1980 - Kawasaki KZ 650 (F1 model) - My 1st bike!

Hello KZRider community,

My name is Miguel but everybody calls me Zell, I live and ride in Dublin (Ireland). Few months ago I bought my first bike and I am over the moon! haha..

I decided to start with a "old" bike instead those brand news for 2 reasons. One, they are WAY beautiful and charming bikes, it feels real and alive to ride. Two, I do NOT know anything about servicing motorbikes at moment, but I do have time and passion to learn it. That bike isn't too antique to play and not too electronic as we see nowadays.

I have a Kawasaki KZ 650 F1 model in blue. That bike was imported from Japan to USA in 1980 and sold in Chicago. For some reason, the owner came to Ireland in 1997 with the bike sold it here. Past few years the 2nd left the bike in a barn and never rode again. He sold it to another guy who had 2 KZs 650s and was doing the restoration in both but in some point he had to sell it. At this point, you can guess who bough it! Yes, ME! That was the moment when I saw the good opportunity to grab my first Kawasaki. I am the 4nd owner for a 37 years-old bike not too bad isnt? It has around 19k miles.

My plans is to do a full restoration and have it a my side-kick during my weekends and maybe travels in the future. For it happens, I will need you help with all this "fixing things" along the way.

Here is some photos.

And Thank KZR for accept me!

Welcome to KZR, and that is a nice looking bike you have , we have members here who own KZ650s , I sure they will be glad to help you when you are in need of fixing something.

Welcome zell

This community and the KZ650s owners will guide you to your full restoration.

Michael

Nice bike!! Welcome aboard -

Here are some tips that you may find helpful:

Many newbies and not so newbies run into or issues with their bikes which could be easily avoided with a little preparation or information. 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.


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 (and pretty much all 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. Zinc and phosphorus additives (ZDDP), important to protect engine components from metal to metal contact, has been reduced since it’s been found to shorten catalytic converter life. Today’s auto oils contain about ½ the ZDDP they used to and different additives have been developed as substitutes. Unfortunately, some of these newer additives, in particular molybdenum disulfide, don’t get along with the wet clutches in our bikes. Newer oils, especially those labeled “Energy Conserving” (EC), which have a high quantity of friction reducing additives, should be avoided. These oils work fine in automobiles but there are better choices for motorcycles.

KZ bikes need oil which is suitable for wet clutches. That distinction was defined by the Japanese Engine Oil Standards Implementation Panel (JASO), and can be noted by oils that meet the "4T” (4 cycle) specification, MA (wet clutch) classification. These oils, which include various synthetic, semi-synthetic, and non-synthetic oils, are sold as specific motorcycle oils. Another type of oil which works well in our bikes is diesel engine oil. These oils are governed by the API (American Petroleum Institute) CI-4/CJ-4 spec and don’t contain clutch-damaging EC additives. You can even purchase Shell Rotella oil which holds a “JASO-MA” certification assuring it will get along well with your wet clutch. All of these newer oils have a reduced ZDDP level too (about 1/3 less than before instead of ½ like the auto oils) but the substitute additives get along better with our bikes needs than automotive oil. Oils that do not hold the JASO-MA rating have either failed the wet clutch test or have not been tested for use in engines with wet clutches. Good luck with the bike! Ed

Here's a pic comparing JIS bits to Phillips bits. Ed

Welcome zell.
Nice looking F1 you have found yourself.
I have always thought the 650 sounds like an F1 car when a 4 into 1 exhaust is installed. :evil:

Have fun, and ride safely.

mopguy - Thank you! That was one of the reasons I came here. I still have tons of details to learn about this bike. So excited!

Scirocco - Thank you! It's awesome! I will take slow my restoration because the bike is running at least, so I can "upgrade" it along the year. very soon I will bug you guys with ton of questions and details.

650ed - Oh dude! Thank you! I really appreciate those infos. About the manual, I totally agree! However I only have PDFs from the internet that keeps me going for now. I will prob get one (printed) anytime soon - I am just concert the fact that I am in Europe and my KZ is american (good to find parts, bad to buy them) So.. do you think I could use some of the part from Z650 (the european version) ??
..oh its funny you mention the tools to use, because I was going to buy it this weekend! Good call . In my kawasaki, the last owner changed most of the bolts, it like a star with 6 or 7 points - a bit odd tbh.

rstnick - Thank you. It looks nice from far away but when you look close, there is a lot of rust going in under stuff. It is not bad but I need to look after it eventually. I really hate rust, no matter where haha..

There are some differences between the US KZ650-F1 and the European Z650-F1 models. If your bike is a European model it will have differences such as lighting, etc. Also, some, if not all, European KZ650-F1 bikes came with dual front disk brakes; the US models had a single disk. If you can find a Kawasaki Service Manual for the European model that manual would be more accurate for your bike. Ed