Ten days with a 1975 Kawasaki S3 Mach II
(Page 6 of 7)
January/February 2008
Staff
When he got the S3, he fettled with it as well as he could, but even he’s impressed with how it’s running now. "I love its raw power. As much as you can dig, it’ll give. I’ve definitely never tapped the bottom of the throttle," Kurt says. And he likes the fact it’s not perfect. "I like its down and dirty nature. I don’t have to pamper it or clean it after every ride. I mean, it sat in a garage for 30 years."
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On the minus side, he wishes it was a little better suited for road work, and that’s got him thinking about his next bike, maybe a mid-1970s BMW. "I wouldn’t mind something heavier and more stable. I kind of like Beemers, they’re so stable they’re like a couch, and they’re classy. I like the older bikes, the look of the Seventies, the Steve McQueen era," Kurt says.
Whatever he buys, he’ll continue to ride. "I think it’s [riding] the last frontier of fun. I always feel like I’m going to get pulled over just because it’s so much fun." And his parents? They still haven’t gotten over it: "My mother recently said, ‘I wondered if you were ever going to tell me about that motorcycle.’"
Restorer's View
Z1 Enterprises
Marion, N.Y.
(315) 926-5054
www.z1enterprises.com
Thanks to Kawasaki basically abandoning S3 parts support after it went out of production, parts are hard to find.
Because of the parts situation, Z1’s Jeff Saunders says that restoring an S3 can be difficult. "We’ve struggled to find parts for these bikes. There are not a lot of aftermarket parts, so you’re searching out NOS (new-old-stock) parts or used parts — and even some of the simple things aren’t cheap."
That means potential buyers should have their eyes open, Jeff says. "They’re good bikes, the issue is when you get one the cost of rebuilding them is really quite high. If you’ve got crank seals to replace, it’s beyond most people’s capability to pull a crank apart. You can kill $1,000 very quickly, but the bikes haven’t appreciated enough to merit doing it."
Mileage is key: "If it’s got over 24,000 miles on it, it’s time for a rebuild. Look for a nice, low-mileage bike; under 10,000 miles. And look for frame issues. Because they were wheelie machines you get a lot of stress problems where the frame came down too heavy too many times. Look at the gusseting for damage; you can get a twisting of the steering head."
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