to give it another 50k of good running life.

maybe not...... even if it does, you'll have a beauty when the engine is topped off.

I wonder how healthy the motor is. It just didn't seem to have the power I expected it to have. Very gutless actually. Power seemed to be ok down low, but as the rpm's climbed it almost leveled off. Is this how this motor is, or is something off? Could be how the carbs are set, too. I know they're not right.
I think I'm looking at more work than I originally planned. I think the motor needs freshened while in for the cam chain. Cylinders need cleaned up, piston rings, valves and seats, and I'm not sure about the head. Might as well do it all, I guess. With all this done, I would think the bike should be good for a while.
I'm going back again tonight with my wife. I'll see what she thinks and how she feels on it. I should find out what the mechanic says by then, too.
I'll keep you all in the loop.
Thanks again for your help. Let me know if you have any other comments.

Just found out it will run a little over $1k to freshen the top end including cam chain and parts, rings, honing cylinders, head work, etc. It should be in great shape after this, but I don't know if it's worth it to me.
At his asking price, I'd have around $2,750 in it, not getting to any cosmetic upgrades, or other little things like a possible clutch pack, exhaust gaskets, etc. It doesn't need a lot, but the little things will add up.
What do you guys think? I think it's too much. Maybe $2,500 tops.

The extra stuff you named can easily be done by you with just a few tools relatively cheap.

So you'd have $2750 in a reliable bike, have you priced the new ones recently? Concours 14 $13k-$14k, Z1000 $9k-$10k, even the Verisys goes for $6k-$7k, and that's a 650.

Or you buy some other used bike and end up putting money in it anyway.