1977 Kawasaki Kz1000a Complete Restoration For Sale

[spyman]

1977 KAWASAKI KZ1000A COMPLETE NUT AND BOLT RESTORATION
Vehicle Description

WOULD YOU LIKE TO OWN A COMPLETE, NUT AND BOLT, TOTAL RESTORATION BIKE??

THIS TIMELESS CLASSIC IS A 1977 KZ1000A REBUILT TO TODAYS STANDARDS.

I am an airline pilot and have always been attracted to fine, quality built machinery. This bike is no exception. Due to a medical issue I cannot fly anymore and am being forced to liquidate some of my most prized possessions.

Two years ago, I contracted Redline Cycles' Jim Goebel to build this bike from the bottom up. I have included some photos of the restoration process. His website is Redline Cycle Service, Inc. - Homepage. It took about 9 months to complete but I have to say that the fit and finish are exceptional. He's the MAN when it comes to this type of bike. His engine work is also stellar!!

This machine has been broken in carefully and I must say that the 34mm Mikuni smooth bore flat slide carbs are dialed in perfectly. This bike is scary fast with acceleration that will "rip your face off".


I will attempt to summarize the features and enhancements:

700 TOTAL MILES

1977 KZ1000A FRAME USED AS A BASE

STEERING HEAD BEARINGS UPGRADED TO TAPERED ROLLER TYPE

REAR SWINGARM BEARINGS SERVICED AS REQUIRED

PROGRESSIVE 12 REAR SHOCKS (1" LOWER THAN STOCK)

FRONT FORK ASSEMBLY REBUILT WITH NEW SEALS AND FORK BOOTS

FRONT FORK LOWER LEGS PROFESSIONALLY POLISHED

HANDLE BARS ARE SUPERBIKE STYLE

CONTROL LEVERS ARE POLISHED

FRONT AND REAR BRAKE CALIPERS REBUILT WITH SBS METALLIC BRAKE PADS

SPROCKETS ARE SUNSTAR TYPE (33 REAR/ 15 FRONT)

NEW RK O-RING CHAIN

METERS PROFESSIONALLY RESTORED WITH CHROME UPPER AND LOWER COVERS

NEW CHROME FENDERS

KAWASAKI LTD SEAT

NEW AGM BATTERY

ALL CHASIS HARDWARE REPLACED OR UPGRADED WHERE FEASIBLE



ENGINE SPECS:

ENGINE DISASSEMBLED, INSPECTED AND REBUILT

1075 CC WISECO PISTON KIT #K-1075-1

WEB CAM 119 GRIND CAMSHAFTS, PROPERLY DEGREED

CRANKSHAFT PINS WELDED

NEW GRADE 8 CRANKSHAFT MAIN BEARING BOLTS

NEW HEAVY DUTY CAMCHAIN WITH NEW CAMCHAIN GUIDES AND ROLLERS

UNDERCUT 2ND GEAR

50-50 CLUTCH. 4 NEW OEM AND 4 NEW BARNETT CLUTCH PLATES

CYLINDER HEAD REBUILT WITH COMPLETE 3 ANGLE VALVE JOB AND NEW VALVE SPRINGS

ENGINE CRANKCASE, CYLINDER, AND CYLINDER HEAD HAVE GLASS BEAD BLASTED FINISH

ENGINE COVERS PROFESSIONALLY POLISHED

KERKER 4-1 HEADER WITH 2.5" COMPETITION BAFFLE

KERKER HEADER COMPLETELY CERAMIC HOT COATED

DYNA S ELECTRONIC IGNITION WITH ACCEL COILS AND YELLOW 8MM PLUG WIRES

CARBS ARE MIKUNI RS34MM FLAT SLIDES, SMOOTH BORES

K+N AIR FILTER PODS

OIL TEMP GUAGE

OIL PRESSURE GUAGE

UPGRADED TO HALOGEN HEADLAMP

2" EXTENDED SWINGARM

METZLER TIRES FRONT AND REAR

BRAIDED LINES

LESTER MAGS (BEAD BLASTED AND POLISHED RIMS)


BUYER PAYS ALL CRATING AND SHIPPING
PAYMENT THROUGH CASHIER'S CHECK
dspy3955@sbcglobal.net

$16000 invested. Make offer. SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY

[spyman]

More photos available on request.

[herk]

That bike should be listed on a Barrett-Jackson-type of Classic Motorcycle Auction somewhere, if there is such a thing. Or some place that can tap into the Japanese market.

[spyman]

Thanks,,,maybe too high end???

[kawpaul]

Are those double wall pipes?

[spyman]

No, just a regular kerker except this one is totally ceramic coated. No bluing

[Jeff.saunders]

The bike looks very nice, but unfortunately it's very unlikely to sell at that price. Jim at Redline does do nice work, but he's VERY expensive.

It's a customized bike rather than restored bike. If it had been restored back to full original it would likely be worth more. If you put it on ebay, I suspect the bidding wouldn't go over $7-8K.

It's not what you put into it that's going to drive the price - it's more what people are willing to pay - and in this down economy, that's not very much. Even very nice all original Z1's are not fetching the dollars they were 18+ months ago. There have been several of those where the biddings stalled at around $8k when normally you'd get $12k or more for the bike.

[spyman]

Thanks for all the good advice......maybe I should just give it away for free....what do you think??

In case you haven't figured it out,,,there are idiots like me who will pay the price.

[NCDave]

Hey, if it's free.............



It's a really sweet ride.

[Jeff.saunders]

Originally Posted by spyman

Thanks for all the good advice......maybe I should just give it away for free....what do you think??

In case you haven't figured it out,,,there are idiots like me who will pay the price.

It's not unusual for people to pay (and pay heavily) for a custom bike personalized to their taste. The issue comes when you try and recoup the money... you only get back a FRACTION of what you spend.

I hope you do get a good price for it. But having owned 40+ Z1's and KZ's over the past 10 years, I can tell you what I think it'll fetch on the open market - and it's not $12k. I have a Z1 that's customized - turbocharged, very very nice - what do I think it'll fetch these days? Probably not even $10k on ebay if I attempted to sell it.

[W-P Bill]

Bummer that you are forced to give up not only your livelihood, but also such a sweet bike.

Hopefully things will turn around for you soon.

[steell]

spyman, Jeff buys and sells Z1's and KZ's ships them all over the world, and he knows the big bucks collectors that buy these bikes.
Being the nice guy he really is, he is just giving you the benefit of his experience.

It's easy to sell the bike for what you have in it, the hard part is finding that person that has exactly the same ideas as to what he wants in a bike that you do. Find the person that wants the exact bike that you built, and that has the money to pay for it, and then the selling part is easy

[elr658]

Originally Posted by spyman

In case you haven't figured it out,,,there are idiots like me who will pay the price.

I can relate to that!

[keith1]

Originally Posted by Jeff.saunders

It's not unusual for people to pay (and pay heavily) for a custom bike personalized to their taste. The issue comes when you try and recoup the money... you only get back a FRACTION of what you spend.

I hope you do get a good price for it. But having owned 40+ Z1's and KZ's over the past 10 years, I can tell you what I think it'll fetch on the open market - and it's not $12k. I have a Z1 that's customized - turbocharged, very very nice - what do I think it'll fetch these days? Probably not even $10k on ebay if I attempted to sell it.

i have to agree with jeff....to get top dollar you have to find a seller looking for exactly the same taste with a fat checkbook....i have the exact same taste and think your bike is one of the nicest i ve seen....my only problem is my checkbook isnt fat enough......thin checkbooks in a crappy economy are gonna be your biggest problem selling......timing is everything.......very nice machine though......good luck.........

[spyman]

Man, its all about timing....the good thing is that I dont have to sell it to survive. I'm thinking that there is a small niche type market for an item like this. I might just keep it!
There are still a lot of large wallets out there. I just sold a custom vintage rear wheel cart on ebay for $5300.....go figure.

[keith1]

Originally Posted by spyman

Man, its all about timing....the good thing is that I dont have to sell it to survive. I'm thinking that there is a small niche type market for an item like this. I might just keep it!
There are still a lot of large wallets out there. I just sold a custom vintage rear wheel cart on ebay for $5300.....go figure.

you are correct...very small niche market and yes there are still big wallets out there.....the big wallets right now are debating ditching the t-bills and jumping back in the market or are back in and watching very carefully what develops....still a lot of uncertainty in the markets and dropping coin on toys
is not high on the list right now........i would ride and enjoy it and wait for the next epic that exploits the economy.....lets see, stocks went bananas
on neg earnings in the late 90's....lets sell a house to folks who have no business owning one ten years after that.....give it another 8 years or so....
you ll capitalize.....just keep the miles down............

[spyman]

I decided to put the bike on ebay. If you guys want to watch the auction go to Kawasaki : KZ1000A:eBay Motors (item 270469808404 end time Oct-25-09 18:00:00 PDT)

[spyman]

I also have a ton more photos on the auction if you'd like to see more

[Jeff.saunders]

You might want to consider international bidders if they contact you first. With the weak dollar these days, some of the potential foreign bidders would see the bike as much cheaper than usual. The Yen is at around 90 to the dollar - down from over 120 about 18 months ago.

Australia and Japan are two you probably want to consider prospective bidders. As to shipping, you can leave that to them. Most of the serious buyers from overseas know how to handle the shipping process.

Out of the last 10 or so nice bikes I've sold, all but one left the USA. Three went to Norway, two to Northern Ireland, one to England, two to Japan and one to France.

[spyman]

I've sold many items international. The added expense and the inability to be able to communicate quickly is a deterent to me. I don't need to sell this bike.