KZ 440 ltd Cafe

I have made some progress with my kz440.
Most of the parts are from china and Im building this bike on a low budget because I became a dad in this january so the money is going in to diapers and stuff :laugh:

Cylinder head rebuild
Front forks serviced
Electrics sorted
Made a new subframe
Fuel tank is from Yamaha Maxim 700 I think?

Next winter I need to get oversize pistons, I should have done it already but I want to test the bike before I invest more money in the engine if have to get a new one. ( Spares for KZ440 are hard to come by in Finland).
I also have a question about the battery, what is the smallest Ah that will run the starter and the bike?? Original is 12v and 14Ah I think?
I will upload some pics soon.

Here is some pics.
The cylinder head had to be rebuild because exhaust valves made contact with pistons. Did some porting while the head was apart from the engine. When i got the bike running I took the bike apart again and started modifying the frame. I am now trying to make an "electric tray" under the seat but still have to figure out where to put the battery and what size of I need.

PO wiring?



ps: if the age of the rear brake shoes is unknown, replace them with new. old shoes can fail & lock the rear wheel. It happened to me, so it does happen. It's an age issue with the lining adhesive. mine were otherwise in very good condition w plenty of wear remaining.

Please, when posting pictures, click the Insert All button.

Yes, that wiring looks like a nightmare.

To your battery question-- to use the full electrical system, including the starter, the factory size battery is likely the bare minimum that will work. To use a physically smaller battery, you will need to use a lithium iron, or similar type of battery. If you go that way, it may be necessary to use a modern mosfet regulator that is far more accurate than the 35 or 40 year old design that came on the bike.

Slowly getting back together

I have been doing some test rides with the bike and its seems to be working just fine. Only problem is that its smoking quite much when cold... it gets better when hot. I am thinking that I should have bored the cylinder and changed some oversized pistons. I am quite sure that the smoke/oil is not coming from the valve seals because the seals and guides are new.
The compression is just under the service limit.
So I am wondering what are the options for oversized piston kits? I have only found one on ebay 80€.