Good input Corona850. Thanks for your insight.

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/10058545 Way cool . needs a battery . Still under dealer warranty .

Ah Well , those 800 Kwakersiki V twins look useable . maybe .

However , with a twin disc front end , this'd be my choice . http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/10058453

if your thinking about a Kawasaki cruiser how about a Vulcan. I know a few people with them around here and they rave about them. Mostly about how they can leave a Harley in their wake and even go around corners pretty well. I saw a huge gathering of them in Italy when I was there in June. Must have been hundreds of them. They've got a pretty enthusiastic following. Something to consider and in the U.S. they would probably be pretty cheep.

I have a friend with a Vulcan 1500. She got it used with a set of Vance and Hines pipes on it. It would guzzle gas and every once and a while cut out. I worked on it for her, found out if you read the directions for the pipes you need to add their EFI tuner pack. Found one cheap and installed it for her. Now it runs trouble free and gets 40+ MPG. I rode it around for a while and was impressed with the handeling and eaven more with the power. Plus the seat was uber comfy. I would concider one.

Hmmmmm Just did a quick Ebay search. I didn't realize they came with such a wide variety of engine sizes . Everything from 500cc - 2053cc from what I can see from a quick look. I rode with a friend who had a 1600 and it moved and he was 2 up!

Many sizes and they have been doing them for a while. Quietly popular.

A metric cruiser is probably going to be my next bike. If you just want to go in comfort without any worries or drama they have it covered. They're understessed by design and they probably don't get abused by they kind of people that ride them, so I wouldn't hesitate to get a used one. Just don't get one with Alaska stickers on it.

Amazing! Of 309 Vulcans on that were on Ebarf, only 25 sold. That calculates to 8% sales rate. The same thing seems true for the Police Kawasaki's. Either the economic situation of buyers is dire or the sellers are wanting too much for the bikes.
Now I see why those police bikes do not sell well. Boy, you get a lot of motorcycle for 3k with one of these. Most of the ones that sold were in the 2-3k range and some nice pieces to boot.

Well, I can finally add to this post. I bought one and actually took some pics ! It's a 1993 Kawasaki KZ1000P, with less than 17k miles on it. I paid what I consider to be top dollar, but it runs great, has great tires, and looks to be good condition. And, the seller said his son got over 50 MPG with it on a trip to ride "the dragon" !!! I haven't read of a KZ1000P getting this high ... but then again I've owned what "seemed" like identical Nortons to me; and get anywhere from 35- 55 MPg ! Had the same results with Harley Sportsters as well. Anyway, it was very COLD when I rode it, BUT MAN DOES IT GO ! The sitting and riding position is very comfortable. (more so than my 2006 Electaglide Standard, and it's comfy.) However, the SEAT ... it is THE most comfortable I've ever sat on. It was a blast to ride too !

I'll add to this post when I can ride it some more. Included some pics of it with my Norton as a reference.

Nice! A white elephant.

First time you get it near the superslab on a clear day, just ease up to the entrance ramp in 3rd gear, then hammer it; take a quick look down at your speedo when you hit the end of the blend line!

Nice piece. Good job. I shifted focus to BMW R1150 or 1200 RT-P. Decided they have more technology for the buck. Rode an 1150 the other day but it had 94K miles and had no grunt like the Norton. Smelled fat too. I am patient and am still learning the ins and outs and prices of the bikes be it a Kawi or a BMW. When the right one comes along I will pounce on it. Until then I am enjoying the hunt as it were. I was impressed with the BMW brakes but heh after a wing and a prayer on the Norton who wouldn't.

Congrats!!! I was always interested by one but never made the jump...There are great bikes, be careful with the handling it can be surprising at time (at speed)!
Philippe

Well, I've ridden the bike about 6-7 times now, yesterday for about 25 miles even ! I know, hard to believe riding on December 29th in ... freakin Ohio ! No snow, and it's been in the 40s. Anyway, the bike is fun to ride, very powerful. Handling is not like the Norton, my Triumph, and especially my Buell. I've taken it up to "the ton" and it was stable; but ... at any speed it feels like it kind of, er ... "wanders". Not bad mind you, but not the stabilty and confidence inspiring handling of my other three I mentioned. Doing some research, it "appears" the super expensive but "crappy handling" run flat tires might be the reason. Also read that Pirelli Demon sport tires will make this bike handle MUCH better. So, perhaps I'll try those and see if it helps ??? Comments or input on this are invited

Pirreli Demons would be good for the Commando . Id put Knobblies on the other .

Hitting the backroads , you might want something like the ' super motad ' or whatever they call em now , tyres .
Sort of things youd put on a Triump Adventuer if your into whisting away the time in the boondocks , pike peak , etc . ?

aceaceca wrote:Only want to spend 2-3K, no more. I see the KZ1000 as a lot of bang for the buck. Going to unload the T120RT soon. I just cannot warm up to it like my old friend Norton.

I had a KZ1000 for years, and rode a friends recently and it reminded me of what a great bike they are (made me regret selling mine) - but like most bikes from that era have their own personality. Yes the can gobble up the miles, are pretty much bullet proof, and the police models are pretty cheap. That being said if i was to get something like you describe i think it would be my second or third choice - remember if you buy one of these your going to have to dump another grand or so to get it to a level where your confident it will get you where you want to go with out some time in the back of the tow truck

as mentioned the new bigger 3-4 cylinder triumphs are much better bikes for the $ ( mid-late 90s are about 3K - modern and can gobble up the miles too - i never warmed up to BMW's (always thought of them as geezer-pleasers, but know some folks love them)

in the end its what do you want - another old "classic" that when going down the road you'll have the "whens it going to break" in the back of your mind - or something to ride and forget about