Can you tell if an engine has been built? KZ1100A
- psycobilly
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Can you tell if an engine has been built? KZ1100A
28 Jun 2016 00:12
Kinda random, but is there a way to tell if an engine has been built up without pulling heads or doing anything drastic? I have an 82 KZ1100A with 58k miles showing. There are absolutely no leaks anywhere and there is some excess gasket material showing at the head and jug mating surfaces, so I believe it's a safe bet the engine was rebuilt at some point. My question is, are there any ways to tell if the engine has been stroked, bored or otherwise souped up? I personally wouldn't rebuild an engine just to put it back together stock, so I'd like to find out what if anything has been done if it's possible... Thanks in advance for any help!
Pic to show how clean engine is. I have not done ANYTHING to detail it. In fact it hasn't even been plated since last year....
Pic to show how clean engine is. I have not done ANYTHING to detail it. In fact it hasn't even been plated since last year....
1982 KZ1100A2 57k miles, vetter fairing
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- baldy110
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Re: Can you tell if an engine has been built? KZ1100A
28 Jun 2016 13:21
Not really you just have to do some detective here. For instance, the carbs are stock, no header, no additional oil cooler, ect. Why would an engine builder modify an engine with very expensive internal parts without complementing those parts with larger carbs, header, ect.. Based on what I see that looks like a stock bike, nice bike but stock.
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- Jeff.Saunders
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Re: Can you tell if an engine has been built? KZ1100A
28 Jun 2016 13:51
There are several easy ways to check.
A compression test will show if you have high compression pistons in the engine. In rough terms, 130-150psi is stock, 170-180psi is 10.5:1
If you have high lift cams, most cams over 0.360" list will require metal taken out of the head to provide clearance for the cams. The area around the valve buckets, and the underside ove rthe valve cover are places to look.
A compression test will show if you have high compression pistons in the engine. In rough terms, 130-150psi is stock, 170-180psi is 10.5:1
If you have high lift cams, most cams over 0.360" list will require metal taken out of the head to provide clearance for the cams. The area around the valve buckets, and the underside ove rthe valve cover are places to look.
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- psycobilly
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Re: Can you tell if an engine has been built? KZ1100A
28 Jun 2016 18:06
You make a good point about the stock parts. I was just curious if there was a way to tell It seems to be a bit faster than the other KZ1100 I rode a while back (83 LTD), so that's what got me thinking...
1982 KZ1100A2 57k miles, vetter fairing
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