kz1100 top end rebuild

Which year and model 1100 do you have? I have a PDF copy of the 1981-82 manual and I believe it has the 83 supplement.

Thanks steve,
I believe the .440 lift is the first step
Correct me if im wrong but stock would be .425 lift?

TexasKZ, my bike is an 1983 kz1100 LTD L1. It would be great if you had a pdf manual that covers it.
Thanks guys

I would NOT use high tension valve springs. The extra pressure they provide will do nothing other than wear out your valve train faster since you are running stock cams. The stock springs are plenty strong for the job at hand. Measure the spring free length and compare to the specs in the proper Kawasaki factory service manual and reuse them if inside the service limit, or replace if they are sacked out.

I want to caution against using glass bead to clean the head. I've not studied the bigger engine heads but on my 750 there are blind oil port passages that are difficult to flush out if you get media down inside. Extra care is needed to plug all these passages before blasting, and then you need to be really careful to flush everything afterwards.

When cleaning carbon from a head I dumped the head inside a 5 gallon pail with a lid (a bucket used to store chlorine tablets so the container is chemical safe) and then I dumped a gallon of carb dip over the head. I swirled the mix around every few hours and after a few days the carbon was softened and was easily removed with only minimal scrapping.

After this I plugged all the various passages and blasted with blasting soda. For final clean I used hot water to dissolve any remaining soda.

Or just have it done by CRH

Thanks nessism,
I will measure my springs today an hopefully can reuse them since i cant find stock lift springs anywhere. Im still pretty curious about vabor blasting, if anyone knows anything more about it. It uses micro glass beads mixed with water and supposedly leaves no glass beads impregnated or sitting behind because of the water washing it away. Its actually call a metal finishing process rather than just cleaning. But if vapor blasting doesnt seem to be safe ill give your carb dip method a shot.

Who or what is CRH??

Thanks for the all the advice guys
-Greg

Check my poser thread for useful information. I don't have my specs here, I'm at my daughter's seeing my new grandchild. I believe the cams you're talking about are hot cams with high lift. They require shim under lifters and stronger springs and hardware.
store.schnitzracing.com/web-cam-camshaft...wasaki-kz900-kz1000/
kzzone.com/
kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/597654-poser?limitstart=0
Proud new daddy. I remember.

Steve

CRH is Cavanaugh Racing Heads Larry Cavanaugh who I mentioned before. Top Notch shop for Kaw work . Especially heads.
PM Nils , Noble Hops here on KZR to discuss vapor blasting . Thats his main business
Dave

OEM Kawasaki valve springs seem to be readily available from any common dealership source, either online or local.

Since your compression numbers are exemplary, I don't think you need to have the head serviced other than cleaning and replacing the valve stem seals. Most likely the valve springs are perfectly okay too. Same goes for the pistons and rings. No reason to change them although I'd most definitely pull the cylinder and replace the base gasket and all seals in the top end while the head is off. For gaskets I'd only use OEM Kawasaki parts. Aftermarket gasket kits vary in quality from mediocre to downright shit. OEM gaskets can be found for good prices on ebay so research and find the part numbers, then look around for the best prices.

www.partzilla.com/parts/search/Kawasaki/...re/VALVES/parts.html

I went with APE springs but had him shim the heights of them (90% sure of my figures need to ask him again for sure) so they were at 80lbs instead of the normal 90 lbs for a hotter cam. possibly a little over kill for a stock 750 cam (.304 vs .330 lift) but A GPZ or med Web cam (.365 plus) may someday be in my future and wanted to be ready for that.

I am happy with their head work but I wish I would have checked with Larry ..... the work I see from him is awesome. Wanted to keep the head natural for some reason and wish I would have had it vapor blasted ...... its nicer than most stock but glass beading and vapor blasting really looks sharp.

Would love to see you start a thread on vapor blasting Noble Hops if you see this ...... some of your work brings a tear to my eye.

Four sons Steve and not a grand child yet...... ones to young but ones thinking about it.....

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationIt will come in time. :whistle:
These are the springs I bought. New valves too.
kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/596420-valves

They're a little stiffer than stock. Now my valves sing like new.
Steve

With a couple of you mentioning gasket quality, can anyone vouch for vesrah gaskets? I found a top end kit that has everything all in one, including valve seals

No. I buy my gaskets from one guy or Cometic.
Steve
kzrider.com/forum/13-bike-related/599607-the-good-guys#691856