1981 Kawasaki KZ1300 for Sale

1981 Kawasaki KZ1300 - Brier, $1,650

“In line six cylinder, 27k mi. Water-cooled, shaft drive. Stock. $1,650.”

Here’s the V-max of the (first) Reagan Administration. Were the Harley guys even makin’ engines this massive? The late 70’s and early 80’s saw some pretty interesting, ‘experimental’ bikes. Honda had their very successful CBX 6 cylinder beast, and all the Japanese makers tried their hand at the Turbo game. 6 cylinder engines disappeared from the motorcycle market for about a decade and (mas produced) turbos have yet to come back. But yep, this is indeed a great rare bike, and it’s priced right. It’s pretty darn fine looking, too, to boot. Definitely not for the noob riders, though. Thing probably weighs 700 pounds. Can you imagine this thing purring underneath you at highway speed? Glorious. And, there’s a good reason big bikes are outfitted with shaft drive over chain. With all that power, you’re not going to snap a shaft.

This big ol’ bike captured my interest, I did a little sleuthing, and found a very good site to the KZ1300 that has a lot of information and reviews. There are some jpegs of the Cycle magazine review from early 1979 (saying, “the biggest KZ is for the most part a functional masterpiece.“) And, a-ha! I was right! It weighs 710 pounds!