31 year old bike, 21 year old kid

That really is a nice looking bike! I think you may need to fix a leaky right fork seal too unfortunately.

A quick and dirty way I've found to get rid of spiders and their nasty little webs in guages is to park the bike in the sun and get a magnifying glass. Train the beam on the unwanted corpse or debris and it will go up in smoke. Just be careful not to hold it in place too long or you might mess up the black area on the face of the guage. I've done this on a couple of bikes I have with good success.

b]justinz830 wrote:[/b]

... I know there is a way to get the guages apart. right now I have the speedo and tach seperated, but I can't figure out how to the the glass off...

Yes, but it isn't exactly easy & you might mess it up unless you are the very patient & careful type.

I forgot to mention that I've already removed the ... case guards...

If those are the 3-pt type, they're kinda handy in protecting the engine n stuff when the bike goes down. The 2-pt type aren't as strong & fold over when they hit the pavement.

I took a closer look at the guages last night, and I think I'm just gonna leave them for now, I don't have the coin to have them restored, maybe I just need to get the needle past 100 and it'll sweep it away

9am53, good eye one the fork seal. I hadn't noticed that, I'll have to investigate this weekend. I'm hoping that that is just dust that was left from sitting, then moved up when I moved the bike around. If it does need a new seal how much of a chore is it? I've rebuild forks on another bike, but it was much smaller (Honda minitrail). I need to check/replace the fork oil in them anyway. Do most guys go back with the stock weight or a thicker oil?

Thanks again!

justinz830 wrote:

Do most guys go back with the stock weight or a thicker oil? quote]

Folks will tell you to use everything from transmission fluid to single malt Scotch, but I've been using Bel-Ray 15W in the forks of my KZ650C1 since 1977 and have had a firm ride, good handling, and zero problems. I change it every 2 years. Ed

sounds good 650ed.

and JMKZHI, they were the 2 point type, both already had some rash that had started to rust, and the left side was bent pretty bad.

Remember, if you go to a 4to1 your going to have to rejet the carbs. I have a'79 kz1000 that had a 4to1 when I got it and the guy never rejetted so it never ran right. but as soon asI put a 4to2 on it it was all good. Oh, and tha bike looks way better than minedid when I got it!

sweet ride kid,been through the same thing with my 78kz 650,my stock exhaust was rusted out so saving it was'nt an option,and yours cleaned up really nice.you might want to keep the back rest and fairing,these bikes are unique and cool the way they were set up back in the day,and Im sure whatever you do to yours will be too, have fun with it!

As to your original question about the carbs, don't take them off of the rack. If you disassemble the rack, then you have to re-sync them. You can use a aerosol can of carb cleaner to blow through all of the passages from the float bowl side and from the air filter side without disassembling the rack. If the slides aren't sticky, then this should get you running IMO. +1 on the re-jet if you go to a 4-1 exhaust. Really clean bike you have there. That's a killer start. I would get the carbs clean, check the fork seal, strip the fairing and backrest, and ride it as is until winter time if it were mine. Also might be time for new tires. Sitting for five years is not good for rubber, and those tires are a serious safety item. I think that new tires are out of date after two years on the shelf, so I don't think that I would trust them.

Wish my fater inlaw liked me that much !!!

That is a real nice bike! If you need parts z1 is the spot they have everything you could ever want .

Donot seperate the carbs i had some idoits work on my bike and they took them apart for no reason and then couldnt get them right to save there lives . I worked with a good carb guy for weeks till we got mine strait seems they didnt give us back all the parts .

IF I COULD DO IT OVER I JUST WOULD HAVE LISSEND TO THESE GUYS THEY ARE A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE.

These bikes are a blast ! and it looks like your bike was rode to the end of the planit and back with that sick fairing. From my expirence it will just keep getin better from here enjoy .

Thanks for reminding me testarossa. I've been planning to get new tires, the bike was last tagged in Missouri, so to tag it here in Kansas I have to have it inspected, and I want to have new tires before then. My question is where to get tires. I am leaning toward just going to a dealer buying the tires and having them installed. My dad has a small tire shop and we have nice machines for car tires, I could spoon the tire on without much problem, but since they are wire wheels I'm concerned about them being straight. My dad says he has relaced rims before, but it would give me some peace of mind to have a professional with the correct tools do it. Also I'm not sure how to balance these rims, and they will for sure not fit on our tire balancer for car tires. What are yours guys thoughts? where have you got your tires from and how expensive was it? Money is a factor, so cheaper is better to a point, I don't want to half a@@ it either.

DUDE. I cant believe this hasn't been mentioned yet, but anyways...

GET THE FIELD SERVICE MANUAL (FSM) for your bike!


It tells everything!
You will love it.
It will become your bible.
Your girlfriend will be jealous :laugh:

and... it will save you gobs of time, and frustration, and MONEY$$$!

GL man!