1978 KZ1000 LTD nut and bolt resto

Street Fighter LTD wrote:

SavageKZ wrote:

Mikaw wrote:

Wowsers nice bike! At 28k it’s just getting broken in. If you have the itch to tinker think about finding a cheep good bones new bike and have at it. That’s to nice of a bike. 

Thanks Mikaw, I don't think there is such a thing as "Cheap good bones" early KZ's anymore. Absolute junk is selling for more than I paid for this LTD 4 years ago. And as far as this being too nice of a bike to restore the main reason is because the Japanese  manufacturers back in the 70's and 80's built good quality machines and the paint jobs where for the most part quality as well but the painting on their frames was sub par, at best IMHO. They never intended it to last 45-50 years. I have access to commercial vapor blasting and powder coating at no charge to me other than my labor and that's free.  So, I figured if I was going to powder coat the frame I should also replace the other wear and tear items such as bearings, seals, and so on. All the other parts that where never intended to last 45+ years. And it's just fun to do. 

Frame paint is weak , but the real issue for me was  ugly welding  
I fixed all my welds and when I braced the frame  I made it stronger and the welding is flawless.
Ask Mikaw  about my frames  welding  , Welds looked ground  and smoothed..but are not.. Painted frame in epoxy chromate primer  and  paint is black gloss Imron 
Here's my LTD
 

Awesome machine Dave!!! 

Nice LTD. 

Last year we pulled the motor from the 77' KZ 1000 LTD to paint the frame, it was just too crusty. We replaced wheel bearings, seals and rebuilt all the hydraulics. I'm still running the original paint on the bodywork. I also moved the front turn signals to the headlight mount. It has 34k miles on it and runs great. I also installed Mikuni RS34 carbs and a Delkevic exhaust system because the original Kerker header had given it's all.

This is a pic of what I purchased on ebay. Notice the seat/bars/mirrors/windshield/ and paint detail!! I had to look past all that to see if there were good enough bones to even consider having it shipped 1,200 miles on my dime. These are some of the things I looked for before I purchased the KZ. 1.The seller's feedback and what they sell for a living is everything.2.Clean title with frame and engine #'s matching the info on zedder.com as being one of the approx. 8,005 KZ1000 LTD B2's produced in 1978. The close up's of the engine told me that it had never been 
removed for repair. It was taken care of by someone for a long time. 
It was on ebay for a pretty long time. I believe it was because of the way it looked in the pics. The seat/windshield/handlebars/mirrors looked out of place,IMHO. The seat was homemade and just awful!! The pan was formed from fiberglass and "Tie Wrapped" to the frame!!!! The "very nice" stock seat came with the bike along with the stock handlebars/exhaust. I made them and offer and they accepted it.


And this is now
 

Can't pretend I'm not a wee bit jealous; if my '78 LTD had been as sound as yours to start with, I might have a nearly-stock stunner like yours. Not that reimagining a bike ain't fun...

Anyhoo, very nice work on a very pretty bike!

And this is now 

That's Very Nice of course!  Now! Get a Z1 flared back metal fender! Then Paint both front and back same Black! Thats what I always did. And my Harley too! Black never goes out of style! Never had digital pictures of the old ones. I had a 73 Z1 titled bike built with all the LTD mags and brakes. I put a big front fender, and the Z1 tail piece with round tail light on one of these. Plus I blacked out an original 73 Z1. unfortunatlly it was mis-titled also.I'll search my old files for some pics.But You know what your doing! Very Nice!Marty in Buffalo

I just spent the better part of the last two years rebuilding my 1978 KZ1000 Ltd. With some very good help from some friends here on the electrical parts. Tons of work ... but so worth it.

Some pictures of mine.

Love the turbo. I have had the pleasure to ride many different bikes and brands over the years. Never had the chance to ride a turbo KZ. I may have had the chance to ride Jeffs from Z1 enterprises years ago but I passed for one reason or another. Nice bike!

rivman15 wrote:

Love the turbo. I have had the pleasure to ride many different bikes and brands over the years. Never had the chance to ride a turbo KZ. I may have had the chance to ride Jeffs from Z1 enterprises years ago but I passed for one reason or another. Nice bike!

Joe you never did come back to me ref a BOTM feature on this black beauty, as I remember the bike has a "bitter sweet" back story involving a good friend ?

Very nice LTD Rivman, thanks for posting pics. I wanted to powder coat the lower front forks but wasn't sure how they would look. Good Look! I will be doing that when I rebuild the forks on mine. Is that a custom seat that can be purchased or is it custom made? George

@ rivman.  Beautiful bike, as are all in this thread.  Is that exhaust an original Murray X-pipe, or are they still available new ?   And how does it sound ? Thanks ahead.