It's an addiction...

[LenB]

Ran across a garage find recently. Used, abused, ridden hard and dropped, what was left of a 1983 Kawasaki ZX750A1 (GPZ750)(just pre-Ninja) loomed from a dark corner. My throttle hand twitched as I checked it out - 3-spoke red mags, drilled disks, clip-ons, really good rubber, fork brace (not stock), aftermarket coils, fresher gaskets poking out of all engine mating surfaces, peg setbacks, 4 into 1 header - someone had invested some money into this thing at some point in the past. I swear I could hear, very quietly, "Help me, pleease.." and after some quick negotiation, I gave it a new home and hopefully a new life. Trailered it back to my brother's heated garage and began the task. After installing a new ignition switch, was able to jump-start it and get it sort of running. Misfiring, and peeing gas on the floor, it didn't make any major mechanical noises - so there was hope. These bikes are apparently renown for leaking EVERYTHING - and have earned the reference: "Ebola" bike. Picked up a new AGM battery, filter pods, LED turn signals, round headlight assembly and mounting brackets (fairing is toast). Have NO idea what the seat came off of and am now fabbing up a creative, removable system - unlike the XS, battery accessed only from above. This is in no way going to be a concours resto, especially due to SWMBO imposed budgetary restraints. Soothed the savage beast by explaining that I only paid $200 for this money pit on wheels. After removing 3+ layers of paint, I could see the bondo on the tank - a reminder of someone not keeping the rubber side down. Will be re-painting the header with hi-temp paint - don't have a spray booth - this one will have to wait until much warmer weather. With carb rebuild kits installed and carbs bench-synced, hopefully they'll now hold gas and allow for proper synchronization. Oil pan removal revealed no metallic bits (phew) and pan was properly re-installed to help reduce further leakage. Oh goodie, MORE snow today - good day to be in a heated garage. Just heading over now to work more on mounting the seat and can't wait for the first test-drive - will post progress reports.



Who the heck lives in a Godforsaken climate like this, anyway? Oh, yeah, right. I do.
That's over 2 ft. of snow on the garage - maybe time to get some off?

[2manybikes]

Interesting find. I have a soft spot for old Kaws. My first new street bike was a 78 KZ650SR. Keep us posted on your progress but you can keep the snow, thats insane!