550a out 550d into my 82kz

hi and thanks in advance......

if i've missed the correct way to search this, sorry. get me pointed in the right direction, thank you..
bought an 82 awhile back to have as a cruiser, engine wouldnt run well and low compression. recently found a gpz550 motor running well to replace it with. can anyone give me a heads up as to what may need changed and or adapted for this 550d engine to be used where there is a 550a version. any cable differences? wiring? changes to wiring that may be needed? any mounting issues?
this bike has been on the back burner for awhile but due to an injury im stuck in a wheel chair around the house for quite awhile. so, im going to make good use my roof hoist and steel benches to get evrything off the floor to be able to work on things and just go for it. its going to take longer im sure but i gotta do something productive, im starting to go a little crazy....

82 550D? There is an 81 D but I'm not so sure there was an 82 model... not in the USA anyway.

It will probably be an easy swap.

Using the cross-reference info at Partzilla, the 81 GPz has the same crankcase set as the 550A.
Also, the ignition system & charging systems seem to be the same as well.
They also have the same carburetor holders & airbox, so there shouldn't be any issues w carb fitment either.

As Martin said, the 82 KZ550A3 motor (also used in the KZ550C3 model), is basically the same as the 81 KZ550D1. The one major, external exception is the oil cooler. The D model really needs the oil cooler if it is going to be run hard. So you will basically have to drill the front reinforcing plate, between the two down tubes, on the frame, for the oil cooler.

Other than that, the only difference will be the jetting on the carbs. If you are using the airbox and stock exhaust, then you just have to up the main jet to 94. TK22 mains are not available in size 94, though. The number is hundredths of a millimeter. You can drill the 92 mains you have, or you can try to get some Dynojet mains or Keihin small-head mains.

There are some details for drilling jets on TK22 carbs in my signature.

my goal from the very beginning has been to build a clone/tribute of the limited kawasaki green 550s done in the late 70's/early 80's..i am finally getting to the meat of this project because of a broken ankle injury i recently sustained and have lotsa time to fart around with my motorcycle project.
anyway,...To loudhvx, should i go bigger than 94? since i have a kerker 4 into 1 and i am going to use air pods?. I've read that the thottle cable is different for the (D) engine carbs (you called a tk22?. will i need a diff/new cable or cable, throttle assy and ???. Also, the clutch cable and mechanism on the "D" model is on the clutch case cover on the right rather than the cable going into the left side case cover on the "A" model.. will i just have to change to a different cable? or cable, lever and all.. and last, but most important.... can i just splice the four wires (yellow,blue,black and black/white) coming out of the right front of the engine case cover (pick up coils???)on the "D" model engine to the yellow,blue,red and black wires, coming out of the same place one the "A" engine to the bikes main harness 'poof" it will work or should i be changing or upgrading something in the ignition and timing areas also?

Are you sure you have a D1 engine?
The clutch mechanism is on the sprocket cover of the D1 and all A motors.
The carb's cable mechanisms are also the same on all TK22 carbs. Other than color (black paint) and main jets, the A1 to A3 TK22 carbs are identical to the 81 D1 model TK22 carbs. If yours are noticeaably different, then one set is not a TK22.

There was a KZ550A4 standard model which had the newer style motor with TK26 cv carbs. Maybe that is what you have?

Either way, don't cut the pickup wires. They can easily be removed with the pickup plate. There is no reason to splice them unless they are too short for some reason. And in that case, yes, just match the colors.

With pods and Kerker you will definitely have to up the jetting. Probably 98 mains and the pilots will have to be drilled to 34 or 37. Then you'll have to play with the needle adjustment. That is, assuming you in fact have TK22 carbs.

A couple good photos would probably clear things up.

Yep, its photo time. Two to start,..the bike its going in and the engine that's going into it...i should also add...the numbers I'm talking about are the numbers off the engine case covers. On the engine in the frame now is....kz550ae033949. On the gpz engine i have is kz550de046035that's all i have on the gpz engine..have lotsa pics...i got the engine from a guy using it in a go cart that was home made, but not qiite finished. The guy had it running on bare minimum wiring that looks like a dog chewed together.. But i heard it running and unlike the one i have that sounds like it has no bearings...it sounded great and was cheaper than rebuilding the other one by a long shot..and the only diagram i can find that matches the exact colors of the wires on the gpz engine is the one titled 84-85 zx550a1 & a2. The kz bike itself matches any pics of and the diagram for an 82 model kza3. Let me know what you think, I'm determined to pull this off.....thanks!

I found a build thread doing similar swap..said use the circuit ignitor from the gpz or it wouldnt run right. .the only one in the schematics wired and colored slightly differently was the 84-85 zx550a. Put a few shots up of my wiring mess .

That gpz motor may be several motors combined. The ZX550A motors, which many of the parts appear to be, uses an electronic advancer built into the igniter. The pickups for that style ignition are different from the pickups on the KZ550A motors, which use a mechanical advancer.

Since you have the igniter, and presumably the pickups in the gpz motor, you should use all of that. The coils are the same for the two types of ignitions, but none of the other parts can be mixed and matched. If the gpz is missing ignition parts, or they don't work, you should be able to swap over the entire system from the KZ550A motor. They should just bolt in to the gpz motor.

The ZX motors had different engine mounting hardware, so you may a few issues with that, but nothing major. The cases may be the same, and may have only been the bolt-on hardware that was different.

Obviously the carbs are totally different. The ZX motor uses TK27 carbs, which are the third generation of TK carbs on the Kaw 550's. The older TK22 carbs have the same center-to-center spacing, and can be used, but with some modifying of the intake manifolds, and even then, the risk of vacuum leaks is increased slightly.

There are manuals in my signature for both of the motors you have, so you may want to read up and compare the differences.

I did not know the ZX motors still carried the "KZ550DExxxxxx" designation, but it's very possible. I'll check the gpz forum for confirmation.

I confirmed it with Corey Clough, his ZX motors are numbered KZ550DExxxxxx. So you likely have a full ZX550A1 or A2 (84-85 gpz550) motor.

:woohoo: ...awesome. all great info for a good starting point. but first,..hey Thanks loudhvx. your knowledge and resourses are greatly appreciated.. im glad to hear that the electronic advancer is part of the ignitor assy out of the gpz cause its the only thing there (i think) wiring the thing in to what i already have in the K.Z. should be pretty straightforward. the only differences i see so far is that the black wire to the coils is terminated to what seems to be the opposite coil that it is terminated to on the 82-83kza3 wiring diagram. the only diagram that shows which coil is doing which cylinder #'s is the one for the kz550a3. still got some time before final hook up so i will keep researching for now.
about the mounts.....first thing i noticed was the mounts being in rubber so well see how it goes when the time comes.
same goes for what your telling me are the tk27 carbs,..changes you spoke of earlier to tk22's still apply to the 27's?
im still degreasing/de gunking the gpz engine before i put it in. the go cart guy had the engine in and running with no air cleaners, the carbs are filthy so ill pull them out now and do a cleaning and gasket kits at the same time im making the changes to them.
im a project oriented guy,..i cant work on the hot rods right now but i can sneak out into the garage for an hour or so before my leg swells up and i gotta go back inside and put it up in the air awhile (dam injury). if i can get out there a few times a week ill make some good progress over the next 4-5 months of being out of commision. thanks again loudhvx.

Well, big projects get done one little step at a time (unless you have a bunch of worker's working for you, then big projects get done on overtime :woohoo: ).

The way all 550's came from the factory is:

The right coil gets the small black wire and fires cylinders 1 and 4.
The left coil gets the small green wire and fires cylinders 2 and 3.

With the mechanical advancer (came in KZ models' motors), the pointer points to the left toward the pickup with the black and blue wires when pistons 1 and 4 are near top dead center. These can be accidentally installed 180 deg. out.

With the electronic advance (came in ZX motors), I think the rotor tooth points to the left when 1 and 4 are near top dead center. These are not able to be 180 out. The rotor for these just looks like a stamped out circle plate with a rectangular tooth.

The TK27 and TK22 jetting is completely different. Unfortunately, I have no TK27 info. However, a lot of guys on the gpz forum do.
www.nwsca.com/scripts/gpz_forum_2005/default.asp

found some pics showing what i think you speak of regarding the rotor/electronic advance. will go and ck out the site you gave for the carbs..thanks.