buying a Bike that sat 2 years

wiredgeorge wrote:

This one won't be all that inexpensive I fear. It will require some work to return it to serviceable condition

That could very well be true. I just had to do an overhaul on my 750 twin from the rods up (new pistons rings valves etc). Had it bored and had the valves done at a machine shop.

I did every bit of the wrenching and got some very good deals on the parts. Total on parts and machine work ended up costing probably about $900.... if you have to pay a mechanic it would probably tack on another $600+ for labor.

well the guy is pretty stuck on his price...I imagine it will sit around another couple years in his garage.

I will keep looking...not many bikes for sale locally right now...I am sure there will be more as the weather gets better.

Thanks.

I would have to say you did the right thing in passing on this bike. I was watching a similar bike a week or two ago on ebay. It was listed in the parts bike section, seemed to be pretty much all there with a title but non running with around 10 K on the odometer.

The only reason I was mildly interested is because it was close and I had to pass right by on the way to pickup a really nice KZ650 I bought in New York. The opening bid was $350.00 and I never thought it would get a bid so I put it on my watch list figuring I would contact the seller after it did not sell and offer him what I thought it was worth ($100.00).

I had everything worked out in my brain as to why it wasn't worth the kind of money he was asking (I hate to be the one to have to bring someone into reality). In my reality the 750 twins don't seem to fetch much money because they are heavy, not very powerful, have a very weak starter clutch system, vibrate, are hard to find valve shims for, don't have many high performance parts available etc.

I'm also thinking to myself that it costs the same amount of money to replace things like tires, chain and sprockets, fork seals, cables, batteries, grips, seat covers, brake hoses, etc., etc. as it does on a bike that is very desireable.

In the end it didn't matter, much to my surprise the bike got 2 bids and sold for $355.00, in my own way I suppose I was glad because I already have enough projects going and really don't need another one, especially one that is out of the realm of bikes I currently have parts for.

My advice would be to look for either a KZ650 or a KZ750 (4 cylinder), they had one of the longest production runs in Kawasaki history from 1977 to 2003 and they have proven to be bulletproof under all kinds of abuse.

DOH duplicate post.:pinch:

Post edited by: The Gringo, at: 2008/03/05 14:47

I ride mine from Columbus Ohio to Portsmouth Ohio which is 108 miles from my door to my sisters and use a little less then 2 galons of gas I am happy with that since it takes 5 gallons in my car.bountyhunter wrote:

mcompton1973 wrote:

clarification...
He said twin...and I guess that I implied V-twin.

My old KZ was a 4. what was the difference as far as power and riding etc? What kind of MPG can I expect from an old bike like this typically?

My 1979 KZ750 twin has always gotten around 40 mpg city and about 60 mpg highway. If the engine runs OK, yours should be in that ballpark.