1976 KZ650SR-Cycle Guide October 1979

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Montesa 414 MX,
Kawasaki KZ650SR,
Honda CM200 &
Kawasaki Ku25 I
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BEST-HANDL
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SUPERBIKE IN THE WORLD
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MINITES 117.
What e k e is painted Moby Grape all otlel; goes and
stops like the dickens and drives elitists crazy?
When you look a t this KZ650SR, you should underneath any wasonably sized rider without
.see more than metalflake purple paint and strain. And s t e t ~ s ,like all the Kawasaki 650
chrome. You should see Mom, Apple Pie and fours, with little effort. Perhaps the fat, lowthe American Way. You should see John \Vayne profile M'l"30-16 rear tile helps low-speed stacruising Main Street on his chopped, channeled, frenched, decked ant1 extended horse.
KAWASAKI KZ650SR
Because this niotorcycle is about as Yankee a s
Yen-built items ever will ~ e t .
Importer: Kawasakl Motor Coro
2009 East Edrnger Avenue
You should also ignore the geriatric touring
Santa Ana, Callfornla 9271 1
set whose s~vooningswould have you imagine
Category
street
that this bike is some kind of hellish 'I'hreat to
Suggested retall prlce
$2749
the Clean Image of Motorcycling. I,ilteuisr,
Englne type
four-stroke transverse vertrca~four
Valve arrangement
double overhead camshafts
forget the f ~ e ~ ~ z frothin&%
ied
of the elitist clipBore and stroke
62mm x 54mm
on brigade, which would damn the ~r~otorc:ycle Displacement
652.1~~
because it does not pretend to racerhooti. Both
Carburellon
four 24mm Mlkunl sllde!needle
fringe-groups are just flat wrong: T h e
~ , ~ ~ratlo
\ ~ v e
5-speed
5 81 :1
KZri50SH is not a devil-blew of Killer KustomFront fork 'wheel travel
36mm stanchron tube
dlameter!5 1 in (tzgmm)
think, nor a wallowing example of Low-Rider
Rear shocks, wheel travel
rigor mortis, it's simply a very nice motorcycle,
preload14
5-way
o ~nadjustable
(102rnrn)
Wheelbase
56 4 to 58 o ~n (143 to 147cm)
thank you very much.
Seat he~ght
31 o ~n (787mm)
It's nice first because, dammit, it looks light.
Werght
493 Ibs (224kg)
Fuel consumptron
Smaller than a literhike by more than its 49350 mpg (21 3 km11)
pound weight ~vouldhave you think, it slides
SR's--360-degree
exhaust system
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Irregularly spaced disc holes
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Karc~cscckrk ,scl~~c~c~/<j,-Or.n/:o
solrrtion.
46
CYCLE GUIDE
TIRES
I
bility more than the standard bike's 18-incher,
and perhaps the ease with which left-side h a d ware grounds on hard turns makes it a little less
friendly in canyon racing, but still it remains
one of the easiest four-cylinder motorcycles in
the world to enjoy riding. And, it even fits, too:
For my six-foot tastes, the bar/seat/pegs relationship is wonderfully comfortable, something
you can see without too much trouble.
What you can't see, of course, is whether the
engine's any good. You have those weird header
pipes writhing across the front of the engine all
right (Kawasaki claims they give you a boost in
mid-range which our '78 S R dyno test verified),
and in '79 you have the exclusive Kawasaki air
injection system plumbed on top of the head,
hut visually it's just another four. This year's
Zmm increase in carburetor bore size ( u p to 24
from 22) is also undetectable with the eyes,
although you can see the accelerator pump on
the number two carb if you squint.
But the eyes don't have the measure of the
niotor, the butt does. When you use a little
choke (and, finally, a little is all you need
thanks to the air injection and accelerator
pump) and fire the S R up, it sounds great-and
goes better. Even though most riders thought
the bike too low-geared for comfortable highspeed cruising (it takes 5000 rpm to notch a bit
more than 60 mph), the mediuni-speed benefits
of the gearing and breathing are wonderful:
You snap the throttle open and the S R simply
spits forward like a rock from David's slingshot.
(This is especially comforting if you are in
contention with some Goliath hyperbike.) And,
conversely, the S R will idle smoothly along a t
zip mph in awful traffic with no strain, thanks
to a light, progressive clutch and the satisfying
low-end grunt.
There are two ways to tell this bike from its
'78 forebear: the lettering on the tank and the
holes in the brake discs. The lettering is cosmetic only, but the drilled discs are much better
than last years', especially in the wet. In fact,
the feel of the three-disc system is superb; two
fingers on the lever are all the S R rider usually
needs to stop right now.
Previous S R riders also needed thick gloves
and boots because of the bike's VHF vibration.
This year, a smoother engine and rubbermounted footpegs erase the problem, although
if the rider persists in wearing MX boots, the
Kawasaki neutral-finder will eliminate tiresome clunking a t stoplights. (When the bike is
stopped, the lever won't go past neutral.)
Is all this worth $2749? Sure, for two reasons: First, the S R is unique among factory
customs in its styling and its personality, and
second, beyond the cosmetics (if you don't like
Kawasaki's version of Moby Grape, you can
have Persimmon Red) it is a comfortable,
capable road bike. More than that, its displacement can give you 750 performance
without the insurance pricetag. None of those
traits make it a touring bike or a roadracer,
but they do make it the best, most All-American tear-around bike outside Milwaukee. And
-Steve Thompson
maybe inside it, too.
(
4 25V18
$49.88
4 00H18
44.88
3 50H18
39.88
3 50H19
39.88
3 50V19
46.88
M ~ c hTubes
5.79
PZ Also Ava~l
CONTINENTAL K 112
5 10 16
$52.88
4 50-17
51.88
5 10 18
51.88
4 25-18
49.88
4 0 0 18
48.88
3 5 0 18
46.88
3 25-18 Rib Front
36.88
3 50-19 Rib Front
43.88
Add $ 5 lor Tubeless
DUNLOP
K816 K 8 l M K l l
'5 10 18
$44.88
4 2 5 18
41.88
4 10-18
39.88
3 6 0 18
36.88
4 1 0 19
39.88
'4 10-19 MKll
43.88
'5 10 1 6
44.88
'Ratsed Whlte Letters
Ava~l
Add 56.00
K 91 M K l l
5 . 1 0 ~ 1 7. . . . . . . . $55.88
4 . 2 5 ~ 1 8. . . . . . . . . 48.88
5 . 1 0 ~ 1 8. . . . . . . 52.88
4 . 1 0 ~ 1 9 . . . . . . 43.88
(Note, K81 MlKll & K 91 may
be used tubeless or wflube).
Also GOODYEAR. Call for
LOWPr~cesl
IV S289.00.V ndcator SU9.00
plus hdwe (Add $20 to ship
anywhere In 48 states) Vetter
Saddlebags S279.W complete
Free sh~pp~ngAll Vener Opl~ons
and accessortes avatlable
q
4.
!I:
fk""
KERKER EXHAUSTS 4 tnto 1
Hon Kaw Suz Chrome
5159.00.Black $149.00. Also
Kerker 011 Coolers Kerker
Jacket U6.88.
1
ELECTRONIC IGNITIONS
We carry 3 brands DYNA Ill
589.00. PRESTOLITE 564.00.
PER LUX $89.00.Mosl blkes
srrclru 1 rnrr rlnr w ~ t h
purch 2 ESTER WHEELS!
Hon GL 1000 & BMW $359.00
Hon 7501550. Kawa,
Suz . . . . .
$319.00
Rlce per palr. Optlonal Hlghl11ed (pollshed) $38 pr Opl~onal
slzes avall. Llm~ledoffer. Subject to avallab~l~ly
KRYPTONITE LOCK. Defies
hacksaws, boll cutters.
World's finest motorcycle
lock. 537.50
HELMETS
86.99
71.99
49.99
47.99
77.99
Star 1 1
Magnum II
Trtals
Star 120
Replacement Shlelds-Star II
Clear or Smoke. 3 for $7.99
SHOE1
5-20
. . . . ,151.99
S-12
73.99
z-G . . . .
99.99
Heplacement Shtelds
3 for
. . . . $7.99
NAVA..
$76.99
...........
LOCKHART OIL COOLERS
The best Complete k11 Honda,
Kawa , Suz . Y a m . Trl. Harley
567.77. Bypass Valve $28.77.
(Extra capaclty model 700
cooler also avall Add $13 50
O ~ l l o n achrome
l
add $16 501.
!
ALSO: Amco, Bales. HIPo~nl. S&W. Lester &
lust about every other
Top Name ~n Motorcycltng~
2 Gtanl Stores ~n Southern Cal~f. Call lor Low.
LOW prlcesl
1
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FREE CATALOG
FREE SHIPPING
Excluded) Wllh Order-Or Send $2 0 0
PHONE TOLL-FREE
Callf: 800-382-3600 IOther Stales. 800-423-5120
RACECRAFTERS-7801 Canoga Ave.. Canoga Park. CA 91304
Phone. 213-999-2811 - Master Charge1 VISA
11111--1111111111111---11RACECRAFTERS - 7801 Canoga Avsnus., Canoga Park, Ca. 91304 1
; (48 States Only-Falrlngs
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Please Shtp
Name
Address
Clty, State. Zip
VISA
MIC #
M.O. $
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50% deposit on COD.ICaltf res add 6% TX I
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OCTOBER 1979
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