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What have I found?
- lcc
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I found a 1978 kz1000 in a garage sitting on one of those Harbor Freight lifts. The bike is supposedly something special. It was built by two brothers to be a hot street/strip bike.
It has a Wiseco big bore kit. Cylinders are Wiseco and say Wiseco on the sides. He says 1080 or 1180? I couldn't find either but I couldn't find any kits listed with cylinders. Vance and Hines allegedly built the engine around 8 years ago...has some special crank, Kelly? cams, 38 mm mikuni flat slide carbs, lots of head work, chrome valve covers, adjustable racing clutch with kevlar plates, dyna coils and box with 9800 rpm chip, blah, blah, blah.
It doesn't run but allegedly only needs the intake to carburetor boots. Carbs are off the bike but are complete.
Tank is clean, but paint is bubbling off in a place or two. Most of the chrome is actually pretty good. It has cast wheels, not spokes, in good shape. It has the dual disc front end with the crazy-drilled rotors. No side covers, naturally.
Owner describes the bike as having ran a 6.30 on it's only pass on the 1/8th about 6 years ago on a slick. He says it won't really "idle" and that it is almost unrideably fast...keep in mind that I'm a 40 year old former roadracer, who just sold a ZX-10 so I'm not new to this kind of talk or what a "fast" bike is.
I can get more specifics on the engine build, but the brother I'm dealing with is a respected drag car builder in my area so he knows at least some of what he's talking about.
I can buy the bike and the lift for, well, almost nothing. But do I want another project? THIS project? Should I get the bike, try some intake boots, loosen up the clutch that I can barely pull, and give it a shot to make a conversation piece out of it? Would anyone want the pieces if it doesn't work out? Will I ever really be able to get any side covers?
Any revelations or suggestions are welcome, like why I can't find anything on this particular kit with Wiseco cylinders...all I find are piston kits.
What would you guys do? Seriously...very cheap....seriously. Oh, owner says if I buy the boots for the carbs that he'll help me get it running before I buy it....
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- jeffasaki
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sounds cool
how much?is cheap?
where is it?
78 Z1R
78 KZ1000
76 KH500 gone
71 HS1B 90
81 GS 1100 gone
80 PE400
02 KLR
Ontario Canada
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- lcc
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I am almost ashamed to say how cheap....$400!!!! Yes, that's WITH the bike lift.
Oh, we're in North Carolina.
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- jeffasaki
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DO IT JUST DO IT!!!
78 Z1R
78 KZ1000
76 KH500 gone
71 HS1B 90
81 GS 1100 gone
80 PE400
02 KLR
Ontario Canada
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- DoubleDub
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See, that's what I'm thinking....on one hand it sounds like trouble but on the other it sounds really cool.
I am almost ashamed to say how cheap....$400!!!! Yes, that's WITH the bike lift.
Oh, we're in North Carolina.
No matter what the parts are you could flip the bike for more than that if you ended up not wanting another project. Just do it.
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- lcc
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- jeffasaki
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78 Z1R
78 KZ1000
76 KH500 gone
71 HS1B 90
81 GS 1100 gone
80 PE400
02 KLR
Ontario Canada
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- P21
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i would walk away from it
just my .02
Kawasaki KZ 1000 Police (2002) P21
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- andy9802gt
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- If it tastes that good, eat it yourself.
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'78 KZ1075 LTD
stage 1 head by Larry Cavanaugh
race built crank by John Pearson
Mikuni rs34's
k410 cams
back cut tranny
8" over D&G swinger
proving once again that age and treachery is better than youth and enthusiasm
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- lcc
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- KZ250LTD
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- CoreyClough
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- GPz550 Addiction
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'85 GPz550(ZX550-A2)
GPz550 Base Manual --> tinyurl.com/ze5b3qo
GPz550 Supplement Manual --> tinyurl.com/h34d2o6
GPz550.com --> www.nwsca.com/scripts/gpz_forum_2005/default.asp
First Race Win GPz550 --> tinyurl.com/o5y3ftp
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