Engine Locked UP

Ok, im looking at getting this KZ1000 dont really know the year, guy says the frame is a 78 and the engine is an early 80s
He says it was locked up when he got the bike and it was missing the carbs. He put in trans fluid in the cylinders and its been setting that way for a while and hasnt tried to turn it over since.
I would hope its just the cylinders locked up in their hole but what is the worse that it could be? How often does cranks and lower ends go bad?

Also whats some other precautions that I should take and look at when examining the bike? He says its mostly complete and the largest thing its missing is the carbs

heres the pic of the bike

It's pretty rare that he bottom end will go bad, but there is a guy in here right now that has a twisted crank. It looks like the bike sat out side for a long time and without carbs the pistons will be stuck. Try to move the pistons with the kick start first. if you can get them to break free, then you can tear into the motor. You will need to find out the year of the motor to oder parts. That is the asy part. Find the number stamped on the motor on the right side above the clutch cover. Things you will need are, a manual, rings, gasket kit, oil and filter, have the cylinders honed and maybe a valve job. With all that and a set of carbs the bike will run. If the cylinders are too far gone you can always find a set on ebay for cheap. Depending on what you want to do with the bike and how much "extra" money you have you can spend as much as you have on it. Some web sites that will come in handy are z1enterprises.com and kzzone.com. They will have anything you need. If the motor turns out to be a 78 then you probably have a newer head on it which brings it own set of issues which are explained on the kzzone.com site. Well I hope this gets you started at least. Good luck with it and you found the right place for help. Also put your location and type of bike in your signature line so everyone will know what bike your talking about and you might have someone close to you that can give you a hand.

The rings are rusted to the iron cylinder liners because water got in the intake runners with the carbs missing. Don't use the 17mm nut on the end of the crank as you will just snap off the pin that locates the timing advance. Remove the cylinder head then pour PB Blaster on the piston crowns and hope it attacks the rust. Get onto eBay and buy a piston/cylinder set as yours is likely now junk since you will end up having to pry the cylinder off the stuck piston(s). The cylinder liner will be ruined as the rust can't be honed out too well. I have several piston/cylinder sets in my spares for this very reason... just measure them to ensure that the bores are round (not oval) and within spec and measure the pistons as well for spec. Too great a clearance or out of round cylinders make the donor set junk so measure.

What's the plan with this bike anyway? If you want to ride keep looking for a runner, lots of these are still around.

Im looking for a project, wanted something more complete but this one came up for $200 bucks, if you know where any are near by let me know im looking for around $500 for a mostly complete bike.

Buy the bike, get a motor. Im sure one of these guys have one
for you, if not ive seen them on ebay. And if the motor on the
bike your buying is still good or repairable, then youll still
have a motor to sell. Theoretically, you can even part it out
for a profit, but i wont be able to sleep if you do that.. :S

I must not be as brave as you guys. When I saw the picture, my first instinct was to RUNNNNN!!!!!!

So should I get the bike? and maybe I can get away with a light hone and a good clean up. I guess if the engine turns out bad I can always part it out or sell it for the same if not more than I have in it right?

I would get it and take a look at the cylinders. You can get a used set off ebay for real cheap. You could get it running and clean it up as you go. $200 is a good price. If anything you could part it out and make some cash.

GreenChevelleSS wrote:

Im looking for a project, wanted something more complete but this one came up for $200 bucks, if you know where any are near by let me know im looking for around $500 for a mostly complete bike.

Hey,
I can put out a feeler for you, just noticed you are from T-Town; hey even better, do this. Yahoo has a Group called VJMCOK, it mean Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club of Oklahoma. Join up and post there. Terry Sanderson from OKC started this when he was a Field Rep for the VJMC, a big national group. Post a hello, look at the photos, ask if anyone knows of a KZ. Projects are listed for sale from time to time. A guy named Don Serner from Tulsa may say hello, if he does ask him about projects. Another place to look is in Tulsa, Brookside Cycles. They have a vintage bike meet a few times a year and maybe one of the guys working there can steer you to a project engine. Big KZ engines are out there, you just have to shake the bushes a little bit more to find them.

I know of a guy who lives near me, he has a 1000. He posted here a few times about getting his project started but I don't know how it went, it's been over a year and I haven't seen him. Let me check some history and see if I can find him, maybe he has something to sell now.

alright thanks, im going to go look at the bike this evening and hopefully it turns out better then the pic shows.

Kent I joined that yahoo group, If ya see me on there say hi