Difference Between 78 and 79 KZ650SR

Hi All,

First off, I'm a newbie so thanks for the site and the collective knowledge. Hopefully the hazing won't be too bad.

A question for the masses: does anyone know the difference between a 1978 KZ650SR(D?) and a 1979 KZ650DR(D?).

I had a 79 for years, then switched to a KLR and now a BMWK75. I miss the ol' KZ. Somebody is selling a 78 that looks good, but I'm curious what the difference is, if any.

Thanks Much
Josh Elvander

No difference for the most part. 1979 added the emissions ports on top of the valve cover on USA models and different rear rotor/caliper. I'm sure different carbs or at least tuned different. Other small details possibly, but for all intents and purposes the 2 years were very close.

A quote from jarlef.no/Kawasaki/Series/Z/650/z650sr.htm


All SR looks the same but there where some modifications over the years. In 1979. The big news now was the new all weather sintered disk pads and braking in the wet was much improved. Easily recognized by the drilled discs. Like all other Kawasaki's in 1979, the SR-D2 got "small" letters in the Kawasaki badges unlike the "big" letters like KAWASAKI used earlier. For other minor changes, see B3. Other changes was like the other Z650 bikes from 1979, a low-fuel warming light, silent cam chain and automatic cam chain tensioner to mention some. On US models the lightning switch was removed. The colors was Candy Persimmon Red or Midnight Blue as last year. On KZ650SR bikes the power dropped to 60 hp, the Z650SR still had 62.

Check out this 650 site as well www.kz650.info/

In the carb area the '79 received an accelerator pump which makes it slightly more complicated to work on, but makes the bike much less cold blooded.

N0NB wrote:

In the carb area the '79 received an accelerator pump which makes it slightly more complicated to work on, but makes the bike much less cold blooded.

... and better throttle response with lean jetting.

Thanks all! I remember the accelerator pumps from working on the carbs on the my 79, not too bad.

I think I'm going to pull the trigger on the 78 instead of waiting for a good 79 to appear. It will be nice to get back on an old Kawasaki.