1978 kz1000a renew and revenge project

Before I got this bike it was my uncles best friends bike. It’s a kz1000a2a I believe and my uncle still has 76 kz900 that I restored for him maybe 15 years ago. Im 20 years younger than him so through the years Ive had various bikes that he has challenged and lost to but would never admit to the loss. Always some sort of problem or excuse. Dont get me wrong, hes probably the closest thing ive had to a father so all of this is in fun. When ive bought new bikes in the past he challenges me immediately and Ive had this kz1000 for over a year now and I asked him why he hasnt challenged me yet. His answer was hes beat this bike so many times he doesnt need to beat it again. Well, you dont know me yet but thats all he had to say to motivate me.

1-Dyna 2000 electronic ignition and coils (this week)
2-Wideband oxygen sensor bungs (last week). The last time I did this to a carb bike was 20 years ago on a narrowband.
3-Rebuilt the rear brake system and finally got the rear master honed to hold DOT 5 (3 weeks ago) This took me 3 tries before I finally got it right. The trick is using a blind bearing puller to get a grip on the old piston, slather it in water soluble rubbing compound and spin it in a drill for about 2 minutes.
4-new rear wheel, tire, bearings,rotor, pads and spokes. (4 weeks ago)
5-Lithium battery a year ago. I know about the lithium drama. Ive been using lithium on bikes for about 5 years now and I think you guys need to try it before you say its a bad idea.

I do things a little different and Ive done things different for long enough to know that sometimes it doesnt work so im not the guy who doesnt listen. Please feel free to comment always.
         

The goal is to win the un-winnable from my uncle, learn new things and meet new friends. Ive been on quite a few boards with different projects learning things that I bring with me here.

By the way, cerakote has an aluminum clear coat that works great on raw aluminum and gas doesnt hurt it.
A borescope is the perfect way to look inside carb passageways and find that your carb might look great on the outside but it’s terrible on the inside. I use foaming gun cleaner (wipe-out)to remove the carbon from all passages. Results may vary if you dont remove rubber and brass. But since we are talking rubber there is a chemical called rubber rejuvenator that works perfect on removing the oxidized rubber on the bottom of a choke plunger. It’s also a great chemical to treat racecar tires with. You can take traction from understeer to oversteer and it does it before the tires warm up. RC racecars anyways!

If anyone has some advice on how to split a 4/1 jerker please let me know. Ive heated it, lubed it, and beat it and pried it. Im thinking about clamping some u bolts on both side of the seam to twist and beat it some more. 

I have everything I need to convert to a hydraulic clutch because i put the APE clutch kit in it and it’s a beast but I forgot to put the bearing kit in. I cant see working that clutch for fun for very long and its got new cables and I rebuilt the roller screw actuator in it. Maybe I’ll just get factory springs first.

Welcome to our nut house!
I notice you use the same stands that I have.  If (when) the plastic wheels break, I found that hockey pucks with a hole drilled in the center are a perfect replacement.  Same thickness and diameter!  (My buddy has a box of them in his shop, he uses them as body mounts for his restomod 55 F100 project.)

To separate kerker header and muffler (after 35 years) I bent up a U shaped bracket with a hole in it to attach my slide hammer, and small bends at the ends to fit under a hose clamp near the large end of the muffler.  Heated the joint at the header and whacked the shit out of it. I wasn't planning on re using the muffler, but if you're careful you might be able to.

Good looking project.  

A few questions:
Are you planning on tuning each carb individually using a wideband?  
Any reason for this method over a Color-tune?
Are you experiencing clutch slip hence the HD springs?

Later, Doug

 
 

I'm a lithium battery guy - I have them in every bike I own. One thing to note - the stock rectifier/regulator is not ideal for maintaining voltage for a lithium battery. I have fried a couple lithium batteries by using the stock R/R on various bikes, lithium batteries don't like large fluctuations in voltage. Rick electronics sells a lithium specific R/R for the KZ1000 that reduces voltage swings to +/-0.2V.  ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/Universal-R...um-Compatible-14_510

DoctoRot wrote:

I'm a lithium battery guy - I have them in every bike I own. One thing to note - the stock rectifier/regulator is not ideal for maintaining voltage for a lithium battery. I have fried a couple lithium batteries by using the stock R/R on various bikes, lithium batteries don't like large fluctuations in voltage. Rick electronics sells a lithium specific R/R for the KZ1000 that reduces voltage swings to +/-0.2V.  ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/Universal-R...um-Compatible-14_510

I would add to that, fitting a 30amp fuse in the R/R output lead to the battery means a short in the R/R or stator won't cause a "thermal incident" with the battery

I don't think that would do anything, fuses limit current not voltage and current is not the issue here because the stator has a limited output and that output is mostly being consumed by the bike running. A failing R/R could cause a voltage spike; this would not be stopped by a fuse.  You would need over voltage protection like they have on airplanes to prevent that. Its pretty hard to achieve thermal runaway on a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery (LiFePO) which is what most motorsport batteries are. These are not to be confused with "Lithium Ion" which are typically Lithium cobalt Dioxide (LiCoO2). These have different chemistry and are easier to trigger thermal runaway with much more catastrophic results - those are the ones in phones, laptops, and power tools. Any decent LiFePO battery has a Battery Management System and fault detection at this point which are proven effective at preventing overcharging/discharging which can cause thermal runaway. Hell Earthx batteries are now FAA certified!  If you use knockoff Chinese batteries, cheap lithium cobalt batteries, non UL listed chargers, or incompatible chargers you are taking a risk.

Edit for clarity also - sorry to thread jack

DoctoRot wrote:

I don't think that would do anything, fuses limit current not voltage. A failing R/R could cause a voltage spike; this would not be stopped by a fuse.  

Doc I am aware of the purpose of a fuse, I agree ref overvoltage (although as you state a decent lithium battery has built in overcharge protection) however even Kawasaki chose to fuse the R/R output on later models (83 on 750 etc) . Built in "overvoltage protection" will not prevent "uncontrolled" current flow as a result of a short regardless of battery type (lead acid battery's do explode if the positive terminal is grounded) I only suggest the fuse, especially with lithium batteries as they are challenging to extinguish should the worst occur. Better safe than sorry

 Built in "overvoltage protection" will not prevent "uncontrolled" current flow as a result of a short regardless of battery type (lead acid battery's do explode if the positive terminal is grounded) I only suggest the fuse, especially with lithium batteries as they are challenging to extinguish should the worst occur. Better safe than sorry

I can't speak to all manufacturers but on quality LiFePo batteries the BMS disconnects the terminals -  this does prevent "uncontrolled current flow" From EartthX - "If the alternator doesn’t shutdown, the EarthX BMS’s over-voltage protection will block incoming charge current after a 3 second delay above 16 volts.  The time delay is to allow the aircraft alternator over voltage protection to activate first"

Also LiFePo are not explosive like LiCoO2 - much lower risk

 

I think we need to park this as it's taking over the thread. Ultimately I will be adding a fuse for "peace of mind" (as many manufacturers do) - a short to ground will always increase current.
PS: To the best of my knowledge all KZ's charging systems are rated at 18amps - 22amps. Later bikes with 40amp charging systems use car style alternators to the best of my knowledge.

Nice.