1973 Kawasaki MT1 For Sale On Craigslist (Allentown, PA)

Gatecrasher

Well-Known Member
#3
If it wasn't $1500 I would be all over it :doah:
I don't know how familiar you are with Craigslist but rarely do things like this sell for the asking price. Most of the stuff is negotiable. As a seller, it's pretty foolish to ask a lowball price right off the bat.

This seller might not budge (I don't know who it is) but I for one never assume anything without finding out for myself. ;)

I'd probably give $1,000 for it though if I was in the market. It's a survivor.

You couldn't touch my 1973 MT1 for less than $2500.
 
#4
I'd probably give $1,000 for it though if I was in the market. It's a survivor.

You couldn't touch my 1973 MT1 for less than $2500.
Oh I know how it all works, and I'm not saying its not worth that kind of money :thumbsup: I'm just not paying $1500 for a mini bike up front, not to say I haven't spent that much to redo one of mine, just not all at one time :thumbsup:
 

Gatecrasher

Well-Known Member
#6
I know of an orange one here locally that runs good but looks bad that could probably be had for about 1/3 of that.
I would imagine so. Junkers are worth less than nice ones.

It's hard to find a complete MT1/KV75 in decent shape. Parts are very expensive for them too if you are restoring one.

A lot of people part them out because a used carb alone sells for $100 easily. A decent gas tank is another $100 as well as a nice seat.

The used air cleaner usually sells for close to $100.

I'm currently restoring a concours level 1971 "Parnelli Jones" MT1 and will have at least $3,000 into that one when done (probably more).

I have "riders" too and granted you can do them for less. I like these bikes because I had one as a kid in the 70s.
 
#7
Most of the Japanese bikes of this ilk are going for crazy money, but somebody must be paying these prices for them to be listed like this. Nostalgia is worth a lot these days. Look how much guys are investing in restoring the mini bikes we had as kids. I'm one of them.
 
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1971_MB1A

Well-Known Member
#8
I've had several of the mt's/kv's through the years and have always pre-mixed vs oil injection which seems to have helped prevent any major engine problems.
 

capguncowboy

Well-Known Member
#9
I've had several of the mt's/kv's through the years and have always pre-mixed vs oil injection which seems to have helped prevent any major engine problems.
it does seem like an obvious potential failure point. If a line gets clogged, or the pump fails... I'd prefer to premix it as well.
 

Gatecrasher

Well-Known Member
#10
Most of the Japanese bikes of this ilk are going for crazy money, but somebody must be paying these prices for them to be listed like this. Nostalgia is worth a lot these days. Look how much guys are investing in restoring the mini bikes we had as kids. I'm one of them.
You're right. Look at the Honda z50s. They go for even more than the KV75s - especially the 1972-1978 models which are worth the most.

As a kid I always preferred the MT1 to the z50 though because it was a 2-stroke and was a lot faster. The Kawasaki would blow the Honda away with ease but the Hondas handled better. It was pretty-much the same for all the Kawasakis back then. They were the fastest in a drag race but lagged behind Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki in the suspension dept.
 

1971_MB1A

Well-Known Member
#11
In the early to mid 70's flat track racing was very popular in my area and the kawasaki "green streaks" seemed to do very well in their class.
 
#12
it does seem like an obvious potential failure point. If a line gets clogged, or the pump fails... I'd prefer to premix it as well.
unless you are running dirt in your 2 stroke oil, no reason to get clogged. pumps also rarely fail... its a common misconception that they "go bad" but they often were ran OUT of oil, and then have to be PRIMED which people didnt do, run it dry then unprimed then POP... then blame it on the oil injection that was not at fault

also have to make sure that the 2 stroke doesnt inject oil directly to the crank bearing- some of the older 2 stroke bikes with oil injection and now lots of the chinese scooter engine ATVs work this way, and carb oiling is not lubricating the crank bearing at all, and will eventually toast the engine no matter what mix of fuel oil you put in the tank


i have double and triple checked the engine cutaways for the kv75 (i have one) and its fine you can run premix. mine has a big metal plate that says AMSOIL 100:1 PREMIX FUEL ONLY and the oil tank has been replaced with a fiberglass cover and a battery box! havent seen another like it yet...
 

Gatecrasher

Well-Known Member
#14
I always keep the oil injection intact. Never had a failure. Even back in the days when these were new.

One thing I do make sure of though when I buy an old bike is to thoroughly clean the tank and everything out and replace the line from the tank to the oil pump. After sitting for 40 years the oil injection system can have some crud in it.

Then when I fire the engine for the first time I pre-mix a partial tank of fuel and get it up and running to prime the cleaned-out oil injection and to make sure it is working properly. After that, I no longer pre-mix the fuel because the oil injection is very reliable.
 
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