1976 KZ400S2 Gokart project start

I have had an idea to put a motorcycle engine in a gocart forever now. Not an original idea but it sounds fun as hell. I have had a 1983 GS300L suzuki motor sitting in my kitchen for the past year. I thought i was going to put that in a cart until i was told about a KZ400 that a guy had. I talked to him about the bike while waiting on my KZ1000 while my dad went to pay some bills. I told him about my dad's Cafe racer KZ400 and that it was a 76'. He said his was too. I asked him what was wrong with it and he said it needed a NEW carburetor set. So, i think "hmmmmmm" I went to go and look at the bike today and as far as it sits, the bike sounds like its got good compression, not to rusty, complete, and paint don't look to bad either. He said he wanted 250 for it. I did some negotiating and just to help me sleep tonight, i talked him down to 150. I have the money in my wallet. I borrowed the 100 from my dad and i covered the 50 and took care of transportation of the bike from the west side of Sioux city back to where i live in Morningside. This bike will be tore apart im sure. My dad wants the gauges, tack cable, rear brake assembly (including the tab that comes off the frame to mount the brake pedal). All i asked for was the motor, carbs, wiring, and electronic components like the rectifier and regulator. He can have everything else. Im thinking maybe a craftsman riding lawnmower for a frame? idk. Ill keep you guys posted. Should have it running and driving like the first half hour i have it home:D ill take some pics too.

ok, i got the bike out in the parkinglot waiting for disassembly. The carbs are F***** so i decided to use 1 individual dirt bike carb for each cylinder. Im going to use CR125 carbs. they are 33mm Keihins that should probably work awesome. Engine may need a rebuild. the starter clutch isn't engaging either. it will probably need a new ACgenerator too. Ill keep you guys posted.

id say that one 33 would be plenty for both cylinders

Them lil KZ400's breath pretty deep at 25,000 rpm. :laugh:

Please excuse my ignorance, but are proper carbs for the 400 very rare/expensive? Why not use the right carbs? It would seem to make the tuning a lot more straightforward. In seriousness I think that twin 33's wouldn't get a very good vacuum signal at any attainable rpm for that motor.

Well, the one complete set of carbs that i found on ebay are 200 dollars:/ i found each individual carb for 100 dollars a piece but honestly, i probably have another 150 bucks in my budget for this whole project. Im probably just gonna make the frame from scratch in the shop a school. I got the whole idea from this Guy on youtube who built a cart when he was 15 out of scratch and a CB450 hellcat motor. heres the video...



This guy is a mechanical badass:D Anyway, ill have pics up tomorrow of the bike itself and the destroyed carb bodies i was talking about.

There she be:)

Sorry for the threadjack but check this one out, 1000cc. Yoshimura motor.

I had visions of a 900 motor in a riding lawnmower when I lost my license years ago, so a 440 on a go cart sounds doable to me. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I decided that i was just gonna make a frame from scratch but the only problem im having so far are the tire rod ends and the spindles and stuff. Not sure how to go about making that stuff. So i figured i would get all of the steering parts from a Craftsman riding lawnmower and call it good.

Ok, i decided to use a 32mm Round slide keihin and run maybe a 125 main? and a 40 pilot? not sure. Emulsion valve will be removed as well. I have seen how they make the intake manifolds at Billet Customs so i think maybe ill just braze one together myself.

Sweet! I did a points sanding and seeding with 400 grit silicon carbide black sandpaper and then rubbed them together for a good contact. Snapped them open and closed with my finger and that spark plug was jumping around, shooting out bright ass bolts of lightning. Everyhthing seems to be in order now. I think Tomrrow will be the big engine swap between my dad's Cafe to this bikes frame with all the tabs and stuff. When i pull this engine, ill just leave it out for the bench test since it goes in a gokart next anyway. Ill video tape everything as it goes down:D

OK, My dad just rented a 3 car garage for an AWESOME deal. We now have a place to paint, powdercoat, rebuild, and work on any bike we want to:) Both of the 1976 KZ400s are together in the garage now. Tomorrow, me and my dad are going to clean the garage out and rid it of all the plywood scraps, sawdust, and organize where the guy gots his lawnmowers and stuff. I replaced all of the damaged parts in the carbs off of the cafe racer. Now we have to swap motors, wiring, bodywork, and wheels/tires. My dad has a friend who has a MiG welder too so i might be able to make a frame if he'll let me use it at his shop.. I'll keep you guys posted.