1978 Kawasaki SR650KZ review from United States of America
"Even the Energizer Bunny has to stop sometime"
What things have gone wrong with the motorcycle?
Cracked engine block: Sealed with JB-Weld and got another couple thousand miles out of it.
Signal lights: I kept blowing fuses in the lights, and eventually just started using hand signals.
Regularly fouled the plugs: I always kept a few clean ones in the storage box under the seat.
General comments?
This bike had a lot of hard miles on it when I bought it. I wasn't expecting it to last much longer, and am actually surprised at how much use I got out of it before it wouldn't start any more.
It had plenty of power with its 4 cylinder engine.
The banana style seat wasn't anything you'd call comfortable, but most imports from that time had the same design.
I used this bike for two years in all weather as my only motorized transportation. It finally gave out after about a year of steadily increasing compression problems, made worse by a cracked engine block in its last few months of life.
It was fun to own, even if it did give me lots of headaches. If I could find one just like it in better condition, I would definitely buy again, if I hadn't already moved on to a late model bike, which I only use in nice weather.
| Would you buy another motorcycle from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| Model Year | 1978 |
| First year of ownership | 1996 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 1999 |
| Acceleration marks | 7/10 |
| Roll-on Performance marks | 10/10 |
| Handling marks | 4/10 |
| Braking marks | 7/10 |
| Reliability marks | 1/10 |
| Comfort marks | 5/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | |
| Distance when acquired | 40000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 67000 miles |
| Date of Entry | 16th April, 2006 |