TOPIC:

I have a 78 kz650 B2 that I'm bringing back to life, and I have an 82 kz650 H2 CSR that I'm using for a parts bike.

I have a couple questions about swapping parts from the 82 engine onto the 78 engine.

Would I benefit from swapping the cams ??

Are the cam chain adjusters, and guides interchangeable ?? I'm thinking of just holding onto the 82 cam chain parts for spares, incase there needed down the road, if they fit.

Would the clutch basket assemblies be interchangeable ??

I want to get rid of the venting on the top of the engine. The air suction valves and the vacuum switch. Is there a certain way of doing this, that is known to be the best way ??

Lastly, I'm planning on swapping out the points on the 78, with the electronic ignition on the 82. Can I plan on this being a direct fit / swap ?? Or are there obstacle's that I'm going to run into ?? I'm just trying to get everything collected / on hand that will be needed for this, so I get it done in short order.

Thanks for everyone's help !!

On the cams its a no cause of them using different cam chains and I believe the specs are the same anyway.

A 1980 KZ750 cam and or a certain year 82-83 ?? of GPZ750 cams would fit with shimming. Stock .304 lift ..... KZ750 cam .330 lift and the GPZ .365....... 260-270 and 280 total duration too.

Clutch I'm pretty sure is good and look around on here about blocking the vents ..... have read a lot about it on here guess not much has stuck or I'd tell you the way.

Same on the electronic ign ....... there are a few on here that could tell you for sure if they just spot this ..... give it a few more days

Not long ago I read an article about points vs Dyna s/electronic ignition. He was telling with the few exceptions, the old point style is still the best especially on vintage bikes. He said the Dyna S was a lazy approach to E/I and not as versatile as points. E/I is mandatory due to the computers involved and all that go with it, sensors and such. Over the years I've become familiar with all the emission devices working on my and other cars and trucks. I had a Dyna S fail on me years ago and carry my points plate and cam just in case. As per his advice I installed a relay to bypass the various switches and that alone provided the most improvement. I am also planning on doing the same for the added lighting on my machine. Doesn't make sense to run all that power through a 40 year old system.
Just my .02Steve

Basically what I was wondering, is if I would gain any performance going from the 78 engine cams to the 82 engine cams, and would they fit ??

Then the cam chain adjuster, and cam guides. They quite often need replacing on the older bikes, and I was wondering if the 82 cam chain adjuster and guides would fit the 78 engine. If they did, I would save them for spares. Same with the clutch basket, if the 82 clutch basket would fit the 78 engine, then I would keep that for a spare too.

I'm wanting to exchange the points system for the electronic, because I don't like messing with the points. I was wondering if the electronic system would fit as well. I'm not spending my money on the Dyna electronic ignition, I'm wanting to swap out an electronic system that I already have on hand. There's just 4 years difference between these bikes, so I doubt there's going to be much of a power load difference between the two bikes, but I don't know for sure either ??

Thanks for your thoughts / advice. They will be taken into consideration !!

The '82 KZ650 didn't have any more power than the '78, so swapping cams would yield no improvement. Also, trying to change to the hyvo cam chain would be a LOT of work! Remember what drives the cam chain - the crankshaft! It would be much easier to swap the entire engine that to try to switch the '78 to a hyvo cam chain, but why bother? The '78 engine is every bit as good as the '82. Ed

Thanks for your input !!

I'm sorry for not explaining myself very well. I am not wanting to replace the cam chain. Yes a LOT of work. I'm wondering about the cam chain adjuster, that's bolted to the back of the cylinders, that you use to remove slack in the cam chain. If they are the same between the 78 and 82 engines, then I am wanting to save that for a spare replacement part. Also I was wondering about the cam chain guides. The long black parts that the cam chain runs against, that help keep the cam chain from flopping around in the engine.

Not trying to be a smart a__. Just trying to explain what I'm thinking about.. I appreciate everyone's input !!

Thanks for letting me know about the cams !! That will keep me from wasting time doing that !!

The cam chain tensioners are different. The '78 is the type that you check and (as needed) manual adjust every 3,000 miles or so. The '82 has an "automatic" cam chain tensioner that very often fails. The '78 tensioner is better than the one on the '82.

The 1978 KZ650 doesn't use any of the long black cam chain guides. It uses idler sprockets and a roller. The 2 engines handle the cam chain very differently and as far as I know there's nothing related to the cam chain that they have in common.

Take a look at the diagrams below. The 1st is the 1978 KZ650; the 2nd is the 1982 KZ650. Ed

WOW !! Absolutely fantastic !! Where on earth do you get this information from ??

That certainly shows there's no way the cam chain adjuster, or chain guides will work between the two bikes.

Thanks 650ed !!

I got it at the following link. If you click on "New Model" you can plug in which ever model you want to see and then choose the assembly you want the diagram of. Ed

www.dealercostparts.com/pages/oemparts#/...0-B2-1978/070076B-71

That's going to be a big help for me, and will help to answer a lot of my questions.

Thanks 650ed !!