Owners Manual 1978 Kawasaki 1000 LTD

Looking for a owners manual PDF or orginal. Appreciate any help or information. Also would like to know whay you all think approximate value is of this bike wit 23,000 miles and above average condition. Thanks.

Cool bike. If your question is for insurance purposes I'd insure it for $3,500 to $4000. Value is a strange creature. Time of year, regional differences all make a big difference. A clean bike in Spring is going to bring a lot more than it is in Nebraska in Oct. A lot. You have a nice bike but if an appraiser evaluates it they are going to take off for non-stock items. No airbox, doesn't have the stock pipes/mufflers, and I don't believe that is a stock color for an LTD. I think you have a standard with an LTD seat. The backs of the gauges are black not chrome. Not in the US anyway. As always "Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder." You may come across a dude that loves the pods and the 4 into 1 because they were going to do that anyway. Thanks for the pics. The color might well be correct for the standard model. I''m not as well versus in those models.

PS - I would NOT ride more than around the block on those tires. I don't even know who was president the last time they made raised white letter tires. Laying in a hospital versus $400 for tires is a no contest decision. Apologies if you already knew this but not worth the chance.

I just looked it up. It appears to be a stock paint scheme (A very good thing IMO) for a 1978 A2

Suppose to be new tires what I was told. I have not recieved the bike yes but, will soon. For sure I will be checking into the tires for sure. (replacing)
Thanks ,Perry

1978 kz1000 ltd's came in two colors black and cardinal red and pinstriping is silver and red
www.robswheels.com/robswheels/my_bikes/k...1000_ltd_78_002.html
www.2040-motos.com/Kawasaki/Other/1978-k...z1000/78KZ1000_1.htm

yours is
www.artedelstein.com/oldbikes/78kz1000/78KZ1000_1.htm

As far as manual goes, any 1977/78 KZ1000 Kawasaki Motorcycle Service Manual will do.

Bike is a LTD based on everything except tank and paint .
Look at the frame. Specifically the tubing which forms the rear foot peg mounts .
Then look at the 78 KZ 1000 attachment . The rear peg area is done in KZ style with the dropped hanger style mount .
I have the factory manual supplement which does deal with the few mechanical differences from a stock style KZ.
LTDs also had a different owners manual which contained proper service procedures and fit in the rear tail piece tray
Brake rotors are wrong for a 78 LTD ( Should not be drilled ) and gauges should be chrome on bottom half and top half black
Cant see some other details to go further
Nice Bike though.
Dave

Street Fighter LTD wrote: Bike is a LTD based on everything except tank and paint .
Look at the frame. Specifically the tubing which forms the rear foot peg mounts .
Then look at the 78 KZ 1000 attachment . The rear peg area is done in KZ style with the dropped hanger style mount .
I have the factory manual supplement which does deal with the few mechanical differences from a stock style KZ.
LTDs also had a different owners manual which contained proper service procedures and fit in the rear tail piece tray
Brake rotors are wrong for a 78 LTD ( Should not be drilled ) and gauges should be chrome on bottom half and top half black
Cant see some other details to go further
Nice Bike though.
Dave

Nice recognition tip on the frame for the rear foot pegs. An obvious and easy way to pick off the model for something not easily changed. (like gauge covers) I also noticed it had the chrome chain guard instead of the crappy plastic one. The back of the headlight is chrome (an LTD thing) whereas a model A/A2 would have a black rear cover.

Perry; when do you get your new girlfriend? Is she running? Inquiring minds want to know.

Be here in 20 minutes came from texas. more to come shortly Perry
Runs good far as I can tell (little cold outside) Rode about 2 miles . Carbs are leaking looks like from float bowl area left side. I MIGHT try to replace all the float bowl gaskets and replace screws with allan head ones. Can this be done with carbs on bike?? Thanks for all the replies.. Perry

I wouldn't. You might want to get a shorty philips head screwdriver and verify they are tight before pulling them. Don't go full moose and crank the dickens out of those screws. You could pull threads, crack a bowl. Firm but not cranked. With pods on the bike the carbs come off quite easily. Once removed I would do the clear tube test to verify the float height. Quite simple, peek at your service manual or I'm certain there are several threads you can search here to get a step through of the process.

ajsfirehawk ---- I went with the Dunlop Elite 4 tires.... These white letter tires were new (New Old Stock) date code on front was 2000 , rear tire was 2004. Thanks for the heads up. Take Care....

It's easy to tell if it's an LTD or some other model. Just look at the S/N on the frame. If it's KZTOOA then it's a standard model. If it's KZTOOB then it's an LTD. Also called a B2.

It's definitely an LTD.