TOPIC:

Street Fighter LTD wrote:

hardrockminer wrote: Re: Lean Carbs...

There is an easy fix. Just re-jet the carbs as per 1976 or 1977. But make sure to change the needles and needle jets along with the other bits.

My 78 LTD 1000 came with 26mm carbs .
They worked fine. Stock vs stock my LTD was faster than buddies new 78 Z1R till about 50 mph as I remember. Then the Z1r would pull on me for balance of race .
His bike came with 28mm carbs .
I went to 29 smoothbores to up the ante , and so on and so forth LOL
Dave

Kind of sucks how from 73 on the line got slower every major model change. I understand why they did it each time but still. Someone asked earlier why I was interested in the KZ line. In short, I bought a CB750 in early 70s right before the Z1 came out. I blew everything with 2 wheels away that I came up across (never raced a Commando) until a buddy got a Z1. I fell in love with the lines on that bike and when he let me ride it I never looked at my 750 the same again. There were some pretty lean years ahead for me and although I wanted a Z1 I never even entertained the thought. I guess most of these old classic Kaws are bought up by guys like me fulfilling a dream they never were able to fill when they would have most liked to. Granted the KZ900 isn't a Z1 but it's close enough. It will be fun playing with this 1000 if I get it. I know some guys that can probably help me make it faster than my 900. Just out of curiosity, anyone know how much faster the 900 is than the 1000?

The 75 Z1b was the fastest. They changed the slides, needles and jets. The 76 KZ 900 was a little slower because of the VM 26 carbs. The KZ 1000 made up for that and the heavier crank reduced the vibration in the handlebars. At that point it was rider against rider. I think the 1000's were a little heavier as well due to the frame. I remember advertised weight was 568 lbs for the Z1 when I bought it. A problem with some of the KZ 1000's they had excessive oil burning due to the steel valve guides. I read an article saying Ma Kaw felt one qt of oil in 1-200 miles was acceptable. My neighbor had a dealership during that time and most of his work was factory recalls (Automatic cam chain adjusters) and non covered issues like valve guides. The later models had their own problems. All and all the earlier models were almost bullet proof and with care would last a long time.

It's somewhat dependant on what you mean by faster. Do you mean top end? Or do you mean in the quarter?

I once had a race with my Z1B against a Z1 and a KZ1000A1. They both pulled away from me after about 120 mph. My top end was 132 mph in a different race where I overtook a Z28 Camaro. (He blew his oil filler cap.)

Z1 was advertised as a stock 12 second flat quarter miler. Not sure how many people managed to to get close to that. At 215 lbs I was way too heavy to even attempt a quarter, although I did once take on a 750 Commando and beat him badly in a highway drag.

I think you're right on about the nostalgia thing. I wanted another one when my kids left and I could afford it. Now I have two!

SWest wrote: The 75 Z1b was the fastest. They changed the slides, needles and jets. The 76 KZ 900 was a little slower because of the VM 26 carbs. The KZ 1000 made up for that and the heavier crank reduced the vibration in the handlebars. At that point it was rider against rider. I think the 1000's were a little heavier as well due to the frame. I remember advertised weight was 568 lbs for the Z1 when I bought it. A problem with some of the KZ 1000's they had excessive oil burning due to the steel valve guides. I read an article saying Ma Kaw felt one qt of oil in 1-200 miles was acceptable. My neighbor had a dealership during that time and most of his work was factory recalls (Automatic cam chain adjusters) and non covered issues like valve guides. The later models had their own problems. All and all the earlier models were almost bullet proof and with care would last a long time.

I agree completely. Here's a pic of my speedo from last month. I pulled over to take the photo.