New to the Forum Building a 1977 KZ-1000 LTD Turbo

Was told by a friend about this site and thought I'd join in to see if I could learn and find the best way to do and to find parts for my Kawasaki bikes. Love the old style bikes, my dad had several as I was growing up and I guess it just stuck. So here what I've got and what I'm building. I've seen several in the gallery for some great ideas. That's what changed my mind on going this way........

I wanted to find out where are the honey holes of old Kaw parts? Just hate using eBay and have a hard time on craigslist. But I did have a very bright spot this past week. Founded a great guy on craigslist in Southern Indiana. Must be one of the only honest ones I've found. Talked to him several time and found that it was what I was looking for. Drove three hours to get a new Kaw motor for my project. Got a lot of extra parts from Dave. He just kept putting parts in the back of my truck. Motor Forks Seat and a great looking tank and a bunch of hard to find small parts. WOW!

Lost my engine on my '77 to bad cam sprockets and bent all the valves in the head. Cost to much to get the head repair so I went looking for a new engine. Came across the engine on craigslist. Got it home and started checking it out. It has more than what I think I need for the street but not going to change it. Has had a nice port job for the head to follow with the turbo. Will be using it with a old style Mr. Turbo system i picked up about 8 months ago. Nice clearance work for the cams. Heavy duty case studs and heavy duty lower end bolts. The crank is a Falicon not sure on what it is but was told it is an expensive crank. Wonder how it will work on the street? Lower end has a deep sump oil pan and a windage tray. Guess that's a good thing for the oiling system on a turbo. Dave had a bunch of great parts and tips on his other turbo systems that he pour on me. Can't wait to work on some to get my turbo going. I'm going from a 1045cc street kit to this and I'm assuming it going to be a learning curve. If anybody has any suggestions out there send them along. the turbo kit is a RC Engineering 1102cc with new jugs. Mic it all out to very tight spec and all is looking very good. Looks like a lot of $$$$ were spent on this engine. Transmission has been undercut, will this also hurt in street use? The engine has been soda blasted and is great great looking. Wonder if it should be left unpainted? Any thought out there either way?

Chassis is being also modified with a complete extended Kosman rearend. Have to run a 5/8" OB carrier for the 7 1/2" rear wire wheel. Running skinny on the front and big on the back. Thinking on tricking out the suspension with a air assisted lowering system to keep it low. Don't have to worry about and header clearance issues so lower the better.

Look forward to dropping some pic on the build as I get into it. Right now just putting things on the wish list to go find and work out.

Want to send a big "Thanks" to Dave Beck for his help and finally getting together with his great engine.

What cams are in the motor?
turbo motors are a totally differant beast than amotor with carbs,turbos tend to prefer smaller cams and smaller ports than a carb fed motor.
That little 1045 motor with the right set of cams and a good mikuni carb somewhere in the 38-42mm range should have no problem putting many carbed bikes in the 1197 range back on the trailer at the track once you sort your chassis out

WaterKaw1102 wrote: ...where are the honey holes of old Kaw parts?....

Take a look at Z1 Enterprises.
Click > www.z1enterprises.com/

Good Fortune!

Patton wrote:

WaterKaw1102 wrote: ...where are the honey holes of old Kaw parts?....

Take a look at Z1 Enterprises.
Click > www.z1enterprises.com/

Good Fortune!

In a nondescript barn in an undisclosed location southwest of omaha! :woohoo:

wireman wrote:

Patton wrote:

WaterKaw1102 wrote: ...where are the honey holes of old Kaw parts?....

Take a look at Z1 Enterprises.
Click > www.z1enterprises.com/

Good Fortune!

In a nondescript barn in an undisclosed location southwest of omaha! :woohoo:

That was shameless.

Did you buy that 8 to 1 turbo engine in Evansville? That was a good buy if you did. Roy

Yes it was that motor. Had a lot of great parts in it and looked amazing. Wish I had more cash on me at the time I'd a bought more stuff that he was selling. He was a super guy to deal with. He has several bikes and a bunch of parts that he's selling. Several things for drag racing that I really didn't need though.

Very happy with the engine can't wait to bust it in high gear after the Hoildays to get going on it.....Merry Christmas to me........................ :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

They are a grind for a turbo with not a monster bunch of lift but more duration. They were a set turbo cams made by Megacycle.

my understanding thae motor you bought was ready to go. I think the dude lived near princeton he posted some pic's of a motor that belonged to one of the members here is my understanding. I tried to get ahold of him a couple times and didn't get a response

I would be interested in seeing the actual motor because the one he posted on craigs list wasn't the actual motor.

It was on eBay also. Roy

Not sure what your talking about the picture I saw was the engine I picked up from craigslist. He lives near Evansville, IN. Not sure where Princeton is, I guess it's close to there. I talked to him several times through craigslist. He did mention that he has several thing up on eBay too. A friend of mine found it on craigslist and called me to take a look at it. He was a real nice guy to deal with. Ended up with several other parts that I needed too. He threw them in for nothing.

Yes he told me the engine was ready to go. And after looking it over once I got it home it has a lot more stuff in it that he never had on the listing. Sorry, I can't post any pic right now, don't have a good camera and really don't know how yet. As this project goes I'll try to see if one of the guys has a good enough camera so I can show the progress of this thing.

He does have one of his bike in the gallery here, I think so. A bright red '78 KZ1000 LTD. Saw it when I was over pick up my engine. I tried to buy it off of him after seeing it. A lot of chrome and a fire engine red paint but he said he would probably be buried with them. lol.

That's the one and yep it was a great deal with everything he threw in on top of that. :woohoo: