Nitsua93's 1978 KZ650 Cafe

Hi! Figured since I'll have so many questions I should start a thread! I forgot to take a picture of the bike I picked up but I'll get one tomorrow. The bikes a red 1978 KZ650 with about 21k. Previous owner was kind of stupid and did some mildly getting things, like using silicone to seal the cracking airbox hoses. Oh well, I'll switch to pods and rejet the carb. I've got lots of questions to follow!

Also, I'm from Lafayette, Indiana if anyone's a local!

The good pictures are on page 3!

How well does the bike run? Before considering pods I would HIGHLY recommend you do a full tuneup on the bike and get it running at top performance level for a stock bike. This will establish a solid baseline from which to work. Then when you switch to pods you will know that any degradation in performance is related to jetting, and as you rejet you can tell if you are getting closer to the stock, baseline performance level. Lots of guys fiddle with pods & jetting on bikes that were already experiencing performance problems unrelated to the carbs (timing off, pitted points, bad coils, etc.) and they expect some miracle to make the engine run well (but there is no miracle).

You didn't say exactly what you are trying to accomplish by switching to pods, but if you are switching simply because the air ducts are cracked you will spend considerable more $$$ and time going to pods than if you just replaced the air ducts. They are still available from Kawasaki and cost less than $40 for the set. Ed

Simply switching to pods to get it running. The boots were in such bad shape I'd never use them. Once I get it running on pods I'll definitely switch back to the stock box.

No offense, but it strikes me you will spend an awful lot of time and money trying to get it to run well (rejetting, etc.) with pods only to go back and rejet again when you install the airbox. If you plan to use the airbox, wouldn't it be much easier it be easier and less expensive to just get the air ducts, install them, and move forward with tuning the engine? Ed

I'm only worrying about getting it running right now. All I need is for it to fire up and rev. I'm mot putting much money into it until it does. I don't need it to run perfect, just run. For now.

Is it safe to take the coils from my 1983 KZ700 and put them on my 78?

nitsua93 wrote: I'm only worrying about getting it running right now. All I need is for it to fire up and rev. I'm mot putting much money into it until it does. I don't need it to run perfect, just run. For now.

Is it safe to take the coils from my 1983 KZ700 and put them on my 78?

The KZ700 has electronic ignition and uses different coils that the '78 K650 with points ignition, but I don't know what the impact of swapping coils would be. Ed

650ed wrote:

nitsua93 wrote: I'm only worrying about getting it running right now. All I need is for it to fire up and rev. I'm mot putting much money into it until it does. I don't need it to run perfect, just run. For now.

Is it safe to take the coils from my 1983 KZ700 and put them on my 78?

The KZ700 has electronic ignition and uses different coils that the '78 K650 with points ignition, but I don't know what the impact of swapping coils would be. Ed

I swapped them and I'm getting consistent spark unlike with the original coils.

Since I seem to be having ignition issues I'll be swapping the electric ignition from my kz700 into my kz650

You may need to get a timing advancer from an 81-83 650-CSR.

When I opened up the points cover I saw that it's already been upgraded to Dyna electric ignition!

Here's some large pictures of the bike! It didn't have turn signals when I got it though or that rear rack. I'm not sure if I'll keep that on or not :dry:

I've got a few questions. The bike is really hard to start cold. Not sure if I'm just not used to it or what. This is my first bike so I'm still learning. When cold, what's the proper starting procedure? Also, what are the 3 different settings on my petcock? I know middle is prime to fill the bowls. I'm not sure which one it should be on when starting the bike or when driving it.

Also, (you're all going to hate me) what jets should I use? 4 into one exhaust and pod filters. Can someone provide me a link with good tuning information?

Lastly, is it possible to swap my 84's dash and ignition switch?