Kawasaki KZ650

Tag: Kawasaki KZ650

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The Long Way Home

Posted by Rob Brooks | Dec 16, 2024 | Ride Life | 2 |

This Old Bike And Me

Posted by Rob Brooks | Jun 7, 2024 | Ride Life | 5 |

Legendary Bikes: Kawasaki KZ650

Posted by Rob Brooks | Nov 7, 2022 | Legendary Bikes, Ride Life | 24 |

The Long Way Home

by Rob Brooks | Dec 16, 2024 | Ride Life | 2 |

One mid-December afternoon, the wife sent me on a short “honey-do” run up town for some Christmas gift cards. I of course chose to ride, this time selecting the small Honda SCL500 we still had on loan. The perfect bike for negotiating small town traffic, the little scrambler is also ideal for detours on the way home. Riding back out of town, I veered southeast away from the suburban sprawl and out into open country still dotted by gently rolling hills covered in horse and cattle pastures. I passed a small neighborhood at one point and noticed what appeared to be a father and daughter decorating the front entranceway with lights and wreaths. The little girl turned and waved enthusiastically as I rode by, so I gave her a wave back and a beep on the horn, to which she clapped as I viewed in my left rear mirror. Returning home, Lisa quipped, “That took longer than expected. Have any trouble finding everything?” I replied with a wry grin, “No trouble at all.”

This Old Bike And Me

by Rob Brooks | Jun 7, 2024 | Ride Life | 5 |

I took my old 1978 Kawasaki KZ 650 out for a ride on a recent Sunday afternoon. The skies were clear, a warm gentle breeze was blowing, and I needed some alone time on a motorcycle. It had been a few weeks since I had last ridden the old bike, and it took a little coaxing to get her to fire up and settle into a smooth idle. Opening the petcock, adding some choke, thumbing the starter a couple of times, a little throttle massage until she was warm, then we were off into the rolling countryside south of our north Georgia home.

Legendary Bikes: Kawasaki KZ650

by Rob Brooks | Nov 7, 2022 | Legendary Bikes, Ride Life | 24 |

As we swung our truck and trailer around in the cul-de-sac and parked, I could already see it down Tom’s driveway. Glimmering, almost glowing in the late afternoon sun filtering through the golden leaves of autumn, sat the motorcycle of my youthful dreams- a fully restored 1978 Kawasaki KZ650. Tom, the owner, met me in the driveway and proceeded to share the unique story behind this bike I was about to buy and trailer home. “It looks just like one I owned while I was in college,” Tom told me. “I loved that bike, hated to sell it, and always hoped I’d find another one someday.”