74 kz400 dream/nightmare

recez wrote: yea I'm in seattle so I do have a local shop that I've been going to. And yes I do have the "original" service manual. Have been reading and using it regularly. The 440 motor replacement sounds like a good Idea... but again how much am I looking at to get one of those? Then again on the carbs for the 440? I'm feeling like I should stick this motor out for now because I've just bought a new gasket set, new rings, and have cleaned/honed the cylinders and cleaned valves and valve seats. Just going to lap the old valves as my local mechanic knew I didn't want to spend a ton of money on machining, and said the valves were't that bad and that perhaps the fuel in my cylinders was more of a result of the valves sitting for so long and being so dirty. Fingers crossed on that! thanks for the suggestions.
and yeah I guess I sort of just paid for an education! Try to look at the positives. I know a lot more about bikes now

You're on the right track.
As for the 440, I just bought a LTD today for $100.
Whole bike ,really good shape,but no title.
Keep an eye out,you'll find one.
The 440 carbs are Keihin 36mm,KZ750s used via 34mm.
Everything interchanges minus the body it's self.
Carbs off the 400 share a lot of parts with the early Honda cb twins.

Don't know how much you've spent financially, but you've clearly got a lot of time and energy invested here. I say try and get it running. You're most of the way there already, no sense giving up now!

650ed wrote: Don't be too bummed; consider it an opportunity to learn about old bikes. The good news is that the bottom and and transmission on KZ bikes normally are very tough and reliable. The clutch is easy to deal with if you find there is an issue and shouldn't cost much to bring back up to snuff. Do you have a Kawasaki Service Manual? Ed

definitely have the service manual. Thanks for the replies guys, I do feel a bit better about the whole thing. Definitely glad to hear that the 440 is an option for later down the road, hadn't run into that suggestion in all my furious searching the web on how to get this 400 running. I'm sure I'll be posting more tech questions down the road. I'm out of town for work most of the week... so I only have a day or two to work on this bike every week... I'll keep ya'll updated. thanks again!

wireman wrote: Theres always this option! :woohoo: www.cycletrader.com/listing/2013-Kawasak...nja-ZX-14R-108459212

Wireman... the funny thing is I would rather have this Kz400 than a bike like that... Is that weird?

I was in the same boat as you. Had a non runner that only needed "carbs cleaned and a battery." Every time I got one thing lined out, I found another problem. It was frustrating at first but as I learned my way around the bike it got a lot easier. Old bikes need attention. Stick with it. You'll appreciate your machine more after you fix it yourself. Plus that first ride is pretty thrilling.

recez wrote:

wireman wrote: Theres always this option! :woohoo: www.cycletrader.com/listing/2013-Kawasak...nja-ZX-14R-108459212

Wireman... the funny thing is I would rather have this Kz400 than a bike like that... Is that weird?

Not at all,Ive had 2 zx11s,a turbo charged 2005 zx14.... and somehow I always end up back where it all began 30 plus years ago. :woohoo:
Everytime I get my hands on a kz400 or even parts for one they don't seem to last long,the last 2 complete 400s Ive gotten ended up going to the same guy Ive known since 1st grade.
So the little bikes definitely have a following.

wireman wrote:

recez wrote:

wireman wrote: Theres always this option! :woohoo: www.cycletrader.com/listing/2013-Kawasak...nja-ZX-14R-108459212

Wireman... the funny thing is I would rather have this Kz400 than a bike like that... Is that weird?

Not at all,Ive had 2 zx11s,a turbo charged 2005 zx14.... and somehow I always end up back where it all began 30 plus years ago. :woohoo:
Everytime I get my hands on a kz400 or even parts for one they don't seem to last long,the last 2 complete 400s Ive gotten ended up going to the same guy Ive known since 1st grade.
So the little bikes definitely have a following.

actually I sort of wanted a KZ1000 as I'm a big road warrior/ mad max fan. All of toecutter's gang had bikes like I want.. but the kz400 is a nice start! maybe a cb750 next.

Baby steps,baby steps! :laugh:

recez wrote:

wireman wrote: Theres always this option! :woohoo: www.cycletrader.com/listing/2013-Kawasak...nja-ZX-14R-108459212

Wireman... the funny thing is I would rather have this Kz400 than a bike like that... Is that weird?

That's not weird at all. It's the same reason most of us ride what we ride. We don't much care for what is coming off the production lines.

recez wrote:

wireman wrote: Theres always this option! :woohoo: www.cycletrader.com/listing/2013-Kawasak...nja-ZX-14R-108459212

Wireman... the funny thing is I would rather have this Kz400 than a bike like that... Is that weird?

You're in good company here.

I didn't want to Start a new topic for this one question... But When I'm putting this back together can anyone suggest what type of Silicone to use as the cylinder Head cover gasket? Partzilla list the part number as K61079-007 CLEAR SILICONE of course this is no longer available. I'm having an issue finding an exact replacement... only thing I've come across is the Kawabond K61079-012 KAWABOND #5. However, this is not listed as a substitute for K61079-007. I might be splitting hairs here, but I do worry about flash point and heat affecting how the silicone bonds and holds up over the long term. So I want to make sure this is what I should use when reattaching the cylinder head cover before ordering it. Any thoughts or suggestions?

thanks