1978 Kawasaki KZ650 --- Restorification

Hi fellow KZ Riders! Fairly new member here. Hoping to be an active member here.

Quick introduction. My name is Allen, 19 years old, works at Firestone Complete Auto Care. Live in Seatac, WA. Previous projects were on Suzuki's.

First one is my 1980 Suzuki GS450L. Day one.


1 year later then I sold it for dirt cheap.



Second project is a 1983 Suzuki GS1100E. Day one.


4 months later, sold it. Too big of a bike for me! I poop myself when I ride it!


If anyone is interested, here is my Youtube channel showing how I built these bikes.
www.youtube.com/user/SpidershotgunX?blend=8&ob=5

So I've only had experience on Suzuki's and have been riding new bikes for 2 years now. But I find that new bikes lack character. I like to wrench on bikes so yeah....

Now, for the reason why I started this thread... It's for my newly acquired 1978 Kawasaki KZ650. Bought it for $975. $400 down and $150 weekly payments. Next week (Nov. 12) is my final payment then I can bring it home!

So far I have done zero work on the bike. But this is what the previous owner has done. First of all, he swapped in a low mileage 1982 KZ750E engine (CV carbs is the hint ), K&N pod filters with Dynojet Stage 3 jet kit, 4-1 Kerker exhaust, steering stabilizer, Lockhart oil cooler, Dyna electronic ignition, Accel (or Dyna, didn't check yet but it's aftermarket) coils, some kind of aftermarket rear shocks, and maybe more that I missed. Enough talk. Time for pictures!

It's not very pretty but it runs and drives great. It was the PO's daily ride for 2 years. But it has been sitting for a few weeks since I bought it. Since this is currently my only bike and the only bike for a LOOONG time, I plan to give it all of the goodies.

I want to redo this. KZ650 or KZ750 badges lol?

Congrats, great starting platform. After your other projects, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you do with this one.

Glad to see that you started a project thread on your new bike. Let me make a suggestion, and you can take it for what it's worth. Probably about $.02 as they say.

I know that the guys on that "other" forum have tried to scare you into thinking that all Kawasakis handle terribly and are death machines, but that KZ650 shouldn't do anything scary if it's right. I also know that you are getting ready to have a long winter up there in Washington and the temptation to tear the bike all apart might be quite strong. Do yourself a favor and get the Kawasaki factory service manual and go through ALL of the maintenance this winter. Basically do all of the little things that ensure that the bike is up to snuff. You have plenty of time to get everything right before you can ride it in spring. I know that it may sound weird hearing this from they guy who modified the bejezus out his bike, but if I had a runner at the time, I would have gone that route.

The reason that I suggest this course is simple. You will have one summer to ride the bike and figure out what you like and don't like about it. If you chose to modify it after that then dowhatchlike. Also, I'll say that I went into my project with one vision and came out with another. Just being exposed to the bike and this site for a while might change your opinion on what you want your bike be. Also I can think of at least three guys here who thought enough of their KZ650s that they kept them stock from when they bought them new all those years ago.

It looks like a really solid platform for a project bike and I'm sure that you will come out with a good result if you stay with it. BTW I wouldn't blame anyone for turning a GS450L into a cafe bike. The styling of those things doesn't do much for me from the factory.

Oh yeah, do get that petcock repaired. While the use of vice grips is creative, it can be rather hard on fuel lines over the long term.

Everything testarossa said +1.

It looks like you did quite a nice job on that red Suzuki, so this advice may not be needed, but for what it’s worth…

Perform all the maintenance as described in the manual (and please, do yourself a big favor and get the manual, actually, since you have a mix of bikes there, you'll need one for the correct model KZ750 and one for the correct model KZ650). Doing this maintenance will reveal things that may need to be address - such as swingarm bushings, steering stem bearings, etc.

Also, clean and polish what you have there. This will help you discover what's good and what's not so good. While you're doing this, check everything to see if it looks normal. Along with the petcock issue, I see something is amiss in the spark plug wiring. On the left side of the engine cylinders 1 & 2 appear to have blue spark plug wires/caps attached. But on the right side, cylinder 3 has a blue wire/cap, and cylinder 4 has a yellow wire where the wire looks to be really long. I would definitely see what’s up with the mismatched wires and make sure the coils are ok. If the coils are ok and the wires are replaceable, I would get a new set of wires/caps.

Anyway, welcome aboard and good luck with your new bike. Ed

Completely agree with you guys. All maintenance items are first thing to do. Also agree to not modify until i have ridden this for a while. So parts will go into the corner for now.

For whatever is left of riding this year, i will try to ride before it gets too cold. And when it does, i will tear into this. I will worry about mods later

Thanks for the feedback guys. I will take a closer look at the bike next week. Petcock, coils, etc

testa is 100% right, a KZ650 is in no way a deathtrap, they handle beautifully as far as I'm concerned. I used to ride a lot with a guy who had a 2005 GSXR1000, and I tried my best to keep up. She always held the road hard.

T_Dub wrote: testa is 100% right, a KZ650 is in no way a deathtrap, they handle beautifully as far as I'm concerned. I used to ride a lot with a guy who had a 2005 GSXR1000, and I tried my best to keep up. She always held the road hard.

Awesome. I will mostly be doing highway and city riding on my way to work but on my days off, i plan to ride hard in the twisties. Got a buddy with a cb900f, another guy with a gsxr750, and other dudes with other bikes. I want to be able to keep up with them in the corners. So most of my planned mods are for handling and not so much for power.

I drive a toyota ae86. Not so fast in the straightaways but it will keep up with rx7 fd, rb36 powered 240sx, supras in the corners and thats what makes it fun.

Im on my phone right now with only 18% battery left. More chit chat when i get back home

good job on the suzuki's. I'm just starting my build as well, also a 78 kz. If you ever want to get rid of those rims let me know!!

Yes, some nice work there on your previous bikes.
I'm thinking your 650 is actually a '79, or later model.
I'm betting '79 though.
Check the VIN # here www.jarlef.no/Kawasaki/Series/Z/650/z650.htm or here
models.kz650.info/Models.php .
I'm betting the VIN # is after KZ650C022801.
The rear brake caliper is different on the '79 than the '77 & '78s as well as some other minor differences.

Can you take some good close ups of the front footpegs?, as I see a previous owner swapped the mounts around to give the pegs more of a rear set position.
I'd like to see how they were done.

rstnick wrote: Yes, some nice work there on your previous bikes.
I'm thinking your 650 is actually a '79, or later model.
I'm betting '79 though.
Check the VIN # here www.jarlef.no/Kawasaki/Series/Z/650/z650.htm or here
models.kz650.info/Models.php .
I'm betting the VIN # is after KZ650C022801.
The rear brake caliper is different on the '79 than the '77 & '78s as well as some other minor differences.

Can you take some good close ups of the front footpegs?, as I see a previous owner swapped the mounts around to give the pegs more of a rear set position.
I'd like to see how they were done.

That's what I thought too since the 1978 KZ650 ONLY came in that silver color. My VIN number is KZ650C024819. 1979 C3 model, yes?

The bike is not in my possession yet but will be next week. Final payment is on Nov. 12th! I will take lots of pictures.