79 KZ400 Cafe

Update for those of you who are not following my other threads on here...

Got it running and rode for the first time tonight!

Lot's of tweaking and clutch adjusting but there she goes.

Also have added clip-on's since last post and am planning a new brat style seat.

Clip ons and lowered gauges...


Link to running/revving. Can't figure out how to embed videos on this forum...
s629.photobucket.com/albums/uu13/treitz2...current=204be5da.mp4

Can't even begin to thank everyone on this forum enough for all the helpful input.

I recommend you pick up a Kawasaki shop manual. They're full of useful information that will make your life easier. They give descriptions of al the bike's systems, maintenance and repair instructions, torque values (you need to be careful not to strip engine threads - aluminum is soft) and tons of other useful info. Here's one, but there are plenty others on eBay. Be sure to get the right one for your year/model. Ed

manual

Thanks, I've printed off a large portion of it via kz400.com.

Looks like you got the makings of a good project, I don't think its as much the skinny rear tire as is the big rear fender

lemo32 wrote:

Looks like you got the makings of a good project, I don't think its as much the skinny rear tire as is the big rear fender

Agreed. The tail section is way too wide. It was made that way by the PO so it would match up to the stock seat pan with little modification.

Anybody have input into my fork oil question? Thread in chasis section.

A few pics of new mufflers:

First shot of her in the "wild". Finally got the balls to take it further than 3 blocks from my house.

I Like It! :evil:

looks like a fun little zip-zip bike for scooting around town!

PLUMMEN wrote:

looks like a fun little zip-zip bike for scooting around town!

Sure is. Can't wait to "finish" it. Although I don't think it will ever be done. I already have plans for next winter when I have more time to work on it between riding seasons.

Haven't posted on here in a while! Bike ran great for the last two summers. This summer it started acting up and I decided to go 2-1 on the carb FINALLY.

Purchased a PWK Flat Slide set up from Gumpy Prichard on here and it's installed! Needs some jetting & tuning, but overall I'm very happy. Runs stronger than it ever has.

However I discovered that my carbs might not have been the main culprit of my issues. I think it's actually my petcock! With clear fuel line installed I can see that it will flow well for a while, and then almost completely stop flowing. Going to take it apart and see if a good cleaning will do the job. If not a rebuild/replacement is in order.

Next up on my list is a new paint job and maybe that brat style seat finally.

If your carbs' float bowls are empty (either had them off and just put them back on, or drained, or been sitting for a while) then when you first open the petcock you will see gas flow for a bit and then stop. This is simply the float bowls filling and the float needles seating and shutting off flow when they are full.