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Today we picked up the bike and it is already on the lift table. I'm currently making a parts list so we can get it back on the road as soon as we can.

Nice bike.  Nice and clean.  Looks like it could fire up and be ridden today.

It runs but I have a lot of maintenance that needs to be done before it is safe to ride.

Is that a Kerker exhaust?

Yep it is an old Kerker.
Today I started pulling the sprocket cover and getting ready to pull off the rear wheel along with the swingarm. It was all I could do for today because I got my cancer shot and it makes me exhausted for a day or two.

Did you by chance get that bike in the New Hampshire area?

wrote:

Did you by chance get that bike in the New Hampshire area?

Nope, I got it from my uncle that has owned it since 78' in western Washington.
 

Today I cleaned out the front sprocket area and then pulled off the sprocket. It turns out my uncle was running a 630 O-ring chain and it was rubbing a little. It wore down one screw head. I'll be getting a non O-ring chain and new sprockets. Stock sprockets are 15t/33t, somebody told me to change the front to a 14t. The rear brake stay rod bolts are both installed the wrong direction and the rear one is missing the castle nut. Only a way too small cotter pin is holding it on.  Now I need to find one castle nut, are they 10mm x 1.25mm thread? Do any of the Kawasaki specialty dealers sell them?

On the castle nut..I would suggest checking out Z1 Enterprises or Z1 Parts, or even Partzilla for OEM.

The worn screw head is likely because the previous owner installed a sprocket with a flat face on both sides.  There is supposed to be a shoulder on the inside of the front sprocket to maintain proper distance for an o ring chain.  I would recommend staying with o ring chain and simply buy the correct front sprocket with a shoulder.  Going to a 14 tooth front will give you faster acceleration but will increase your rpm's at highway speed and lower gas mileage.  It will also bring the chain a bit closer to your swingarm.  If you are planning to do significant highway mileage I suggest remaining with a 15 tooth front, or even going to a 16 tooth. 

Lastly, if you are going to change your chain and sprockets you might want to consider 530 to save a little weight and improve overall wear.  The number of teeth will be different but the overall ratio (33/15) should be maintained.  

Edited to add....KHI switched to 630 o ring chain for the Z1B in 1975.  To accomplish this cheaply they switched to a shoulder on the front sprocket to allow the wider chain to pass without touching the screw heads.  At the same time to maintain alignment they added a spacer behind the rear sprocket.  I'm not sure if they kept that parts arrangement for 1977, but if they did then you should use a front sprocket with a shoulder, regardless of what chain you buy.

wrote:

I'm not sure if they kept that parts arrangement for 1977, but if they did then you should use a front sprocket with a shoulder, regardless of what chain you buy.

I believe they kept the shoulder on the front, but changed the rear to avoid the shim.  The drawing on the JT sprockets page show a shoulder on the front.

www.jtsprockets.com/catalogue/model/s1496/

I agree that an o-ring chain is correct for the KZ1000 and you should stick with it. 

As for as ratios, over the years Kawasaki switched from 15/35 to 15/33 and back to 15/35.  If you want a bit more go I would use a 15/35 combination instead of going to 14 in the front.  But I'm running a 15/33 and my bike goes just fine. 

 

Thanks guys, this is the first KZ1000 that we have gone through. We had a 75' Z1-B but it was really rough and we sold it to a collector with more resources than us. We've done a stack of Hondas and a couple of Suzukis. I appreciate the help while I learn another brand of bike.

wrote:

As for as ratios, over the years Kawasaki switched from 15/35 to 15/33 and back to 15/35.  If you want a bit more go I would use a 15/35 combination instead of going to 14 in the front.  But I'm running a 15/33 and my bike goes just fine. 


 

I have 630 o ring chain on all my bikes.  I run a stock 15/35 on my Z1B and mistakenly put the same on my 1980 KZ1000 when I restored it.  I'm considering going back to 15/33 because it revs a bit high at cruising speeds.