1979 KZ1000 LTD Project...

It's not a 79. Maybe the frame is but much of it isn't. Still, it's all there for the most part. Should make a good base for a nice ride when done.

As for the year, the frame is a 79 but the tank is not. So it is for sure pieced together, but that is what is sweet about older bikes, you can swap parts. I am excited to see the finished product when finished, it even came with a 4 into 1 pipe that goes out the left side. Should be rare where I live.

Thanks for your input!

So I got the exhaust on with the new machined flanges. I really like the look over the stock flanges.
I am waiting on a key and I have a friend that is going to help me look at the carbs one more time to make sure they are bench synced correctly. Then we are going to try to start her.
Looking forward to it.

nice , box bikes are real rewarding as you have been intimate with every nut and bolt. have fun .

OK, so I was wrong on the year of my KZ. I thought it was a 1979 but when I finally received the title, I found out it was a 1977. Makes more sense when digging into the wiring and the 1979 not being what I had on the bike.
The plan is to have the bike running by the beginning of Aug. I have 2 camps to do in July so Aug is a reachable goal for starting and running with it.

So the day finally came. With the help of a good friend, we were able to finally start her up. I was very impressed because after setting for, guessing, 8 years, she fired right up. It was fun putting her back together and rewarding to hear her start. Next step is to get her carbs synced and tuned up. Then this fall or next, strip her to the frame to restore.
Enjoy the link of the video on the first start and run.

Here the video of my first ride on it. Again, carbs are still out of sync.
Enjoy

So I got her started and she ran OK. Wasn't pleased but guessing that she has sat for so long the carbs needed a little sea-foam ran thru them. So I did. But that opened up some massive vacuum leaks so she will not run off choke. We are going to pull the manifold gaskets off tomorrow to check them out. Helpfully to clean them up and they will work. If not, guess I am buying some new ones. I did get it tagged and it was tagged as an antique. Wow! what does that mean about me. The bike is only 36yrs old and I am 45. Guessing I am an antique according to Kansas.
Will give an update on how the cleanup goes tomorrow night.

well, we check and I had several vacuum leaks on the intake manifolds. This was really effecting the way she ran. We got them fixed and bench synced the carbs and now she runs way better.
She needs to be Jetted out. Any suggestions? Running Pods on carbs and after market exhaust. and remember it is a 1977, not a 1979 like I thought she was. Any input would be great. Maybe someone has a set of larger jets they would like to sell or trade for a set of stock. Let me know.
Thanks for any help you can offer.

daveR

I see your last post was 2 weeks ago so maybe you have made more progress but.....

Do yourself a favor and replace those intake mainfolds (carb holders) with new ones. If will make a HUGE difference.

www.z1enterprises.com/ItemDetails.aspx?i...&item=IMK16065-028-K

What size jets are in the carbs now? 1977 KZ1000 LTD stock was 15 pilot and 105 main. What kind of pods and what type of exhaust do you have? That should help people give you a good starting point as for what jets you will need. If I had to take a wild guess I would say something around a 20 pilot and 125 main? But thats really just a wild guess.

Z1Enterprises has the jets too, they arent too expensive. Cost less than $20 for a full set of 8.

Do you have the stock airbox and associated parts?

daveruckel wrote: OK, I am new to the forum but excited to be here. So I got this bike, a 1979 KZ1000 LTD. I was given to me in boxes so I am putting it back together. The plan is to put it back together, ride it for a season to log any issues it might have, and them tear it down during next winter to repaint from the frame up.

I am excited because I use to have one of these bikes back in the early 90's and sold it to go back to college. I aways regretted that decision, but I am better off because I did. The perfect gift for my midlife crisis. I will try to post updates and where I am with it as I go. I will also be seeking input as I work thru issues. thanks for having on this forum.

The bike in the photo is not a 79.

I wish I had the stock air box, but it came to me in boxes and the person before me removed the air box and didn't have it. So I have airpods I bought from z1parts. I went ahead and bought jets from Dennis Kirk and got the sizes from the Dyna Jets kit (136/140). I went with 137.5 for the mains and still doesn't feel like that is enough. I have raised the needles as far as I can and that really helped, but still feels doggy. I guess I really need to pull a plug and look, I will do that tonight to see if it is lean or rich. I guess if it is getting too much fuel will dog it down also.
Now for the pilot jet, the size that was in the bike was a 17. I had the mixture screws out just a half turn. Now with 25 in, they are out 1 full turn. Guessing they may need to go a little bigger.
I can remember back when I had a 1979 KZ1000, that thing would stand straight up when I got on it. Kind of wanting to get this to that type of performance. It is far from it.
THanks for your input.