Engine Designators

Hi new to forum and just got a 1982 KZ750 four. Was hoping someone could tell me what the E,F,H,N & R letters mean. I am on Z1 looking at parts and the bikes are listed as KZ750-E1, E2 etc. Also, are these engines interchangable? I just bought a 1980 engine to put in my 1982 bike. Will this work? Thanks all for the help.

That would be the model of your bike not the engine.
Look at the number's stamped on the steering neck of the
frame it should be KZ750??

KZ750E - 750 Standard,
KZ750H - 750 LTD
KZ750N - 750 Spectre
KZ750F - 750 Shaft
KZ750R - 81-82 GPz750

ZX750A 83-85 GPz750
ZX750E - The Almighty 750 Turbo.

Number (ie: KZ750E1) indicates year model (As in first year, second year, etc), The KZ750E1 was a 1980 750 Standard, the KZ750E3 was a 1892 model.


Engines are interchangeable with minor work, all the way back to the 76 650.\

ZR7 ~2000 Air cooled 750 four, I've read that it will bolt in also.

it should be the f, the n, or the GPz in 1982.

There is also the KZ750L model (Sports series)...L1, L3 sold in the US, L2 only sold in Europe and elsewhere, L4 sold in Canada, but replaced in the US by the KZ700A1...all very similar to the 1982 KZ750R1 model. Then there was the Z750P series (non-North American model)..a shaft series. Basically, any early air-cooled model (E, H, R, L and ZX750) with a final chain drive should fit your engine mounts with minimum modification. Any shaft drive model (F, N, P) might also fit engine mounts but you'll have issues with output shaft fitment.

Sometimes it is difficult to tell where a replacement motor comes from (model-wise). The final chain drive motors all come from the KZ750EE012345X engine VIN series (including the ZX750 line). The shaft series will have different motor VIN series (i.e the 7th letter will not be an 'E').

usmc1986 wrote: Hi new to forum and just got a 1982 KZ750 four. Was hoping someone could tell me what the E,F,H,N & R letters mean. I am on Z1 looking at parts and the bikes are listed as KZ750-E1, E2 etc. Also, are these engines interchangable? I just bought a 1980 engine to put in my 1982 bike. Will this work? Thanks all for the help.

..and to answer your direct question...many of the internal engine parts from the 1980's vintage 750 bikes are interchangeable. However, there are occasionally external differences...and these you just have to learn. For example, engine case guards for a 1983 KZ750L3 do NOT fit a 1982 KZ750R1, and vice versa.

You should learn how to use the search function on www.kawasaki.com in order to determine which parts are cross-listed between various models. I believe that there is a tutorial somewhere on KZRider explaining this 'how-to'.