hello from mn!

HI everybody,i was reffered to this site and i like it alot. Id say im a pretty new rider but more than qualified with mechanical abilities. So to put you up to speed, im now the prowd owner of a 79 kz1000 b ltd. it was my fathers who passed away last april. seeing as how he was my only family im not about to let the bike go. it ran great but started smoking a little last summer. I took it apart to find one of the piston rings had gone bad and was letting oil through(which explains my smoking problem i think) but i decided hey might as well rebuild it while its apart. So now its all gutted. i got a set of drag bars, seat was already custom done, low pro blinkers, and repainted all black no decals with pj1. thats about it for looks, now for the guts! 4 into 1 kerker pipe, new set of wiesco pistons full on bore and 5 angle valve job , set of yoshimira cams, eletronic ignition, steering dampner, oil cooler, and all your basics(gaskets etc...) wow im broke but its oh so worth it. ill put a picture up of it last summer before i did anything to it and then hopefully ill finish before its warm and then ill put some after pics. Hopefully i didnt sound to cocky with the mechanical ability part . theres always more i can learn and you can bet ill be comming here to ask you guys for help. speaking of any good tires anyone can recommend? im not sure im ready to start changing out swing arms or if im qualified and id like to stay with what its got for now. any recomendations would be awesome! its got a set of bridgestone spitfires right now but there ready to go..really any ideas you guys have for general improvments are also greatly apprecated. thanks a ton

hopefully if ive figured out my computer there should be a before picture under this

haha dangit.. ill get it

ok i quit , any advice on how you shrink a picture?

welcome...if you search in the forum search window for posting/sheinking pictures you'll see where folks have gone over this a lot...if it does not give the info you need try switching the wording around...it is a common question...i stink at it and would be low brow advice at best....really nice from the 1/3 i saw and all the updates your doing....are gonna put your bike right up there with some of the nicer ones......best of luck...welcome aboard...craig

p.s you can add some info onj your signiture in your profile like the guys have at the bottom of each post...lets folks know your bike and state and can better give you answers....

Welcome!

There are a lot of programs out there that will let you shrink a picture although it is probably better to crop it by selecting an area just larger than the bike and cropping the rest away. Each program may do it differently but always practice on a copy--not your original! Cropping will make the picture physically smaller and reduce the file size and it will also preserve the detail much better.

M, Welcome. Steering stem bearings and fork oil are a part of reg. maint. which frequently take a back seat, and usually show improvement when done. Spitfires are fine tires, also Elite 591's, others, Conti's Tk22 andTk44 are nice. My favorites are Metzler's ME33 front, ME99 rear.I like to Match makers and compounds front to rear and avoid ribbed fronts. Luck G

hey thanks so much thats exactly the kind of info i needed! thanks again

thanks alot! ill give it a shot.

hello, and welcome to the site. MN huh, i live in brookings, SD by sioux falls. Only a few hours from you. Maybe we have another recruit for the KZrider members sturgis meet up?

BTW, looks like you got a sweet bike there:)

I FINALLY FIGURED IT OUT!! .....so heres my bike , or at least how it used to look

welcome,nice bike can't wait to see the mods.

leon holmes