New member in Oxford MS

Hello all my name is Josh!
I bought a 1979 KZ650 C3 on craigslist for a solid 300 bucks. The bike has 31k original miles and I'm going to take everything apart including the engine to make sure everything is sound before I get it running again. I'm building this bike but it is my first bike and I'll be building on a college students budget so it should be fun. Not sure what style I want yet I just want to get it running again. Some stuff about me is I'm 6'5" 20 years old and have been in love with all bikes before I can even remember. I'm looking forward to this learning experience as well as passing on any knowledge I gain to fellow members or friends.

This is my bike and my work space I have some rachets sockets, a torque wrench, and a bunch of different screwdriver bits.

:woohoo: Welcome! I'm sure others will be along with some great advice, but here is what I have. First off unless you absolutely have to, I would leave the engine in one piece if possible. In my experience these motors are bullet proof and run forever. You will probably need to do a valve adjustment and a few other standard maintenance items but for the most part the carbs will probably take the most work depending on condition. Don't use a Philips screwdriver! You can look it up on this sight but it uses a JIS bit! Other than that good luck and can't wait to see how it turns out!

Don't forget to get a good service manual..... :dry:

Welcome aboard.

Taking everything apart is a really bad idea. You will end up with so many parts that the task of ever putting it back together will be overwhelming. You are MUCH better off to work on one component at a time. As an example - get the engine running and perform a full tune-up. Do NOT take it apart. If you get it running you can see if there are any problems and then diagnose them. For example - if a cylinder seems to have low compression you can run a leakdown test to pinpoint the problem. You cannot do this with the engine apart. Also, you may find that with just a simple tune-up the engine runs perfectly fine; most of them do. The KZ650 engine is a really tough machine that in general doesn't need to be taken apart to make run well. If you do take it apart I suspect you will be surprised at the expense of putting it back together; also, you are going to need considerably more than just 1 torque wrench and a few sockets and screwdrivers if you are ever to put it together so it runs. Before you take anything apart you should first make a list of all the parts. tools, and services required and their associated costs to put it back together. It would be a really big mistake to take apart an engine that only needs a tune-up.

Rather than take everything apart, I would make a list of the major components - Engine; Forks; Brakes; etc. and then work on each component until I was satisfied with its condition. That way you won't get in over your head and when you're done you will know everything is in good shape. Each component can be quite a challenge, so believe me you will not be bored.

No offense intended, but at 20 years old you may not yet have an appreciation for how quickly one can turn a bike into a giant pile of parts. Youth and haste has meant the demise of more than one motorcycle. The image below is an example of the result of someone trying your approach, and notice he did not even rip the engine apart. Of course, he never put the bike back together. Ed

Another word of caution, used engine oil, brake fluid,brake cleaner,gasoline, and carb cleaner goes into hardwood and concrete flooring and does not come out. And it looks to me, your about to give someones mother,grounds for murder. been there done that and all I did was clean up the bike a bit then buff parts, I even had buffing compound up the walls and on the ceiling. never got my deposit back,needles to say. Keep a cool tool. there are reasons Judge Judy is on tv and makes the big bucks. :blink:

Thanks for the replies everyone. good call on the hardwood floors because I definitely didn't know about that and I'd like to keep my living room stain free haha. I didn't take any offense Ed I'm glad you told me because I'm here for real advice and being a part of a community that is willing and capable of providing that is amazing. I will hold off on disassembly until I get a new battery and some new oil. I'm studying Mechanical Engineering at Ole Miss and I definitely understand how fast things can go into a bunch of parts from doing work on cars so I'll take things slow one part of the bike at a time.

Fork maintenance is fairly important for handling as well as changing brake fluid and the rest of servicing and cleaning and inspection being sure of having all gaskets and correct locking agents and sealants along with looking for signs of wear,binding and correct parts Other than that,,, its about like doing the pots and pans to me cuz I never could get honey bunny to seem to want to understand :side: enjoy the search.

(See my last post as my first reply) Also I was curious, with a new battery and oil, could I expect the engine to fire up with the air box as is?

And is this ignition in good condition? Not really sure about this part, I have the cover but it was already off when I bought the bike

I'd put some towels down and a piece of plywood. All engine disassembly should be done out side. If possible everything for that matter. It might be worth renting a storage unit for the build. Looks like blow by. Get it running, then decide if the motor should come apart.
Steve

The airbox is pretty dirty, possibly the previous owner never cleaned in over several decades. The oily stuff could be blowby or could just be oily residue from years of use and/or overfilling the oil level. The engine breather exits into the airbox. I would clean it up and not worry about it unless it gets dirty quickly.

As far as the engine running with that airbox - if you do not have a clean, stock air filter to put in it the engine will run very poorly (if it runs at all) because the fuel/air mix will be too lean. Do you still have the rest of the airbox pieces? There should be a cup-like holder that fits inside the box to hold the bottom of the filter in place and a cap with a funnel molded into it that screws into the top of the box. Without those the filter won't stay in place and will not filter since air will simply be drawn around it.

On another note - here are some tips that you may find helpful. If nothing else be SURE to read the section on JIS screws under the TOOLS heading.

Many newbies and not so newbies run into the same problems or issues with their bikes which could be easily avoided with a little preparation. Here are a couple recommendations that I hope you will find useful.

Before riding your KZ you should take a little time to become familiar with it. Simple things like checking the oil, tire pressures, etc. are explained in the Kawasaki Owner's Manual. If you bike didn't come with one (they normally are in a little holder on the bottom of the seat) you can usually find one on eBay - be sure to get one for your exact year/model.


MANUAL

You really should consider buying the Kawasaki Factory Service Manual for your bike. The factory service manual provides instructions on the various maintenance procedures and schedules for your bike, procedures for diagnosing problems, proper torque values for the various fasteners (VERY IMPORTANT), and insight into how each system on your bike works even if you are not repairing that system. Studying the manual before you attempt performing service on your bike will impart an understanding of the system you are working on which will increase the odds of success.

The manuals usually are readily available for most models on eBay and other sources; but be sure to get one that has your specific year and model in it as there are differences between the various KZ650 models. I do not recommend Clymers, Haynes, or other aftermarket manuals as I have seen instances where they provide inaccurate advice. You may decide to use those to supplement the factory manual, but in my opinion they are not a suitable substitute. If you have trouble finding one for your model ask us to help.

When you get the manual take a look at the torque specs. MANY of them are in INCH pounds, and some of the larger bolts are in FOOT pounds. You will need 2 torque wrenches; one small one calibrated in inch pounds and a larger one calibrated in foot pounds. Trying to use a foot pound calibrated wrench to tighten the inch pound fasteners won't work properly even if you do the conversion correctly because the foot pound wrench will not be sensitive / accurate enough at its lowest settings. No torque wrench is accurate at ranges below 20% of its max setting.

TOOLS

WARNING! Do not even try to use Phillips screwdrivers on the Kawasaki cross head screws. Despite their appearance they are not Phillips screws. They are Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) screws. The tips of Phillips screwdrivers are too long & pointed to allow the 4 blades of the screwdriver to properly engage the screws, so when you apply force the screw head slots will deform and look like crap. The fact is that Phillips screws were deliberately designed to have the screwdriver bit "cam out." This was done to prevent production line assembly from over-tightening, stripping, or breaking the screws. JIS screws do not have this problem. A proper fitting JIS bit can tighten a JIS screw to and beyond the torque spec without camming out. Here's the good news - you can easily modify standard Phillips screwdriver tips to fit the JIS screws.

I have ground down the tips of DeWalt #2 and DeWalt #3 Phillips to make them fit JIS screws. The large crosshead screws on the cases take modified #3 bits (or genuine #3 JIS bits). To modify the DeWalt bits you need to grind the very tip a little, then test fit, then grind a little more and test fit, etc. until the bit no longer "rocks" back and forth in the screwhead. Picture 1 below shows how a DeWalt #3 bit fits the case screws of my KZ650 after being ground properly. The #2 DeWalt bits can be modified the same way to fit smaller JIS screws. Pictures 2 and 3 below shows DeWalt #2 and #3 modified bits.

I did find a place that sells authentic JIS bits. They don't list the #3 bit, but if you contact them they can provide the #3 JIS bits even though they are not listed on the website. These folks were very easy to work with, and the authentic bits do work great. Here's their site:

www.rjrcooltools.com/shop_item_detail.cfm?subcat_ID=89

Pictures 4 & 5 below show a comparison between my home made modified bits with the authentic JIS bits.

PICTURE 1

PICTURE 2

PICTURE 3

PICTURE 4

PICTURE 5

Before reaching for that wrench or ratchet consider the following. The bolts are steel, but your engine and front forks are aluminum. The bolts are much tougher than the aluminum and if over tightened will strip the aluminum threads. Although these can be repaired, preventing damage by applying proper torque will save you grief, time, and money. Tightening fasteners properly requires torque wrenches. Various vendors, including Snap-on, CDI, Sears, etc., market torque wrenches. The two most popular types are the bar type and micrometer type. Either will work, but the micrometer type is a bit easier to use, especially if you are tightening several fasteners with the same torque - such as cylinder head covers. You will need a torque wrench calibrated in INCH POUNDS for many of the bolts. You will also need a torque wrench calibrated in FOOT POUNDS for the larger bolts. Don't try to use the foot pounds wrench on the smaller bolts as it will not be sensitive enough at low torque settings to provide accurate torque. There are many fasteners that require low torque. These include such things as 6mm oil pan bolts, cylinder head cover bolts, etc. for which the torque in 61-78 inch pounds. These low torque bolts require a wrench that is accurate at low settings and this wrench should be graduated in inch pounds. In addition, there are numerous high torque fasteners such as the front axle nuts (51 - 65 foot pounds) or swing arm pivot shaft nuts (58 - 87 foot pounds). These require a wrench that is accurate at higher settings; this wrench should be graduated in foot pounds. Using the proper torque wrenches to correctly tighten fasteners will help prevent damage and contribute to a safe bike. The Kawasaki Service Manual will list the various torque specs for the bolts. I suggest you get the manual before buying the torque wrenches so you can decide which wrenches best meet the torque specs.

Consider buying a can of Kroil penetrating oil and use it to soak stubborn fasteners for a couple days before trying to loosen them. Remember, the original screws and bolts were installed on your bike when Jimmy Carter was President, so many of them may be hard to remove. Kroil can be bought online, at guns shows, and at some other venues.


MOTOR OIL

The ingredients in oils have changed over the years. For example, today's Castrol GTX oil (and pretty much all other AUTOMOBILE oil) is not the same as it was in the 1980's. Back then it worked great in KZ bikes. But, things have changed. Early AUTOMOBILE oils contained zinc phosphorus compounds (ZDDP) to protect engine components from metal to metal contact. This was good for engines, but it was found to be destructive to catalytic converters. Consequently, in AUTOMOBILE oils ZDDP was virtually eliminated and replaced with different chemistry generically referred to as "Friction Modifiers." These work fine and offer good protection for normal AUTOMOBILE engines. However, today's AUTOMOBILE oil "Friction Modifiers" are destructive to wet clutches. KZ bikes (and many other brands) have wet clutches. As a result of these oil chemistry changes a distinction needed to be made between those oils which are suitable for wet clutches and those which are not. That distinction was documented by the Japanese Engine Oil Standards Implementation Panel (JASO). JASO developed a number of different oil specifications for different applications. The specifications that apply to 4 stroke motorcycles fall under the "4T Specifications." Within the 4T specifications the JASO MA class oils are specifically formulated for 4 stroke motorcycles with wet clutches.

There are synthetic, semi-synthetic, and non-synthetic oils that meet the JASO-MA standard and any of them will work ok. However, using oils that are not designated as meeting the JASO-MA standard is destructive to KZ clutches.

Good luck with your bike. Ed