'78 Kaw Z1R (not mine)

[FLHGSRay]

It was actually a pretty cool color. It would change under certain lighting. Anything from a bluish green to a bright pink. Again, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. It was the '80s.

[850 Combat]

Those bikes didn't sell in their day. Like the Sportster XLCS and XR1000, they have become collectable only after their time. Is kind of a rule that a collectable vehicle needed to be wanted in its day to be sought after later. Machines that break that rule are interesting. I know a guy who has two of the turbo versions in his kitchen. He is also a GS owner.

[Wester Cooley]

The '78 KZ1000D1 was only one to a dealer at first. The dealership I worked in back then got full nut for it. Later that year more became available to each dealership. We never discounted those very much when we sold them. Now the '80 KZ1000D3's we could not give them away that year.

Whats really funny is the '79/80 KZ1000 MK II's and what they bring in todays market. NOBODY wanted to buy them back then. Our dealership was putting the older rounder fuel tanks on them with custom paint and a Kerker pipe just to move them off the floor. I can't believe what a stock '79/80 MK II brings today.

We got only ONE KZ1000R1 in 1982 and that went for full nut plus plus!!! It was serial number 00031 or so if I remember right. In '83 I remember trading KX 's for KZ1000R2's from little dealerships in boo foo Egypt. Those farmboys never bought much in streetbikes, but they did sell the dirtbikes!!! Those R2's went for good bucks too!!

The Suzuki dealerships by me never had a GS1000S on their floor back then. But they were both poorly run dealerships. I remember when the bank and Suzuki Motors came with a truck and took all the new bikes off the floor.