What to do......

I just bought a 77 kz1000 and I have seen the things that have been done to these things. I am very impressed. I really want a ride that is like no other on the rode and I think that this is the bike to do it. I was thinking about doing a modern cafe racer type bike with an updated suspension and braking (mine only has a single disc up front). I have seen some of the monoshock suspension/swingarm swaps while browsing the forum and as much as I would like to do something like that there are a lot of things that I would have to consider. I also want a bike that goes 0-100 in a blink of an eye. I have found an 86 900 ninja donor bike for cheap and I'm not sure if the stems will match up in the front or if the swingarm is something that I can use. I also want to work on this bike by myself as much as I can (to have that sense of accomplishment at the end of all of it). Do any of you think that I should get the ninja?

The fact that u have a 77 kz1000 pretty much guarantees u will be riding a bike that nobody much has.I would just restore to all its pristine beauty and ride it like u stole it--but thats just me.bj

my frame is a '77 but my engine is an'80 so I guess I ride a half '77

Please post a picture of your bike. If that's it in the avatar, I'd say it's finished. From what I can see it looks great. Welcome aboard. Ed

Yeah that's the bike. I was pretty surprised when I saw it. It's a pretty minty bike for something that is as old as I am. It was running pretty rough. It started decently but it wouldn't hold idle. I got the carbs cleaned and I still have the same problem. I thought that it was because I had to warm the bike up a while (it is Canada...) but after about 3 minutes the bike back fired. I stopped it and I haven't been able to get the thing started again. Any ideas? It smelled like it was running pretty rich while I was running it.

"So, how does it feel dipping your hands in powerful solvents while fishing for small pieces of brass with tiny holes?", I said.
"Oh, is that what this is? I didn't even notice!", you said.
"Really, cuz your soaking in it!"

Clean carbs. Like old jap bikes? Clean carbs.

Well I'm starting to think that I have bitten off more than I can chew with this bike. I've had this bike for a total of 1 week and have managed to log on a total of 1.5 hours of riding on it. I don't think that I'm getting spark now. The starter turns over but it not catching. What to do.... I really don't want to bring it in to the shop but I also have about another 2 weeks of riding time left up here before the snow hits. I don't have a garage to work on it (still not too sure where I'm going to store it over winter either). This is brutal but I'm keeping this thing no matter what! A lot of people told me not to get the bike when I was looking at it but I don't think that they can appreciate the type of machine this bike is. Up here you either have a harley or rice rocket type bike and although I can appreciate those bikes I think that I have something really special and cool here. I have $2000 to spend on this thing and although I would rather put it into buy new goodies for the motor (ie big bore kits, cam, etc.) I think I might have to wait another year to start this project right......

Have you had it running good yet? When you get it running right, you may not be in too much of a hurry for big bore and cams. What other bikes have you ridden to compare it to? Check for spark by removing each spark plug, put it into the wire, touch the spark plug's ground strap to some bare metal on the frame or engine. Turn the ignition on and crank the starter. You should see pretty strong sparks. Probably a good idea to do this with the other spark plug wires disconnected so the engine doesn't start running. If you don't see spark, or it's weak, the next step is the points and timing. You need to get a manual, preferrably the factory one but Haynes or Clymer are certainly useful. Once you have a manual, read it. There are many things on a bike that require periodic maintenance, especially a bike that has sat unused for much time.

It was running when I first got it. It wasn't holding idle at all. I had to have the choke all the way up even after the I let it run for awhile. I still had this problem after I got the carbs cleaned. I think that now it's a combination of bad fuel flow and lack of spark. I just want to have this bike running so that I can ride it for short period of time that I have left.

I've had a few bikes in my time. I've had an 84 yamaha xj750 RL seca, 1980 suzuki GS 850g, 1985 yamaha vmax. So I do have the riding experience (or atleast I think I do...lol) no accidents in 12 years of riding. I do have the Clymer manual and it is useful. I just don't have the time right now to put the time into the bike so that I can ride it for the rest of this year.

Try taking the petcock apart and cleaning it. Next dump the gas and get some tank cleaner and filler up,bike this old will have rust in the tank. After you've cleaned the tank refill and turn on the gas and fill the carbs,when it gets dark out side take the tank off and start'er up. then you can check to see if the spark plug wires are grounding on the frame.My 76 KZ lit up like a xmas tree under the tank at nite:blink:. AS others have said timing and point gap should be checked out.Good luck and enjoy.
Joe.....

welcome!
insure that there are no birds nest in the exhaust.
hang in there you get this thing right and you will never regret having bought it.

leon

So I've gotten the bike running and it's running pretty rich but as bad as it is running...I'm totally loving this bike.

Now I've noticed things that I am going to have to fix over the winter here but nothing major. I've found an exhaust leak but that's not a big deal since I am getting a new full exhaust and I'd change the gaskets anyway. The bike is running rich but the bike loves it. I'm running some seafoam through it to clean it out a little more. This thing is a total rocket and with some fine tuning and a little customizing, I know that I'm going to love riding this bike.

I just bought some clubman handle bars on ebay. I plan to put progressive shocks in the back and may be lower the front end a little for a more agressive stance. We'll see.... I still want to do the monoshock conversion and front end suspension changes at some point but I want to ride this bike too.

What to do.....