Well? Her goes nothin! 78 KZ1000 tear down/rebuild

I got my Clymer in after a long wait. I realized that I might have bit off more than I can chew. Rather than try to fix a ton or minor problems I have decided to just jump in head-first. Wish me luck! I was hoping to do this next winter, but what the hell? I would really like to cam it up a bit while I have it apart but I don't know exactly what I want. Basically I would like to hear a good lope at idle rather than hit any specific performance range but more torque would be cool. Also I would love to do a swing arm conversion. Anyone know where I can find one fitted for the 78 KZ1000A2? I'll get a new camera so I can post as many pics and vids as possible and try to post as often as I can. Any help you fellas can give is much appreciated. Your post have been tons of help already and your customizations have been a real inspiration to this project. HERE WE GO!!!!

When you tear the motor down, get yourself some containers to put parts in. If you get your camera, take lots of pictures BEFORE you tear something apart so you can see how it looks when you put it back together. Better to overdo it on this then look at a part later and try to figure out how it fits. Use baggies to put small parts or bolts into and mark them. These KZ motors are basically simple to work on but the first time can make you wonder if you bit off more then you can chew. Just pay attention to how you took it apart and you shouldn't have any problems. If you do, there are a couple guys here who have done it before and I'm sure a few here will be more then happy to get you back on track if you need help. Once you decide what you want to do with the bike, we can help with suggestions on how to get there. Lots of knowledge around these here parts so ask away. There aren't any dumb questions...

Please have on hand, and use Metric tools when tearing down the engine, as Imperial(American) sockets & wrenches will round over the corners of fasteners.

Read the manual several times to become familiar with sequences needed for disasembly.

MFolks wrote: Please have on hand, and use Metric tools when tearing down the engine, as Imperial(American) sockets & wrenches will round over the corners of fasteners.

Read the manual several times to become familiar with sequences needed for disasembly.

+1 and get a JIS screwdriver. It will save you a lot of headache and stripped screw heads.

Like was said earlier take lots and lots of pics, use bags and label everything, put screws back in holes as you remove them if possible.

So you don't get overwhelmed tackle one area at a time like chassis and suspension , bodywork, electrical, engine, fuel system etc. Trying to tackle every task at once can make it challenging and test your patience.

Ask all the questions you need to, the manual lacks in some places but is thorough in others.

Good Luck and have fun.

the 03 zx6 swingarm works well with leons bushings, and is economical.

Just remember there is a lot of down time between waiting on parts an murphy coming home to remind you the engineers went to college.

testarossa wrote:

MFolks wrote: Please have on hand, and use Metric tools when tearing down the engine, as Imperial(American) sockets & wrenches will round over the corners of fasteners.

Read the manual several times to become familiar with sequences needed for disasembly.

+1 and get a JIS screwdriver. It will save you a lot of headache and stripped screw heads.

I was astonished at the effectiveness of JIS screwdrivers. +1

Dam i wish i knew more than i did when i went threw my engine, Like the JIS screwdriver i got frustated when i was stipping everything and replaced EVERYTHING with Allan haha. DAM. THANKS FOR THE INFO ANDY

KansasKZ wrote: I got my Clymer in after a long wait.

It will come in handy for propping up a wobbly table. Get a factory manual by any means available before you start. You can probably get one off the net for free.

So I pop off the ignition cover today and notice there is no gasket but plenty of rust inside. Not very pleased. I did find some zx6 swingarms cheap but they don't seem to be much longer if any than the stock KZ. I would like to go out 4 to 6 inches, nothin too crazy. Any suggestions?

Any hints to get the cylinder head separated from the cylinder block? got all the nuts and bolts off that I can see, but they move as a single unit. any ideas what i need to do to get them apart?

use a large rubber mallet and lightly tap the head all around. It is just stuck on because it probably hasn't come off in years.

If you dont have a rubber mallet, a 2X4 and a hammer works just as well.