KZ400 Newb...

Good Evening gents..
Just found your very informative site while googling for KZ400(1974) info.. I am looking at one and have decided to purchase it , somewhat based on the huge quantity of info i found here... This machine is a 74, with 9k original miles.. runs/rides, could be ridden as is with a little elbow grease. I am thinking of a cafe or scrambler type build, not sure yet Any kz insights of things to expect when working on this will be greatly appreciated. I will post pics when I can ...

Thanks.
Chad

The early KZ400s are notorious for the oil leak and the carbs can be problematic.


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Thanks, I am searching the site now....

Polarity32 wrote: Good Evening gents..
I am thinking of a cafe or scrambler type build,

Look around here for someone named diggerdanh. He's doing a really nice scrambler build from a later KZ400.

I will say that a cafe build might not be 100% feasible: unless you're a decent metalworker, you won't be able to do rearsets in any meaningful way. There are no Tarozzi or other aftermarket rearsets available AFAIK, so you would either need to start from scratch or modify a set of universal rearsets.

The footpegs are bolted to a frame lug, and I thought about simply cutting an OEM peg apart and welding in an extension to move the peg back, but ultimately decided not to bother.

Nerdy wrote:

Polarity32 wrote: Good Evening gents..
I am thinking of a cafe or scrambler type build,

Look around here for someone named diggerdanh. He's doing a really nice scrambler build from a later KZ400.

Aww, :blush: - thanks for the kind word.

The standard KZ400 has great lines that is easily adaptable to custom styles: cafe, scrambler, tracker, brat, etc. The end result really depends on how much money you want to sink into it. Unfortunately you won't get that money back if you ever decide to sell it because the KZ400s don't bring the same kind of money the little Hondas (CB/CL 350/450) do. One of the reasons for that is the parts available aftermarket. You can find anything you can dream of for a Honda, quite a bit tougher for the little KZ. But it's not impossible.

First thing I suggest is maintenance, get it running well and ride it for a while before making changes. With only 9K miles you may not need to tear into the engine at all as long as there are no serious leaks. 90% chance the early engine (74-76) will leak but if it's only a drop here and there count yourself lucky and I would not mess with it until you have to. Typical things that will need to be inspected/replaced (depending on how long it has been sitting): Check valve lash, change oil (use a motorcycle specific oil), drain and replace fork oil, you may need to replace fork seals and caps, all cables, tires/tubes, battery, chain and sprockets, points and condenser, brake pads and rear brake shoes, possibly shocks, lube anything that needs lubed, etc. Make sure to check nuts and bolts are tight, especially for the wheels, swingarm, shocks, forks.

Where you go after that depends on what you want to do. If you're going to keep the stock carbs, they are the early ones that do not use rubber diaphragms (hooray!), then stick with the stock airbox configuration. If you want to go with pods, clear the triangle, etc. you'll be better off switching to Mikuni VM carbs and K&N/Uni filters rather than trying to run pods with the stock carbs. Though that carb swap does provide its own set of work but it has been done before so you ought to be able to get the jetting in a good starting range. If you want to go to a smaller lithium battery to be able to hide it better then you'll probably want to upgrade the stock electrics to treat the battery better, like swapping out the reg/rect for a newer combo unit from Oregon, Ricks or SparckMoto. If you swap in smaller/LED turn signals you'll have to change the flasher for an electronic one, There are a couple of options for electronic ignition if you are not a fan of points, I have opted for retrofitting the electronic ignition from the later 81+ KZ440s.

Handlebars - do whatever you like, easy swap. Rear shocks are a pretty easy swap, just determine what ride height you want and then spend the money that you want to spend. There are some Progressive options for fork springs if you want to upgrade those. I did not do it on my firs bike but I really like the changing from old rubber lines to braided stainless for the front brake. Lots of other things you can change like head lamp, the brackets that hold it, gauges, that really affect the look.

As mentioned before the biggest pain you will face is with finding custom parts to fit: things like seat, rear sets, etc. For that stuff you'll pretty much be on your own. You may find more help at cafe specific sites like DoTheTon.com.

Best of luck, keep us updated and post some pics when you get it! I'm sure we can help you work through what needs to be done.

Thanks so much Digger.. I have a buddy who owns an auto shop where I can have free reign of anything there to use for the more involved work/fab.... even has a full paint booth... so sky is the limit i guess. I am not too concerned with resale , just enjoy the project and the result... I am going to get it ( i think) Sat. and just clean it up and ride it as is for a few to be able to decide what is the best way to go with the project..

Thanks again.