new kz owner

hey. i just bought my first kz tonight. its a 76 kz900. it runs but its a little rough. has about 30k miles on it. the guy i bought it from did a lot of maintenance on it so i think its in decent condition despite the miles. plus from what i hear these things run forever. let me know what you think or any advice you have. thanks

nate



Post edited by: nate_lohs, at: 2007/05/05 17:04

Hi Nate!

Welcome aboard and enjoy. As you are probably figuring out, there are a lot of things you can do with these bikes. My favorite is just doing the needed maintenance and a few updates and then ride.

Welcome to the board. My KZ900 was pretty rough when I got it. Rebuild the carbs, get a dyna S ignition, Dyna coils, new spark plug leads, change the oil, spark plugs, put in a new air filter , maybe some new tires.

Assuning this stuff hasn't been done.

Do this and your bike will be good to go for a long time.

www.z1enterprises.com is a great place to start. They have a ton of parts for our bikes and the prices are reasonable.

Good luck and have fun. Oh by the way my bike has about 35k without an engine rebuild and it is trucking along.

Post edited by: austin3119, at: 2007/05/04 22:50

yea im thinkin the carbs need work. it has the aftermarket k&n filters on the carbs and he said they were rejetted. the previous owner also installed new accel coils and wires very recently. it has champion plugs in it so i will probably get the stock ngk plugs. tires are pretty new. i pulled the cover for the points. one of the points has developed some junk in the gap. my uncle had a new set of points and condensors in his tool box for the bike so he gave them to me. im not sure if i should just use that or go with the electronic ignition. i would also like the replace the ltd seat thats on the bike now with the stock flatter style seat. how much do those usually go for?

You can get the z1900 style seat on ebay for $140.00, but it's not the correct pattern for the KZ900 . You can get a correct cover from americanclassix.com for $90.00 . The pan that you have is the same as the flat seat, so I would go for the cover from americanclassix and have some upgraded foam and maybe a gel insert put in.

here are a few more pics of the bike. i installed new points and condensors today. im pretty sure the carbs will have to be rebuilt. its still a little rough. but its gettin there. i found a shop with an online store thats near me. its called redline cycle. in their catalog they have the stock seat for my bike. price seems kind of high. does 325 sound like a normal price for a new seat?

www.redlinecycle.com/Seats%20-%20A.html






Post edited by: nate_lohs, at: 2007/05/05 17:04

i also did a compression test today. it was like 120-130 psi across all the cylinders.

Post edited by: nate_lohs, at: 2007/05/05 17:08

Beautiful bike. Seems previous owner added some LTD effects with handlebars, seat and dual exhausts. Would suggest giving the stepped seat a trial period because when the 900 is running right, you may appreciate the low back support during hard acceleration. (Besides, I like the LTD look ).

Would be sure all ignition components and valve clearances are within specs before undertaking any carb work or adjustments. Compression figures look good (but valve clearances tighten at engine warms).

And here's a site you'll enjoy, especially Chapter Six about how the '76 model is considered by many as best of the 900's.

hope this works

welcome to z-jungle,nice looking bike!

Nice lookin ride Nate, though I am envious of any bike with rustless spokes!

very nice bike you have there, is that the original paint?

i think it is? i know its one of the colors that was available that year. the paint isnt nice enough to make me think that it was repainted. so im guessing it probably is. i didnt like the color at first but its starting to grow on me. i just like the whole vintage stock look.