TOPIC:

Hey gang. I had a guy send me this pic of a motor that he says is a Kz750. Did they come with the kickstarter or was this item eliminated on the late 70's 650 lineup? I hope the valve cover with the breather hose will help on pegging down the year.

Thanks-Colin Firth-Ontario Canada

MKII

im gonna guess 79-80 its got the smog motor head and ltd covers on motor,could be a 1000 also,got any better pictures? goodluck,happy wrenching!

The 750 four started as an 80 model, and none that I'm aware of had a kickstart (none in USA).

Tell him you need the numbers off the pad on top of the motor behind the clutch cover.

definatly not 650/750 series, I would say 80 81 1000 w/smog fittings... look closely at the clutch housing thats 900/1000 shape...no DHOC on valve cover

those are ltd clutch and ignition cover,but they can be used on any 900-1000 73-80,not sure about 81.the smog motor head came out in 79. mag wheels tell me its an actual ltd bike but need better picture dont know much about 650/750s kickstarters,never owned a small kawasaki! goodluck,happy wrenching!

I have 77 78 and 79 650 engines the all have kick starts and an 84 KZ700 that dosent, all have valve covers with DHOC on them

The gentleman responded to my Kzr classified ad looking for Kz750/4 jugs and head. My spidey senses were tingling when he asked for me to make an offer on the parts sight unseen and the cash to be wired to him via Western Express. He said he didn't have any pics to send me. I replied that I needed more info and within an hour he had sent me the motor pic which either had lying around from another motor or he googled it to send me.

I kinda thought the motor didn't look right as soon as I saw the kickstarter. I remember reading in the Kzr archives that one of the downsides of simply swapping a Kz750 motor into the Kz650 frame is losing the 650 kickstarter which didn't come on the 750. The valve covers, crankcase breather cap, and clutch cover didn't look like the 650'750 series either.

Cheers-Colin Firth-Ontario Canada

'77650 looking to upgrade from 700cc to 810 kit with 750 heads...still need Kz750/4 top end if anyone has one lying around.

Agree with Agawam, definitely not a 650/750 engine, as he says the clutch cover gives it away, also the cover for the crankcase vent is flat on the 650/750s.

Btw, good advice from Steell, get the engine number.

Post edited by: onkelb, at: 2006/01/23 10:49

Ask him for the engine number and the engine size from the front of the block

Jeff. I asked the guy to send the engine ID# and didn't hear back from him as quickly as when he was asking me to send him the cash, so I wen't back to the old (hard-learned) life lesson....when in doubt....don't!!! The guy might very well be legitimate but I am not going to gamble my cash to find out or get stuck with parts that are NFG.
I'd rather deal with reputable guys like you who have a good reputation. I'll be in touch with you shortly to order some parts for my upgrade.
Cheers-Colin Firth-Ontario Canada

Definitely not a 650-750. That's an American version of a 1980 Markll engine. Probably from an LTD which were not painted black like the std. Mkll or the Classic fuelie.The smog ports on the rocker cover give it away as US model.Also with the outline on the clutch cover and the ignition cover - those were only on 79 & 80 Kz1000's.

Best cases of all Z's,good crank. What's the guy want for it? Cosmetically looks good-the engine # will be KZT000A...

Post edited by: jack, at: 2006/01/23 21:49