1981 KZ440LTD-A2 Restoration Project

I'm running with the stock handlebars until I can get a few miles under my belt and really get used to how it handles before throwing new bars on it.

Fair enough, but try just sitting on it, moving the bars and imagining controlling the bike. I'm 5'10" 210 lbs. and I found it cramped and difficult to move.

I'm 6'1" at 225, so I'd probably be crushed! Lol!

I won't physically have the bike until Sunday, but would you knkw the length of the brake line, off-hand?

So I picked up the bike yesterday, and lost daylight so got cracking today. As it sits right now, it will not start, but does turn-over. It is also missing the almighty air filter holder and filter. (dear god why!?) I sprayed some carb cleaner into the intake boots, and it fired a couple of times, then died immediately. I also noticed the clutch cable is a little sticky, so I followed down it to where it connects under the bike, and found a pretty substantial oil leak from above. Leaving that for another time, I tried running through all the gears with the bike off, and it will shift into 1st with a small amount of rocking, and up into neutral but no further. (might just be the old cable?) All of the indicators work, but I won't know about the headlight until it's running. I checked the oil for viscosity and the smell of gas from carb overflow, and it seemed to be okay. (did smell like gas for a second but it might have been my hands) It's times like these I wish I had a garage, and a workbench... Luckily, the previous owner replaced the front and rear pads/shoes during the week, so I can skip that.

Long story short, where do I start from here?

Don't be concerned about it not shifting into 2nd gear while sitting still. The transmission has a feature that prevents it from shifting into 2nd gear or higher until the bike is moving.

If the bike hasn't been run for more than a couple months the carbs probably need to be cleaned and you should get fresh fuel. After you clean them add a fuel line filter before turning on the petcock or you may get some funky junk flowing right back into your clean carbs. Ed

Thanks Ed! If it weren't for you, I'd be pulling my hair out, literally. I just picked up a can of thag chem dip, and am going to pull the carbs, spray em down with carb cleaner, scrub em down, rinse em real good with hot water, chem dip em, scrub em again, and rinse them down again. Sound good?

Also, does anyone know what the factory set-turns are for all the screws, jets, and whatnot?

Ran into a few aggravating setbacks while busting down the carbs.

Firstly, my carbs were pretty dirty on the inside, and the float bowl o-rings looked liquified by age and exposure to improper chemicals. Secondly, the diaphragms had developed quite a sticky and rusty adherence to the inside of the carb bodies. Without even thinking about potential damage, I almost completely stripped both of the primary main jets, but luckily had the mind to spray liquid wrench on them and let them soak while moving on to other bits. (After taking off a little chip or two. Ooops :blush: ) The pilot jets in both the carbs are stuck really well, too. But they are currently getting the LW treatment tonight, and getting the screwdriver tomorrow.

NOW ON TO THE SETBACKS (DAMNIT)

I have three small holes in my right carb diaphragm.

Here are two of them.


And this one is the biggest.


When cleaning the float bowls, I was gingerly working on one, got it clean, and set it down happily. Making my progress ahead of schedule, I grabbed-up the second one (the right one) and heard the sound of metal clinking around in it, looked down, and found THIS-



It seems that the previous owner (the original owner BTW) had tried to makeshift-gasket this back together, and it finally failed miserably.

WHAT THE HELL DO I DO!

New diaphragms are available, but they are very expensive. Maybe someone has an old set in better shape or maybe the smaller holes can be repaired? Ed

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