TOPIC:

Ive had this 35 years

trikebldr wrote:

KZQ wrote: Very Nice Bruce!

Sorta like mine:

I took that sissy bar off of mine so I've got the pad yours is missing if you want it. In case you didn't know it that engine is the same as the one in the GPZ1100 except for milder cams. The only issue I have with the bike is that the single position seat pushes me too far forward into the "BuckHorn" handle bars.
I paid $2,475.00 for mine a decade ago so you really scored.
Congratulations
Bill

Bill, you wouldn't possibly have the original grab bar from behind the seat that you would like to sell, would you? Yours looks every bit as pristine as mine. Maybe even more so! Your pipes are cleaner! I also almost bought a 550 version of this bike too, in the same colors and condition. When the weather allows I will be lining up my two ZN's and this new "little" KZ for a family shot!

Hi Bruce,
Sorry Dude! Mine came with that grab bar which I put back on for a much more authentic look. You're right about the black chrome exhaust. The PO kept it in a garage. It came to me with less than 10K on the clock.
Bill

Bill, those are replacement carbs, right? Or did you just strip them?
Years ago I put a set of black chromed Kerker 4-into-1 headers on my GL1000. It took about a year before they were junk in the looks area! Never could keep them polished.
I might have mine black ceramic coated.

charlie9670 wrote: Bet you had one like that too, I used to rattle the shop windows at midnight in Southport on mine..youth grin factor 10

No, but I do remember walking home from school in about '83/'84 & there was a fella that used to ride past on one in exactly the same colour, the exhaust stopped just after the 4 into 1 collector, no silencing whatsoever ...I thought it sounded the dog's danglies at the time lol. I bet his neighbours loved him as we could hear it coming about a minute before it appeared lol. Still reckon they look great

trikebldr wrote: Bill, those are replacement carbs, right? Or did you just strip them?
Years ago I put a set of black chromed Kerker 4-into-1 headers on my GL1000. It took about a year before they were junk in the looks area! Never could keep them polished.
I might have mine black ceramic coated.

Hi Bruce,
When I got the bike the carbs came totally disassembled in a box. I had no idea if everything was there so I sent them off to a carb service to have them refurbished. The cleaning also removed the finish from the carb bodies.

I wasn't aware that the black chrome was so vulnerable. Is that really the case?

Regards
Bill

I've only had one set of black chrome pipes and they sure seemed to be fragile compared to the next set of bright chromed ones on the same bike. Both were Kerker brand, very popular at the time, as I'm sure you know. All the bright chrome took was some Hapich's Semi-Chrome polish to make them look new.

What is the finish on the carbs? The PO of my bike said he simply soaked them in a sonic cleaner with some Seafoam first, then with some Dawn dishwashing solution to get them looking new. I see ads for carb services that show black, polished and even chromed bodies and wonder how much work it must take to get the black applied without getting on the precise fit surfaces and also how much work it takes to get into all the little nooks and crannies to polish them! Let's not even talk about masking for chrome! Sometimes they advertise the two outer carbs as black, but the two inners are natural since they are barely seen! Cheat, cheat, cheat!