Buying KZ1100 a mistake maybe?

Hmmmm, Ok I'm gonna have to get it running and then see just how much I like it. Maybe round up a donor bike or spare engine. Are there any other engines that will bolt in or am I limited to finding another KZ1100? Most of my riding is through the country back roads or small hiways. I try and stay away from city traffic. If I really like the bike (I think I will)and spare engines are not hard to find then I might keep it. Maybe have a spare engine ready when needed,swap it and re-build the old one for next time. Gonna have to think more about this.

Mikes82KZ1100 wrote:

Hmmmm, Ok I'm gonna have to get it running and then see just how much I like it. Gonna have to think more about this.

Okay. good.

Now. This isn't about thinking.

This isn't about thinking.
(or common sense for that matter...)

Dream?
Yes. All the time. Some around here dream about bikes every 7.5 seconds. Dream all day long. Think? The bike isn't on the road yet. What's to think about?

Dream of a field of 1100 engines waiting to be discovered by only you.

Dream of that thing flying down the road with some blonde chippy, who says things like " hon' " and "Sugar" in your ear, hanging onto you for dear life. Feel her pressed against your back. (man I hope you're not married or you will get in big trouble)

Dream of hurdling your body through space with nothing between you and this planet besides a big chunk of metal and speed.

Thinking is for work, taxes, bills...... saps and suckers!

Post edited by: tganek, at: 2006/08/16 11:31

Mike:

If you are planning on achieving the 200,000 mile mark in a year or two you better be buying a new bike every year or two...not relying on a 25 or 30 year old bike to do the job for you. The mere fact that the bike is still running (or capable of) after all these years is a testament to the quality of the motorcycle manufacturer. I have seen a number of big-bore Japanese bikes with 100,000+ on the odometer, but most of these miles were reached early in their career. In the long run (in a temporal sense) what is harder on these 20-30 year-old bikes is not the number of miles but rather that fact that all those rubber/paper gaskets/seals/grommets are that old...and they do deteriorate with exposure to oils and time. For example, I have two 30 year-old KZ1000's that both have or will have all those internal rubber bits replaced (mileage is 22,000 and 26,000)...on these older Kawasaki's, time is your biggest enemy, not the mileage (assuming that the PO's took reasonable care of their scooters). And if you decide to sell that KZ1100D model...I'd be interested...'cause 30 years from now, all my bikes will still be running...and that is the beauty of these old Kawasaki's:)

Post edited by: Mcdroid, at: 2006/08/16 12:30

Mikes82KZ1100 wrote:

Most of my riding is through the country back roads or small hiways.

Just curious, how many miles a year do you ride?

its just like anything else if you take care of it will last a long but if you beat it constantly it wont last 10,000 miles!:whistle: 200,000 is a lot of miles on any bike.youre gonna go through lots of tires,bearings ,chains ,cables and everything else in that amount of time.

200,000 miles in a year or two? For one year that would be ~550 miles a day every day, for two it would be ~275 a day every day. Where the hell are you driving this thing to every day? The KZs are air-cooled, the gold wings are not. You want something to last that long then buy an ugly ass goldwing or some other tourer. Sell the KZ to someone who will appreciate it.

Lorcan wrote:

Mikes82KZ1100 wrote:

Most of my riding is through the country back roads or small hiways.

Just curious, how many miles a year do you ride?

Well I've only been riding againfor 14 months and 46,000 + so far on the 1990 Honda I bought in May of last year. I've changed jobs and now get to ride everyday including a 70 mile round trip for work. I've been known to drive 250 miles for a burger then take the long way home. :silly: :laugh:

cjhansen2 wrote:

Sell the KZ to someone who will appreciate it.

Appreciate it? Heck I've wanted a KZ1100 since I first saw the 82's back in late 81. You have no idea how excited I was to find this bike. I now realize my little brain was clouded with the dendability/longevity of the watercooled bikes and was thinking the same about the 1100. I had a little over 30K on my 80 KZ1000 when I got ran over by a 18 wheeler in 1982. I never got a chance to find out how long the 1000 would last. Appreciate it? It was love at first site when they were new and again when I saw the one I just bought Monday. I was just expecting a long term relationship with it and by that I don't mean keeping it sitting in a garage.In my opinion... If you cant ride it then you might as well just get a picture of one and hang it on the wall. Maybe sit a stool next to the picture and go Varooom Varooom. Oh I will get it running and ride it for a while. Maybe until it just won't roll any more. Maybe sell it after a couple of months.Just have to decide that when the time comes.

Hey Mike!

Thats some distance you cover. I just did 1,600 in 30 hours, and the last thing I want to do after that was set out on the road. 'course, that was in a car, so it might be different.

Regarding the bike lasting, though. If you want something that'll keep up with you for that long, you've got a great starting point. The Spectre is a wonderful model meant for cruising. The carbs are set up for low down power, different from the high rpm spinning regular models. The bike itself also looks relatively unmolested, no aftermarket performance goodies that I can see.

With regular maintenance, I can see that wonderful example of a bike lasting for an amazing amount of miles. I can't say for sure it'll hit 200k, but if you take excellent care of it, I think it'll get close. Hell, my 1000 is approaching 50k, and it was raced!

These bikes continue to amaze me. The KZ line is very solid, and like others have said, it is known for its reliability. Look around you and you'll see them all over the place. So, don't get down about your ride, man. It looks great, and if it doesn't get to 200k, it won't be because it wasn't trying.

Hey Duck sorry on the wate on the picks on the block I will put them up tomorrow.

Mike, what did you pay for it? I love those.

cnyl wrote:

Mike, what did you pay for it? I love those.

Well I probably paid way too much in some eyes but I fell in love with it when I saw it and had to have it. I paid $700. I figure I can get most of my money back parting it out if it comes to that. I have a gut feeling she will be fine though. I'll be sure and post what I find wrong with it when I get it home this weekend.