New KZ750 Owner From Denver

Yeah, I am starting to agree.

I ordered Maynard bars from Biltwell. Hoping they will fit the massive master cylinder without needing to remove the tach.

I spent an hour on it cruising around Cap Hill and Baker (neighborhoods in the urban part of Denver) last night and the weight is bothering me less. Hell, getting through the gate in my parking garage is a bigger challenge than wrangling the weight. (I have to put it in neutral, hop off for a second to key my fob, etc... I'll get better at lining up, lol.)

It's apparent that the carbs need cleaning. You can't turn the choke all the way off without it dying at idle. From what I know about carbs and motorcycles, this makes sense (I did a few rebuilds of a Rochester Quadrajet I had on a muscle car when I was younger... probably easier?). The last owner rode it 10 times a year, and hadn't had the carbs cleaned since 2013.

First order of business is the bars. I kind of want to do a cockpit cleanup, assuming the bars fit everything okay. Replace the cables and brake line, perhaps a new master cylinder. Maybe get a new run/kill switch and even a new throttle (like the Biltwell Whiskey), just to make it nicer. Definitely going to redo the signals, might even try to find a cleaner looking instrument cluster. Clean the carbs, replace the chain and sprockets, oil change, replace the air filters, etc. The clutch might need some love. No real problems shifting, but it feels a little bit clunkier than the Honda dirt bikes I rode in my youth. I will do some lightening: remove the crash bars (small ones with flipout highway pegs), the center stand (unless a rear lift/jack is less useful? It kind of just seems like excess weight with both kick and center stand mounted).

I think any work I'm going to do is more along the lines of just getting it running smoother and making it a wee bit more practical.


I swear that front tire is mounted backwards. On human powered bikes, the "v" goes the other way.

I did discover the Kawasaki supplied helmet lock. That's kind of handy, lol.

Dying with the choke off is probably a vacuum leak. Especially if you are having problems getting the idle to be consistent. Spray carb cleaner around the carb holders if the revs drop or it dies you've found the leak.


You're probably ready to start a projects thread.

Sounds like you have a exc plan.... the items you are gonna remove ( and go over) are pretty much what I would do too and I even like the bars. I took my center stand off too for weight and cleaner looks and I can slip it on and off in about 10 sec when needed....... A 4 into 1 took off 12 1/2 lbs on my 650 and should pick up another 4-5 hp but no big hurry on that (like stated keep the stock pipes for later they look very clean) ...... such a nice bike hoping you keep it as stock as possible other wise.

Already on it. But yeah, the carb boots look pretty worn. With any luck, that's the problem.

My longterm goal is either to get this thing running smoothly or, if after two months of cash, sweat, and tears, it's still "lumpy," I'll probably flip it... I don't like giving up, but we shall see! I'm optimistic that I can replace/fix or, worst case, pay to have fixed any issues with the bike. Enough salvage and new parts are available that it should be doable.

I, like most of you, would rather make it better. I have some time off this week and some parts in the mail. Going to take it to my buddy's garage and see what we can do.

The downside of living in a high rise is that I can't just wheel it into my apartment, lol. Though the concrete walls would do much to deaden the sound of it revving (I kind of doubt it, but it's moot anyway.)

The bars thing is mostly for my own preference: my main hobby is bicycle racing and I'm used to having "drop" from my saddle to my bars. E.g. I spend 12-20 hours a week in that position already and am just used to it. Been doing that since I was a teenager, lol. Even my MTB racing bikes have always had a teeny bit of drop.

Other than that, I really don't think I'm going to do anything too radical. I've only put 30 miles on it and the weight problems are less of an issue. The bike weighs over three times what I do, which seemed like a drastic difference, but it's amazing how fast I've been adjusting. Granted, these are city streets I've been riding on and top speed is around 35 or 40 max.