New member and first time kz900 owner

Date of manufacture was 5 of 76
I know for sure it was a drum to disc swap in the rear. The guy i bought it from was the 2nd owner and he and the original owner swapped the parts in back when the bike was still newer. The guy i bought it from swears they had to weld some parts on to the frame but i cant tell whats original and whats swapped. I thought i would be able to spot the chicken shit style welds but apparently someone could opperate a welder.
Im guessing that the rear drum was linkage and not hydraulic so im thinking that the master cyl mounting tab would have to have been added. But who knows.
Ive also found that the left hand control looks to be swapped from another year. I found some bullet connectors that i didnt know what were for when i was undoing the electrical for the front fairing. As far as i can tell the wires have been added for the hazard switch that is part diffeent control.
I was fixing a few small dings in the tank last night and found some different pinstripes and some green paint under what appears to be black. Judging by the brackets that were built to mount the fairing the original owner liked to do things himself. Apparently he was an engineer of some sort and by the amount of steel added to the bracket id say he was a structual engineer.
This whole project has taken a turn from get it running and ride it to strip everything down and start fresh. At first i really wanted to return this back to its original glory but now that i have found lots of things that arent original already done i kinda want to have fun with it.

That's what it's all about isn't it, having fun?
Steve

That looks like a decent bike to start with. DO NOT throw anything out! You're lucky to have the airbox, those seem to be had to find for those bikes. You should be able to buy the headlight hardware pretty cheap. Look at the parts diagrams or post some photos and we can tell you what's needed. Don't remove the label on the frame either.

My Pops bike was in storage for around 15 years, didn't take much to get it running. You NEED to do an oil/filter change, air filter, plugs, fresh gas and clean the carbs. You also need a NEW battery, these bikes do not like old batteries. Go through the electrical system and clean the connectors too. That should be it to getting it running, you may have sticky clutch plates and need to bump the clutch a few times to free them up. You'll want to replace the tires, tubes and control cables. Fluch and check brake system before riding it.

Post more photos too, we love that crap.

nice find. A lot of the metal looks no worse for wear. Prolly 'cause of the desert clime\. Keep us updated

Yeah its going to get more than an oil change. Its fairly low milage but since i want to paint it im going to pull the motor and go through it and the trans. At minimum itll get gaskets and seals and a light port and polish on the head.
Ill be researching all the engine improvements to be made while its apart. Not going to get to crazy with it but knowing how i am itll get sime mild abuse on a regular occasion.
First i need to start searching for what repair manual has the best info.
As far as pics id love to post more but i need to revert my camera tech back to 1976. Whats the max photo size on this site.
And thanks for all the info guys. its nice to have input that i cant just read about on the Internet

Kauzenkaos wrote: Whats the max photo size on this site.

The easiest thing to do is open a Photobucket account. It's free. Upload your photos there and just copy/paste the [IMG] link for each picture.

If you drain the oil and there's no major metal fragments, I'd just get the bike running first, then go over it in the off season. Also forgot to mention, you should squirt a little oil down the cylinders and slowly work the kicker a few times before you try to start it.

These engines are built solid and are easy to get running with little work. I ride the snot out of mine, doesn't miss a tic.

I got it running the day after i picked it up. Just wanted to make sure that it did run before i strip it down. I got very lucky that the guy drained all the fuel. Only 1 carb had a little goo on the needle and seat and a little on the float. All 4 bowls were pretty clean and just a touch of varnish in the tank.
I have to paint it and get everything cleaned up first. If i get it running ill never stop and tear it down again. I have a 68 c10 that should have got started before this bike but i anticipate years of work to get that truck restored and the 900 shouldn't take long. So ill do the 900 first then start the truck.