1980's Kawasaki GT550 restore/rebuild

[SEANP]

I have a Kawasaki GT550 I partly stripped down with the intention of rebuilding it. I do not have the time or space to continue with it but would like to keep bike.
Anyone know where I can take it to get done for me? I am in Auckland.
Went to a place in Newmarket, and he reckons about $15000, could be about $4K more if engine needs rebuild. Does this sound like a fair price?

[jasonu]

I have a Kawasaki GT550 I partly stripped down with the intention of rebuilding it. I do not have the time or space to continue with it but would like to keep bike.
Anyone know where I can take it to get done for me? I am in Auckland.
Went to a place in Newmarket, and he reckons about $15000, could be about $4K more if engine needs rebuild. Does this sound like a fair price?

I'll do it for $12k cash up front just deposit it into my Nigerian bank account and I'll get right on it....


Seriously though you would have to really love that particular model to spend anything more than eight bucks on it. Not classic, not a race rep, collect ability value low at best, not really known for anything special, just a run of the mill bland 80's mid weight.

[AllanB]

Pipe wrap and a brown leather seat. Sorted.

Buy a new bike for $15 k mate.

[HenryDorsetCase]

Pipe wrap and a brown leather seat. Sorted.

Buy a new bike for $15 k mate.

new triumph bonneville, secondhand but near new Ducati Scrambler, all manner of hot sprotsbikes.

I will give OP $1500 for his basket case "it ran when parked" GT550

[JimO]

jf you are Bill Gates and money has no value go for it but spending that sort of money you will never see it again and you can guarantee it that the engine will need rebuilt

[HenryDorsetCase]

So, OP, I am a stupid stupid man. Ask anyone, they'll tell you. Stupid man.

The best value motorcycle I ever bought was a fully restored CB750K2. It came with the receipts for alllllll the things. Allllll the things.

It started with a motor out, complete teardown, replace anything and everything rebuild. Parts and labour $4600. The rest of the parts (no labour, guy did it himself) were another $4500. there were a bunch of receipts from David Silver Spares (new exhaust system $1600 plus lots of thers.)

9100 NOT INCLUDING THE MOTORCYCLE, or registration. or re-vin.

By the way, this was in around 2005 or 6 before the values went through the roof.

How much did I pay for that guy's hard work and dedication and hours of time and blood sweat and tears?

$6500.







Why am I a stupid man? I fucking sold the thing after a couple of years.

One of only two bikes I have ever sold that I regret. Just saying.

[Eddieb]

They were common courier bikes in London in the mid 90's, unchanged from when they first came out in the 80's. The company I worked for used to buy 2 dozen every 2nd year and if the bike was lucky and didn't get stacked it would last 2 years, after which they would have done 160,000 hard city miles and would be rattly as f*&k.

They were actually quite fun to ride, very easy to get the pegs down and with a decent load of deliveries in the box on the back would wheelie everywhere.

[Katman]

They were actually quite fun to ride, very easy to get the pegs down and with a decent load of deliveries in the box on the back would wheelie everywhere.

I used to feel sorry for you guys having to ride around on those furniture movers.

[Voltaire]

When my 500+ quid a week "loadsamoney" electrical contracting job came to a grinding halt in the 1990 recession I scored a job with an Air Conditioning/Heating company relighting boilers, changing belts and pushing reset buttons in the city and West End and they gave me a brand new one of these as I had a bike licence.

Once I got my City and Guilds it was bye bye to bike and into a nice warm Citroen BX.
I used to feel sorry for Couriers in my nice warm car on 8 pounds an hour.Stuck in traffic....not a problem.

OP- I once sunk lots into a Honda SL 125 as it was cheap to buy, don't do it save up get a good one.