Topic: Mach III 500

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Sean, I’d never ridden a KZ750 before whereas I’ve ridden a couple of Mach III’s, but I am keen on putting the ‘69 together. It’ll be great to sell off all the later 500 stuff, just to make some room in the garage for bikes I want to keep.

[Stev-o]

Well Holy Jesus Terry, priorities man!  What the hell are ya doing mucking about with that horrible 4 stroke 750 twin when you got 500 2 stroke triples!?

Was thinkin' the same thing, Sean!   

It's time to ride mine, will do it this week, but not today as it's raining.

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah, this one is a slow process as I locate the missing parts for the build. ‘69 parts are hard to find whereas later model parts are everywhere, so to build a “mostly original” bike that’s worth the silly money that the ‘69’s are selling for, I need to grab what I can when I can afford it. The top triple tree had to come from England, a speedo from Germany and I was really lucky to find an original seat for “only” 500 bucks. (Reproduction seats go for about $600 from memory)

Later Mach III’s like mine and Steve’s are much more common so finding parts isn’t such a problem. I only want to restore the ‘69 because it’s more interesting to me than the later bikes, which were probably better than the ‘69, but more common. Once I finish it, I’ll sell all the ‘73 and ‘74 parts, I have a couple of guys here in Oz who’d sell their souls to get hold of them.

[MauiK3]

That 69 will turn many heads. Keep photos coming!

[Terry in Australia]

That 69 will turn many heads. Keep photos coming!

Thanks Steve, and you’ve reminded me to take the bike cover off my Z1-B and sort it out so I can get it registered and on the road. I found a set of engine cases within 300 numbers from my frame number so I’m waiting for the to arrive, then I’ll build another stock engine for it in case I ever decide to sell it. Z1-B’s like mine and SteveO’s are going for over $20K USD in Oz now, which is pretty good, as I don’t have that much in mine, but then again your’72 Z1 is probably worth twice as much.

[Stev-o]

Rolled the H1 out the garage yesterday, aired the tires, check the gas, oil and kicked it over.  About 6 kicks later, she roared to life! Bike is running great, had a good ride...

[Kelly E]

That 69 will turn many heads. Keep photos coming!

Thanks Steve, and you’ve reminded me to take the bike cover off my Z1-B and sort it out so I can get it registered and on the road. I found a set of engine cases within 300 numbers from my frame number so I’m waiting for the to arrive, then I’ll build another stock engine for it in case I ever decide to sell it. Z1-B’s like mine and SteveO’s are going for over $20K USD in Oz now, which is pretty good, as I don’t have that much in mine, but then again your’72 Z1 is probably worth twice as much.

I couldn't sell my 77' KZ 1000 LTD, it's become my favorite bike and the other bikes are jealous.

[Terry in Australia]

That 69 will turn many heads. Keep photos coming!

Thanks Steve, and you’ve reminded me to take the bike cover off my Z1-B and sort it out so I can get it registered and on the road. I found a set of engine cases within 300 numbers from my frame number so I’m waiting for the to arrive, then I’ll build another stock engine for it in case I ever decide to sell it. Z1-B’s like mine and SteveO’s are going for over $20K USD in Oz now, which is pretty good, as I don’t have that much in mine, but then again your’72 Z1 is probably worth twice as much.

I couldn't sell my 77' KZ 1000 LTD, it's become my favorite bike and the other bikes are jealous.

They’re a great bike Kelly, I really need to get mine on the road and scare sports bike riders!