Voted Off The Island: 1974 Kawasaki G3SS

I read this great article in Motorcycle Classics a few years back about the adventures of purchasing “classic” bikes off The List of Craig.   The whole premise of the article is that with the advent of CL and free internet ads, finding a classic bike has gotten a whole lot easier, but since it no longer costs the seller $25 for 40 characters, you can put your junker on CL for an outrageous price and wait for months for that rube to fall off the turnip truck.  Just embellish your ad with the words barn find, survivor and rare, and the Benjamins will fall from the sky.  Find this 1973 Kawaski G3SS for sale in Entiat, WA for $1,500 via craigslist.  Tip from JB1025

I don’t mean to put a major beat down on the seller.  I get that if you are selling something, you want to get top dollar for your item, but it’s a bit of a stretch to call this a barn find survivor.  To start with, it didn’t survive the indignity getting pained with rattle can silver and gaining a 100 badge.  The bike left Nihon with a 70’s candy green metallic paint job wearing Kawasaki stickers on the tank, plus a 90 badge on the side cover, since the 1974 G3SSD was powered by a 90cc two stroke.  Kawasaki did bump the displacement up to 100cc for 1975, but this is advertised as a 1974.  I also see an inline fuel filter.  Usually those are added currently to deal with the crap liberated from the bottom of the tank from the corn liquor fuel we now have to deal with.  Final peeve and then I will be on my way:  Not having a title disqualifies you from asking top dollar.  You shouldn’t make buyers do the lost title dance with your local DMV if you are asking the big bucks for a pedestrian model.

See a better example of wishful thinking? email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com

Gianni is Daily Turismo’s Pacific Northwest correspondent and Craigslist Curmudgeon.