1982 KZ1000-J2 Project

Okay, so I'm new to the forum, and it was suggested I start a thread on my project, so that's what I'm doing.

I picked up a 1982 KZ1000-J2 for a song, but it's currently non-running, and it's been 'aesthetically abused'. I know the guy I bought it from , and I know the guys he rides with, and based on what I've heard from everyone, the bike is mechanically sound (despite having the frame chopped - booo). The bike only had 6500 miles on it when the previous owner bought it, and he couldn't have put more than 500 on himself, so I'm guessing around 7,000 miles total.

Here's what the bike looked like before he started hacking it:







And here's what the bike looked like when he was finished:






He chopped off the end of the frame, made a psuedo-seat for it, and replaced all the lights with LEDs, and basically turned the wiring harness into a rat's nest. Then he rode it for a few months, and started having some sort of electrical problem. When he couldn't figure it out, he starting cutting up the wiring harness.... what had been a rat's nest has become a Rat King....
So here's what I have now:













I know what he was trying to do... but the execution left something to be desired. My last bike was a Speed Triple, and I like the street fighter look.. but this isn't it.
I don't have any interest in getting it back to 'original' - I could just buy one in original shape for less than it would cost to restore it... but it needs some tasteful assistance, cuz right now it's a hot mess.

I've been debating how to approach it. I've settled on a two-step approach:

1) Forget trying to repair the harness - I'm going to remove the entire harness, and simply rewire it from scratch. Unfortunately, because it's missing so much of the original electronics, a new wiring harness doesn't really do me a lot of good, so it's going to be custom point-to-point wiring.... in addition, I hate how many interconnects were on this model - those old Molex connectors are terrible, IMHO... there will be a lot less interconnects when I'm finished with it. I'm going to put the original headlamp back on it, and I'm going to get some turn signals that are similar to the originals. I'll probably also replace the fuse buss with modern blade-type.

2) I'll get it going and ride it this summer, make sure I really get a feel for where it needs to go stylistically, then when Fall rolls around I will take it down to the frame, weld the rear part of the frame back on, get a nice powdercoat job on it, clean everything up, get the tank and side panels painted, and start the reassembly process. The front suspension seems a little mushy, so I'll probably rebuild that, but I'm guessing everything else will be fine.

So I'm starting with the wiring. I can read a schematic, and I've read (and drawn) enough of them to know that not everything has to go on the same page - that's fine for a technical reference, but not for a working document. So, I've re-drawn the wiring diagram, separating out the networks (grouped around specific components). This is what I'm going to be building off - I'm posting it on the off-chance it might be useful to someone else:

KZ1000_WiringDiagram_Battery.pdf
KZ1000_WiringDiagram_Brakes.pdf
KZ1000_WiringDiagram_DimmerSwitch.pdf
KZ1000_WiringDiagram_GaugesIndicators.pdf
KZ1000_WiringDiagram_Ground.pdf
KZ1000_WiringDiagram_Headlight.pdf
KZ1000_WiringDiagram_ICIgnitor.pdf
KZ1000_WiringDiagram_IgnitionSwitch.pdf
KZ1000_WiringDiagram_Odometer.pdf
KZ1000_WiringDiagram_Relays.pdf
KZ1000_WiringDiagram_Starter.pdf
KZ1000_WiringDiagram_Stator.pdf
KZ1000_WiringDiagram_TurnSignalLamp.pdf
KZ1000_WiringDiagram_TurnSignalSwitch.pdf

Anyhoo, that's where I'm starting.

Shame such a nice specimen got chopped up but I'm glad you're going to bring it back.
Best of luck on your new project!

thanks for posting ..lots of helpful things in this thread..bike looks great

Got the rat's nest undone, identified all the components, started replacing all the junctions with bullet connectors.










And it looks like someone moved the sped sensor to the rear wheel.... Assuming it works, I'm just going to keep it there.

A few things to think about:
Those solderless crimp connectors are exposed to the weather, maybe re-think that and get some better connectors. You can buy the factory connectors, or weather resistant bullets. Or you could solder then heat shrink those for a solid connection.
This would be a perfect time to replace the Glass fuse and clip OEM fuse box, and upgrade to the Spade ATC style of box. There are some threads here where it is done, and shown how/ where to buy/ mount. Pretty cheap these days for the Box and fuses. these LTD bikes had a lot of power through the Main 30amp fuse. i would break that down to 2 separate fuses getting the head light off on its own.
Then I see you have "Pods" on your BS34 Carbs. Do a bit of research and type in Pods in the search box here at KZR. Look at some of the current Pod threads, then maybe you might re-think that move also.

Thanks! Yeah I don't put any faith in solderless crimps - the ones you see in the photos above are the OLD stuff that I yanked out.

Im using bullet connectors for everything, and they all get soldered as well as crimped. Of course, the connecters themselves don't solder together, but the bullet connecters seem to have the greatest area of mating surface, and they click into place. Finish with shrinktube, and I'm pretty confident it will stand the weather.

I already ordered a 6-position modern blade fuse box, should have it tomorrow.

Re: pods - what does that mean? is that the type of air filter? ok I will search on it and again, all these pictures show the OLD stuff, exactly as I received it - I'll get some pics of the new stuff up this week.

Getting closer... as I said above, I'm going to ride it for the summer, then decide what I really want to do to it.

But the rewire is finished. I replaced all the old molex connectors with heavy terminal strips, and I coated it all with a very light coat of silicon to protect it from the elements.




Mechanically, I got the oil seals replaced and the clutch adjusted, and now it's ready to rock. Until I decide what I ultimately want to do with it, I'm going with flat black for the tank and trim. I'm pretty sure it needs the carbs adjusted, but I think I'm going to take it to my local shop for that - I don't really have the time to climb the learning curve, and I've already spent a fair amount of time on this (the funny thing is the re-wire was the easy part, and that's what no one wanted to touch).

Just waiting on the horn and tail light, then it's legal to ride. I've already taken a few quick test rides around the neighborhood, with the wires coiled up in front and back

I replaced the old buss fuses with a modern fuse box (and I LOVE the new fuses with LED indicators to show you when they are blown - so convenient!)




And I REALLY love the original headlight..it's just so badass...




One bit of trouble I had was with the pegs... I don't have the original brackets that went on the side, so there is no place to screw in the pegs - but I don't have the original pegs either So, I got some aftermarket pegs, but ther eis only one place to mount the, and of course the kickstand was in the way... so after some dicking around, I finally just decided to cut the kickstand in half, and rotate the lower half 180 degrees... now the curve is right, and it doesn't interfere with the footpeg.... it stands a little more upright now, but next week I'll probably make one more fut at the base, and re-weld the foot at a more sever angle, so it leans over a little farther when parked.




Another mod I made was the oil and neutral indicators - I am not using the original speedo and tach (because I don't have the original odometer, and they all work together), I just drilled two holes in the back of the headlight bucket and put in LEDs for the indicators... I used a 200 ohm, 1/2W resistor, and that gives the perfect amount of brightness, perfectly visible in daylight.




And last but not least I got new turn signals (metal casings, mo better!) and a rear fender on Ebay for $20... has a couple dents but I'll get it fixed up when I get around to the frame-off rebuild. Right now I just wanna ride it