New guy in VA

Hello folks,
I just picked up a 76 KZ900. Ive been a big fan of these KZs for a while and had to jump on the chance to get a new project after selling my other bikes. Ive had a couple Yamaha xs650s and an R1.

So, heres the scoop on the bike. It has KZ900 ltd badges on it. Its a Z1 Im told. Wire wheels, rear drum. I was told by the previous owner that the bike has a KZ1000 top end swap. I dont know how to confirm this or not. The only marking I see is the 903cc. I can see fresh gaskets poking out so I know its been taken apart recently. I have a box of pistons and other spare parts that came with the sale.

He also said it has the 29mm carbs. Looks to be true.

It has pod filters and a 4into1 exhaust on it. going through the gears it does have some dead spots in power. It may need a tune. I havent looked at the jetting yet.

He said it has a 2" swingarm extension but I dont know how to tell, I cant see any welds so if you know what the stock length is let me know.

I know thats a lot of information to request but Ive been lurking here and you guys seem pretty informed. Im a newbie to the Kawasaki family so go easy. Im no dummy to wrenching and dont mind tearing into stuff.

Heres a youtube I made when I got it


Thanks guys,
Kelly

Welcome Kelly. That looks like a good start. I think that you have a conglomeration of parts. You can check your frame number here: zedder.com/msg1.htm That way you can tell what model it's supposed to be. The tank doesn't look like an LTD. I don't think that the LTD had a drum brake either. I believe that 76 LTD's are fairly rare.

As for your questions. The swingarm looks to be an extended stock swingarm. As for the carbs, they look just like my VM26ss, but I'm no expert. There is an id number on the carb flange where it attaches to the rack. It is usually stamped very lightly and small. I had to get my carbs really clean to be able to read it. With that number you can ID the carbs. As for the pistons, your guess is as good as mine. You can bore a 900 up to fit 1000 pistons, so its certainly feasible. Won't make too much difference unless they are higher compression than stock. If it makes good compression, then I would be happy with it and find out much later what is really in there.

Finally it sounds like you still have a little sorting to do on the carbs. I heard a couple of sneezes in there while it was trying to idle.

Good luck.

Thanks,
The frame id is Z1F-104947 which makes it 76 jpn A4 model.
The engine id is Z1E-139032 which makes it ?
The LTD badges were swapped I believe seeing the silicone on the inside to glue it.

As far as the hiccups in the video...the bike seems to be cold blooded. Once I let it warm up for a few minutes and let it idle back down it really doesnt miss or backfire like the video. It may be a vacuum leak I dunno. Im not sure if Im sold on the pod filters. I have the stock airbox with a KN filter he gave me. If these are stock carbs I may take off the pods and go with the stock airbox for tuning reasons. But like I said, i do feel some dead spots when I go flat out through the gears. If these are stock carbs, I will need to go through all the jets and start tuning...

Assuming that they are the stock carbs, and you put the airbox back on, you'll still need to jet for the 4-1 pipe. No baffle is not the best situation, and you definitely have to tune for that as well. The stock airbox is supposed to be easier to make the bike run right (less problems with crosswinds), but the pods give a little more power. Who knows what's inside those carbs, but you can sure get it sorted with a little help from the board. Check for that ID number on the top of that flange. It should be on top of the oval shaped flange where the carb attaches to the rack. It's the side that attaches to the cylinder head. It will help to know just which carbs we're talking about.

congrats on the score,welcome to the board.
can't see your vid how bout some pics ?

leon

Here are some pics.









Here are the carbs in question. These are the only 2 #s i can visibly see, Im not sure where else to look. Im going to end up putting a baffle in the exhaust at some point, and I think Im going to also put on the stock airbox w/kn filter too. I realize I will have to retune it all anyways. My only concern was that I dont know if I truly have a 1000cc topend and how to incorporate that info into the carb tuning....I will be searching the carb forums for sure!