KZ650 Barn Find!

I believe you will discover that the engine in the bike is in fact a 1977 KZ650 engine with 750 cylinders installed since the KZ750 engines did not have the 3 Allen screws in the generator cover. The easiest way to be sure is to look up the engine serial number. The number is stamped near the oil filler hole. Look up that engine number on the chart at the link below and it may help clarify things. The 1977 KZ650 engines came with points, so if yours has points that setup came with the engine originally. Ed

models.kz650.info/index.htm

No Ed, its a 750. I have no idea what is going on behind that stator cover, but I will soon find out.



The engine on the floor is only a few hundred away from the bike vin, so I believe the seller.

That really is interesting! I agree that engine number certainly shows it's a KZ750 engine, but the generator and points ignition would appear to be from a 1977 KZ650 engine. Someone spent a lot of energy swapping things around, but I would image it should run ok as long as things were installed correctly and the rest of the charging system was changed to match the generator. Ed

I got around to looking the 650 over this weekend.

The previous owner did convert this 750 engine to a field coil type alternator that the early 650's had. There is a regulator under the side cover but its a generic one and not correct.



The other side of the engine shows the points conversion, the 750 would have had an electronic ignition.




The nice thing about all this is that the factory wiring has not been messed with. Other than the battery terminals all the wiring is intact and as it should be. Though I did notice the turn signals looked a bit odd. I looked around online and I'm pretty sure they came off off a late 70's CB750. I may keep them, they almost look they belong down there on the fork tubes.



I didn't know that the 77's had the control wires run inside the handlebars. Almost all the the later KZ's had then strapped to the outside. It really makes a much cleaner looking bike with those wires hidden. There is hole in the middle of the handlebars right under that red key chain where all the wires come out.



I also picked up a manual for the 77 model year, neither of my 650 manuals cover the early ones. For 20 buck on eBay you can't go wrong. I have a cabinet in my basement full of manuals,bikes, cars, trucks, old heavy equipment, even a Mercruiser factory book. I think I've got the 650's covered now.




I have been digging through my parts boxes and I have OEM pistons in nice shape and just about everything I need to put another 650 engine together. I think I am going to see if the 750 in the bike runs, and what the "issue" may have been with it. Then I'll figure out what I'm going to do. Everything else so far looks good for resto project.

One thing to be aware of is that the first Kawasaki SHOP Manual gives the wrong information for the spark plugs. That info is corrected in the later Kawasaki SERVICE Manuals. Guess how I found out. :laugh: Ed

650ed wrote: One thing to be aware of is that the first Kawasaki SHOP Manual gives the wrong information for the spark plugs. That info is corrected in the later Kawasaki SERVICE Manuals. Guess how I found out. :laugh: Ed

What's the model with the wrong cam cover torque spec people keep snapping bolts on?

I don't know. From what I've seen the KZ650 manuals are fairly consistent on the cam cover toque specs. Ed