1980 kz650 dragbike

So as many of you know, craigslist is a terrible addiction that can cripple the wallet and possess ones attention to the point of anti-social behavior. Well the other day I was doing my bi-daily "kz" search and came up with a 19something kz650 drag bike for $350. This peaked my attention as I have been looking for a motor to build out for my current kz and this looked like a good candidate. That being said I was not expecting much, nor was I expecting to find the diamond in the rough that I found. It needs much work. Not gunna lie. It NEEDS work. I like a challenge though. I also want to race.





The good- It has am extended swingarm, aluminum shouldered 3.5x18 rim, dead mans switch, struts, wheelie bar, dyna electronic ignition, 4to1, and a history of racing with verified photos circa 2 years ago.

The bad- It will need all new consumables(not so bad), I would like to rewire it just for peace of mind, Paint could stand to be touched up, and lots of scrubbing.

All in all I paid $300 for the bike. No complaints. I just have a bunch of questions that I will be addressing in this thread. My short term goal is to get this bike to a respectable (safe) enough level to run it at the track on test and tune nights. Then if the gods permit I wouldn't mind campaigning the little guy on a budget.



So after pulling the carbs it looks like the head has had some work. The intake side looks to have been ported fairly generously and when I pull the exhaust I will see what has been done to the other side.

Also-





Can anyone identify these carbs?

One heck of a deal ya got!

They look like VM26s.

www.z1enterprises.com/reference/z1-carb-guide.aspx

The cleaning has begun.

You scumbag... (envy)

Wear Eye Protection when using carb cleaner spray because it always backfires.

Good Fortune!

Patton...you are so right about the carb cleaner. Like the saying goes...get some of that stuff in your eyes and it keeps giving...or in this case...keeps burning. Sooner or later it will get you and man...does it burn. Take his advice and guard those eyes!

So as the cleaning process continues I am halfway though the carbs and slowly chipping away at the rest of the motor and frame. Today I discovered this crazy stuff named "colonel brassy" ( www.vertexind.com/colonel-brassy.htm ) that basically cleans the just about everything. I swear it must be possessed. If you can find it anywhere just buy it and you will not look back.



So in the spirit of questions and my quest for drag race knowledge I was pondering the need for three kill switches. There is a dead mans switch on the bars, a keyed ignition, and a big red kill switch key thing on the left side where the side cover would be located. I understand it is racing and that they might need to get the bike off in a hurry but is this redundant or regulation?



So here is the cockpit. I am pretty damned sure I am going to rewire the bike if not for anything but my own sanity. Currently there are wires going everywhere. I would like to relocate the starter button to a more non-bar mounted locale or possibly run no starter at all. Racing and weight savings right? Is a starter solenoid necessary to run a starter? This bike is sans one and only has a button to operate the starter. I have not fully tracked down the wiring yet to see where it all leads but I have my suspicions all the wiring may not be there.



It also seems as if the front forks have been flipped in order to locate the disk to the starboard side. This also results in the brake caliper flipping from the rear of the fork to the front making it similar to my 77. Is there any advantage to this? Distribution of weight over the bike? Huh? I was also wondering about the black sheet metal in the spokes... Aerodynamics?



Finally it looks as if the bike is currently running a goodyear 25.0x7x18 in the d3 compound. I am pretty sure that when I get this thing running I am going to buy a new slick. What sort of tire should I look to run on the front? What sort of drag tire could I run on the front?

Whelp... Thanks for any insight... This drag stuff is all new to me.

So a bit more has been done. I sourced a braced frame from a 78 and cleaned up all the unnecessary tabs and brackets. After that I threw the motor, swingarm, and front-end on the new frame right after giving it some new paint. I also sourced a b model tank that in my opinion will look way better then the SR tank.



Next step is to get the motor painted and start figuring a charging system. If anyone has one laying around I would be much obliged to take it off your hands.



Kinda started to polish up the bits that will be polished as well.

Nice looking machine - any idea what type of exhaust that is? Though you have not posted an pics where I can get a good look at it, it does appear much like the Denco I have on my 650.