Prep a kz650 for a 4,000 mile trip?

Wow guys, thanks for the encouragement!

DoctoRot - That sounds like a pretty awesome trip! Do you have a ride report somewhere? :woohoo:
I will have at least a small fairing when I leave. I'm also going to get one of those "throttle rocker" things to help in that department. I would gladly take those case guards off your hands but I'm not sure if they fit the 650 - maybe someone will chime in with more info, I cant seem to find it in a search...

Like I said before though. Its not the comfort stuff that I'm worried about, I feel that all those things will sort themselves out (or I can complain about them) after 1,000 miles or so. Then I'll know better next time. As long as I can get the bike mechanically sound to a point that I'm confident it will take me that far, then I'll be set.

PS. The insurance I'll be getting has roadside assistance for motorcycles so at least I'll have something if need be.

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martin_csr wrote: I don't believe the 1000 case savers fit the 650. But those from any KZ650 will work, as well as the guards from just about any KZ750-4 (but not one or two of the GPzs & maybe not from the L3. 750-Twin guards don't fit the 650/750.). KZ550 guards should work too.

According to an MCEnterprises fitment chart that came with the 3-pt case guards that I have on my 81 650, the same guards fit the 550, 650, & most 750-4 models.

I appreciate the info. That should make it easier to find a pair!

KZ250LTD wrote: Sorry to go off topic but... Canon EOS 5D MkII?

nikon d40x with AF-S Nikkor 18-200 zoom and polarizing filter

Your bike is fine, go for it. I'm glad you have the windshield, I have a similar model on my 650 and I would not trade it for anything smaller, especially if I was looking at a trip of 4,000 miles.

You might want to increase the countershaft sprocket by a tooth, I have a 17t and the engine is happy commuting and smooths out on 50mph+ rides.

The seat will kill you. If you spend $100 on this bike then put it into a reupholster job and new foam.

Can you rig up any type of backrest? If you can you'll feel great at the end of the day.

Have fun!

Kent

Seat comfort is personal in my experience. I remember the original testers complained about the "big step" preventing them from moving around. Today, no bike has as small a step. Things change.

Back then, most testers also raved about the seat on the Honda CX500. For me, though, it was pure torture. The longest I ever managed to ride before taking a break was 50 miles. Also, the same testers complained bitterly about the Z1000 seat, which I presume is the same as on the Z1/Z900. Well, I loved the seat on the old Z1 I rode. It was just about perfect. It will be interesting to see how I get along with the stock seat on my newly aquired Z650 once the snow moves over for spring.

I never had a problem with the stock seat and never needed a backrest, but the problem with th KZ650 is it is too light and nimble if those are the words for long highway rides. Any wind blows you all over the road, blasts from trucks blows you all over, following semis from even a block will cause air to be disturbed and you are constantly trying to keep a straight line. Head wind? Forget it as shift down to 4th and run at 7000 RPM at 60mph. Big mountain passes? Not great on a KZ650. I don't mean to act like the KZ650 is not a great bike, as I have ridden probably more miles than anyone in the world on a KZ650, but it's not the best bike for long highway rides. Any bike can go highway, guys have ridden Honda Rebels cross country. I've done it on a KZ650, it is possible and not all bad, just not all great either. Everyone wants light and nimble bikes, well light and nimble is crap on the road. I remember the KZ1000MKII was tested back in 1979 and they said " steers like a truck, heavy". I already lusted after the MKII so these words of how crappy the bike was to those morons sealed the deal, I got one and yes it steers like a truck! Great it is too on the highway. I'll take the KZ650 for an everyday bike though.

I dont have any words of wisdom for you here only words of encouragement.

I would love to do whagt your are going to. I have a dream of running south then west and back through the middle some day and if I ever get the oppertunity I dont care if it is a 650 a 1000 or a moped.

You truly are blessed to have the oppertunity. and a kawasaki to do it on!

Pretty interesting how different people see things.

Virtually every test I have read held the Z1000, be that MkII or A or Z1-R or J, to be the nimblest and most nervous of the litre bikes. It's easy to see why; they generally had much less rake and trail than their competition.

The Z650 would calm down a lot if fitted with a lower, narrower handlebar that reduce the leverage. And it should have plenty of power to cruise below 75 mph unless ridden at very high altitude or fighting steep hills. For instance, the 650 turns a little less than 7000 rpm in 3rd gear at 60 mph. If we use the Cycle magazine's dyno results, that's about 43 rwhp at your disposal. I do not have a test of the MkII from Cycle, but of a Z1-R that did 11.95 at the 1/4-mile that I think compares pretty well. And it turns a bit under 4000 rpm at 60 mph in 5th gear. This equals 36 hp at the wheel. In other words, the 650 has significantly more power in third than the 1000 in 5th at most cruising speeds.

Last season, I rode an old Yamaha XT600. I do not know how much of the claimed 44 hp that where left, but it by 75 mph it was mostly all over. It still cruised at 60 mph with only 3600 rpm (less than the Z1000! ) easily on most roads and a downshift to 4th would take us up steep hills. And despite being around 110 lb less than the Z650, I never had had stability issues.

In conclusion, I will say it's down to personal preferences. For some, only a Gold Wing 1800 will convince them to do a full day on the road, others may enjoy a day riding a 2.5 hp 50 cc step-through. There's no right or wrong here, just different pleasures for different folks.

Thanks again for the input and words of encouragement.

Different people definitely see things differently, especially with regards to comfort. The KZ650 to me is the most comfortable bike I've ever ridden. However, it is also the only street bike I've spent any time on and all my other motorcycle experience comes from motocross bikes, which compared to a kz, are super painful to sit on (good thing you don't ever sit a lot).

I should be able to increase the comfort by strapping my bag onto the front of the sissy bar that I can then (hopefully) use as a back rest. I'm not at all worried about comfort, or having the best bike for long miles... This is the bike that I have and I wont have a different one for quite some time. I expect to be uncomfortable (or downright miserable) at times. Thats all part of the experience. What I am concerned about, is my bike braking down due to something I overlooked during the prep. I know its nearly impossible to make the bike bulletproof, and there is always a risk of a breakdown, but if I can do soemthing prevent a breakdown, then I'll do it.

:woohoo:

Finally got a weekend day on Sunday where it was relatively warm... in the upper 30's, no precipitation to speak of and even got a glimpse of sunshine! I took the opportunity to tinker with the KZ. She's been hibernating since early October. I put the petcock on prime for a second and proceeded to kick until the cows came home, then hit the starter... nada. After about 30 seconds of growing more and more concerned, I put the petcock back on prime and noticed some more fuel dribble into the carbs. Doh! :pinch: Should have made sure they were full before putting back to "ON". Fired up with one kick after that...

I let her warm up for quite a while and went for a short spin. Then I checked the plugs and they were white... too white, I had been meaning to give some attention to my mixture screws for awhile so I backed them out 1/2 turn to richen things up a bit. I then threw on the engine guards that I recently scored... they dont look great but oh well, its better than nothing. I then went on a 15 mile ride. Plugs looked about brand new after this, maybe a little bit of that "lean" look (burnt)... still a bit lean for my liking but its also about 38 degrees out, so who knows.

Then I decided to tackle something that I've been meaning to do for about 8 months. I busted out my never-used carbtune pro and followed the instructions. One small hickup when I didnt plug the vacuum petcock outlet on the carb well enough and it revved high like a vacuum leak (hanging idle). Easy fix. Got back to work and got them synced and everything put back together without any major issues. They were over 12cm/hg off from the lowest to the highest, so that just goes to show how little bench-syncing really does. When I got the last one dialed in I could literally hear the engine smooth out. I also richened the mixture another 1/4 turn (now they are set at 2 turns out).

I fired the bike up... and DAMN! It normally only takes a full kick to start my bike but it fired up before the starter even made it to parallel. She revs off of idle much more freely. I'd say the throttle response from idle to mid-throttle is night and day better than it was before. The popping on deceleration has almost disappeared completely as well... still a few misses (or something) that I can detect if I try hard. I had to go for a ride even though it was about to get dark... felt like I could almost pop a wheelie :blink: okay maybe not (I kindof tried), but its a huge improvement. Checked the plugs after about a 10 mile ride and they had that brand-new look to them with just a slight tan tint, I'll have to keep checking as the temp warms up and see if it changes things. It runs great and as long as the plugs never look severely burnt/pitted (especially at 38 degrees out) I'll be fine with it. Like I said, I'll see what happens when it warms up.

Conclusion: It was well worth the time I spent - if you are a noob like me and know you should sync the carbs properly but have not, just do it! You'll be glad you did! - in fact I spent damn near 5 hours working and riding to do something that would probably take most of you guys about 45 minutes. I did, however, get the satisfaction of making my bike run way better - and I got to wear a perma-grin for most of yesterday as well. Priceless...


One small thing checked off the list with a positive result

I realize that this thread is useless without pics. I'll try and get some up next time I'm working on the bike. I'm going to spend a day or at least a couple hours trying to scrub some gunk off of the engine and the bike so I'll take some before/after pics too. :woohoo:

yes I also have this same thread on kz650.info... I apologize if you are a member of both and I annoy you...