TOPIC:

Me too, here's a new twist to the plot, the cylinders and engine cases are painted silver. The side covers are chromed, not polished. 

I do not mean to make any reference to what engine numbers were stock on any of the ELR or SBR as the data I can find only indicates a starting number but not the total range. There appears to be some confusion as to how many of them were produced.  I think this has been posted here before but for some more info check out this link www.kz1000r.com/
or a page located there www.kz1000r.com/KZ1000R,%20R2%20and%20KZ...0Specification's.htm

As to the engine you have it would appear to be a J model engine which was used in several different models including the ELR and SBR models.

No problem gd4, I'm new at this and I need all the help I can get. I'll keep looking. It might not make any difference in worth even if it is. I don't know 

If I have left you with the feeling that I know more than you do, I DO NOT!   Not sure why but for some reason I want to know more than I do.  Did not mean to come across as you were wrong and I was right. Rather I for some very strange reason (I am not sure why) wanted to learn more and you have provided more data that may help with my quest. Again I thank you for it.

I didn't take it that way at all.  Thank you for sharing the data that I was lacking. I should have ended the subject with a question mark.

I wonder where kawguy got his info? If it is reliable, I’d love to have a copy. Maybe it will fill in some of the gaps I have in the file I posted in the inaccessible Filebase.

I'm going to look that website back up and see if I can find the missing data that I didn't have. If I find anything I'll post it.

www.kawguy.com/frame--engine-numbers.html

I have no info on this site, it just came up on an engine serial number search.  I can't find anything extra from what I already printed. I found the site to be questionable.

As for the chrome side covers, it was common in the 70's and 80's to get what was called a "chrome kit" for the Z1's KZ900's and KZ1000's where you "traded in" your covers toward the purchase of the chrome ones.  I think they also offered a similar deal for the covers on the Honda 750's.
I put the chrome ones on my Z1 in the early 80's, and have recently converted back to the bare aluminum ones.

Cool to know. When you converted back to bare aluminum, did you get another set of covers or remove the Chrome from yours ? I got several chromed covers and forks and was wondering what the easiest way to de-chrome them would be.

Replaced the covers with good used ones.  The (40 year old) chrome plating didn't age well, and it's all peeling and pitted.  I don't know of a good way to remove the chrome from aluminum.  Blasting may not work well because the plating is harder than the aluminum under it.  They've been set aside for some chrome removing experiments at a later date.  

Coyote wrote:

Cool to know. When you converted back to bare aluminum, did you get another set of covers or remove the Chrome from yours ? I got several chromed covers and forks and was wondering what the easiest way to de-chrome them would be.

A chrome shop will give you a price for stripping