After retiring last winter, I made a deal with a man in town who had two KZ's. I would get his KZ1100 roadworthy and he would give me an '81 KZ1300A3 as payment. The 13 hadn't been operated since 1989 with 5000 miles on the odo, but the 1100 had been run at least run another five years or so since..
I had stuck my neck out since I wound up spending much more money on the 1100 than anticipated, but I got it roadworthy, had fun doing it, and learned a lot. Come early spring, I took delivery of the 13. I took a good chunk of summer off riding, maintaining my other girls, and tuning my son's Ninja, but finally took 'Mad Max' on his first ride three days ago. The 'before pics', which are obvious, is exactly how she looked on delivery into my shop with rear air box off and electrical components hanging out the right side. At least he had the courtesy of draining the carbs before he parked it which is more than I can say of the 1100 which was a mess. The first thing I did was get a bucket of water and sponge and removed some dirt so that I could see what I was doing.
It is stock save the fairing and trunk, though I'm not sure about the seat. Two brake lines were too clogged to clear and had to be replaced. Near as I can tell, the rear tire is stock, the front had been replaced, but both hold air so I'm getting money's worth out of them. All electronics and gauges work except the headlight's low beam barely illuminates.
The cooling system works immaculately. A lot of heat pours onto my legs but at least away from the engine. I suspect the thermostat was stuck the first time I ran it because it got a bit warm, but remained cool since. I have even motored around town in low gear and it stays just in the lower warm range. It cools so well, I had to check all the fan components per the service manual just to verify that it works.
It is an absolute beast, comparable to a Gold Wing in weight and handling, but without the engine sticking annoyingly out the sides. I find it more comfortable than a Gold Wing and I will use it as an LD tourer. The trunk has a backrest and the wife says it's more comfortable than our old Wing (which I scrapped after a year; I hated it).
The carb boots are incredibly pliable as if new. I'll spare my carburation adventures, but have sealed the airboxes behind the carbs with a Permatex non-hardening sealant. I still have low-end matters to fine tune as the throttle still is not snappy, the RPM's hang a little, and doesn't idle well until completely warm, but I have Seafoam in the tank, it runs better the more I use it, and the spark plugs look almost normal as of yesterday. This is an American bike, so the idle screws are covered with plugs and I don't know how to get to them or figured out which are the low-end passages.
I live one mile from an 80 mph Interstate highway, already had it up to 85 or 90, and am looking forward to blowing out the cobwebs more this weekend. Glory to God for helping me with this project. My wife didn't think I could do it.
Here in the American Midwest, there are lots of bikes in barns, you just have to find them.