Ed....I sent an e-mail to KMSA Distributors in South Africa yesterday...which is where your bike was apparently imported by as well from what the person said in the e-mail that I received back from this morning.
It's a '99 according to the e-mail that was sent back to me this morning.
I then replied to that e-mail, asking how they distinguish the specific year...and that here in the U.S. we go by the 10th digit, and that method does not work on bikes outside the U.S.
Here is the address that I sent the e-mail too...enjoy your '99!
http://www.kawasakisa.co.za/
What a legend! Thanksoxx4Beaver!
Last night when I got home I tried to start the bike. When I eventually got it to start, i.t would idle at, what sounds like, 10 000rpm. I tried to warm it up to go take it for a ride to see what I am dealing with, but no luck, after pulling away it stalled and I couldn't get it going again. After hitting my toe on the foot peg to a pulp, I called it quits. The kickstart is so worn, when you kick it down it moves to a downward angle and my foot slips off.
So after deciding to call it quits, I started stripping the bike to find a horror story. The bike was is in a WAAAY worse condition than I thought and the owner reaaaaally downplayed the damage the bike had, and they have made. The radiators are shot, the airbox has been cut up to pieces, the air hose going to the carb doesn't even have a clamp on it...it's a mess.
See for yourself...
Besides that, the whole bike needs new bearing kits, chain, sprockets, front tyre, fork seals...the works.
I am now trying to figure out if I should fix it up to rideable condition and sell it, or take the plunge and completely rebuild the bike and replace what is necessary from the ground up over time.
Ed