I think it's about the right time for me to own a jap four again. I've not owned a japanese bike for years, apart from a brief dalliance with an SV1000 that I hated. I was actually thinking about a sports 600, cos I've never owned or ridden one, but then all of a sudden I was being offered two Blackbirds and a Suzuki GSX1100F. I nearly went for the GSX, cos I reckon I could have got it for under a grand, and it's a hell of a bike for that sort of money. But I spoke to the 'bird owner and the price kept collapsing, I got him down to £1200 and couldn't say no then. Better still, the guy's delivering it from Anglesea to Surrey for £120! It's got 12 months mot and tax, new wheel bearings, new chain and sprockets and nearly new tyres. I'll find out what state the rest of the bike's in on Monday...
I also have a secret hankering for an old jap four, has anyone else seen the modded Kwacker Z900 on the front of Practical Sportsbikes magazine, gorgeous!
never mind an old jap 4. im considering throwing the 999 carbon wheels and all in part ex for a brand new gsxr 1000
I have always liked the Z900... Somehow it just looks "right"... I was reading recently that because of the spares availablity for them in the UK ( and the number being imported from Japan and America ) there are now more Z1's and Z900's on the road than there was in the 1980's...
I love them, but even the grey imports are out of my price range these days. I had a ride on a mate's Z1R a few years ago, and it was a lovely. Bit wayward, but great fun all the same.
Good C series Z650 would do me, however I wonder if the reality would be as good as the fantasy, 1970's suspension, electrics and useless brakes, I think the novelty would wear off pretty quickly.
It's here! View attachment 19912 Bit scabby in places, but nowt to be worried about. £1200 well spent I reckon :biggrin:
I wasn't gonna ride it cos my back still hurts. That lasted 20 minutes before I pulled the leathers on and headed for the nearest dual carriageway... Definitely goes a bit It's a bit of a shocker up close, no-one's taken the fairing off in years, and normally it's be straight onto the paddock stands. But another winter ain't gonna hurt it any more, so I'm just gonna ride it til spring and then give it a spruce up. Engine and gearbox good, rear shock and tyres bad, bodywork okay, chassis needs de-barnacling...
We have a mutual friend, me and the seller, and I asked my friend that very question. Turns out the seller had been kicked out by his missus and was living in a camper van, towing the bike around on a trailer everywhere he went. While he was here he did his level best to sell me the trailer, the camper, and everything in the camper. The poor bastard is on his arse financially. Took the bike out for a good run yesterday, and it's not without problems. The clutch will need replacing soon and the choke is seized solid, plenty of oxidisation everywhere - but he was honest about it all, and any problems he's had with it during his 4-year tenure. And hey, I bought it on the strength of a phone call, so I'm taking my chances. If I've bought a shitter I'll hold my hands up and say so. I've bought literally hundreds of bikes and never test-ridden one of them before handing over the cash (apart from the fuglystrada), so I've developed a knack of asking the right questions, and from what I've seen and felt of the bike so far it is exactly as described. First job as always will be to get the fairings off and give it a bloody good clean, and see how much has been bodged. I'm not expecting to see much wrong at all.
