81 KZ 750 LTD Restore

As you will be able to tell from pictures that reveal a 3/4 finished shop, I'm not the best when it comes to sticking to a project. Nonetheless, I'm going to give it one more go with this bike. As the post title states, it's an '81 KZ750 LTD. Pretty much bone stock, including the original paint and decals. There are a few warts, like a broken brake lever, broken turn signal, and the original exhaust, while there, have been gutted. Also a little ding in the tank, but generally a nice foundation for a restore IMHO. The motor has less than 19K on it, and ran pretty well 5 or so years ago.

For the project, I'll mostly be cleaning her up. I'm going to have the carbs redone professionally (the oriinals, not the CR Specials in the pics) as I've just botched that up in the past. I may take votes on whether to repaint the frame, but definitely will NOT paint the tank or side panels. I don't really want to do anything that would affect the value of an "original" in a negative way.

With that said, I'd like to hear some opinions of the validity of this undertaking. This bike is not really a "dream" type thing for me (I have others for that), but something I intend to sell. Let me know if I'm better off selling it without touching it, or if a good thorough cleaning would enhance the value.

And how about that model?! That's why my bikes have been sitting for the past few years!


Sorry about the reflector glare, but you get the idea.

The cleaner the better. And a running bike is worth more than a non-runner.
A couple of cheap options to salvage the mufflers. Tractor muffler???
The tractor muffler guy then came up with this solution to address a back pressure issue. Neat trick for Mac headers

So... making things shiny took a back seat this weekend to more significant concerns. I got the old girl fired up and started remembering some problems I was having before I parked this thing back when.

It seems like it's only firing on two cylinders. It started up OK, well after some coaxing, but it's been 5 years. But it didn't quite sound right. I checked the exhaust pipes to see if they were all hot, and sure enough, only 1 and 4 were too hot to touch. Going from memory I started thinking electrical issues, but after cleaning all the ground contacts and tracing the ignition system, I couldn't find a real problem. Finally, I dug up my trusty light-up spark tester (in-line), and all four cylinders showed juice. Spark plug check looked OK. All of them were black, indicating a rich condition, but they weren't dripping with gas or anything. In fact, the number 2 plug was bone dry, just really black, but otherwise clean looking.

Right now, my hunch tells me it's carburetion, but it's just a hunch. That should be addressed soon, once I have the original carbs cleaned and back on. I'm going to do a compression check in the meantime.

Any other suggestions appreciated.

Jay

Would inspect spark quality with plugs removed (held grounded against engine) while spinning over the engine.

Would also check valve clearances.

If compression and ignition are okay, the problem likely results from a carb issue.

Will #2/3 cylinders combust when spraying starter fluid into the carb intakes?

Good Fortune!

martin_csr wrote: The cleaner the better. And a running bike is worth more than a non-runner.

Right on. After staring at it and staring at it, I decidede I really needed to start with the frame. Now let's see if this puppy gets back together right or meets the same fate as the "KZ of 1000 pieces" sitting in the barn! :ohmy: :ohmy: :ohmy:

The teardown only took about an hour and a half, and that included labeling and properly storing each bolt in a neat little tray. Sure makes a difference when you have decent facilities!

Well I'm not going to be so bold as to call it "Progress," but it's movement anyway

Replaced the valves on my little sandblaster last night, then pointed it at the frame. Got about a third of it done before the Mrs told me it was time to come in!





Thoughts on frame paint? Looking at POR-15 or powdercoating right now.

Powder coat is nice, but it would be difficult to touch up if you get any scratches on it. Ed

I won't be riding it, so if it helps sell the bike, I'm all for it! :laugh:

But that is a very good point, Ed. Thanks.

5h!+'5 about to get REAL! Just dropped the frame off at the powdercoat shop. Looks like I'll have a few weeks to get everything else shiny while I'm waiting on it. Should be back just in time for me to get everything all put back together before my third (and last) little crumb-snatcher gets here....at which point I'm on house arrest for a while!

Got the frame back from powder coating. They did a really nice job. Spent all day Saturday cleaning the engine. That's not a very fun job. Just sayin'. Got most of the gunk off, but there's still some elbow grease required to get it nice and shiny.

Here's a couple of pictures. Sorry about the quality. Camera phone + Coors + Wirewulf = shaky, poorly composed pics.

One more with my helper, getting it done!

The back half of the back is nearly done. Got the rear wheel cleaned, fender's all shiny, same with the turn signals. Got all the bits for the factory air box back together and in, and re-installed the wiring harness.