The Bike

Here's what I needed to start with:
-cheap stock bike (I'm not rich)
-at least in running condition (I'm no mechanic)
-something appealing to the eye

Here's what fit the bill:
-older metric (Harleys cost too much)
-single or vertical twin (4's are ugly & v-twins cost too much)

Given these requirements, several metric bikes (mostly from the late '70s and early '80s) were possible such as the Yamaha XS650, Suzuki Savage, Honda CB450, Kawasaki KZ440 and many more.

I hit craigslist every day waiting to get the best possible deal. After a few weeks I had it down to a Suzuki GS450, Kawasaki KZ440 and a Kawasaki KZ750 twin. They were all in the $400 range. The first two were in much better condition, but the KZ750 was larger and had only 9,000 miles according to the owner. Since I was going to tear down the bike and rebuild it, I went ahead with the KZ750 even though it wasn't currently running. The owner said it did run over a year ago, but then had some electrical issues.

Here's she is in all of her glory:

She's in bad shape. Worse than I thought. The previous owners beat the hell out of it and must have dropped it a number of times.

The bad:
-side panels are broke
-both rear turn signal assembly bent & held on with bungee cords
-tank spray painted flat black
-old gas in the tank
-wires are a total mess
-lots of rust
-it doesn't run
-parts just hanging by a wire
-looks like it sat in the elements for a long while
-I'm in way over my head.

The good:
-only $300
-the bad stuff is mostly cosmetic
-the previous owner claimed that it did run ok a year ago
-clean title
-9,000 miles according to odometer
-its big
-I've got time on my hands