Not a xj. KZ brought back from the brink

I picked me up a 1980 LTD 1000 in december for 100 bucks. It was in ruff shape.




After spending every weekend working on it I had good weather saturday and painted the tank and side covers. I have cleaned evert nut and bolt on this old bike. I think it came out pretty good The tail is not painted becouse I ran out of reducer

 

Wish you would have posted pics of the transformation, that is an incredible change from pic #1 to pic #2.
How long did it take?
Way to go!

 

It took 3 months heres a link to some more pics
http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t212 ... 20restore/
or you can see here from the beggining
http://kzrider.com/index.php?option=com ... &id=412446

 

Good job! Proving that it's not just XJs that can be brought back from the dead; the methods are the same, the challenges vary slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer...

I always liked the "DA" tail, but then again I'm a 550 Seca guy...

One thing that always drove me nuts about the Kawis though: hanging the bloody turn signals on the handlbar! Makes things a bit crowded if you swap to lower/narrower bars.

Nice bike.

 

The bars are a little crowded. When it come to these old bikes fleabay is your friend and forum with peeps with first hand experance. Having a couple of motorcycle wrecking yards around dont hurt either

 

What a brilliant resto, you should be proud of that, great work, I doubt this your first project.
How does she run?

 

For what looks like a "backyard build" that's pretty F'n impressive! What's your background in, putting a dead bike in a cave and three days later riding out an a new looking bike? 8O

 

I'm a surveyor by trade and do this for a hobby. I've restored a few bikes but this is the first one that I went to this depth. In the earley 80s I had a Z1 and allways wanted another one but Z1's are hard to come by and cost much more. It was all done outside in the driveway so it does have some flaws but most no one will never see unless I point them out. It runs like a top for a bike that hasnt seen the road in 25 years. 25000 miles

 

Good looking rebuild. I am impressed. You will enjoy riding it for many years to come.

 

With the way that bike was finished, in the driveway no less. I'd have to say that you have moved beyond "Hobby" status.
That's some nice work, congrats!

 

texasfisher.. you did a great job, betchya smilin' every ride, or just lookin' at it.

 

sure is sweet, it probably gets up and goes to!