TOPIC:

So two weeks ago I bought a 1981 KZ440 LTD belt drive, almost running, $500.  I am affectionately calling her the Pig.

I will admit up front I do not have a lot of experience with this, so my initial walk around did not reveal the welded on exhaust bolt, broken master cylinder, and a few more surprises yet to be found most likely.  I was hoping to buy, fix and modernize an older bike as a project, and I have one. 

I picked up the tank, carbs and battery ten days ago, the rest was picked up this morning.  I bought a carb kit and some supplies and was able to clean up the carbs and gave them a dip in cleaner.  I removed the screw that was in place of the pilot jet, made a pilot jet plug out of a vacuum plug chucked over an allen key and filed it down so that it would fit.  The battery charged right up and seems to be holding a charge no problem.  The tank on the other hand has a few holes that were hidden under copious amounts of body filler.  I have most of the paint and filler sanded off, so I need to see what I can do to plug the holes and make it look reasonably presentable.

Once the bike was home I put on the carbs, hooked up a temp gas line, did a quick squirt of starter fluid and she started right up.  I have a leaking float bowl so I need to adjust the float most likely, but I was pretty happy she fired right up.

So the more I looked it over the worse it looked.  A prior owner took it apart to paint the frame but did not do a good job of putting it back together.  The wiring harness looks somewhat hacked into, new turn signals and such, and a number of stripped screws and bolts broken off in their mounting holes.  I was hoping I was not going to have to tear it down to the frame, but off I go. 

I am cleaning up the battery box, need to order new clutch and throttle cables, replacing the various buggered bolts, and trying to remove the awful rattle-can paint that is everywhere.  

I need to do a lot of searching through the forum but a couple of quick questions:

Aftermarket master cylinders, any suggestions?  Something that works and will not break the bank?
I am thinking of ditching the stock gauges, and suggestions?  
I cannot see attempting a M-Unit since that would cost more than the bike, but I need to clean up the wiring.  Is there a good place to buy the connectors so that I can undo what he did as best as possible?

Thank you for any help as I fall down this rabbit hole...



  

Welcome to the madness!  For wiring connectors I recommend cycleterminal.com. They have several kits with connectors to replace all the connections on your bike.  High quality stuff.  Also get yourself the proper size crimping tool for your connectors.  For plug wires etc, tonsperformance has a good selection.  
There are many guys here with extensive knowledge of all things KZ that are willing to help you through your project.  They have helped me a lot.
Get yourself a factory service manual for your bike (as opposed to a clymers or similar - the factory manual is more accurate and complete).  If you can't find one you can access it here on KZR.
Read Nessism's post "new owner things to know" for some good advice.
And we love pictures!

"Pig" is right.

That tank... 


That's one for the books. I'd buy a replacement tank right away. That is junk.

Anyway, regarding brake master cylinders, I use a YBR125 one (original Yamaha). I replaced it because the one I had was from a different 440 and didn't have a brake light switch. I wanted a brake light switch. Anyway, it works.

Regarding the wiring, I ended up replacing the entire loom on mine. No modern stuff on it, all filament bulbs, and definitely no M-Unit. I did modify it by replacing the glass fuse box with a modern blade fuse box. Also, with various connectors in really bad shape, I did the unthinkable and chopped some in (hardwired, with solder and heatshrink). Also capped off tach meter drive and got rid of the tachometer (wildly inaccurate). The speedo was so inaccurate I ditched that, too. I've got a GPS speedo for it, coming through the post.

To explain my decisions with projects like these: the bike is worth maybe 50 bucks. It's not a rare Z. So there's not much point doing a full restoration, which will cost more money than it will ever be worth. Get it done right, so that it works and is reliable. Then you can have a little fun with it by riding it. This is going to be a big project and the day when you can ride it is not just around the corner. Good luck.

ditto on the tank.  Just replace it.

Has it got the correct exhaust system? The silencer part is visible on the right, and it seems correct, but the original was a 2-2 exhaust, with a pipe on either side of the bike. The header pipe for the left cylinder doesn't appear to have the correct exhaust mount retainers. I could be wrong on this as there are differences between the models which are not documented in the manual. But maybe that's why he damaged the exhaust bolt and bodged it on. 

You've also got the pushrod clutch model (like mine). This was the older type, which can only be correctly set using the 3-stage process in the manual. The aftermarket clutch cables are fine to use with these, but they are slightly shorter than the original Kawasaki ones, and you should keep the handlebars you see there and not put original ones on, in case it's not long enough. The cable you need will have an adjustment ferrule in the middle of it.

Thanks for the replies, advice and encouragement. I will be ordering a tank and replacement MC. There are some on EBay, not very good looking but hopefully functional. 

And it turns out I had a Tank-O-Lantern!
 

Hahaha that's amazing, man. Love it

Not the original exhaust. I might try to get replacement exhaust mounts. Maybe helicoil assuming what it looks like under that welded exhaust stud?

 

That's not helicoil, that's some dude's solution involving welding... I just wonder what the problem was. I think the problem wasn't that he couldn't remove the stud, but that he damaged the thread.  But if it works and there isn't a crack going into the head, I'd keep it, because your only alternative would be to replace the head. The original exhaust mounts have little cooling fins on them, but more importantly they have a recess to fit steel half-collets which press against your exhaust gaskets to form a seal. I just wonder why he did that. Maybe he had the original exhaust mounts but couldn't push them far enough down onto the studs to fit the nuts? 

Also, your photo confuses me because I stated you had the older style of clutch cable, but I see you've got the newer one going straight to the clutch side of the engine. But the right-hand side of the engine has the clutch adjuster for the older model. 

According to the VIN it is an ‘81 D3.

i will have to look up the proper clutch cable. 

thanks again!

Michi wrote:

Also, your photo confuses me because I stated you had the older style of clutch cable, but I see you've got the newer one going straight to the clutch side of the engine. But the right-hand side of the engine has the clutch adjuster for the older model. 
 

I believe the front sprocket (pulley) cover on the left side of the engine is not the right one, and the adjustment in the middle (under the missing cover) is not being used. There appears to no clutch cable going to it, so I guess it was replaced for some reason.

The fiche for the D3 model has the clutch cable on the right side.  Part 11012C - Adjusting Cover Plate is also listed but I need to look through the service manual to understand what is going on.

A new tank, Fr MC, tank bumpers, header fins and right side cover should be here by the end of the week.....