'86 KZ 1000 P - Project, Need Help

Last year, I was lucky enough to buy an 86 KZ 1000p. Had it restored by a friend who has a shop. I am not in anyway competent in restorations.

All is done. The changes I had made are: 1. Had a pillion seat installed, 2. Cut the wind screen and installed mini ape hangers.
I'm now in the testing stage and would need help regarding the following:

1. The petcock doesn't seem to be working. It is leaking. Had to install a secondary cut off switch. Any ideas how I can solve this issue? If the secondary cut off is not switched off if not used, gasoline leaks in the carburetor if the motor is not running. Have to switch every time the motor is not running.

2. The wind screen is in a terrible state. Can't seem to have it cleaned. Any ideas how to clean it? The cheapest remedy is putting on a light tint or changing it with either acrylic or polycarbonate. Which is better?

3. This is simple but I need your inputs. What is the recommended tire brand (shinko, Pirelli)? What is the best tire size to buy for the front and back. I still have the stock rims. Please advise.

4. Any other issues I should be expecting as I go and tame this beast of a bike?

Thank you. This site is very helpful.

Patrick from the Philippines

Welcome to KZR! You should be able to polish the windscreen with some 2000-3000 grit sandpaper and soapy water followed by a buffing the windscreen with plastic polish. Shinkos are cheap and good tires. I have run them on many bikes and regularly scraped the pegs. Not sure on the Police model tires sizes though. Are these bikes rare in the Philippines?

Thanks for the reply.

Yep, very rare in the Philippines. My mechanic did all that he can, its the cleanest that it can get. Maybe ill try with a tint first.

Shinko.... scraped the pegs? You mean not good? Hahaha. I use Pirellis (in some of my bikes), used shinko's too. They seem to be doing well. Any particular brand of tires for this model?

Thanks.

Scraping pegs means leaning hard enough into a turn that the footpegs scrape the pavement.

Not generally bad, but if you don't intend to do it, it definitely could be bad

Hi and welcome.
I put Metzeler Lasertec tires on front and rear.

haha. Yep. Got you. Thanks.

Thanks. Metz are great tires. Pricey but great.

Welcome to the forum. When it comes to tires, there are almost as many opinions as members here. I am a fan of Avon, and Metzeler.
The leaky petcock can usually be solved by taking it apart to thoroughly clean it and to replace all the rubber parts inside. The parts arevavailable from Kawasaki and K&L. Avoid cheap Chinese copies.
If the widescreen is beyond polishing, you can apply tint film or paint to the back side, or replace it with a new clear one.

TexasKZ wrote: Welcome to the forum. When it comes to tires, there are almost as many opinions as members here. I am a fan of Avon, and Metzeler.
The leaky petcock can usually be solved by taking it apart to thoroughly clean it and to replace all the rubber parts inside. The parts arevavailable from Kawasaki and K&L. Avoid cheap Chinese copies.
If the windscreen is beyond polishing, you can apply tint film or paint to the back side, or replace it with a new clear one.

The petcock is easy enough to rebuild. There are more than a few threads on how to do that here. I always polish the face of the lever during a rebuild.
If your carb is overflowing you should probably check the floats and fuel needles as well. I had that problem on my XS and found the float had sprung a leak on one of the carbs.
Tires are personal preference. I llke Bridgestone myself but I currently have Kendas on my P bike. They work fine and were pretty cheap.

This stuff works great on plastic. pilotgearonline.com/novus-plastic-polish