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So about a year ago, I dove into the wonderful world of motorcycles. At the time, I didn't know anything about motorcycles let alone which one I wanted; I only had $600 and an empty garage. So after a bit of looking (and a lot of chores for my parents), I finally settled on a 1980 Kz250 Ltd. The bike was rough. It was barely running, there was a paper napkin for an air filter, and the muffler was falling off. But, it was a start. As soon as I got it, my dad and I started stripping down anything that was deemed "unnecessary." After a bit of tuning and elbow grease, I had it running (semi)good although it desperately needed a valve adjustment. So, I did some more work but in the mean time, I was able to land my hands on a brand new mikuni vm34 slide carb; man was I happy! The bike was running amazing and everything looked good until my muffler fell off. So I decided to have a straight pipe put on by a local muffler shop who specialized in race bikes and cars. Man, is it loud ! Fast forward 5 months and Im just putting the finishing touches on an engine rebuild. Took me an extra month after that to actually have time to put it in the frame and then I started her up for the first time. I don't think she ever ran this well!! So that's where Im at now; it's been 3 months since then and I've done a lot of work to the bike itself (cosmetically.) Found a tank from a wrecked KZ200, replaced my worn out hand controls for a newer set, new front and rear turn signals, bar end mirrors (which are a pain when Im parking really close to cars and buildings), removed the speedometer and put the tach in it's place although I just bought a tachometer from dime city cycles. Also swapped back to the old carb because the mikuni was a pain in the butt to jet. I lost a lot of power, (It was dynoed in February right after the rebuild at 26hp) but it is nice to have a motorcycle that starts when you want it to start and actually idles. So that's about it; I did get a seat pan mounting kit also from dime city cycles so a seat should shortly follow; just need to find some foam for a seat and get an actual pan. Anyways, I just wanted to share what was going on and here some feedback from others. I'll try to update this as work progresses so that everyone is kept current. Hope you guys like it! Also got a couple of video's on youtube if anyone's interested:

Looking good and congratulations on how far along you've come in addition to learning a lot about motorcycles along the way I'm sure.

If it runs well with the stock carb and airbox then stick with that. That's the easiest way to get it running well and keep it running well.

A vm34 is way too big for a KZ250 so it's no wonder you had a hard time tuning it down to start and idle well. I think a VM30 would be a much better option... but again stick with the stock carb and airbox if you can.

Thanks! Im actually running it without the airbox. I put a pod on it and It runs just as good if not better. Im checking the plug every 50 miles to see how my jetting is and so far it's good. As far as the vm goes, you're right; that thing was way too much

So since my last post, I have done some work to the dear old kz. A friend decided to give me a new in box speedometer with built in indicator lights; its beyond nice and kinda makes everything else on the bike look crappy. Had some problems installing it as the mount that came with the speedometer was broken and it didn't have a wiring diagram so had to guess which wire went where until I figured it out. In the end, everything worked out and i was able to fab a mount and got all the electrical sorted out right.
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The only problem Im running into right now is where to move the ignition switch. Its the original one and Im debating whether to get a simple three position tumbler or go to a pair of toggle switches (one for the lights, and one for ignition). I know that with a toggle switch, it makes it easier for unwanted people to ride away with your hard work but, it also looks a lot cooler than carrying a set of keys with you. In a previous build, I hid a switch under the seat but it was a pain in the butt to get to when I wanted to turn the bike off. I have scouted two possible positions for a switch where my side cover used to mount up too.


It's a pretty big hole so I could easily put a switch there, its just a matter of time and money that stops me at the moment. Another possibility would be here.


The whole area in that circle could easily be modified to conceal an ignition switch. The only other place would be up where the old speedo and tach used to sit, but that makes it much more exposed to people and the weather. Hopefully I'll figure something out soon as I have another project that is desperately wanted to get started. Other than that, everything is happening very quickly and Im glad that ridding season is almost here (if only it would stop raining so I could go put my hard work to use). Also started working on the other bike's sitting in our garage.


The one on the left is an '83 Yamaha XJ750 Midnight-Maxim and the one on the right is pretty recognizable; a 1975 Honda GL1000. The original 'wing. Both belong to my dad, but hopefully I'll get to test ride the XJ out pretty soon. If anyone has any ideas for an ignition set up or any comments about the bike, I'd love to here em! Thanks