Starting a rusty '82 KZ750

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Turns out it didn't take that much to get her to start. After cleaning the carbs I strapped in a battery to see if she'd run and she did (whoot!).



After that, I started bottom up. Removed the wheels gave them a hose off and removed the brake lines and brake calipers for cleaning. Broke the calipers all the way down. Needed some new rubber seals but most of it was in good shape. Cleaned the hoses and MC as well. Did not fully reinstall yet, just sort of got everything into place ready to torque down. Everything is pretty much back on the bike but the pipes are still off. I intend to just get this bike on the road at first, then give one system my full attention at a time. I had to get a spare gas tank from an '81 B model I think because my tank had tons of pinholes and I have yet to seal it. So next order of business is torque down the brakes and put some fluid in them. See if she will brake. At least the bike rolls now.



One other thing, I couldn't help myself and bought a sad '82 440 LTD this weekend. It is not running either. My plan is to get the kz750 on the road then work on the 440. That way I'll have a bike to ride whenever I'm working on the other. (this is how I rationalize my purchase). I think I'm more likely to enjoy working on the 440. 2 cyl

Sounds like you're well on your way in getting both bikes roadworthy.
Is that a four legged helper in one pic?
Maybe you can teach him/her to ride.

You've taken the braking system apart, lines etc.
Will you replace the crush washers on either side of the banjo bolt/brake line connections?
They are a one use item I believe.
I have reused a few over the years with no issue.

rstnick wrote: Sounds like you're well on your way in getting both bikes roadworthy.
Is that a four legged helper in one pic?
Maybe you can teach him/her to ride.

You've taken the braking system apart, lines etc.
Will you replace the crush washers on either side of the banjo bolt/brake line connections?
They are a one use item I believe.
I have reused a few over the years with no issue.

Hey rstnick. I've got a 1yr old pup named Penny. She's 'energetic' and excitable. First I'll train her to stay in the yard... then we can work on her motorcycle skills.

I did end up purchasing some 7/16 copper washers at NAPA at more than a buck a piece ($18). I've reused in the past w/o issue but I have a little more money these days. In the past I'd sand washers flat (50 grit on glass) and reinstall. I kept the old ones for backup tho.

Just look at those crisp new crush washers on the MC.

That tank looks like it was from a 750H (LTD) model 4 cylinder. 750E tanks are hard to come by so good luck either finding a decent one or fixing yours.

BTW, you may want to replace the old brake lines. They are sure to be filled with sludge on the inside.

Nessism wrote: That tank looks like it was from a 750H (LTD) model 4 cylinder. 750E tanks are hard to come by so good luck either finding a decent one or fixing yours.

BTW, you may want to replace the old brake lines. They are sure to be filled with sludge on the inside.

Thanks Nessism. No doubt these lines aren't nearly pristine. It's on the Wish List. I'm ok with getting the bike road worthy for now and improving it piece by piece later on. I might even just sell it after I get the 440 LTD up and running. Keeping my options open for now.

Here she is runnin' when I revived her.




That's the bike yelling in ecstacy btw.

Not much to report. Xmas holiday kept me pretty busy. Did manage to purchase some exhaust gaskets to put the pipes back on. Disassembled and reassembled the petcock (2 actually the other tank came with a spare). When the gaskets come in I'll be able to get the pipes back on, put the spare tank on, put in the new battery and actually get a chance to synch her.

Pipes are off and apart. I just couldn't put them back on the bike without cleaning them up some. So I dumped what I could into some Vinegar to remove the rust and have the 1 and 4 pipes left to cleanup by hand. My question is about reassembling the pipes. Can the exhaust crossover gaskets be reused? I feel like they can but not sure if mine are in good enough condition. Pics aren't great but give me some feedback? Thanks guys.

Removed header #2 and #3 from the vinegar last night along with all the misc parts of the exhaust system. Rinsed and cleaned them up with a brass brush in a solution of baking soda and water (baking soda to neutralize the vinegar acid). Came out ok. Clearly pitted but no rust color. Sprayed it all down with WD-40 to keep the flash rust at bay. Will clean up the #1 and #4 pipes now. Those headers are in very good condition so I'm going to focus on just removing as much rust as I can from the sections that rusted in the undercarriage. I don't have the time (or inclination) to find or construct a container to soak them in so I'm trying something different. I'm soaking cloth in vinegar and placing them over the rust to sit. This may not work for the heavily corroded areas but for the light rust I'm sure it'll do the trick if I keep it up.



BEFORE

AFTER

Pipes are all cleaned up and resting on bike. I have new gaskets in place. The previous gaskets were razor thin. The new ones are 4 times as thick as what I took off the bike.

I have a problem tho maybe someone can help me with. Like an idiot, i realized when i did the oil change I forgot to place the spring back on the filter assembly [it had fallen into the motor oil and I didn't find it until I drained the pan ]
1. is this a problem until next oil change? Or do I have to get it in there.
2. if i have to take out the filter and reassemble with the spring, do I need to drain the oil out first to avoid a huge mess?

Thanks for any help folks.

If it's like the bigger bikes only a small amount of oil will come out. It has to go through the oil pump to get to the filter and you can take the small bolt off to drain what little oil is in it. I'd put the spring back in now.
Steve

Hey folks. It's springtime in New England and I'm happy to say I got the bike running last night. It was idling pretty damn good and I was optimistic I would be on the road in no time but... then I looked at the floor and saw the gas puddle. Sadly the gas was draining out of the airbox which has me concerned about oil contamination as well (but that's a problem for another day). During this test, I was using an auxiliary tank I made to fuel the bike. After some inspection I realized this bike uses a vacuum fuel delivery system. So my gravity aux fuel delivery tank is most likely part of the problem. I would have assumed that the float valves in the carbs would have mitigated the excess fuel by shutting off the flow of gas as is their purpose. My question is this, could the flow of gas from this gravity feed be too overwhelming for the needle valves to cut the fuel off? I'm going to use the tank and petcock for all future engine calibration but was hoping to avoid having to pull the carbs again (they have been fully rebuilt).