1980 KZ1300 - Hen's Teeth Do Exist
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 8:02 pm
While my 4 cylinder 'Wings were excellent bikes and (for the most part) extremely reliable, there was something missing in my life. Something that only 6 cylinders/1300cc/120 horsepower could fill. So I got me a Kawasaki KZ1300. 
I've been wanting a 6 cylinder bike for a LOONG time. There's just something so ludicrous and unnecessary about having that much engine on two wheels. Looking at my options (CBX- too expensive. Newer 'Wing- not naked enough. Valkyrie- one day. Benelli Sei- Whassat?), I instantly fell in love with the KZ. Bigger than the rest (for the time period), unabashedly square, and that AMAZING teal blue-green color- what's not to like? After much searching (and a '83 GL Aspencade flip), I found one that fit the bill. In Idaho. For THAT whole story, check here:
http://ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=52754
Anyhoo, she finally arrived in my front yard today. Guess we'll start at the top.
THE GOOD:
Holy MOLEY is she clean. Not mint, mind you, but dang near. What I would consider an acceptable patina. There are TINY flaws in the paintwork, and I'm probably going to get it clear-coated (if only to prevent further damage), but other hard to find parts (the airbox sidecovers, actual sidecovers) look amazing. The ONLY flaws I can find on the exhaust pipes (a $1000 item in good shape) is a tiny bit of chrome flaking on one muffler. The header chrome is amazing, and the steel parts in between aren't rusted at all.
THE BAD:
She doesn't run yet. The battery was too dead to really try anything, and while I could've hooked a charger up to it... well, we'll get to that. It's also not 100% yet. There's a few parts I have to get in order to strip off the fairing, and they need cleaned up. It's also got an 80 mph speedometer (1980 special). I've got my eye on a 160 mph speedo on Ebay, but who knows how expensive it's going to end up (they usually go for big money). I also found a bunch of green stuff on the front of the motor, some type of sealer. Not sure why. There's also a small dent in the gas tank, but I can probably take it somewhere to get it popped out. It's not bad at all.
THE UGLY:
Oh my. I'm fairly certain the PO thought he was in electrical engineer. There is electrical tape and wire nuts EVERYWHERE. Just- look at this.
That's THREE wires going into a ground that shouldn't exist. Into a battery that's, if you'll notice, TOO SMALL for the area it's in. There's an extra wire off the positive terminal, and two extra off what I'm pretty sure is the starter solenoid. Also, look closely at the far right fuse. Not only is that COPPER TUBING, but it's SOLDERED IN!!!!! WHYYYYYYY??????
Here's my right controls. You may notice that the wires go... nowhere. Of the two switches on the fairing, the one is for the radio, while the other is my actual stater switch. Which I have to turn off when the motor starts so it stops the starter motor.
That's not even mentioning the THREE POSITION SWITCH DRILLED INTO THE HARD-TO-FIND SIDECOVER that does.... who knows? I HAVE NO IDEA!
In addition to the main wiring harness, there are TWO looms of extra wires going up front from the battery. I'm... still not sure why. I wanted to take the fairing off today, but all of my time was spend removing the bags and cleaning up the wires back there.
This is how far I got today. Hopefully I can get the fairing off in a day or two, and clean out some of this rats nest of... junk. I'd like to get it running too, see how much of a basket case I'm dealing with. Despite that, I'm still stoked. Just OWNING a KZ1300 is, to me, special.
It's gonna need a name. I'm thinking the "Kiwi". It's unique, rare, and completely ridiculous.
(Plus, it is a decent abbreviation for "Kawasaki", so I like it.)
(Crud, almost forgot! BIIIIIIG shout out to terry_208, my middle man out in Idaho. Without his help, there is NO way I would've ever gotten this bike. A real stand-up guy if there ever was one. If there's anybody out near SE Michigan who needs a hand, I'll do my best to pass it on. Thanks again!
I've been wanting a 6 cylinder bike for a LOONG time. There's just something so ludicrous and unnecessary about having that much engine on two wheels. Looking at my options (CBX- too expensive. Newer 'Wing- not naked enough. Valkyrie- one day. Benelli Sei- Whassat?), I instantly fell in love with the KZ. Bigger than the rest (for the time period), unabashedly square, and that AMAZING teal blue-green color- what's not to like? After much searching (and a '83 GL Aspencade flip), I found one that fit the bill. In Idaho. For THAT whole story, check here:
http://ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=52754
Anyhoo, she finally arrived in my front yard today. Guess we'll start at the top.
THE GOOD:
Holy MOLEY is she clean. Not mint, mind you, but dang near. What I would consider an acceptable patina. There are TINY flaws in the paintwork, and I'm probably going to get it clear-coated (if only to prevent further damage), but other hard to find parts (the airbox sidecovers, actual sidecovers) look amazing. The ONLY flaws I can find on the exhaust pipes (a $1000 item in good shape) is a tiny bit of chrome flaking on one muffler. The header chrome is amazing, and the steel parts in between aren't rusted at all.
THE BAD:
She doesn't run yet. The battery was too dead to really try anything, and while I could've hooked a charger up to it... well, we'll get to that. It's also not 100% yet. There's a few parts I have to get in order to strip off the fairing, and they need cleaned up. It's also got an 80 mph speedometer (1980 special). I've got my eye on a 160 mph speedo on Ebay, but who knows how expensive it's going to end up (they usually go for big money). I also found a bunch of green stuff on the front of the motor, some type of sealer. Not sure why. There's also a small dent in the gas tank, but I can probably take it somewhere to get it popped out. It's not bad at all.
THE UGLY:
Oh my. I'm fairly certain the PO thought he was in electrical engineer. There is electrical tape and wire nuts EVERYWHERE. Just- look at this.
That's THREE wires going into a ground that shouldn't exist. Into a battery that's, if you'll notice, TOO SMALL for the area it's in. There's an extra wire off the positive terminal, and two extra off what I'm pretty sure is the starter solenoid. Also, look closely at the far right fuse. Not only is that COPPER TUBING, but it's SOLDERED IN!!!!! WHYYYYYYY??????
Here's my right controls. You may notice that the wires go... nowhere. Of the two switches on the fairing, the one is for the radio, while the other is my actual stater switch. Which I have to turn off when the motor starts so it stops the starter motor.
That's not even mentioning the THREE POSITION SWITCH DRILLED INTO THE HARD-TO-FIND SIDECOVER that does.... who knows? I HAVE NO IDEA!In addition to the main wiring harness, there are TWO looms of extra wires going up front from the battery. I'm... still not sure why. I wanted to take the fairing off today, but all of my time was spend removing the bags and cleaning up the wires back there.
This is how far I got today. Hopefully I can get the fairing off in a day or two, and clean out some of this rats nest of... junk. I'd like to get it running too, see how much of a basket case I'm dealing with. Despite that, I'm still stoked. Just OWNING a KZ1300 is, to me, special.
It's gonna need a name. I'm thinking the "Kiwi". It's unique, rare, and completely ridiculous.
(Plus, it is a decent abbreviation for "Kawasaki", so I like it.)(Crud, almost forgot! BIIIIIIG shout out to terry_208, my middle man out in Idaho. Without his help, there is NO way I would've ever gotten this bike. A real stand-up guy if there ever was one. If there's anybody out near SE Michigan who needs a hand, I'll do my best to pass it on. Thanks again!
