1979 KZ400 B Restoration/Recommission

Thanks That's a very good point regarding the welding and rust, a clamp on solution does make a lot of sense. I probably need to get a hold of some silencers and offer them up to the bike to see if they'll sit visually where I want them and go from there. Certainly whatever I end up with will need a stop for the centre stand (unless I remove it) as the chain drags on it currently (another one of the reasons I've not actually ridden it anywhere!)

Moving into April '24 and I got the word from my paint guy that the tank and panels were ready, so I hot footed it over there to pick them up





I'm over the moon with how they've come out! The tank is the replacement red tank I'd bought as the original was pretty far gone but the side and tail panels are the originals. The colour was a blue we picked out of the colour catalogue he had, it's a nice deep metallic that looks great in the sun, and I had him replicate the silver stripes of the original blue tank I had.

I did a bit of touching up of the badges with white and silver paint pens then got them installed

And obviously I had to chuck the bits on the bike and step back and just look at it for a bit

Good job👍👍
It is a great feeling when it comes together with the tank and panels, and you will keep smiling to yourself thinking I love my bike 😁😁
Happy riding ahead.
Rich.

Very nice.

Shines like a diamond!!  Indeed a nice colour! !

Thank you all, it's certainly come out better than I imagined!

So things then stalled a bit last summer, I got the timing all set up, points gap and static timing set as per the workshop manual.

The bit that really stumped me is the throttle cable for the carbs. This is probably going to make me look a bit dumb for those used to these carbs but this is my first time working with Mikuni's

I've converted to Mikuni carbs as the originals were scrap from water ingress and corrosion. I've got a matching pair of VM28's which I think came from a Yamaha RD400 or similar originally. I bought one of the "KZ400/ Mikuni conversion" throttle cables hoping for a quick fit and forget solution. However, my carbs didn't have threads in the caps like others I'd seen online, giving the cable end adjuster, nothing to anchor to



There was an original stub of a cable outer which was held into place with an E clip but wouldn't have worked with my throttle cable, so I sourced a pair of caps with the threads in them





I still don't fully understand how those curved metal bits are meant to seat in the brass adjusters, one sits quite nicely in the adjuster while the other is floating slightly, I can push it down to seat it but it pops back up. It's a 2 into 1 cable so there's a small box where they join to the single cable, which I've cable tied to the frame under the tank for now.

At the handlebar end, there seems to be too much slack in the cable that I can't adjust out, also there is a load of freeplay if I twist the throttle forward from where the end stop should be. I've been trying to use the original throttle tube for the twin cable setup, I've since ordered a single cable throttle tube to see if that's part of my issue.


As mentioned, the exhaust is another thing stopping me from riding it at the moment but hopefully that's fairly straightforward.


Lastly, I'd noticed the bike getting harder and harder to push in and out of the garage. The front caliper that I'd previously rebuilt seemed to be sticking on the front disc. Maybe it would free off a bit when ridden but it certainly feels more like there's an issue. It did take quite a lot of heat and abuse to get the caliper to come apart in the first place when I rebuilt it as it was stuck fast. Plus it still seems to weep a little around the bleed screw. So I'm getting the feeling I need to either take my chances on a replacement used caliper of the same type, or see if there is a more modern caliper that can be substituted in?

 

With the front brake does it free up if you crack open the bleed nipple? If yes the transfer port in the master cylinder is blocked (very small hole)

Just had a go and it doesn't free up with the bleed nipple cracked. The master and hoses are new so would have hoped they wouldn't be the issue, though you can't always be sure with aftermarket parts these days.

I did manage to lever the caliper open a bit prying between the pads, put the caliper back on the bike and it was OK until I pulled the lever, so it seems as though the caliper isn't releasing. The piston did look to have a bit of possible corrosion around it, which isn't great considering it was rebuilt not that long ago really.

adam73bgt wrote:

Just had a go and it doesn't free up with the bleed nipple cracked. The master and hoses are new so would have hoped they wouldn't be the issue, though you can't always be sure with aftermarket parts these days.

I did manage to lever the caliper open a bit prying between the pads, put the caliper back on the bike and it was OK until I pulled the lever, so it seems as though the caliper isn't releasing. The piston did look to have a bit of possible corrosion around it, which isn't great considering it was rebuilt not that long ago really.

Could be a calliper fault but the master issue is common !! (if it was the calliper I wouldn't expect it to release when you open the bleed nipple ??)

Hi 
What a brilliant build fantastic work, I am also doing a Kz400 as a project yours is inspiring,mine is a 1974 and an Import from California, I am in the UK! it claims to have done 10K miles and is in pretty good condition already and I am hoping I wont have to tear down the engine, so far I have had to deal with the regulator rectifier with help from Wookie, it had the mechanical regulator its now been replaced with a solid state all in one unit, te starter spins but does not turn the engine over and a previous owner butcherd the carbs by using self tappers to hold the float bowls