Master cylinder decisions

So the master cylinder looks terrible lots of caked up goo in it from its sitting time I can't find a new/refurbished one and u can't seem to find s kit to do it myself. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places.

Anyhow should I continue a relentless search our can/should I replace it?

Let me know what talk are thinking and I'll get some photos up

You're lucky. Rebuild kits for your master cylinders are easy to obtain. See the links below for a master cylinder rebuild kits for the 1981 KZ750-H2 (LTD). You may want to double check with K&L before ordering (see last link below). Ed

FRONT:
www.amazon.com/Supply-Master-Cylinder-Re...hicleType=motorcycle

REAR:
www.amazon.com/Supply-Master-Cylinder-Re...1-1&keywords=32-8053

K&L LINK:
www.klsupply.com/

I would remove the piston & take a good look at the cylinder bore. it could be pitted n stuff, so a new piston kit might leak. Also, the top cover diaphragm tends to leak, so you'd need that as well. the calipers may need rebuilding too. and brake lines.
Z1Enterprises.com has the K&L mc kit & caliper stuff. not sure if they have the diaphragm.

Does your bike have the stock Ltd handlebars? if so, are you planning to replace them? in that case you'd want to get new bars first, then a replacement mc. usa-motorcycles-inc has new aftermarket master cylinders. eebbaaay. there are probably other sellers who have the same stuff.

One of my next projects..... master cyl and caliber (have both kits from K and L waiting)..... got mine off Ebay ........ manual says replace hoses every 4 years too and since mine are 38 years old........ thinking its time. Some on here like and trust the OEM Kawasaki seals better to late for me though as I sprung for the K and L's a while back and before really looking into it...... agree on the diaphragm too but still need that.... have the plastic seal for that though.

Good deal I have to remember eBay isn't the only source of parts...

I don't have the original handle bars but I don't really plan to change them out for now I want to check their comfort first I guess, as for now I plan to roll with them. I would prefer to keep the original cylinder so I'll be running with the rebuild kits first. Espically for the calipers as well.

Replacing the hoses has crossed my mind, they look good as far as I can tell but I don't know if that because they were replaced in appropriate time or they were just well maintained. Either way I'll be searching for replacements as well, better safe then sorry.
Thank you all!

Welcome Trish, and these guys are wicked smart and have pointed you in the right direction. Make sure to follow the advice of Martin and Ed, inspection is really important on those areas and pieces.

Brett

First thing is to inspect the bore of the master cylinder. There is a very high probability that if the reservoir is full of dark brown fluid with chunkies inside that the bore will be corrosion pitted. If that's the case just throw the master in the trash can and go get a new one.

If you get lucky and find the bore is in good condition then get an OEM Kawasaki master cylinder plunger w/new seals. I strongly advise against K&L rebuild kits since the quality is POOR. This is doubly true with their piston caliper kits but not limited to that. On three different occasions I have personally experienced poor quality from K&L brake system parts; two times caliper piston seals were the wrong size and one time, a master cylinder plunger was too large and scrapped inside the master bore. Never again.

Oh and be sure to tear down the calipers and clean them out. Replace the seals while you are at it and get new brake lines. The old lines are almost sure to be full of scale from decades of old fluid sitting in the lines.

Brakes are not to be taken lightly. Your life may depend on doing the job right the first time.

Trisha31 wrote: ... I don't have the original handle bars but I don't really plan to change them out for now I want to check their comfort first I guess, as for now I plan to roll with them. I would prefer to keep the original cylinder so I'll be running with the rebuild kits first. Espically for the calipers as well. ....

The reason I asked about the bars is that the stock Ltd mc has an angled mount, so different bars can cause the mc reservoir to sit at a steep angle. some guys go ahead & ride like that, but I'd rather have it level or at least not tilted too much. And if you were going to change bars, you might want to do that first, then the mc.