70's Kawasaki Z650 for a restoration project, any advice about buying one?

bit of a long story but i’m looking for a motorbike project and the latest thing to interest me is a 70s kawasaki z650.

i’ve always been honda and have never even ridden a kawasaki so just wondered if anyone on here knows much about them, and maybe can offer some advice what to look out for when buying one – more than likely a non running project.

They were very popular in their time. Sort of found the sweet spot of weight performance and handling compared to bigger bikes. Not sure I’d go for a non runner. The plain metal bearings in the engine liked regular oil changes, the carbs gum up if left standing for to long. Preferably youd want to hear it running at least. The mudguards rust really quickly as does all the chrome, bolts corrode into the alloy especially engine cases. Watch out for rust in the swinging arms. I’d look for a C2 model, silver, alloy wheels and twin discs up front.

My Dad has one, it’s been buried in the back of his gargae for probably 18 odd years now, it was running when it got parked up.

It’ll be getting rebuilt by us when we finish off a couple of our current projects, got an RD200 and a GP100 to sort first.

When it did run he claimed it was more show than go, and the fuelling was a pain in the arse due to the aftermarket exhaust (they will pretty much all have those now, as the OEM ones rusted away to dust as you watched) But he’s reasonably enthusiastic about getting it back on the road, as he’s mellowed in his old age!

No pics? Come on….

Beautiful bikes. The z650 was always my favourite after seeing quite a few with slight modifications, mainly getting rid of all the ugly rear mudguard bits.

I had its big brother for several years, the Z900.
Stunning bike.
Not pics of mine, but same bar original exhaust…

My 900 was pretty reliable. Loved it. I got it from Classic Bikes but I guess you’re after something needing more work.

Edit; Holy carp! Just looked at the prices of some of those restored Z1’s now. 15k odd. I paid about 2k for mine!

Had a 1979 one – really nice bikes with decent handling – a revelation compared with the larger zeds of the time which were just big.
Look out for – everything they are old now – engine should not rattle – they have plain bearings . Gummed carbs, rusty tanks – perhaps the hardest things to find – air boxes and centre stands , got ditched for K&N`s which were just junk.
I still have a Boyer electronic ignition in a box for one – never fitted.

with the price of classic bikes these days its pretty hard finding something that interests me as a bike to ride but is still affordable both to buy as a project and find bits for, z650 really do tick all the boxes and with a little sensible slight modding away from stock, as in the green one kayak23 posted, i think they look stunning.

finishthat if you want to sell that boyer, and i buy a z650, i would be interested as electronic ignition would be something i’d fit from the outset.

I really really wanted a Z650 to replace my Honda 4/4 but ended up getting a car. Have looked into a restoration project but they’re a popular bikes and go for quite a bit. Brakes can be a pita to repair as calipers are often seized and corroded. They always had a solid reputation.

That green one is a beaut.
May I suggest a GP650-750-1100, Lawson F1 replica?

let me know if you find one , I have a couple of other bits – rebuild kit for slide carbs as well I think.

I had a green one from new.
Nice bike to ride and could be hustled along pretty quickly.
Engine always sounded a bit rattly ,”they are all like that,sir”,and at around 20k miles it started to jump out of 1st.Traded it in for a CB900 that handled better but was a bit bland.

I’d look for a C2 model, silver, alloy wheels and twin discs up front.

I had one of those after my RD400, it was a nice bike, only problem I had was a hairline crack in the kill switch which gave intermittent starting problems..hard to believe that was 37yrs ago!

Bought a £150 basket case many years ago……, used it as a winter bike for a good few years. Best pound for pound bike I’ve ever owned, I remember having trouble finding an air box even then. Mine was a B1, I put a Z1 front end on it, twin discs that just about worked!!!! I also recall the electric start being piss poor, though it always kicked up first time.