Rider: Rick Chalupsky, Antigo, Wisconson.
Age: 60
Occupation: Retail
Rides: 1980 Kawasaki KZ650, 1983 Kawasaki KZ1100 LTD
Rick’s story: “I found this beautiful KZ650 when I was 56
not an issue, so I went on Craigslist hoping to trade for a Kawasaki project bike.
After quite a few attempts I ran into a guy from Green Bay, Wis., (just 75
miles from me) looking for a good-quality digital camera. He was getting
low-balled with offers for his KZ650. He was asking $1,500, so he agreed to
trade with me for my nice-quality Olympus
camera and some old stereo equipment. All I had were pictures of the bike, but
I agreed to the deal. Since I had no way to get the bike home, he offered to
bring it to me in his pickup for $10 gas! Well, he arrived, we made the
exchange, and I ended up with a near-mint 1980 KZ650 with 4,500 original miles
on it! With a clear title! At some point in its sheltered life it must
have fallen over on its right side, because the points cover was scraped. I
replaced it immediately with a NOS cover from eBay for $40. The right turn
signal stem was broken and, get this, my local Kawasaki dealer had a brand new one on the
shelf for $11.50! So now, 3-1/2 years later, I’m sitting on a near-mint KZ.
It’s garaged right now, and I think the mileage is 5,800 miles, so I still need
to break her in a little bit. It’s a trade-off between racking up the miles or
keeping it as a low-mileage original. But I have a 1983 KZ1100 LTD with 20,000
miles that I’ve had longer that lets me decide my riding options. I’ve taken
the KZ1100 on a road trip to Des
Moines, Iowa, more
than 1,000 miles round trip, and the only problem I had was a severe case of
sunburn. I’m still looking for a project bike!” MC