$400 - 79' KZ650 Restoration and adding a Hack...

takes meforever to load this post for some reasonor i wouldve checked it out long ago!

Changed all my pictures to thumbnails. I hope that helps with the load speed as I think picture size was the issue.

After doing some research and looking at my Clymers manual I realize that I have a 1977 Master Cylinder on the front.. I have no clue were the brake lever came from but hopefully my new one will fit the 77' or I will have to put the stock MC back on.

I found a frame boss at Dauntless Motors that might work if I reuse the left pillion footrest bolt hole..

www.dauntlessmotors.com/Mountinghardware...001ball%20offset.jpg

My concern is if the foot peg brace is strong enough for the weight load of the car..

Hope to get some more pictures in a day or so of the progress I have made.. I want to get the Cam cover and cracked plastic repaired before weeks end. Next week I am looking at getting the brakes, front tire and muffler taken care of..

So today at work all the guys were talking about going to lunch at a local hole in the wall. It had recently changed ownership and reopened as "Rocking Ribs".

An A framed building on French Ave here in Sanford, Fla. It used to be an old drive through in the 50s before they put in the interstate and traffic moved out of town.

I ordered the Open face chopped pork sandwich with sweet potato fries and a sweet tea. It was incredible.. Super BBQ.. (cell phone pics)

As I consumed the pile-o-meat I got down to the bread, 2 Johny Cakes (fried cornbread). Man, I love good southern BBQ...

This restaurant has a 2 thumbs up from me..

Now on to the KZ project...

Been busy this week with work so I have not got all that much done on the KZ.. I did receive a new front tire in the mail yesterday.

So today I went down to the local auto salvage yard and picked up scissor jack to aid in tire changes.. A must have once the hack is put on.

Got this jem for $15, I don't think it had ever been used before and it even came with a nice foam caddy to hold it. A bit odd in that is has "Made in South Africa" stamped on the bottom. What make of car would have a jack from South Africa I wonder?

So I jacked up the front of my KZ and pulled the tire and installed my new Dunlop. It looks like the bead had been folded along the way. But after install it looks fine.

While I had the front brakes off I discovered my right hand caliper needs a rebuild since it is leaking, so that explains the low fluid in the brakes when I purchased the bike. The pads looked in pretty good shape though. Another project on the list.

Have all the electrics done now, new signals (taken from my Enfield) and a new rear fender.

Here are my frame bosses for attacking my hack..

And my tractor muffler...

So after changing my tire I decided to take the bike on its first ride ever since I have owned it. By this time it was 8pm so I took it real easy since it has no baffles. Bike ran decent for a block then started to act like is was missing on a cylinder.

As I stopped in the driveway I looked down to see gas gushing down the side of the gear cover. Hoped off a looked at it and it appears to be coming from the test nipple on the bowl of the #2 carb. I will have to look into if I am just missing a screw of some such on Friday.

:dry:

With a twin disc setup I would recommend a master cylnder with no less than a 7/8" plunger or you won't get the power needed to get good pressure. My .02.

Brandon

Bdog wrote:

With a twin disc setup I would recommend a master cylnder with no less than a 7/8" plunger or you won't get the power needed to get good pressure. My .02.

Brandon

Yup got a new brake lever for the stock MC yesterday. Will try to use that.. Gonna redo the right front caliper and lines anyhow.

Keep the progress pixs and info coming.

Here's a kz650 and sidecar I saw at the Paris Swap Meet last year:

Very nice... Its always good to see how these things get hooked up...


So on to todays adventures in Motorcycles update.

Got home from work and looked into my carb issue a bit. After doing some reading I figured out I have a late 79' carb setup with an accelerator pump.. My leak was coming from the overflow tube of the #2 carb..

Pulled the carbs and disassembled the bowl on #2 and checked the play on the float.. Seemed to be moving fine so I bent the tab ever so slightly.. Now when I move it you can here the needle valve click about every time. I am a bit worried though because you don't here it 100% of the time. I wonder if I have a bad needle valve or if its just dirty.. I have no carb cleaner at the house so I might have to get some.

Sorry , no pictures at this point as the camera was in the house.

Moved onto pulling the cam cover and cleaning the gasket goo off.

The goo..

My trusty blade...

The lid after cleaning, and a decent beer..

The end caps on the cams were pretty nasty, this is a picture before cleaning...

The 3 that leaked did not have and RTV under them as instructed in the Clymers manual.. One of the end bolts was overtightened and stripped out. I will be buying a longer bolt and a nut for that one to help get a seal.

I will reassemble the top of the engine in the morning after a supply run to get some bolts and caps for the emisions gear that is going in the trash.

I also fixed a sheared off bolt on the front brake junction.. A little PB blaster and vise grips and she was fixed.

Now my new speedo cable has a proper holder.

Garbone, In reference to your' float valve "clicking". Look at the adjustment tang on your' float. high mileage bikes sometimes wear a pit at needle valve contact.this area needs be smooth to allow smooth/consistant sealing. if this is your' case, the float can sometimes be salvaged via flattening via drift/arbor, and filing smooth. of course, a new float, and valve set would be best. as to cam end plug leak, I strongly rec. helicoil or better time-sert repair. with any luck you'll see numerous valve adjusts/inspections, My 2 cents luck G

Took a second look at the float and such and it looks fine.. Hopefully adjustment was all it needed.

Replaced my cam cover gasket today.. Went rather easy and no more leaks.. I got a longer bolt for the one stripped hole on the end and put a nut on the bottom.. I will put a cert or heli coil in next time I have to get at the valves, as it is I am tight on money for the budget.

Removed all the emissions hoses and capped the holes and such. Looks pretty nice.

The bomber was running low on gas (I spilled some from the tanks silly me...) So after I had everything back together I took her down to the gas station. Ran out of gas 100ft from the station and had to push.

Fueled up and on the way back she started to miss and stall if I raised the revs.. Pulled over and checked fuel and that looked good but when I went to use the ES it was very sluggish and would not start.

I turned it off for a minute and fiddled with the petcock, I am waiting for my new used petcock to arrive in the mail and this old one leaves me wondering.. After a bit I figured the battery had build up a surface charge and using the kicker she started right up. Still I would get hesitation over 3k rpm so I nursed her the 3 blocks home.

I have the battery (it is a new battery) on the charger now but am wondering if I have a bad regulator or alternator. I will have to look into it Sunday if I get time..

Well a busy weekend was had last week so not much progress.

Looked into what I thought was a charging issue and have come to a conclusion that it is a crap petcock fuel supply issue (still waiting for the new petcock to come in the mail).. Ran the bike and it appears the machine will charge well at over 1500 RPM so I should be OK once I start riding it more.

Got a new decelerator cable today in the mail.. Its fittings are black, not the chrome of my throttle cable.. Oh well, at least I can tell em apart..

Went to Walmart today a got some 20-50 fossil oil, a can of spray primer and 2 cans of Black Satin Rustoleum paint.

Yes folks, that right, I have decided to go the cheap route and rattle can the bike black. Started by sanding, priming and painting the new rear fender and side panels today.

I also pulled off the right side crash bar and starting to take measurements for building a sub frame.. Looks pretty straight forward but I am still trying to run down a welder since the ones I have found so far a $70 an hour...


When I check the mail today got an invitation to my Aunt and Uncles 50th wedding Anniversary in Maine this July.
Talked to the wife and we are in agreement that if I can get the rig right it will be time for a road trip... :blink: This should be epic.... What could go wrong?

List of things left to do...

Petcock......
Finish the paint job
Brake Rebuild (all of em)
Muffler
Test rides and tuning up
Attach and wire the tub
Test with tub and possibly gear the bike down to tow thing...

Well,, more sanding and painting today, have to finish the gas tank and front fender and then I am done with my shoddy job.

Pulled apart the gauges today, I need to replace all 4 bulbs. I am thinking of putting in LEDs so I will not have to worry about about going into them in the future. It seems the 2 lower bulbs are chromed/tinted. Is this intentional or just some former owners doings?

Started to pull apart the front brakes also, I will try the rebuild on the right hand one and hope that works. Still waiting for my hoses to arrive.