Going to go look at a 78 kz 750 this week. Dude wants $300 for it. Ran until recently the guy said. He said it just needs the carbs going through. We will see. Is there anything I should look out for in particular. Was thinking about snagging it up and getting it running and flipping it. Would make a decent cafe or street bob project maybe. What sayeth the beeb on this subject?
I gave $800 for this nugget last year, finally drug it out and got it running about a month ago. It is a really nice riding old bike. I remember reading the tests on it when it was new and thinking the guys doing the reviews were idiots, turns out they weren't... I had a 82 KZ750 I road for a while, it was a really good motorcycle. You can't go wrong for three hundred bucks.
At one point, I was dumb enough to pass on the chance to by a KZ1000R and I have been kicking myself ever since. To this day, I still want an ELR !!!
KZ 750 pre 1980 was a twin. The 650 was a four and became the 750 in 1980, though they still built some 750 twins up until about 83, and there were some 650's up to 82 I think.
What's one that's running good but in need of a little TLC going for these days for? I don't want to put to much work into it.
The twins aren't all that popular. I've been watching some decent 750-4 models sit on CL for $1700-$2500. Clean, stock, etc twin running good, and not needing anything (ie the forks aren't going to start leaking at the next pot hole, fresh tires, no weather checking on brake lines, etc) might get $800 to $1000 if you find the right oddball. If it were any kind of Honda twin it would easily sell for a lot more even with it needing stuff. For a cool idea of what to do with a 750 twin, check out Wrench Monkees. They punched one out to 900cc.
This sure brings back memories. In early spring of '79 I bought a brand new twin cylinder 1979 Kawasaki KZ-750 for $1,999. The marketing spin at the time was "the last 750 motorcycle for under $2,000". Just to show how times have changed: I went into the dealership at not quite 23 years old and the dealer flips me the key & a loaner helmet and said go try it out. Next up, needed a loan to buy it. I went to our small town community bank here in northern Michigan (fyi, I had moved here from Boston just one year prior to start a new job at a local resort). The local bank manager says "I know where you work so that's a good start do you have any credit references?" so the local restaurant/bar manager let's him know I've paid my tab in full each month for the year. Presto, I have the first loan of my entire life, even before a credit card or anything else and it's for a motorcycle! Repaying that loan built my credit history and led a credit reference for my first mortgage and a slew of good things. Pretty good journey I like to think started by jumping on that KZ-750. Not to mention, gave my future wife-to-be her first motorcycle ride on the back of that KZ. She immediately wanted to learn to ride herself, bought her a 1981 Suzuki GS450 and she's been riding ever since including a good number of years racing. So, that KZ was the best thing I ever bought or the most expensive $1,999 purchase of my life..... Wish I still had it now, good retro project. Sadly, looks like the guy I sold it to may have died. Hmmm, maybe track down the family. Wes
My first bike was a 79 GS750 I bought for $400. I put about $500 into it to get it road worthy. It was a nice bike to learn on, really wish I still had it...with my current mechanical knowledge and fabrication skills I could have turned it into something awesome.
