close cousin to kz

Hello. Its been awhile since I posted but I'm in a jam and wanted to pick the briliant minds here. I recently picked up a 1993 zr 1100 zephyr (a close cousin to the kz). I've been looking for one of these for about 7 years that was affordable. They are fairly rare in the states it seems so aftermarket parts are fairly hard to come by. This is where you guys come in. I am looking for a 5 degree advance rotor for the ignition. This is where the dyna s would be on the kz's. They make them across the seas and a few people have made them over here but my contact list has run dry. A vance and hines powerpak would work also. I have followed this site for a long time and i know there are nothing but kawasaki enthusists and carnosours here so any help would be very much appreciated.

In actuality it is a very distant cousin. That motor is completely different from any other motors Kawasaki made. That engine is exclusive to that bike and that bike alone. The Zephyr 750 would have been much simpler. The 750 engine has much in common with the old 650/700/750 motor and also with the newer zx motors. However the 1100 motor was a monstrosity. It was a feeble attempt to bring back the KZ using the Voyager 1200 motor. The bottom end of the Zephyr is the Voyager trans but the top end was exclusive to the zephyr. I have wanted one of these bikes for many years also but since I have found how hard it is to find any kind of parts for them I stopped looking. The right way to do it is to junk the ZR motor and install a KZ or ZX 1100 motor in the Zephyr frame. I know there are a few web sights dedicated to the Zephyr. I think it is a beautiful bike but it was a travesty from its inception.

Yeah I knew what I was getting into and I knew the history of it. But thats really why I wanted it. I have two kz 1000s. Two of my other friends have two kz 1000s each and a 650 thrown in there. All of our bikes are modded to the hilt but they're still kz 1000s. You can look on ebay and buy 900s and thousands all day. I love the kz's to death but really wanted somthing different. I believe I have found it. Imo the sexy lines on this bike are second to few. Parts are easy to come by, you just have to buy them new from Bike Bandit or anywhere like that. Its just the aftermarket parts that are hard to find. They make the bore kits and etc for it but its all across seas. I agree with you the easiest method would be to replace the motor but that I believe would take away from its appeal for me. Besides how many 4 cylinder motorcycles have 8 spark plugs? Thats unique and conversation piece in itself and that's what Im looking for. So, anyone else have any help or ideas for me concerning my ignition advancer?

The ignition advance in that bike is programed into the electronic igniter. Without having that reprogrammed I am not sure what els to do short of buying the Dyna or MSD ignitions that have programmable ignitions.

If you are looking for a 5* advance across the entire band, you can modify the rotor you have. This will however kill your gas millage and destroy your torque curve higher up the RPM band. The single pickup ignition was a disaster within itself.
Please don't get me wrong, I think the stiling of the bike is beautiful. I just wish they used the Police engine in it instead of building that monstrosity.

Right all... the question begs - Why advance the ignition 5 degrees?

Maybe you like buying expensive gas and having no power up high? :laugh:

I agree, these bikes rock in stock configuration, looks and power delivery.

But wha?

Until about five years ago I had a beautiful zr1100. I love that bike! But, I don't believe those bikes are all they are cracked up to be. If they had of done the zr1100 on the zrx1200r platform I believe that bike would have been a huge success. But they pitted their zx11 against it and for 10k which of the two bikes do you think people would buy? The kz crowd was about performance and I believe had they made the right changes this bike would have been a huge success and perhaps taken away the urge for every rider to want the "Are you one of Jerry's kids?" bikes. Let's face it the zx11 was a fast bike. The zr should have been it's equal only looking like the street bike it is. That is why the sales were so dismal. They cost way too much and didn't offer all the performance.
They have crappy transmissions in my opinion. Everyone I know who had that bike had troubles with the second gear giving out including myself. The performance for me was just fine. I loved that bike to pieces but what a pita it was. Let's start with the 50 state legal emissions garbage that most of them had. It would leak gas like a siv, which is the main reason why the chain of events leading up to my smashed knee became a reality. My garage caught on fire and I lost it and two of my cherished cars. One an s2000 three years old with 11k on the OD. She never saw inclement weather. And my workhorse civic with some nice mods.
Did the bike cause that garage fire??? Could be. Anyway as pretty as that bike is it's a pink elephant. I had the chance to buy another one for a good price but I'm glad I passed. I got a rex with many mods on it for a song. Can I tell you that I don't really like the ELR look but the performance of this bike with it's titanium exhaust and jet kit make this a seriously fast stock machine IMO that you can ride for 900 miles and still not feel monkey butt discomfort.
Am I glad I lost that bike in a fire as beautiful and perect as it looked minus second gear? Hmmm, I think it was a blessing in disguise because I got my kz back on the road and now have two kzs and a rex. Do I miss my bike? OH yeah. But am I glad I don't have it anymore? I don't miss it's cruel hearted ways! All the times I was stranded because the humidity reached a level that the gas would spit out the carbs. Shitty engine and emissions design! Many will disagree with me but I owned it and had nothing but trouble with this that or the other. The second gear was the icing on the cake. Rare, yeah. Buy a Z1r if you want a bike no one else has. Buy an irkle mobile but this bike is the retarded child of kawasaki best left in the attic locked away.

Oh, and the gas mileage was HORRIBLE stock. Imagine with mods.

I would love to get one with a blown engine so i could put a "J" series engine into it. Imagine one with a ZX12 engine in it---- :woohoo: !!!!!

saxjonz wrote:

Oh, and the gas mileage was HORRIBLE stock. Imagine with mods.

Now imagine what it will be with an extra 5* advance threw the entire band.

Ok guys. I've already bought the bike no sense in trying to talk me out of it now. Lol. The second gear was a bad point in this model but luckily I've got one that shifts fine. Factory pro has a "shift kit" that keeps it this way for a hundred bucks. Cheap insurance. This is not a calfornia model with all the extra emissioins. Its really no different than any other bike of that time as far as I can tell (emission wise). It has a k and n and a stage 1 jet kit in it and I'm averaging 35 to 36 mpg running around 70mph. About the same as I get out of my 1197 kz. The spewing carbs is a new one. I haven't seen any bike do that. One thing is for sure, ill leave it original until somthing costly happens with it for the sake of originality. But yeah you guys are right. If somthing happens to the motor or tranny. In goes the zx 11 or bored gpz 1100 motor.

That's what I would do. Just keep it the way it stands.