13 Feb The Importance of a Motorcycle
’70-80’s Japanese motorcycles are all the rage. They have been for the last 15 years or so. So finding a good one is rare nowadays. Almost 17 years ago I came across a Kawasaki KZ650 “project” bike cheap.
It came as 2 frames, one 70% complete, and three boxes of bits. Two years later I had a running KZ650. It was full of quirks as the previous owner(s) had butchered the wire harness to make it a “Race” bike. I enjoyed it for a few years then moved on.
Some bikes are “Classics” in the true sense. Others just because that is the only example left over from a specific design/era. If you read enough about bikes you will find out which ones are considered the best.
The reasons are many; First of it’s kind, Timeless design or Best of the bunch.
The most notable models are the Honda CB750/4 (’69-’76), Kawasaki KZ900-1000 and Z1-R (the KZ body style is one of the most popular and came in many sizes), Kawasaki GPz900 Ninja (a landmark performance design), Honda VFR750/v4 and Suzuki XN-85 Turbo.
What makes these bikes so valuable? They are getting harder and harder to find in original or near original shape. There was a time when so called “customizing” meant butchering the original to make something totally different. So when a bike appears that is near to its factory shape it has real value. The hard part is distinguishing a classic from just another motorcycle. Not all are what the are made out to be.
Andii,
behind the counter