1978 KZ650. Valve Seals

So, my uncle gave me this bike for christmas. other than a little bit of surface rust in the tank from sitting for a very long time, the bike is great.
Today me and my friend were giving it the once over. I was sad to find out the valve seals are leaking, i think. The spark plugs have a bit of oil on them.

Im not sure what to do. Im 19, off to college next september and working part time. I dont have a lot of money. My uncle cant really help me work on the bike so its up to me.

A local moto garage here in Ohio charges $150 and hour. I put in a call to the guy there, an oldtimer answered, and he said he could do
the head, resurface, all this stuff i dont understand, change the seals and all of it for 1500! He said he would use "viton" seals. I guess those are good?  1500 is a lot of money for me. What are my options?

Don't assume too much.  Clean the tank, rebuild the carbs, set points, adjust the valves, all the normal stuff and the bike WILL run.  If it's blowing oil smoke, assess the situation then.  Not now.

Nessism wrote:

Don't assume too much.  Clean the tank, rebuild the carbs, set points, adjust the valves, all the normal stuff and the bike WILL run.  If it's blowing oil smoke, assess the situation then.  Not now.

 

The carbs were rebuilt professionally with OEM parts months ago, when my uncle was going to get the bike going. All the things you said were done. He was going to use this bike until a Honda CBX caught his eye. Today when me and my friend ran the bike, there was oil on two of the plugs. I called my uncle and he said "oh yeah I was going to tell you, the valve seals are shot.

The way I see it you have four choices.  Pay $1,500 to have the seals changed, change them yourself, ride the bike the way it is or sell it.  If you're tight for money you can do the work yourself, but you will need a place to work and some tools.  If you don't have a place to work or tools then you can simply ride the bike the way it is.  Or you can sell it and put the money in the bank for your college fund.

hardrockminer wrote:

The way I see it you have four choices.  Pay $1,500 to have the seals changed, change them yourself, ride the bike the way it is or sell it.  If you're tight for money you can do the work yourself, but you will need a place to work and some tools.  If you don't have a place to work or tools then you can simply ride the bike the way it is.  Or you can sell it and put the money in the bank for your college fund.
 

Yeah. I guess its simple. do the work or pay someone or sell it. Im sure a lot of people would love a bike thats this clean, but my uncle would tell me im ungrateful Im sure. I'll think about it. Thanks for your advice.

Is there a cloud of blue smoke behind you when riding?  If not, just ride until it starts fouling plugs or consuming a lot of oil.

Your post heading states the bike is Z650 but the pic shows a Z750.
Both very different machines. 
The 650 is a four cylinder and the 750 shown is a twin.
Personally i think the shop quote is on the high side if i rightly summise the heading is a typo and it's the twin you have.