I may be buying a KZ1000. Should I?

ive made a few of the tools for holding down the buckets,keep losing em!:woohoo: its just a metal wedge.

ambergrismooon wrote:

Yep dadadadats me!

(then...)


...dadadadadat's him... NOW.



Even ex #1 has a hard time smoothing over the rough edges these days...:whistle:

Fix a few, ride a few and take a few home to meet momma. All I can promise is you'll have some fun and read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maint.". And for my finale "I never met a motorcycle I didn't like and I never met a KZ I didn't love!". Nuff Said...out!

:blush: snif. sniff-sniff. :blush:

But that's just plain bootiful. Y'dun goOod, Gris....

Thats ALOT of bike, hope you have rode before....:blink:

The first thing to look for is has it been repainted? meaning has it been abused/wrecked/unwillingly subjected to a damn idiot with a Kmart mentality????
Original paint even if in darn crappy shahe=OK. Repaint even if looks Ok, it wont look OK after 90 days at best so run. If you don't agree, look in the picture archives and subject yourself to some real torture. Yellow KZ1000s? yippee, them are UGLY.
kzmarvo wrote:

Thats ALOT of bike, hope you have rode before....:blink:

RonKZ650 wrote:

The first thing to look for is has it been repainted? meaning has it been abused/wrecked/unwillingly subjected to a damn idiot with a Kmart mentality????
Original paint even if in darn crappy shahe=OK. Repaint even if looks Ok, it wont look OK after 90 days at best so run. If you don't agree, look in the picture archives and subject yourself to some real torture. Yellow KZ1000s? yippee, them are UGLY.
kzmarvo wrote:

Thats ALOT of bike, hope you have rode before....:blink:

:whistle: :whistle: :whistle: :whistle:

RonKZ650 wrote:

The first thing to look for is has it been repainted? meaning has it been abused/wrecked/unwillingly subjected to a damn idiot with a Kmart mentality????
Original paint even if in darn crappy shahe=OK. Repaint even if looks Ok, it wont look OK after 90 days at best so run. If you don't agree, look in the picture archives and subject yourself to some real torture. Yellow KZ1000s? yippee, them are UGLY.
kzmarvo wrote:

Thats ALOT of bike, hope you have rode before....:blink:

:whistle: :whistle: :whistle: :whistle: viva Kmart!!!!!!!!

Welcome to KZr Johhny5.

Since we all have our own ideas on what is and is not a good deal, how "cheap" is this bike you're considering buying?
Most folks here will agree that $1 per cc is about the going rate for a running bike in decent (original paint or not) cosmetic and good overall mechanical condition.

RonKZ650 does have a good point on the paint issue.
However, there are people who have outstanding painting skills, but lack the basic mechanical skills required to change their own oil and filter or perform a simple tune-up. So basically, the cosmetic condition of a vehicle isn't always a tell-tale sign on how well it's been taken care of mechanically.

Things to look for would be modifications to the bike (funky splices in the wiring or non-OEM parts for instance) that appear were performed by a blind 6 year old with a pair of saftey scissors, pliers, a BFH and a roll of Duct tape. :ohmy:

If something on the bike just doesn't look right to you, then chances are it isn't!
If there's anything on it that you see and are unsure of, just post a pic if possible and ask away.
I'll bet you there will be at least 5 members here who have had to deal with correcting the same problem(s) before, and will post on how they fixed it.

NOTE: Not all modifications should be deemed problematic. Just those that appear to have been done poorly and/or by the above mentioned "visually challenged" 6 year old using improper tools.

I happen to think yellow KZ1000's are the cat's A$$. Don't let the paint scare you off the sale whatever the color. I have seen MANY original paint bikes that were beat to death...MANY re-painted bikes that were mechanically sound...that being said, the other advice is sound...$1.00 per CC give or take depending on overall condition. Carb work is the norm for these unless you get real lucky. Expect to do twice the amount of work as you think you need to do. Someone may have been into that bike and made some changes you want to change back. They are worth the money and work and are lots of fun to make your own...nothing else on the road looks or sounds quite like them and they are a blast to ride. Just make SURE you respect your machine. They are FAST... I say go for it!!!

Thanks for everyone's input. All received and catalogued in my little brain.

The paint is original dark green. I should be able to rebuild the carbs quite easily. I did on my old Yamaha Banshee. It's syncing them that Im a bit nervous about.

Im hoping to check it out thoroughly tomorrow or Tuesday. I'll try and post some pics.

Thanks again!

I also like Yella bikes! Just look at the details! Bad wiring, broken and bent parts especialy the hangy off things. You really are buying a pig in a poke (and stop poking that pig!)but you cannhedge your bet just by being observant. And question the seller. Sometimes you can tell if his IQ is double or tripple digits or if he is a hack or not! Personally I have a sign outside my shop that says:

A good mechanical synch seems to do the trick pretty well on these...after that I don't think it's very difficult to get the sych right on the money. (after you have checked your valve clearance, intake rubbers for leaks...etc etc.)The color is cool too...I like that green. Keep us updated with pics.

Why would you be taking the head off? The valve adjustment does not require this. How is your compression? I have close to 100k on my '77 KZ1000, and I only removed the head back when it had 40K on it due to smoke! I found I lost a wrist pin clip, and the wrist pin scored the cylinder requiring a replacement cylinder assembly. $200 back then, from a MC used parts yard, it was in the early 80's. It all depends on ho wyou wish to ride. If you merely are looking at cruising, "don't fret the little stuff." If you are going for a street killer, go for it! IMHO!