1980 Kawasaki kz650 worth it?

S

ShinerWhinner

New Member
Hey guys quick question for y'all. My boss at work came to me the other day and said her dad is selling his 1980 Kawasaki kz650 but it has been sitting in the garage for 10 Years and he is asking 600 dollars for it. I am going to the office today to see some pics of it and will try to bring some back to post. So is this a no deal situation or a steal?
 
I picked mine up for $300 BUT I had to buy quite a few things for it, including the carbs. Did he say WHY it had been sitting so long? Any engine issues etc?
 
Depends... If its been sitting for a decade, itll need a lot of work. Those bikes have nearly no aftermarket in comparison to others, and Im sure hard parts are hard to come by. $600 around here is at the high end for a vintage bike thats not running and needs a ton of work. If its really clean, and low miles, offer him $400 and see what he says.
Its also not the easiest bike to "cafe" if thats your plan. It can be done, but has odd lines, so it takes some real creative solutions.
If he takes $400, get it running, clean it up, and resell it for a healthy profit.

(I may be biased in my answer though, as I really dislike Kawasakis for the most part... Hahaha)
 
I agree with Von as I usually do. Their aftermarket is not the greatest. Around here, max I've seen them go for is near $1000 but if you snag the bike for 600...expect to put new tires, maybe some carb stuff, points (these had them up until 82 I think?) batteries, oil change (I'd do 2 of them within a few hundred miles to get all that old gunk out...but thats me ::) ) As well as I happen to get into the habit of checking the valve clearances right away too. If you can get him down to 400 I would think it's a good snag. And if you do...there's a few others doing some cafe 650's so you have some friends on here for help. Here's a few pics of my girlfriends 650. Ugly to ok looking!
 

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Sorry B, but the bad ones outweigh the good ones... Just my opinion though. Im a pretty diehard Honda guy myself... :)
 
The 650 was in many ways the nicest of the early Kawasaki 4s. handled well, reliable and fast enough for normal road use.

If it's nice and all it needs is tires, it would be a much cheaper deal than a POS at 400 that needs a whole lot more. If he's in no rush to get rid of it, go over and take a good look. Pull on all the levers, makes sure it's complete and the motor turns over.= (put it in gear and turn teh rear wheel for that)
 
Just do it... See if he'll take $450...
But if its all complete and the engine isn't siezed Id do it even for $600!!..
 
If it's a 'standard' and not a Ltd. it's a deal.
Hell of a good motor, 720 kit and it's FAST
I don't like Kawasaki's but the 650 roadster is a nice looking reliable bike, actually way better than the contemporary Honda's.
 
The price depends a lot on where you are located. Around here $600 is a good deal for a bike like that. Also, they are great bikes, very reliable and very nice engines. Easy to work on too. I never had any issues at all with getting any parts for mine.


Although, I'm biased like Von but in the opposite way, I love Kawi's ;D
 
wait a sec... didnt VonYinzer say in a thread somewhere that only girls or girly men ride Kawasakis' ??... something to the effect: "if you ride a kawasaki, you may as well be a skin tight jean and an Afghan scarf wearin girly-man hipster... or a chick"..

(duck!!... incoming!!!.. LOL!!!)


:)
 
locO leoN said:
wait a sec... didnt VonYinzer say in a thread somewhere that only girls or girly men ride Kawasakis' ??... something to the effect: "if you ride a kawasaki, you may as well be a skin tight jean and an Afghan scarf wearin girly-man hipster... or a chick"..

(duck!!... incoming!!!.. LOL!!!)


:)
Click to expand...


Dems fighting words. Watch out Von, come spring I'm riding down to kick your ass ;D ;D
 
Kawasakis are girls bikes coming from a dude who loves Hondas?? ::)

The KZ650 was the best mid sized bike around at that time. As long as it's not an LTD or a CSR it's worth the money ;)
 
Lots of parts interchange with the bigger fours.
Great engine and chassis and all parts are available.
I'll put my Kaws up against any simular size and vintage bike out there. 8)
 
Paid 6 hundo for my B2A and I'm good with it. Like Herr said, depends on where you're located....round here, vintage bikes are scarce. You can find rusty Hondas but if you desire something a little different you're SOL.

Did I miss the pictures?
 
Smitty, I think Saki was referring to the pictures I posted up of the bike I cleaned up for my girlfriend. No pictures of the actual bike yet.
 
MotorbikeBruno said:
Smitty, I think Saki was referring to the pictures I posted up of the bike I cleaned up for my girlfriend. No pictures of the actual bike yet.
Click to expand...

Ahhh, I see.
 
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