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Where have all the second gears gone?
- floivanus
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Pulled pan, second gear has chipped teeth and worn dogs, tried a third motor from a 79 A3, same thing no 2nd gear.
Guess that means time to split cases, change trans, cam chain and guides (one has a piece of guide floating around in pan) and do a full refresh
my bikes; 80kz1000(project), 77 gl1000, 74 h2 (project)
Past; 78 kz1000, 83 kz550
Andrew
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- 531blackbanshee
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leon
skiatook,oklahoma 1980 z1r,1978 kz 1000 z1r x 3,
1976 kz 900 x 3
i make what i can,and save the rest!
billybiltit.blogspot.com/
www.kzrider.com/forum/5-chassis/325862-triple-tree-custom-work
kzrider.com/forum/5-chassis/294594-frame-bracing?limitstart=0
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- Dr. Gamma
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I still till this day can rattle off all those trans part numbers along with all the bottom end gasket and o-ring part numbers. After a few months, I never even bothered to look the part numbers anymore. I would just go and grab the parts from their parts boxes!!! It got real old real quick explaining to a customer why he needed 2nd and 5th when it dropped out of 2nd not 5th!!! God I made some good money off all those dummies that powershifted leaving every stop light in town!!!!
1972 H2 750 Cafe Racer built in 1974.
1976 KH400 Production Road Racer.
1979 Kz1000 MK. II Old AMA/WERA Superbike.
1986 RG500G 2 stroke terror.
1986 GSXR750RG The one with the clutch that rattles!
Up in the hills near Prescott, Az.
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- floivanus
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So far I have 3 1000's with not one good tranny out of the bunch, the only one i've had that actually had all its gears was the j model
my bikes; 80kz1000(project), 77 gl1000, 74 h2 (project)
Past; 78 kz1000, 83 kz550
Andrew
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- Dr. Gamma
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All the Z1/KZ900/ KZ1000 (73~80) trans gears are all the same. Only difference in all the transmissions is the 79/80 output shaft is a bit longer. Those are the shafts that use the shouldered counter sprocket nut, and the lock tab has the spline pattern on the ID of it.
Back in the day you could buy a complete close ratio transmission with both shafts for like 180 dollars for the KZ motor from Kawasaki. 13254-001, was the part number on the box. All it said in the price book was "mission assy". Yoshimura sold that same trans for over 600 dollars, but it came in a Kawasaki box with that part number on it!!! Plus all the dogs were undercut from the factory. GREAT road race trans!!!
1972 H2 750 Cafe Racer built in 1974.
1976 KH400 Production Road Racer.
1979 Kz1000 MK. II Old AMA/WERA Superbike.
1986 RG500G 2 stroke terror.
1986 GSXR750RG The one with the clutch that rattles!
Up in the hills near Prescott, Az.
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- floivanus
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And i just finally got the chance to ride this bike, getting it to idle right alone was a pain.
my bikes; 80kz1000(project), 77 gl1000, 74 h2 (project)
Past; 78 kz1000, 83 kz550
Andrew
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- Powerstroke_fan
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Dr. Gamma wrote: As long as you did not powershift, a stock motored Z1/KZ trans was near bulletproof!! Now drag bikes, and turbo bikes were a little harder on the trans gears. But all most people did was get the dogs undercut.
All the Z1/KZ900/ KZ1000 (73~80) trans gears are all the same. Only difference in all the transmissions is the 79/80 output shaft is a bit longer. Those are the shafts that use the shouldered counter sprocket nut, and the lock tab has the spline pattern on the ID of it.
Back in the day you could buy a complete close ratio transmission with both shafts for like 180 dollars for the KZ motor from Kawasaki. 13254-001, was the part number on the box. All it said in the price book was "mission assy". Yoshimura sold that same trans for over 600 dollars, but it came in a Kawasaki box with that part number on it!!! Plus all the dogs were undercut from the factory. GREAT road race trans!!!
Sorry to question your knowledge dr. But not all z1/900/1000 gears are the same.Didnt the 1980 mk11 motors and maybe some of the 79s, had a wider contact patch on the gears. I know when i built my motor i had the wider contact patchs. Also if your going to rebuid one of the engines and didnt have to have factory, i would rebuild the mk11 motor. If its a 79 it could be a toss up. Some of the 79s had mk11 cases but kz internals. The 1980s where all mk11 motors. They had the bigger trans gears, bigger 1016 16 tooth center cranks. They had stronger cases along with a few other diffrences like cam chain link length and charging diffrences. The mk11s are deffitenly stronger motors stock.
1980 kz1000B4 LTD- 1327cc 9-1 comp
Ported J model head
Psp-3x cams
RS 36s
Welded MK11 crank
Back-cut MK11 trans
MTC 2 stage lock up
Stretched 4-6 over running Hayabusa rear rim with 190 rear tire
Complete frame brace kit installed
And Much Much more- SOLD
2014- ZX14R all stock for now
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- Dr. Gamma
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I can't see the factory in Japan ever making a run of "special" gears just for a production run of MK II's. Thats not how the Japanese manufacturers work. I can remember when the Z1R (KZ1000D1) came out everybody said it had a close ratio transmission. WRONG just a rumor. You can take a '73 Z1 trans and drop it into a '80 MK II case and vise versa.
Yes the cases are thicker in places, and the crank is stronger and has a bigger 16t center pin. Plus the camchain is 124 link and the cam gears have 2 more tooth on them. But the cams are the same part number for a '76 KZ900 as for the MK II's!!!
1972 H2 750 Cafe Racer built in 1974.
1976 KH400 Production Road Racer.
1979 Kz1000 MK. II Old AMA/WERA Superbike.
1986 RG500G 2 stroke terror.
1986 GSXR750RG The one with the clutch that rattles!
Up in the hills near Prescott, Az.
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- Powerstroke_fan
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1980 kz1000B4 LTD- 1327cc 9-1 comp
Ported J model head
Psp-3x cams
RS 36s
Welded MK11 crank
Back-cut MK11 trans
MTC 2 stage lock up
Stretched 4-6 over running Hayabusa rear rim with 190 rear tire
Complete frame brace kit installed
And Much Much more- SOLD
2014- ZX14R all stock for now
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- Powerstroke_fan
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kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/368399-z1900-vs-kz1000-transmission check that out.
Also i know they did use stuff for limited runs like the crank, The alternator which is completly diffrent than a 78 and lower. So there is stuff they only used for short runs.
1980 kz1000B4 LTD- 1327cc 9-1 comp
Ported J model head
Psp-3x cams
RS 36s
Welded MK11 crank
Back-cut MK11 trans
MTC 2 stage lock up
Stretched 4-6 over running Hayabusa rear rim with 190 rear tire
Complete frame brace kit installed
And Much Much more- SOLD
2014- ZX14R all stock for now
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- etbike3135
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1973 Kawasaki Z1
18 years in dragbikes
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- saxjonz
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- KawboyZ
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The gears get worn out from people who don't know how to shift, from beating on it as second gear is the money shot gear and gets the most use and usable power, and well, if the gears are backcut they lock together much more easier and can take more power without slipping out. If you are going to split the cases might as well spend a little on the stuff that improves it, no?
It's only time and money. I'd try and find a MKII motor as the webbing on the case is stronger and get stuff you can build up that is already strong. Not saying that any other motor is less but Kawi did improve things and made them better in 80 than in 73. Take the best and blend it all together.
I would like to add that I have broken many a second gears but never in a kz and I have beat on my 79 and my 80, well over 20k miles easy on both bikes in two separate seasons each. I have never been easy on my bikes but I have always religiously maintained them. I can say that these are the best bikes I have ever owned. I have broken second gear from just redlining my zr1100 and I know that everyone and their brother's have done the same as well. They were known for weak trans since new. I always shifted smoothly but usually always ran up to redline before shifting. I either hit a pothole or it just bent the fork and jumped out of gear. Either way second was gone. My midnight special was worse. I shifted from second to first and it just got all crazy jumping up and down a few times before I was able to do anything about it. It went about 5k miles later. So, some bikes are known for their weak second and some have just been abused. Kaws usually have been abused for that gear to go out.
79 LTD B3
80 LTD B4 1075 kit JE Pistons .410 cam grind, Bassani, 31 keihin CR Specials...
1980 Z1R, 2002 ZRX1200, 2003 ZRX1200
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