05 Kawasaki 1000 police P24 Crazy Exhaust System

Okay,,, I have just run into the "most stupid" thing I have seen in my 70 years. I just spent several hours removing the exhaust system on this bike and found number 1 and 4 are WELDED (WELDED!!!!!!) (WELDED!!!!!) to the mufflers. At first I thought it was a Bubba fix but I went to Babbits and lore and behold,,, yes they come from the manufacture that way. Add insult to injury, there are no bushings on the clamp screws so a socket or wrench won't go on. Oh, the fun!
The left side muffer assembly is not available. The right side is $500.

The only thing I can think of is to block off the crossover to put the mufflers back on or try to install all 4 at once. I am looking for options. What does this community suggest I do. Right now I am ready to chuck the whole shebang except I have $500 in parts to replace the camchain.

I know their are many that love this bike and it does look nice,,, I do not intend to offend but this was a shocker. I was able to replace all individual headers on a Honda 500 four. What the heck was Kawasaki thinking!

On my 1981 KZ650-CSR I install the muffler system as an assembly. I place shipping boxes under the headers & mufflers, adding boxes as needed to get the placement right. I don't know what clamp screws you mean >> I've never had a problem with the muffler clamps or exhaust holders. The police stuff should be pretty much the same. You might be able to find a good police muffler system on EB.
I don't know what the manual says about installing the mufflers, if anything. not sure about the police manual.

Here's the exhaust system I installed. basically the same as most other KZs, the #1 & #4 header pipes are welded to the mufflers.


Assembled system. ready to be installed.

I've had my KZP exhaust on and off a few times. I don't recall it being all that difficult. Not sure what the issue is.

Hi GPZGuy....

The problem was someone used 12mm (wrench size) bolts tightened all the way. The original is 10mm (wrench size) Neither a socket or wrench had enough clearance to get the tool on. So I could not separate the two mufflers. I had to remove the entire exhaust (all 4) at once by turning the front wheel this and that way while arranging the mufflers simultaneously. With no centerstand I could not get the bike high enough for everything to clear nicely. Also the 'someone' (I am not allowed to use preferred terminology) used some sort of wire mesh and exhaust tape on the cross over. After system removed,,, To get the clamps off I had to use large vice grips on the thread side to loosen enough to get the wrench on. Also that someone apparently replaced the left muffler. They apparently cut it off somehow then welded another on. I have never seen so much 'splatter' on a weld.

Of course I'll replace the hardware with SS socket head screws and exhaust gaskets so the next poor sucker can get them off reasonably easy.

@ Martin,,, Nice exhaust set. Where did you find them... EB?

Hmmmm Mine are 12mm too but there is plenty of room to get a socket on them. I wonder if the 05 clamps were different? In any case it sounds like you are dealing with the aftereffects of the dreaded DPO. Good luck.

I installed "more than a few" Police bike exhaust systems in my previous life. Basically install the #1 and #4 headpipe/muffler assemblies loosely at the head and leave them hanging down at the rear stay. That will allow you to spread them apart far enough to install the cross-over pipe. Then you can loosely install the rear muffler stay bolts and be sure the headpipes are properly aligned to fit into the recess at the cylinder head. Then you can install headpipes #2 and #3 and tighten everything up. Pretty much the same way it was done on the assembly line, but way faster than me!

Mike

Hi Mike....
Thanks. The manuals I have don't spell it out like that.

I was very surprised when I discovered the welds. Owned many bikes but this is a first for me. And worse, from what I see Kawasaki stopped making parts for these bikes. It's only 15 years old! For that reason alone I doubt I'll ever own one. (This one is my sons) Only one side is still available. I wanted to change out all the header pipes but this setup and no parts makes that impossible.

Anyway,,, Thanks

Ken

Yes, some parts like the exhaust and bodywork are no longer available new, but you might be surprised how many other parts Kawasaki still sells.

www.partzilla.com/catalog/kawasaki/motor...lice-1000-kz1000-p24

Also, there are often aftermarket alternatives.

By ken10: .... I was very surprised when I discovered the welds. Owned many bikes but this is a first for me. ....

Many vintage Japanese motorcycles are welded. It's pretty common. Doing so probably gives a better & more solid fit.

Hi Texas.
Yes Partzilla has the mufflers.... problem is they will not sell to me. I had the audacity to complain about an air filter they sold me. The paper was crumbling and the foam was gone. I had to buy another. My next attempts at ordering proved futile. The order would sit there forever. No response to multiple contact attempts. We are talking high dollar orders... So for some unknown reason they have a grudge against me as I know others have returned or complained without problem.
And no,,, I was not mean when told them about it.

@ ken10

I have worked on many bikes, many brands. First time "I" have run into it. Lucky I guess...

ken19 wrote: Hi Texas.
Yes Partzilla has the mufflers.... problem is they will not sell to me. I had the audacity to complain about an air filter they sold me. The paper was crumbling and the foam was gone. I had to buy another. My next attempts at ordering proved futile. The order would sit there forever. No response to multiple contact attempts. We are talking high dollar orders... So for some unknown reason they have a grudge against me as I know others have returned or complained without problem.
And no,,, I was not mean when told them about it. ...

Wow, that is strange. Anything hat Partzilla sells is also available from Kawasaki dealers, CMSL, and a host of other venders. My main point was that many oem and aftermarket parts are available.

Hi Texas

Could be just poor customer service. Checkout their Ebay store.... 48 negatives in six months. 5 last month. Course they sell a lot ,,, their rating still above 99%
When you look at the negatives it's pretty bad. Could have been coincidence or maybe they don't have the staff to keep up with the orders. That's America these days.

I'm just saying I had no trouble with orders prior to this.