Kawasaki Concours Forum
Riding => It's not a Concours - other Bikes => Topic started by: Awaz on October 14, 2011, 11:00:33 AM
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Is this a good bike for someone 6' and 240 lbs? What about the price? Says it got 18k miles. Says it had a tune up, brakes done, tires replaced. The owner had it for 6 months and says there is no issues.
http://decatur.craigslist.org/mcy/2648682453.html (http://decatur.craigslist.org/mcy/2648682453.html)
Needless to say my nephew tore up the 1978 KZ250 ltd in about couple months. Most of you guys recommended going at least 650cc for him, but I am glad got him started on that little bike because it felt so much safer that he could not get a speed demon in him. I feel now he is more conscious about how to ride defensively in everyday traffic. I sure did not want his mom to come banging at my door !
Anyway, now that the KZ250 is literally tore up (winter project bike now to fix it up for my wife), looking for a bigger bike for him. Our budget is no more than $1200 (unfortunately). There were a few nice bikes in craiglists, but got scarfed up before I can spell 'bike'. Saw this Katana in Decatur, which is about 80 miles from me. I still do not want a bike that he can get too crazy in. But at the same time I want a bike that can haul him without crying and screaming.
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Suzukis Answer to the Honda CBR600F, Kawasaki GPZ600R and Yamaha's FZ600. These three middleweight sports bikes were introduced in 1985/87 Kawasaki were the first followed closely by Honda. Yamaha got caught out and cobbled together the FZ by squeezing the trusty old XJ600 engine into an lightweight rather uncompromising chassis which gave the handling but was a long way off comfort for your average rider (popular with the ladies for it's low seat height and light weight). The CBR and the GPZ pretty much dominated the market in this category managing to combine performance, handling, comfort and reliability into one package. It was the start of the 600 class. But what of Suzuki (after all that's what you want to know) Suzuki also got caught out in this sector and even more so than Yamaha, they just didn't have a bike in the pipeline in 1985 when the first press releases were made for the GPZ (this was the first) so it wan't until 1988 that Suzuki hit the market with their first 600, the 600 katana (or GSX600F over here). As a middleweight contender the Suzuki was all wrong, Honda were already on the second generation of thier class winning (albeit ugly) CBR, Kawasaki had already introduced the GPX600R and work had started on the Awesome ZZR600 which would be launched in 1990. The Katana had Reasonable Handling, Reasonable power, Ok comfort, but was reliable (as with all Suzukis electrics can sometimes bean issue, charging system being the most common complaint, although Coils and plugs tend to be relatively short lived) mechanically though these bikes are bulletproof. I think for someone of 6' and 240lbs there should'nt be too many issues with the Katana, the seat is a little higher than on other 600's of this era, seating position does put a bit of weight on the wrists (only Kawasaki got this part right in making a compact bike comfortable enough for long distance riding) It's a little less cramped than the others though being a little more upright in it's seating. Generally a good alround bike, but it is what it was supposed to be, a budget middleweight sports bike. Expect 45-60 mpg. Uglier than a CBR600F and that takes some doing!
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Thanks for the detail explanation. I am not sure I want a sport bike for him yet. I think he will have to get that on his own dime. I saw this 1986 Suzuki Intruder vs700 in St Louis. Looks like in great shape. Gonna go check it out. Either that, or he will have to save up for a used VStar 1100.
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In that price range, also consider an NT650 Honda if you see one or a CB650. Sometimes a Nighthawk pops up for that price also. Or an XS650.
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Why is half the plastic a different color?
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Well guys, a guy couple miles away from my house was selling a 1985 Honda v65 sabre. Not quite the bike I was wanting to get, but we got it. So, now he has a 120 hp bike....I am hoping he will not get too crazy on it.
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Well guys, a guy couple miles away from my house was selling a 1985 Honda v65 sabre. Not quite the bike I was wanting to get, but we got it. So, now he has a 120 hp bike....I am hoping he will not get too crazy on it.
He's gonna love that V4 powerplant. Good choice.
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Oh yeah - he already does. I have been on him like a broken record not to get crazy on it. But it is putting a grin on his face a mile wide. Need a few things done to it.
1) looks like the throttle cable is sticking when you turn the front end to the left. So need to look through to see if there is any kink or stuck somewhere.
2) Clutch needs a little adjusted. It appears the lever itself has some play in it and may need to be tightened down.
3) The bike pops a bit out of the exhaust and there is a funky smell after it ran for a while. Some guys over at v4musclebike said it could be bad gas or dirty air filter. So, will be checking that out. Might need valves adjusted as well.
Other than that, it runs tip top! Body is in decent shape. Will load some pics as soon as I take em.
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Might be a good idea to look into a top end oiling kit also.
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Oh yeah - he already does. I have been on him like a broken record not to get crazy on it. But it is putting a grin on his face a mile wide. Need a few things done to it.
1) looks like the throttle cable is sticking when you turn the front end to the left. So need to look through to see if there is any kink or stuck somewhere.
2) Clutch needs a little adjusted. It appears the lever itself has some play in it and may need to be tightened down.
3) The bike pops a bit out of the exhaust and there is a funky smell after it ran for a while. Some guys over at v4musclebike said it could be bad gas or dirty air filter. So, will be checking that out. Might need valves adjusted as well.
Other than that, it runs tip top! Body is in decent shape. Will load some pics as soon as I take em.
I would say you made a good choice, I aint fond of them Katanas, aint no real reason why, just didnt do it for me. Death comes just as quick on a 250, just takes a tad longer to get there 8)
I'd run some sea foam through a vacuum line, lots of smoke, but works great to get it directly to the carbs and it will help clean up any caarbon from the topside. Run it till it almost dies and repeat 3 or 4 times. Drain all the old gas, filter, and check the plugs for signs of overly rich or lean. Newer riders can't be reminded enough to ATGATT easier to put on before the crash then during. Sweating is good for the soul, bleeding aint.
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I learned on one of those Can-a-Tunas. Solid bikes and bullet proof!
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Might be a good idea to look into a top end oiling kit also.
Can you shed some light on this? I did notice whole lot of valve ticking when it was first started on a cold day. Had to leave it idling for about 5 - 10 minutes before it returned to normal.
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didn't want to say this, but pre VFR Hondas (1986) were renowned for their Chocolate camshafts.
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http://www.holeshot.com/old/v4/v4_oiler.html
(http://www.holeshot.com/old/v4/v4_oiler.html)
http://www.honda-v4.com/sabmag/v4honda/oilmod-dd.html (http://www.honda-v4.com/sabmag/v4honda/oilmod-dd.html)
Just a couple I found on google.
A V-4 Honda forum will have all the info you need--that's all I got.
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I had an '82 VF750 Sabre (V45). There are lots of oil mods out there and lots of stories about soft cams. There were some definate issues with cam scoring, but I thought they were resolved before '85 (don't quote me here). The links provided above are excellant reading on all things Honda V4, I visited them frequently when I owned my bike. I had no issues with my cams, but did do the simplest of all the oil mods, that being drilling out the banjo bolt that feeds oil to the top end of the cylinder heads. My brother, who owned his '82 V45 from new and was my inspiration for getting mine, had his cams go bad and now (he still owns his) has one of the oil mods that goes on under the oil filter, replaces the oil lines to the heads and delivers higher volume and preassure to the heads. Between my brother and I, we have amassed a few parts for these bikes and many are still around. If you are looking for any parts that are not specific to the V65, I may be able to help.
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I put about 70k on a V65 Sabre. If I could have found one for sale that wasn't a pile, I probably wouldn't be on a connie right now. Man, grab a handful of throttle and hang on! I made it from the south side of Portland to the Seattle airport in 90 minutes once.
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I have an 84 V45 Sabre. This site should be able to help you with any questions that you have.
http://v4hondabbs.com/index.php (http://v4hondabbs.com/index.php)
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I put about 70k on a V65 Sabre. If I could have found one for sale that wasn't a pile, I probably wouldn't be on a connie right now. Man, grab a handful of throttle and hang on! I made it from the south side of Portland to the Seattle airport in 90 minutes once.
Seems like the only 65s I see now that are clean are Magnas. Not the same, I know. :'(
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I have an 84 V45 Sabre. This site should be able to help you with any questions that you have.
http://v4hondabbs.com/index.php (http://v4hondabbs.com/index.php)
Technically, it's not a V45, it's more like a V42.5 ;D The "embargo bikes", those that were 700cc instead of 750cc to get around US embargos on the bigger displacement bikes were labeled "V4". The "45" is cubic inches (approximately), so the 700 bikes were not really V45's. The "V42.5" is kind of a running joke on the V4 forums...
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yeah it should fit, but i think the 600 headers are a little more constrictive in terms of airflow.