We don’t know the story of this collection of Kawasakis from the 1980s and 1990s, but they’re mostly inline-six Voyager touring bikes with a few other models thrown in the mix. The seller has them listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Rockwall, Texas and they’re asking $8,000 for the whole collection, and you have to take all of 25 of them. Here is the original listing, and thanks to BCB42 for the tip!
I hoard or collect a few things, motorcycles being one of them. Although, not to this extent. Vintage postcards, vintage matchbook covers, lighted signs, and a few years ago, vintage Japanese cars and cars, in general. Without a big pole building like this, it was too much to pay for storage units so I sold almost everything but my motorcycles. I shudder to think if I had a storage building like this, it would be just this full I bet, maybe not with Kawasaki touring bikes, but with something.
The seller mentions that most of the bikes are Kawasaki Voyagers, which started out in 1978 as the Z1300, a DOHC water-cooled inline-six with shaft drive and 130 horsepower! It was a very nice touring bike, although you could get them “naked”, too. The model evolved over the decades, from the Z1300 to the KZ1300, ZG1300, and ZN1300. By 1989, they were discontinued. In 2009, Kawasaki came out with its first V-Twin touring bike, the Vulcan 1700 Voyager and they’re still made today. At 900 pounds, it’s a beast but is said to be a nice road bike. The new Vulcan 1700 Voyager is $20,000 so here’s a chance to get a bunch of vintage models for less than half the price of a new one.
The Voyager XII came out in 1986 and I believe the photo above is that model. It had a 1,196cc inline-four engine and is said to have been a much better-handling motorcycle. At 700 pounds, the original six-cylinder Voyager can be hard to handle, much like a Gold Wing, Harley-Davidson, or any other big touring bike. We don’t know the operating condition of any of these motorcycles other than the seller saying they have been sitting for 25 years, which is rarely a good thing. A fun fact is that starting in 1988, the Voyager XII was made in Lincoln, Nebraska rather than in Japan. They were made until 2003. The drawback is that they had a carburetor rather than EFI as the original Voyager had, and a five-speed transmission rather than a six-speed.
They mention there’s at least one enduro bike and a couple of sport bikes, like the Kawasaki Ninja as seen above. It’s a variety of two-wheelers but it mostly consists of the big Voyager touring motorcycles, along with who knows how many parts and pieces shown on the shelves. At an average price of $320 each, would any of you take on this collection to either sell them individually, part them out, or get a few of them back on the road again? It’s an $8,000 gamble but it could be a great deal if a few of them are in good condition.
🇯🇵 🇺🇸 Let the Good Times roll
You meet the nicest people on a Honda.
While I don’t see the only Kaw I’d want, a Z-1, KZ 1000, or a LTD, someone sure had a hankerin’ for these. I bet some were probably free. A guy down the block has one sitting outside, hasn’t moved in 7 years, I think they are incredible cruisers, highly under rated. 6 in a row, makes ‘er go, and just the most powerful of motorcycle motors. The CBX, the Voyagers nemesis, proved that. I think these could pull a small Airstream, it’s a BIG bike. Sadly, I see very little interest in any of this stuff, I never heard of a Voyager collector until just now. With the lack of NOS parts available, a collection is probably the only way to enjoy them. Got to be a good lighting coil in there somewhere.
Still hunting for my first bike, 1982 GPZ 550. What a fun ride, sold like all my toys to pay for kids and a mortgage. Classic Kawasakis can be expensive, and parts hard to source. But unlike todays anti lock, traction control, auto shifter bikes they took more skill to learn.
Keep myself happy these days riding on dirt state forest roads on a 2007 KLX 250. Kawasaki bikes last and are dependable.
Best Harley commercial ever- “Grandpa, you rode a Harley?” “No, I spent the money on aluminum siding instead.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP5q_zaQPzg
A word about the 1300, I had a 1980 KZ1300A, which I added a black Vetter fairing and bags. It was a tall and heavy bike but it could eat up freeway miles without breaking a sweat..The engine didn’t stick out too far (unlike a CBX) because it was engineered to be as narrow as possible. It had a small bore-long stroke and used three carburetors controlling two cylinders each. They also used an offset rod to crank pin design to keep the height reasonable too. At the time they were the fastest touring motorcycle you could buy.
Remember a TV commercial in the 1980’s for Kawasaki bikes, a tune stuck in my head and can’t find it on the net. “Rock me, rock me Kawasaki, rock me”.
Good times roll indeed.
Kinda wish they were closer I believe at that price I can make a good profit but with them being 1800 miles away it would eat up to much profit getting them here
I get new parts easily for my ’78 KZ 750 B when needed.
And
it’s just the 2 cyl…
“Z1 Enterprzs”, “Partzilla”, “Ol Bike Prts”, etc
A year on the market suggests nobody sees value at that price. Good deals don’t last.
Steve R
Had a 78 Z1RTC. It was a handfull of fast.
That’s a steal at the price. We only got ordinary Z13s here, not the tourer. Made in the US for the same reason as the Goldwing, I suspect; no restrictions on numbers as they weren’t imports.
My Kawasakis were both strokers…
As with Howard A I’m looking for a (’75) Z1 but the maroon Voyager looks to be in pretty nice shape and might be a candidate for a cruiser if it’s intact and can be made road worthy. As to the rest I’d probably, see if I could sell parts. Who knows, at the right price one might make some money.
Brings back memories of the 1980 LTD 1000 I had. I sold it around 1989 due to bad discs in my lower back, to a guy who took a taxi to my house in central NJ from Philly.
After the cab driver left, he actually thought he was going to bargain me down on the price. Nah, “you better call that cab driver back” (back in the pre- cell phone days) lol.
Most of the road bikes I’ve owned were Kawasaki. A premium ride by any measure. I’ve owned KZ1000, Vulcan 1500, and most recently a Vulcan 2000. Never ridden a Voyager, but I’ll bet they are sweet! Sadly, had to give up 2-wheeling due to age and health….and also realizing I was running my guardian angels ragged…..