79 KZ650 Basket Case Build Thread

New here but thought I'd start a build thread on my basket case 79 KZ650. Before I get into it I'll share the background of this bike. It belonged to my good friend, the guy that got me into motorcycles over 20 years ago. Together we rode the KZ and my Gps 1100 throughout Central Florida. We moved to North Georgia in the mid 90s and tore up the mountain roads there, then moved back to Florida. Eventually he got out of bikes and into cars and gave me his KZ as "payment" for helping him in the pits during a weekend road race. Time rolled on, he met and married his wife, I met and married my wife, we started our families and drifted apart. The poor KZ sat behind a barn in East Tennessee for over a decade, untouched.

A few years ago I was bored and looking for a project and decided to put the old Kawi back on the road. It turned out to be a false start and it sat a few more years. Recently we moved to South Georgia and I decided I really need a distraction from work, so I loaded up the bike and moved it once again to a new home in a new state. I hope to get it running over the fall and winter and be able to ride it in the spring.

I have been reading this website a lot lately and I see there is a lot of knowledge here. I've seen some very nice bikes come from stack of boxes and barns, and hope to add another one to the list here. I'm going to try to post some pics of where I'm starting from.

Here is where I started.

Here it is loaded in the back of the truck, with boxes full of spare parts, ready to head south. Again.

Welcome aboard. The bike looks like it’s had a number of different parts installed. Judging by the wheels & brakes it looks like a 1980 KZ650-F1 model, but the engine appears to be a 1979 KZ650 model. It definitely has a 1977 KZ650-C1 tank. Ed

650ed wrote: Welcome aboard. The bike looks like it’s had a number of different parts installed. Judging by the wheels & brakes it looks like a 1980 KZ650-F1 model, but the engine appears to be a 1979 KZ650 model. It definitely has a 1977 KZ650-C1 tank. Ed

You have no idea! I'll post what I know of as this thread continues, but I didn't know about the wheels and brakes. The tank that's on it is from the salvage yard, but I have another tank that was on it when I rode alongside it years ago. That tank had bondo filler in the tank badge area. I appreciate you pointing those differences out though.

Does this engine serial number look like it came on a '79?

When my friend bought the bike in the early 90s it was in boxes, so there's no telling where its been and what's been changed over the years.

Yes. The 1979 KZ650-B and C models’ engine serial number range began with KZ650BE092001, and the 1980 KZ650 engine serial number range began with KZ650BE114501, so your engine’s serial number is that of a 1979 KZ650-B or 1979 KZ650-C model. The link below connects to a KZ650 model / engine number chart. Ed

models.kz650.info/index.htm

Thanks 650ed!

So I pulled the engine out last week and have been taking it apart a little at a time after work. It's amazing how familiar this engine design is even though its been 20+ years since I wrenched on one. Haven't needed to use the manual yet, though I know I will when reassembly time comes.

Got the cases split this morning. For having sat outside for so many years, its surprisingly clean inside. No rainwater in the oil (thankfully). I'll start inspecting the critical components in the coming week and make a list of what the engine will need to get back in running condition.

Cams look clean.


Cases ready to split.


Something looks different.


Something extra in here?

Looks like someone slipped in a KZ550 tranny in there. Enjoy! I'd add a ZR 750 starter clutch in there while it's open. Just a suggestion...

azman857 wrote: Looks like someone slipped in a KZ550 tranny in there. Enjoy! I'd add a ZR 750 starter clutch in there while it's open. Just a suggestion...

It's been a long, long time, and I was never much of a motorcycle mechanic, so what I'm about to post is probably not entirely accurate. When my old friend built this engine he was a student at a motorcycle mechanic school. While there he figured out he could mix and match parts from different Kawasakis to get a 6-speed trans in the KZ650. If I remember correctly he combined parts from a KZ550 as well as a GPz 750 to make it work. He had to remove the kick starter though. As I would like to have a bike with a functioning kickstarter I plan to go back with the stock 5-speed out of the spare engine I have. I suppose it wasn't much of a secret that it can be done, but in those days I had never heard of such a thing.

As for the starter clutch I read the thread in the engine section and I'm actively looking for the parts to make that swap.

There is an excellent thread about putting a KZ550 tranny in a KZ650 case. It also explains about the ZR starter clutch fitting. I just added the later starter clutch in my '82 750GPz engine of my KZ/GPZ hybrid project. Should be able to find it using the search feature.
If that was my engine, leave the 550 trans in there and maybe find a 550 kick start to install and regain that capability. Should be bolt in if that case is drilled and tapped for a kicker. Could be that it's the same parts except for the gear that spins the tranny shaft. I do not know for sure. The ZR starter clutch was a direct swap. The hardest part was getting the clutch off. LOL.

550 motors never came with a kick start so there are no parts to make that happen.

Would you be able to post a picture of the clutch hub? I’m curious if they machined the hub to properly fit the 550 input shaft or if they just had the nut hanging on by a couple of threads.
I machined mine, so I’m curious how others have done this in the past.

Thanks in advance!