Swapping Z1 engine into KZ650 chassis.

Okay, so I have this.



& this...



I've seen plenty of KZ650's with big blocks shoved in them but I've yet to find a thread specifically detailing how they did it. I'm not too concerned with that because I'm at least decently good with a torch & welder. However, if you can direct me to a thread where someone stabs a Z1 engine in a KZ650 chassis, that would be totally awesome.

What I'm most curious about right now is whether or not the Z1's charging system make it's own power? IE, I want this bike to be bare bones, including taking out the starter & going kick only & eliminating the battery if possible. If the Z1 doesn't make it's own power, is there a charging system I can equip this motor with that does?

Thanks in advance for any help!

I believe the Z1 engine should be able to provide your power requirements. If you take off the sprocket cover, there should be colored wires coming from the alternator.

Some of the early bikes were phase sensitive, so carefully check the wiring. It might be worth it to go from the seperate regulator and rectifier to the integrated version used on the later models.

Alternator Testing For the Older 4’s(Z1’s,Kz 900’s, Kz1000’s,Kz1100’s and GPz1100’s).

To check to see if the alternator is working you need to follow these simple steps:

1. Fully charge the battery as this will be the power source during this test.

2. Disconnect the Regulator/Rectifier at the plug that has the six wires in it.

3. Start the engine and let it warm to operating temperature.

4. If you're worried about overheating, position a large fan for cooling the engine.

5. After the engine has reached operating temperature, have a helper assist you, and using a multi-meter, read the output at the three yellow wires (or the alternator output wires)at the disconnected connector.

6. Raise the engine speed to 4000 rpm, and see what the three YELLOW wire combinations(or any alternator output wires) are(1-3, 2-3 & 1-2). The output will be around 50 Volts A.C.(Alternating Current). BE CAREFUL, AS THERE IS A SHOCK HAZARD HERE!!

7. If any of the combinations are low or non-existent, the stator(wire windings) are bad and must be replaced.
Some of the older Z1’s and KZ900’s were phase sensitive, so check the wire colors carefully.

8. Using an OHMETER, Check the three wire combinations again, looking for a reading of 0.36 - 0.54 OHMS. If the readings are above or below, the stator may be bad and need replacement. Also check from any of the three YELLOW wires to ground, this will show if arcing took place.

9. Before ordering a new stator, check the connections from the stator as there are electrical "Bullet" connectors that may be damaged or dirty.
Inspect the wiring for signs of shorting or overheating too. www.z1enterprises.com sells replacement rubber grommets for the alternator output wiring, they get hard and could leak oil after a while.

10. Check the wiring coming out of the grommet as there have been situations where the wires were damaged causing a short(I.E. twisted together with insulation damage).

11. The sprocket cover will have to be removed to access the electrical connectors coming from the alternator, the left foot peg assembly and shifting lever will have to come off also.

Assuming the 903 is the same as the 1000 as far as mounts are concerned, it's simply a matter of making new mounting plates.
One person even managed to drop the motor down in the frame far enough to clear the tank.

Someone here collected all the pics that have been posted of KZ650/1000 bikes, but I can't remember who.

I'm pretty sure you can go batteryless on the Z1. It requires a little bit of re-configuring the reg/rec wiring and you'll want an auto shut-off feature for the lights. The lights must be off to start it. You will probably want to get a newer reg/rec combo. The brown sense wire for the reg/rec should be permanently tied to the output wire of the reg/rec.

You'll also be better off with a factory electronic ignition instead of points, and definitely not a Dyna ignition. The factory ignition is more efficient especially at low RPMs ... as in starting RPMs. I have a cheap do-it-yourself substitue for the igniter that makes it even more efficient at lower RPMs.

Before you drop the battery, though, you'll want to make sure you can start the bike reliably in one kick or two. A hard to start bike will only get harder without battery.

And, finally, the battery must be replaced by a capacitor. You'll want a 6000 to 12000 uF, 50v, capacitor.

Page 4 of this thread shows my wiring diagram for my battery-less bike.
kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&...mit=20&limitstart=60

It would not be too hard to draw up a bare bones diagram for you if you need one when the time comes.

Make sure it's a flux capacitor

A consideration....the Z1/Z900/Z1000 shoehorned into a KZ650 frame has been done...however, the issue has been that the motor must be pulled in order to check/change the valve shims...really.

If you want to make run strong without a battery the best way to go is with a magneto, which never came as a stock item from Kawasaki... the smallest one's out there are the Hunt or ARD, the next biggest one is the Mallaroy Sprint then the Vertex stuff, but it is very large.

Most of those would be Ebay purchases.

I'm a big fan of shoe horning big engines into small chassis. I hope you pull it off Be sure to start a project thread for it when you start. As long as it's not a daily driver that racks up a ton of miles, pulling the engine to check the valves is a small price to pay for a unique custom bike.

Gusset,gusset here,gusset,gusset there,here a gusset,there a gusset,everywhere a gusset,gusset.Lol.bj

Injected wrote:

If you want to make run strong without a battery the best way to go is with a magneto, which never came as a stock item from Kawasaki... the smallest one's out there are the Hunt or ARD, the next biggest one is the Mallaroy Sprint then the Vertex stuff, but it is very large.

Most of those would be Ebay purchases.

I like the look of this magneto business...

...but will it power lights? Only thing I'm gonna run is a standard headlight, tail & brake light.

I'm assuming a mag would be hotter than a dyna S & green coils? I already have the green coils.

Magnetos can produce higher voltage, but not necessarily higher energy or duration. High compression motors need higher voltage, that's where a magneto would work well (nowadays, it would be a capacitor-discharge ignition instead of magnetos for that purpose because they are cheaper and simpler).

For a regular compression bike, the kawasaki electronic ignition will likely have more duration, which will likely provide a smoother idle. Since you still need the alternator for lights, you might as well run the ignition off the alternator instead of adding a big magneto assembly. Magnetos are cool, but they're basically a novelty at this point.

If you are going to run super high compression, an MSD would be more effective, probably, than a magneto.

As I said earlier, you probably don't want a Dyna S for a battery-less bike. A Kawasaki electronic ignition from the early 1980's is what you want, with Dyna 2.2 ohm coils. And, the module you want to run it with is this HEI version:
home.comcast.net/~loudgpz/GPZweb/Ignition/GPZgmHEImod.html

Ah. So if I added a mag, I'd still need the generator eh?

Might as well just do what you're saying. I've heard the Dyna sucks more juice than the factory kawi iggy & that's why it'd be better to run without a battery I'm assuming.

The motor, for the most part, is stock.

Thanks for the link & all the info!