Over the years from the age of 14 I have owned many bikes. My first road legal bike at the age of 16 was the old trusty BSA Bantam when I first started to learn. After this I had a BSA Starfire. For my next bike I built a BSA Rocket Goldstar from parts but alas I have no pictures of this one to show. Then came my first Japanese motorbike, a Suzuki GT550 two stroke which I even rode all the way to the eastern side of France one summer. I rode this for about 3 years and then traded it in for a Honda 750 K7, I kept this one for a couple of years untill it was stolen by some lowlife. To replace it I got another Honda but this time a 750 KZ, This was the last one for some 15 years as it was sold on the birth of my first child to help purchase a larger form of transport.

After these 15 years I dropped lucky at work one day and found that the guy I shared an office with had a Kawasaki Z650 F4 stored in his garage that he had not ridden for 18 years. After a bit of persuasion he sold it me for a very reasonable price and so I began to enjoy the open road once again. The bike had not been touched in all this time and so I arrived with the trailer on the back of my car to collect it. The tyres were flat and it was covered in dust and cobwebs. On the trip home the other cars were giving me lots of leeway as the cloud following me was impressive. On arrival at home I took this photo of it,

The Bike was complete apart from the left hand side panel but had some minor scuffs and scrapes that I dealt with during the first major overhaul and rebuild. As of now I have got it running and have used it for the past few years. I found many parts for it on E-Bay and replaced the missing side panel and the one remaining with a pair of second hand ones but had to have the badges made at work by CNC machine in solid brass which I then painted to match the original. At the moment it looks like this,

Slowly I am finding the bits and pieces neccessary to restore it to the original condition just as it was when it left the shop. The hardest thing is going to be finding an exhaust system for it. I may have to go aftermarket for this but we'll see. One problem has been the mirrors which have a tendancy to fold back at speed but I have just replaced them with a pair from a Kawasaki ER6 I got off a mate.

During all this time I have searched the web for lists of all the parts for this model but with no success. The problem seems to be that all the microfiches available are on Americain sites and none cover the later F models F2 F3 F4.For this reason I obtained an original microfiche and had it scanned. This I am making available to all owners of these great bikes.

Update Nov 2015:- Well slowly but surely (I know 10 years seems very long) I am getting there. There has been a slight shift in target because I prefer the fenders/mudguards in chrome to the painted ones. Many new parts have been added. She now functions very well. The next major task will be the paint work.