KZ 650 E ( E Stands for Extra!!!)

Finished cleaning up the cases last week. I plastigauged the new rod and main bearings to verify clearence. I start reassembly of the case later this week. I discoved the steering bearings were toast so i ordered a tapered bearing kit for the neck. I also talked myslef into rebuilding the forks while I had everything apart. I suppose I should take the swing arm out and clean it up too... it just never ends.


By t_f_b , shot with Canon PowerShot SD400 at 2009-05-27


By t_f_b , shot with Canon PowerShot SD400 at 2009-05-27

The engine is back in the frame and the rest of the parts are starting to come together. I spent an entire weekend on the engine cases, they were in tough shape. The wiring is done for the new ignition and coils and the paint is dry on the last of the parts. I hope to be riding this week.

It's alive!!!! I drove it for the first time last night! I had a few minor issues but have resolved all but one. I have a few things to adjust and check but it started, ran, and drove and I can't ask any better for such an intensive rebuild. I had the body work professionally painted and it is a show stopper, I promise to post pics soon. I was more worried about getting it to run than using my camera.

My final thoughts on the build:

Things that I am glad I did-

1.Split the cases - holy crap it was a lot of work but the piece of mind of having a 100% rebuild on an engine is nice. All new gaskests, seals, and orings on top of new rod and main bearings should prevent those pesky mainteninace issues for many years.

2.Wiseco Pistons - Oh hell yeah! Expensive yes, but very nice stuff. You get what you pay for. Also I took the time to rebuild the starter clutch and with the extra stress on it from the increased displacement and compression I wouldn't have been comfortable with leaving it alone.

3.Wired George Carbs - This is a very expensive service, no doubt about that. But I am STILL in shock over the quality of his work. They look better than when they were new. I am very gald sent them off to him. Plan on lengthly lead times with his service, it took about three months to get mine back. Still well worth the wait.

4.Ignition and wiring - I installed the dyna iginiton and got rid of a pair of old worn out coils and rewired everything. A good solid igniton system is a must on any project like this.

5. Hex screw bolt kit - a simple upgrade but a HUGE one. I bought a bolt kit from Z1E and am soooo happy I did. This is a inexpensive modification and a no brainer. Makes service so much better. It looks cool too.

6. Ceramic header paint - I had messy chrome kerker headers on this bike and rather than replace them I decided to use VHT from NAPA. I am impressed how well they turned out. I just sand blasted the chrome that was there to rough up the surface and sprayed the VHT on. They look great and saved a ton of money.

7. Tapered steering bearings - this was not something I planned on doing but I discovered my bearings were shot. The tapered bearings are a big improvement and well worth the money.


Things I could have done differently-

1. A new head - I bought a used head and reground the valves and seats. I may find years down the road that a new head would have been the better way to go. I may not be able to service the seats in this one again. You can find NOS heads for a few hundered dollars and that isn't that much in the scheme of things.

2. Different forks - I spend a lot of time rebuilding and cleaning up the forks and front break calipers. I may have been better off with a late model front end on this bike with new brakes. I may end up with different forks down the road anyway.


3. A turbo charger.... okay but I may kick myself for not putting one in now :laugh:


I will start a new post with pics of the finished build because this post takes a long time to load for some reason.

Thanks to everyone at KZR for thier advice and help and inspiration. Another KZ has been brough back to its former glory.