Can I use newer stock cams to boost my 78 kz1000?

PLUMMEN wrote:

Nelson wrote:

Well this is interesting. This guy claims the shaft bike motors are sought after for performance. Maybe I'd like these in my '78? Anything to this? Larry C?

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1979-Kawasaki-KZ...&hash=item5190705428

the engine cases ,crank and trans parts are mkII.
nothing special about the cams that im aware of

They're MKII cases.


Watch J cams, they're not all the same. If you get a set out of a CSR or LTD, you're wasting your time.

I wouldn't bother with anything but 83 - 85 GPz11 and only if they can be had right.

Thanks guys, good advice. I expect I'll skip this one.

Don't give up just yet! Stock cams are cheap, and the intake cams have more lift and duration than the exhaust side. Drop one of those suckers in the exhaust side and degree it in so everything happens at the right spot.

Stock measurements.
Intake - .327" lift and 237 at .040" duration
Exhaust - .296" lift and 229 at .040" duration

Also, running your valve clearance at the tight end of the range will effectively increase the lift and duration of your cam.

Obviously, when increasing the size of your exhaust cam like this, you need to make sure that you have a free flowing exhaust.

-Dave

And the "real" J bike cams are,I believe, .366 lift on the intake and really made a difference in my M bike--but ya gotta get the "real" J cams.10 hp difference in J and K,M bikes and its all in the cams.bj

Hey kawasakiman do you have the cams these guys are describing? What's a "real" J cam?

beefsquasher are you saying to put a stock intake cam in place of the exhaust cam? I like the idea - cheap power. What years should I look for?

So much for my stock tach tho. I'd have to plug the hole and get an electronic one I guess.

Nelson wrote:

Hey kawasakiman do you have the cams these guys are describing? What's a "real" J cam?

81-82 Kawasakis KZ1000 are designated models J (standard),K(LTD), and M(CSR) .Engines on the LTD and CSR are identical except CSR cams are designed for a gear/cable driven tach.LTD and CSR are rated at 92 hp,the J model is 102hp.All three are 998cc.Only difference is cams.So u really need the J bike cams for any improvement.Also kinda hard to locate,but there are lots of K and M cams floating around.I have a set of both K and M cams if u need them .Only difference is the gear boss for the M bikes cable driven tach.bj

I have a complete set of 1984 gpz1100 cams out of my 14,000 mi orig engine email me direct at b.flood@myactv.net this is the hottest set of cams that were factory installed.

beefsquasher wrote:

Don't give up just yet! Stock cams are cheap, and the intake cams have more lift and duration than the exhaust side. Drop one of those suckers in the exhaust side and degree it in so everything happens at the right spot.

Stock measurements.
Intake - .327" lift and 237 at .040" duration
Exhaust - .296" lift and 229 at .040" duration

Also, running your valve clearance at the tight end of the range will effectively increase the lift and duration of your cam.

Obviously, when increasing the size of your exhaust cam like this, you need to make sure that you have a free flowing exhaust.

-Dave

Running valve lash on the tight side is counter productive and bad for the exhaust valves. Compression will go up with lash at the loose side & THE ONLY THING that cools the exhaust valves is the time they are resting on the seat. Really bad idea to be taking away that precious little time.

hocbj23 wrote:

Nelson wrote:

Hey kawasakiman do you have the cams these guys are describing? What's a "real" J cam?

81-82 Kawasakis KZ1000 are designated models J (standard),K(LTD), and M(CSR) .Engines on the LTD and CSR are identical except CSR cams are designed for a gear/cable driven tach.LTD and CSR are rated at 92 hp,the J model is 102hp.All three are 998cc.Only difference is cams.So u really need the J bike cams for any improvement.Also kinda hard to locate,but there are lots of K and M cams floating around.I have a set of both K and M cams if u need them .Only difference is the gear boss for the M bikes cable driven tach.bj

BJ,

On a J motor bike like the LTD or CSR, the J cams are a simple swap and no additional sprockets are required. It's really a nice, inexpensive upgrade for those bikes.

On a KZ motor, to use those cams, you either have to modify the stock 3 bolt sprockets to take 2 bolt cams or buy adapting sprockets. Modifying the stock sprockets requires special attention. Allen head bolts must be used. Their heads turned down slightly to clear the cam chain. The sprocket centers need to be resized for the larger boss on the cam & locating the new holes is critical. It's not for the average guy to take on...

J cams are .340" as I recall. Same as an old Andrews 1x cam.

Thanks Larry. I don't think I want to mess with that plan. Maybe a stock 78 intake cam dropped into the exhaust side is the cheap/easy way to go. Not sure if I want to lose my stock tach tho.

Nelson wrote:

Thanks Larry. I don't think I want to mess with that plan. Maybe a stock 78 intake cam dropped into the exhaust side is the cheap/easy way to go. Not sure if I want to lose my stock tach tho.

I know I would't sacrifice my tach for that little bit of gain. Keep any eye out for some drop in cams. They come up all the time for cheap money or email DFIGPZ about those GPz Cams, they'd be worth it and he's a straight shooter. Very nice guy. I've spoken to him. He's got his shit together, that's for sure