$800 1978 KZ1000

I rode the 78 kz1000 that I am going to buy for $800 from a friend. I got on it and loved it as soon as I left the parking lot. Smooth power and plenty of it.For the age of the bike it is in fairly good shape. I did find some problems and am a little puzzled by some of them. Its an old bike so i expect some problems.Here is what I noticed

1. The owner before my friend did some wiring and wired around the Kill switch and the turn signals dont blink, they just stay lit.

2.Noticed oil coming from the gasket at top of engine.I assume it is valve cover gasket.

3. Custom 4 into 1 exhaust is too low and scrapes the ground if you hit too big a bump. Also the centerstand has been removed.

4.He says the compression on 2 cylinders is low, around 80.

5.On the way home the bike seemed like it was losing power and cutting out. Finally the bike died. I thought it might be out of gas but there was plenty in the tank but I put it on reserve anyway.I choked it and kickstarted it. It started but would only run if the choke was on and was still cutting out.

I had the bike for several hours with no problems prior to this. After some thought I think I am still getting it. Is it worth 800?

I paid $800 for my first KZ1000 (also a '78). I ended up putting about $1500 into it--but a lot of that expense came from inexperience. I learned a lot from working on that bike, so to me it was worth the cost.

Before I go any further, let me suggest--no, DEMAND that you get a service manual if you do not already have one. It is a mandatory requirement for owning a 30-year old bike.

As to the problems you listed--

1. If he wired around the kill switch, there's a good bet that the switch doesn't work. Ebay is your friend. Maybe $20-30 for a working used switch assembly. As for the turn signals not blinking, likely culprit is a faulty ground somewhere. Go through the signal circuit and check to make sure everything is properly connected and grounded where it is supposed to be.

2. Yes, a fresh gasket should fix that. You could just replace the valve cover gasket for about $13. But I would recommend that you buy a top-end or whole-engine gasket kit (which you can get at a good price from www.z1enterprises.com ;) ), because you're probably going to need to tear down the top end anyway to address item #4.

3. No comment, except to consider getting a different exahust. New aftermarket systems cost from about $250-800. Center stands can be found on EBay. Can the exaust be adjusted up? Does the bike appear to be lowered at the rear shocks, or to be using shorter shocks?

4. If true, you may need to do a top-end rebuild. But before you do, we first need to see if the low compression is caused by worn rings, worn valves, or valve clearances out of adjustment. Start with the clearances, as that is the easiest to fix. The manual will explain how to check and adjust the clearances. After those are back in spec, check your compression again. If still low, put a teaspoon of motor oil in the cylinder through the spark plug hole and check the compression again. If it goes way up, then you likely have warn rings. If you just get a small bump up in pressure, then the culprit may be warn valves. Another thing you can do is a leakdown test. This involves piping compressed air into the cylinder plug hole with the piston at TDC (you will need a leakdown tester to do this--you can buy one or make one yourself--check the filebase on this site for an article on how to build one). Then you listen to where the air is escaping. If out the carbs, then it is the intake valves. Out the exhaust=exhaust valves. Out the crankcase (open the oil filler cap to listen)=rings.

5. It is likely that your carbs need to be disassembled and cleaned thorougly. You may have some clogged jets or passages.

Welcome to the site. You can find out everything you'll need to know about that bike here. There are many good peeople willing to help. Good luck.

I do have a clymer that comes with the bike. The other thing I have heard about these bikes is that the carbs have to be perfectly syncronized. Ive read how to do it and it doesnt seem difficult. when I remove the carbs and clean them do they have to be syncronized?

100% yes. The bike will run without them being synced but it will not run to it's full potential. Spend the $60 or so and get a set of vacuum gauges from here www.z1enterprises.com . The first time you use them to sync the carbs they will pay for themselves.