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Am I crazy -- can you talk me out of this?
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offroadfx4 Offline
High Mileage

Indiana
Posts: 1,113
Joined: Apr 2014
Post: #21
RE: Am I crazy -- can you talk me out of this?
I went through the same dilemma in 2014.... I decided I'd rather ride one than work on one so now I own the 2014 :-) I haven't regretted it for a second.

2018 BMW K1600GT
2014 Honda CB1100 STD
1984 Kawasaki GPZ750
1978 Yamaha YZ125
1976 Honda CB750 (cost $1776 new)
1973 Honda CB350
1970 Honda 50 Mini Trail
10-27-2017 05:37 PM
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SCCBrider Offline
Running Like a Top

South Carolina
Posts: 316
Joined: Jan 2014
Post: #22
RE: Am I crazy -- can you talk me out of this?
(10-25-2017 08:07 AM)postoak Wrote:  I'm getting rid of the Valk in about a month and am very seriously considering acquiring an old Kawasaki KZ900 or KZ1000. These bikes (along with the early CB750s) touch some sort of aesthetic sweet spot for me and I like the way these old bikes rev more than today's modern bikes. That said, I'm just going by what people say -- I've never even sat on one of them.

These bikes aren't cheap -- especially if fully restored -- and I like to ride my bikes not have them down for extended periods for repairs. Also, I'd have to buy and have shipped to me. Those are the downsides.

KZ1000 being ridden:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0G9SkFaoy4

Have you seen the 2018, Z900 by Kawi? Wow, really nice looking retro.
10-27-2017 05:40 PM
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postoak Offline
Running Like a Top

The Woodlands, Texas
Posts: 451
Joined: Mar 2014
Post: #23
RE: Am I crazy -- can you talk me out of this?
(10-27-2017 05:40 PM)SCCBrider Wrote:  
(10-25-2017 08:07 AM)postoak Wrote:  I'm getting rid of the Valk in about a month and am very seriously considering acquiring an old Kawasaki KZ900 or KZ1000. These bikes (along with the early CB750s) touch some sort of aesthetic sweet spot for me and I like the way these old bikes rev more than today's modern bikes. That said, I'm just going by what people say -- I've never even sat on one of them.

These bikes aren't cheap -- especially if fully restored -- and I like to ride my bikes not have them down for extended periods for repairs. Also, I'd have to buy and have shipped to me. Those are the downsides.

KZ1000 being ridden:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0G9SkFaoy4

Have you seen the 2018, Z900 by Kawi? Wow, really nice looking retro.

I think you must mean the Z900RS but it will probably take 3 months to get in dealer showrooms and then the dealers will want full retail plus all their fees.

I can buy a KZ900 and if I don't like it it will be easy to get rid of -- the market seems pretty active for these --more so than the CB1100 and the Valkyrie.

I thank everyone for the counsel. I am proceeding and have contacted someone about a partial restore. If I don't acquire one of these then I will always wonder "what if".

2014 Yamaha FJR1300A
Candy Red
(This post was last modified: 10-27-2017 06:19 PM by postoak.)
10-27-2017 06:05 PM
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rotor Offline
Running Like a Top

Western Canada
Posts: 342
Joined: Apr 2015
Post: #24
Where is this "caring professional"?
(10-25-2017 09:11 AM)The ferret Wrote:  ...unless it was totally gone thru by a caring professional, you get 40 year old technology...:
İmage

Are you really saying there is a caring professional that will make the motorcycle, my wife and me to look and operate like the three items depicted? I'm impressed! Where do I find him?
(This post was last modified: 10-29-2017 01:44 AM by rotor.)
10-29-2017 01:16 AM
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postoak Offline
Running Like a Top

The Woodlands, Texas
Posts: 451
Joined: Mar 2014
Post: #25
RE: Am I crazy -- can you talk me out of this?
LOL, I wish it was possible to roll 40 years off of US like it is on a motorcycle. Smile

2014 Yamaha FJR1300A
Candy Red
10-29-2017 05:43 AM
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The ferret Offline
Forum Moderator

Ohio
Posts: 31,282
Joined: Apr 2013
Post: #26
RE: Am I crazy -- can you talk me out of this?
Isn't that the truth

.
Defender of the Realm
2014 DLX (the pleasure horse)
2021 NC750X DCT (Angry Bird)
10-29-2017 06:41 AM
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nhawk7504 Offline
Running Like a Top

Boston
Posts: 608
Joined: Sep 2013
Post: #27
RE: Am I crazy -- can you talk me out of this?
Z900RS. Old is old. I like old bikes. But the technology, meh. Wooden brakes. Vibration thru the rev range. Carbs that need rubber parts which ethanol kills. Old school control cables that sometimes worked and sometimes didn't the way they were supposed to. Leaky tanks and petcocks. I'm talking original here. My Dad was an aeronautical engineer. I like old anything but my 96 VFR 750 showed me how new technology really could work amazingly well. I sat on the new CB11 yesterday. What a beautiful machine in person.
10-29-2017 08:55 AM
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use2b Offline
High Mileage

Perdido Key Florida
Posts: 1,040
Joined: Aug 2016
Post: #28
RE: Am I crazy -- can you talk me out of this?
guess i have been lucky with my old bikes. did have the starter go out on the 750 and could have had it rebuilt locally but got one for $20 including shipping off Ebay . I run non ethanol fuel which is plentiful here because of all the boats and water so I get a full 10+ years on carb rebuilds .
I do think all parts for the Honda will be easier to find and cheaper than other old bikes. JMO I do like new technology but life before fuel pumps was not all that bad. all my rubber parts are still fine on both old Hondas including the seats , most cables are original but i have ridden a bike home before with broken clutch cable , not that bad with rpm control and push off before 1st gear. When I see someone on an old I wish it was mine unlike most people because i enjoy tinkering . always the Odd man out .... but enjoy life more that way.

really good pic from the old days Ferret , i was once that thin ................ notice how much that Kaw engine looks like a CB1100 !!!!

The best part about growing up in Florida is i didn't have to move here when i got old.
former owner of the baddest 2013 CB1100 ever ;] now a plush ride -2014 Goldwing Valkyrie GL1800C
(This post was last modified: 10-29-2017 09:48 AM by use2b.)
10-29-2017 09:45 AM
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suhawk305 Offline
High Mileage

Orange County, NY
Posts: 1,098
Joined: Nov 2016
Post: #29
RE: Am I crazy -- can you talk me out of this?
Until I purchased my CB1100, my motorcycle ownership and riding experience consisted of small Hondas since 1966. Like my friend cooldrum, we have keep our beloved 305cc Hondas (my a CB77 and cooldrum a CL77) for decades. I believe I can say the same for use2b with his CB160.

That said, keeping up with an vintage motorcycle does demand time and money. My CB77 has never been out of commission for all of these years. She had over 36k miles on its original speedometer/tachometer unit odometer when it broke. The replacement unit reads 2.5k miles. The CB77 engine has never been apart. Other parts have been replaced or need to be replaced. Each year, I attempt to do a project on the CB77. My recent attempts to work on the CB77 are waning. It is easier to jump on the CB1100 and go on a ride versus working on, or even riding the CB77. This winter, I will commit to a new clutch and new fork seals so it is not so painful to ride!

My experience is if you want a vintage motorcycle included in your stable, go for it. Just consider all the advise offed in this thread when dealing with old technology. And heed to use2b's advice using non-ethanol fuel (aka E0, pure gas) in old motorcycles. I learned the hard way when I discovered ethanol destroyed my carburetor seals! (Carbs were cleaned and rebuild last winter.)

I still love to look at, talk about, and show off my "unrestored" 1967 CB77. We have a lot of history together.

İmage

2014 Honda CB1100 Standard
1967 Honda CB77 Superhawk
You don’t stop riding when you get old, you get old when you stop riding.
10-29-2017 04:58 PM
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Doc1961 Offline
Break-In Period

St. Joseph MO
Posts: 39
Joined: Jan 2017
Post: #30
RE: Am I crazy -- can you talk me out of this?
Memories and reality tend to run different directions. There are some bikes I would like to have back but not sure if I could live with them now. My only exception would be my CT70K4. That I would take back. But since you don't have the memories of previous experience, not sure there would be disappointment or at least as much as there would be for someone who has owned it before and their memory faded with time. And it would be much easier to own a classic if you had another more modern bike to ride also.
10-30-2017 07:27 PM
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