TheTrout's 78 KZ1000

I am starting this to kind of keep track of things with my bike, something I should have done a long time ago.  I thought I would start with a little history of my bike and then a couple of issues I am having.

I got the bike in 1994, it had sat in my grandmother's garage for 16 years!  It only had 3600 miles on the clock.  The paint was bad and for some reason bubbled all over the tank.  Not knowing much about a bike like this I took it to a well known (in my little town) vintage bike mechanic.  He had it sorted out and running in no time!  I rode it as is for that first year and then got a buddy of mine to paint it for me, for free!  He had left over Harley brandy wine color paint.  So for the first 24 years I owned it that was the color.  After riding it for some time and going through a couple of sets of points (probably from the drag racing) I invested in a Dyna S ignition.  I also put on drag bars and relocated the bar mounted blinker to the headlight bucket.  At some point in my younger years it developed a rattle in the exhaust pipes.  I was convinced it was rusted out baffles so I took a hole saw and cut them out, that was a mistake I wish now I had not made.  However the open pipes made it run a little better, after rejetting it.  Also at some point early on I did the Wired George coil mod.  I did this because out at the track I often could not get it to start with the button and had to kick start it.

Fast forward about 20 years, several years of Friday night bike races at the local dragstrip and second gear holds no more.  I am having to shift from first to third.  I took a tax return and put it towards getting that fixed.  I had the local cycle shop do the work, Zack's Cycle.  Those guys were the race team to watch out at the track.  They built some really fast KZ's back in the day.  There was no doubt that I wanted Zack to do the work on this bike.  OEM Kaw piston rings could not be located and after market rings don't fit OEM pistons (at least that is what I was told).  Great opportunity to go for a Wiseco 1075 kit!  A pile of money later and the bike ran like new!  After a proper break in period I took it out to the track.  It did well but had a stutter in the throttle around 5k rpms.  Zack told me to remove the snorkle on the air box, which helped some, but seemed to move the stutter to about 6k rpms.  Then Zack says take the top off where the air filter is, no more stutter.  It just couldn't get enough air.  I think it was at this time I added a K&N filter too.

In 2019, divorce was final, I met a new girl and her brother painted cars for a living.  The guy had won awards for paint work he did on a GM prototype car.  I told him basic black, just like you painted your sister's Mustang.  Just $300 and a beautiful paint job, no pin stripes.  I married that gal in 2021 and with the intentions that we would move from Michigan to North Carolina.  Before moving though I had Zack's Cycle mount new Pirelli Sport Demons and redo the forks with new progressive springs and seals.  Then I mounted new Ikon shocks that were setup for my weight and riding.  Also at this time I replaced the stock coils with dyna green coils.

Last year was the move from hell, from Michigan to North Carolina.  I brought both bikes down (my 78 KZ1000 and 72 CB350), but had no time to ride until this year.  My first ride on a hot day and I started having issues with 2 cylinders dropping out.  This had happened in Michigan from time to time, but was not that bad.  I remember at one time thinking maybe it was something to do with the Wired George coil mod I made.  I thought maybe it was the automotive relay I used and replaced that.  I thought it was better, but that was all in my head.  So here I am in NC riding with someone I had only just met and my bike is cutting out and losing power.  I parked it not knowing what to do.  Then one day not too long ago I was casually reading stuff here on kzrider and learned about the issue of dyna coils arching to the mounting post.  A few weeks ago I shrink wrapped the mounting post and BAM!  problem fixed!  The bike starts better and feels like it runs better too!  A trip to the track will tell me if it made any real improvement.

So the bike is now running great!  There are still a couple of issues, that I will address below later.

The most current problem I am having is warning lights.  I searched here and found some info on replacing warning lights with led bulbs.  3 out of the 4 warning lights work.  The one not working is the neutral light.  When I shift into neutral it lights up for a second and then back out.  This is with the bike NOT running, which I would believe it should still light.  What activates that light?  Any suggestions on how to trouble shoot it?  The old lights are all burned out so no going back to see if they work.  Is this an issue of replacing filament bulb with an led?

The neutral light gets it's ground through the switch by the front sprocket. Connect a voltmeter (red lead to cable on switch, black lead to battery earth) when in gear it should read battery voltage (approx 12v) when in neutral it should read no more than 0.3v approx.
If it reads battery voltage in neutral either the switch is faulty of the switch isn't being activated internally
If it reads less than battery voltage when in gear there is a resistance problem further back and you would need to work back using the wiring diagram and a voltmeter

Could I just do a continuity check on the switch?

wrote:

Could I just do a continuity check on the switch?

You could but doing the voltage check covers the circuit through the wiring and the instruments at the same time and serves the same purpose. You could also disconnect the switch and ground the wire to check the light is working, there is "more than one way to skin a cat" (old English saying)Your choice 

Cool, thanks for educating me.  Makes sense.  Is that switch behind the sprocket cover?

wrote:

Cool, thanks for educating me.  Makes sense.  Is that switch behind the sprocket cover?

Yes

There are two wires coming off your stator harness.  One goes to the top of the brake relief valve and the other goes in behind the sprocket cover for the neutral switch.  The switch itself screws into the transmission cover.  On the inside of the transmission cover it rests against the shift detente.  It's a common switch that you can buy from Z1 Enterprises if you need to.  

I still haven't fixed the neutral light issue.  Went for a 100 mile ride last weekend and could hear a rotation noise.  Chain is toast.  So I have decided to switch from 630 to 530 chain.  Ordered the chain and sprockets from Z1.  I ordered 2 front sprockets, a 17 and a 18 tooth, and a 42 tooth rear.  Will I need any spacers to make that all work?  From what I have read it's like 1.5 pound difference in chain weight, is that really true?

Got the parts from Z1 today.  I guess I will find out if I need anything else soon enough.  I will also be checking that neutral switch while I am at it.

Well that didn't work.  The chain is too close to the case and may be rubbing.  Do I need some kind of spacer, or should I have ordered different sprockets that have a shoulder to them?

I used a shouldered sprocket which is stock. My 77' KZ 1000 LTD had a flat sprocket on it when I got it and the chain had been rubbing on the motor.