Farewell old friend!

After more than 25 years of storage and not being ridden or even started, I sold my 1977 Kawasaki 1000 LTD this week. It has been obvious for some time that I would never ride it again. Hell I couldn't even throw my leg over it anymore to sit in the saddle. And it would require a complete going thru to be safe on the road again... new tires, battery, brakes and master cylinders, chain and seals just to name a few things. The tank was all rusty inside. I could turn the engine over easily enough with the kickstart lever, but it's anyone's guess what the engine internals are like. Still it looked pretty damn good for all the years of storage and I figured someone might make the gamble. I advertised on craigslist and Facebook marketplace and quickly found a buyer for $1750. An Iranian fellow who used to own a KZ1000 and fancied getting another. He brought a trailer and hauled it away.

It's hard to express the deep sadness I felt letting the ole boy go. I built that baby from the ground up more than 40 years ago... full custom race engine, molded frame and custom paint, all the extra chrome work, genuine leather saddle, etc etc. So many happy memories riding it all over L.A. and California in the 80's and bringing him up to Oregon in 90's. So many beautiful girls graced the back of my beautiful blue pony. But giving up my "Endless Summer" and settling down and raising three boys with a loving wife, the last time I registered the ole boy was in 1997 and it has been sleeping ever since. Now maybe a new owner will resurrect it to its former glory and the beast will roar through the streets once more. I asked him to keep me posted.