KZ700 make-over

And so it begins...

I've got some time today to start on one of the new bikes (see new member post) and because the KZ700 is currently not running, I decided to start with this one. The idea is to clean this bike up because it has been standing still for a few years. This will become my wife's bike and she would love to have a cafe racer style bike, complete with a front fairing and aggressive looks. This promises to be a fun project to work on during the dark winter months.

So, today I got rid of the tail light and the massive indicators, took some of the rubbish from the back of the bike and unhooked the electrics. I use a system where I number every wire before unplugging. I never know how long the bike will be apart and this will help me to rewire after the build is completed.

Next step, removing the carbs and the airfilter box. Because it has been sitting for a while, the rubber intake boots from the carbs are pretty hard. To avoid damage I heated them with my wife's hairdryer. If she wants a bike, she will have to accept that
I think I will keep the stock air filter, because it seems to be pretty difficult to run the bike with pod filters. they look good, but performance is more important for me.
Later this week I'll clean the carbs and check them for damage.

These are some pictures of the progress so far:

20151117_214243 by Jan Moons , on Flickr

20151117_214252 by Jan Moons , on Flickr

20151117_214258 by Jan Moons , on Flickr

20151117_215120 by Jan Moons , on Flickr

20151117_215139 by Jan Moons , on Flickr

20151117_215113 by Jan Moons , on Flickr

Awesome, Thought about making it a proper 750? Shouldn't be too hard.

You mean by drilling the cylinders? I don't know if I'm capable of doing this...

I didn't even know that they made a KZ700. Wussy Hardley and their tariffs...

biker for life wrote: You mean by drilling the cylinders? I don't know if I'm capable of doing this...

Several ways to do it. You could swap out the entire cylinder block, resleave or bore it out. Then put in standard pistons. You'd probably have to rejet the carbs too.

I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure that's the only thing they did to get around the Harley tariff.

Here's some new boots;

pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=331639148917&alt=web  

The 700 was a neat bike Here in Canada we got the exact same bike but in 750 form. Love the original Ebony Black with orange yellow an red stripes(I hated that paint scheme back in the day )

I do have a KZ750 as well. I think I will keep this one original as far as the engine goes. I've built several bikes in the past, but I have no experience with an engine rebuilt.

I found that humorous. Can't or won't compete so charge tariffs. I always said, if Hardly made a transverse in line four cylinder, duel over head cam with Babbitt bearings, roller bearing lower end, 1000 cc, 5 speed transmission, one piece engine/tranny that handled like the Z, looked like the Z, lasted 40 years and counting, I'd buy one. These bikes just got better over time. The Hog? Well, I don't need to go there. :lol:
Steve

GPzMOD750 wrote:

biker for life wrote: You mean by drilling the cylinders? I don't know if I'm capable of doing this...

Here's some new boots;

pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=331639148917&alt=web  

Thanks for the link. I think I'll order those boots. The old ones are really old anyway.

I ordered some, with the Euro dropping it was about $10 cheaper than getting them over here. Not that that helps you besides not having to order from here or Asia and pay the extra shipping.

Got some time to clean the carbs today. They looked pretty ok. Some residue in the bowls and the smell of old gasoline , but apart from that they were pretty clean. Tomorrow I'll pick up new sparkplugs and give it a try to start the engine. But first I need to change the oil and filter.

Any tips on cleaning the outside of the carbs? They're very dirty and I want to make them shiny again

biker for life wrote: Got some time to clean the carbs today. They looked pretty ok. Some residue in the bowls and the smell of old gasoline , but apart from that they were pretty clean. Tomorrow I'll pick up new sparkplugs and give it a try to start the engine. But first I need to change the oil and filter.

Any tips on cleaning the outside of the carbs? They're very dirty and I want to make them shiny again

Short cuts are long cuts when it comes to cleaning carbs. Consider this your warning. :whistle: