New KZ750 Owner From Denver

Howdy all!

I like long walks on the beach and Kenny G, I'm a Cancer and my favorite drink is a cosmo.

Jokes aside, I am new to motorcycles and new to Kawasakis. Google lead me here. I just picked up an 82 KZ750 LTD, which is begging for a little bit of work. Part of me wants to leave it stock, but she's so damn heavy and I'm so damn small that I'll probably end up doing something cafe-ish.



It seems to run pretty well, the oil light comes on sometimes, but the level looks fine. The bars are stupid. Even the review of the bike I found archived from Cycle World complained about the bar choice. So as soon as I figure out a solution for the bar mounted turn signals, I'm going to put something like Biltwell Maynard's on. I may end up having to cut/replace the throttle and clutch cable, brake lines, etc. I'm okay with that kind of work. Most of my free time is spent training and racing road, XC MTB, and CX bikes and I've worked on em for years. To wit, I'm familiar with bleeding brakes (cars and MTB though), cutting cable housing, etc.

Sadly, I live in a high rise and just have a parking garage, but fortunately I have a buddy with a garage who is down to help me get dirty. I have the shop manual, which came with the bike. This model was suggested to me by one of the most knowledgeable motorcycle guys I know (he lives in Phoenix, but we chat from time to time). I wanted a 250, but he said I'd get bored and should just get tough and get used to a bigger bike, lol. Also, he said this bike was easier to get parts for. I've seen a few cafe projects with this model ( this guy actually lives near here, so I may ping him).

I've ridden dirt bikes as a kid, took an MSF 2-day course, but the ride back to Denver was the longest I'd been on a bike. Definitely need to get my XP up, which I'm cool with. Crawl before you walk and all that. I'm down to hear any horror/victory stories about KZ750s (LTD or not).

Got a few days off this week, thinking I'm going to do some small things. Maybe pull out the air box and put pods in, since that takes hardly any time. Take off the crash bars too... one of the flip out pegs rattles a little bit. Generally just tighten it up. Probably going to need to get a new chain before summer, which means sprokets, etc.

Thanks for reading, cat gif replies are welcome.

Actually, reading about another 750 LTD project, it sounds like pods will require rejeting. I don't think I'll mess with that for a bit. The exhaust, though... it looks cool, but I can't imagine it's very light.

ezweave wrote: . . . Got a few days off this week, thinking I'm going to do some small things. Maybe pull out the air box and put pods in . . . .

Hello, ezweave, and WELCOME to KZr!

Appears to be a very nice example of an unmolested stock or mostly stock bike.

Will undoubtedly catch some flack about the possibility of installing pods.
There are numerous valid performance related reasons for keeping the stock air box and NOT installing pods.
About the only reason in favor of pods are non-performance related reasons of being aesthetically appealing to some, and facilitates carb removal and replacement (which will be required over and over incident to tuning CV carbs with pods).

May conduct a forum SEARCH on "pods" to see all the negative articles and reviews.

With pods, the CV carbs are very difficult -- bordering on impossible -- to tune for performance throughout the entire throttle range that equals the stock air box. Not to mention the issues with wet weather riding, cross winds, washing, and probably some others.

In any event, most folks are well-advised to keep the air box undamaged and available for re-installation when tiring of the pods.

Good Fortune!

The throttle and clutch cable from a GPz model bike will fit and allow you to fit some lower bars easily. Some guys reroute the stock cables but in my experience the shorter cables are the better solution.

I second keeping the stock airbox in place. A properly maintenanced 750 is a really nice running bike and loads of fun to ride. Kawasaki kept the 750 in production in one iteration or another until something like 2003 which should tell you something about how well the engine runs.

Welcome, do what you like to it. LTDs are plentiful. ZR7 exhaust is an easy and usually inexpensive stainless steel 4-1 swap.

Yeah, I think the biggest, easiest weight savings will be swapping the exhaust, though that will probably require rejetting. I am not going to mess with pods. After some more investigation (and everyone's input), it seems like a silly vanity thing.

ezweave wrote: Yeah, I think the biggest, easiest weight savings will be swapping the exhaust, though that will probably require rejetting. I am not going to mess with pods. After some more investigation (and everyone's input), it seems like a silly vanity thing.

Why swap the exhaust; and to what? If you do, DON'T HURT THE STOCK EXHAUST! If it's in good shape it can sell for a very healthy price.

Also, keeping the stock airbox is a VERY smart thing to do! Ed

650ed wrote:

ezweave wrote: Yeah, I think the biggest, easiest weight savings will be swapping the exhaust, though that will probably require rejetting. I am not going to mess with pods. After some more investigation (and everyone's input), it seems like a silly vanity thing.

Why swap the exhaust; and to what? If you do, DON'T HURT THE STOCK EXHAUST! If it's in good shape it can sell for a very healthy price.

Also, keeping the stock airbox is a VERY smart thing to do! Ed

Weight loss. That's the only reason I want to do it. Something like this

Google tells me that the stock exhaust is very heavy. Any weight savings I can achieve, I'd be into. I am not the biggest guy and the bike is definitely a beast. Though after I change the bars, it might change my mind. Way too upright.

Just get a ZR7 exhaust you can get them from <$100 to about $250 depending on condition and the muffler it comes with. I'm into mine less than $100 and I got the old pipes off and they are stainless steel. I will polish or have them coated when I'm at the "make it pretty" stage. I already have a Muzzy muffler I'm s\going to referb for it.

The stock ZR-7 exhaust system is HEAVIER than the stock KZ750 system.

That MAC system is the lowest common denominator in the world of header systems. It will work fine and all, but the finish will deteriorate quite quickly.

The mid pipe and muffler must weigh a ton then. 'Cause mine was definitely lighter than my GPz. pipes.

I would hold off on the exhaust until the bars are changed and until you have put more miles on it and gained more experience and confidence. Personally, I wouldn't go with drag bars or anything too short or straight. The stock bars on my KZ650 (see image below) are really comfortable and give good leverage. At right around 465 lbs (dry weight) the KZ750-H actually weighs slightly less than my KZ650-C1 at 482 lbs (dry weight). so I suspect you will find it pretty easy to handle with lower bars and a bit of experience. My bike felt heavy to me at first too, but after I got used to it and gained confidence the weight never again crossed my mind. Ed