I'm thinking real hard of picking up a "Classic" Kawasaki 900. I wondering if there are parts available for these old bikes. The one I'm looking at is in fair shape. Thanks in advance. Kid
Salvage yards are usually your best bet. Just check with your local moto salvage outfit and see. If it's a popular bike then chances are they'd probably have a couple in the boneyard.
Wow, I remember when the Kaw 900 first came out. It was the talk of all my friends, with its unbelieveable power and sound. Compared to the bikes of today, its an underpowered, underbraked, undersuspended pile of crap. But hey, it was great in the 70's. Don't mean to rain on your parade man. I understand the want of classic bikes. I still own my 73 Norton Commando. I know its a pile compared to todays bikes.
www.bikebandit.com I and a couple of old bike owning friends have had good experiences with them. Stay away from Old Bike Barn...I've had two orders screwed up from them, YMMV.
I know what they are and crap is not one of them. I owned 2 in the past which were stolen with in 6 mos of each other. No KZ900's for me either. Plenty of power for me and would flat out run day and night your Norton. I suppose you would turn down a 69 Mach I with the 428 super cobra as well. But hey I do understand 30+ years of improvements. Besides this one is so low miles it ain't even really broke in yet. Pipes arn't even rusted.
No question it would outrun my Commando. Its just that our memories of old bikes are usually better then reality. A young guy looking at bikes from the 70's would laugh at the spindly forks, the single piston brake calipers,the 2 valve heads, the ignition points that have to be adjusted, the rear shocks that don't do much more then keep the rear fender off the tire. But the original KZ in root beer color was a fine looking bike. For its day. Buy it and enjoy it.
That's the spitting image (sans the Kerkers) of the KZ a buddy of mine just bought a few months ago...'78 and everything. Great looking and nice riding motorcycle. I'm a vintage Honda fan, myself. Here's my CB750 restification (still in progress): More pics: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v312/scrcteach/honda/
I had an old Z1 900cc 75 vintage with the maroon paint and rootbeer decals...yes they were decals ...not paint guys. It was very fast for the day...even moreso with the Kerker 4 into 1's. The fist thing replaced on that bike though was the awful surfbord of a seat with a nice king/queen. I later added a windsheild to avoid the summer bugs from the Indiana cornfields. They only had a single front disc with real drum brake. So braking at speed was real fun on a rainy day. They were also top heavy so picking one up was a chore. I was sideways with it on wet roads a couple of times added some grey to the old head real fast. I investigated many a two lane country road with that thing. Kaws owned the road back then. The old Z's were reliable. They are still worth owning and restoring. Just take it easy when you ride it. These are 30 year old bikes with mushy suspensions and marginal braking. If you are used to a Kaw Ninja you will have to relearn how to ride an old Z.
I hear you about the bugs in Indiana, but man I always hated the king/queen seat and any kind of windshield, especially any Vetter products. I know they improve comfort, but they really detract from the lines of the bike. The only thing worse is a bike with those white-or any kind-of aftermarket hard saddlebags and top boxes.
The Vetters were fairings. I just used a clear windsheild. It was my attempt to make the bike more liveable on Indy roads. I had a sissy bar with with a backrest integrated with a luggage rack. I could put a blanket roll back there. I never used any sidebags. I see ole fellars on cruisers on cruisers today without windscreens. They all have pot marked faces from all the bugs they hit on Indiana country roads...lol!
Bugs? In the old days I was a bug eaten fool. I rode my 74 Z-1 from FL to AZ summer of 74. June bugs are the worst and hurt the most. The then new 55 MPH speed on the highways sucked.
Will do, as soon as I get off my lazy butt and start working on it again. School's out for summer now, so maybe I'll have some time to complete it.
I was originally looking for a KZ 900 when I started looking but found a 1981 KZ 550 that was in excellent condition with 6700 miles. A few weeks ago in my parking garage at work, another MC rider with his practically new "purple" giant V Twin Japanese bike(I don't know much about these)stopped and commented on my bike and the classic lines and look that was reminescent of the times. These are classic bikes that still turn heads today. They're also somewhat easy to work on. As far as parts, they're out there, you just gotta look. Ebay has quite a bit. Here's a pic:
You must not have a significant other. No way a woman would let you park your bike in the living room. Nice bike.
I'm married. That's actually our walk out basement family room where we spend most of our evenings. We have a pretty small two car garage and a really large truck (Nissan TITAN) that, for the spring and fall necessitates the KZ be parked in the BSMT before it's officially relegated to the unfinished part for the winter. I do like the smell of warm engine in the evening by the way... It's a trade off, buy new furniture for the whole house and you'd be amazed what you can park inside.
