Blew my engine

DanMadBoy wrote:

Garrett120495 wrote:

Blew the engine on my KZT00AE. Can’t find another one. Is there an engine that would be easier to find that mounts up with minimal fabrication? 


 

Sorry to hear that. I can only imagine your frustration. Not sure where you are in life, but a lot of the ppl in this forum are retirees with plenty of time, and I see some suggest you tear down the motor and do all the work yourself. You may not have time to do that, so that may be frustrating for you to hear. It would appear to me you are looking for a replacement engine, not a project.

Im sure an engine will turn up  should you do some indepth looking. I do hope you get back on the road soon.

Btw did your mechanic quote you a price on the rebuild? And what part of the engine "blew," and what are the circumstances around that?

You are right in so much as there are many "mature" members on this forum however many of us Oldtimers still hold significant jobs (we are not all in gods waiting room passing our twighlight years tinkering in the garage) however what we we do have cumulatively is probably close to a 1000 years of experience with both motorcycles and life. When it comes to buying 40 year old motors we know it is a lottery (the example quoted by Mikaw is $750  as a starting point for a rebuild which is fine but the poster already has a core to rebuild with an unknown defect so there is a $750 saving straight off the bat) below is a dictionary that life teaches you when buying such things
Low mileage
Compared to what ?
How can they prove that ?
5k mls a year is low mileage but after 40 years is 200k mls !!!
Running well when removed
They all ran well at some time !!
Fully rebuilt
By who and with what ?
Poor idle, probably wants the carbs cleaning
Or it has a burnt valve, cracked head, sunken valve seat,holed piston, broken rings etc or is just worn out !

I think you can see where I am going with this, anything "Z" or "KZ" is commanding a premium and so every scamming low life will jump on the bandwagon to make a buck selling worn out broken crap.
The starting point really should be to establish what is actually wrong with the motor, either by yourself or spend a little to have someone else evaluate it's condition objectively. Just my point of view IMHO

These engines are easy to work on. Example, to remove the head on my 350 Honda the motor had to come out of the frame. On the Z1/KZ's most work can be done while in the frame. At 18 I completely rebuilt the Honda in my living room with basic tools. By the time I got my Z1 I had enough know how to work on it myself. When owning a 40+ year old machine it is a MUST to know how to work on it. There are some tasks that are best sent out to the pros. but the basic teardown and reassembly can be done by a novice especially with the guidance offered here. 
Besides like I always say, "It's good to know what's going on between your legs. 
Steve
BTW, learning the basic skills working on my bike led me to knowing how to work on my trucks, cars and a lot of other things over the years. 
Can't tell you how many cars I brought back to life for my daughter. 
Give it a shot, you'll be glad you did. 
Steve 

Here’s another from the same seller. My point is not these are the best choice, just as examples against the OP saying they can’t find one.

www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/232222...rral_story_type=post

Mikaw wrote:

Here’s another from the same seller. My point is not these are the best choice, just as examples against the OP saying they can’t find one.

www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/232222...rral_story_type=post

Hi Matt, I get that and wasn't suggesting it for a second. My point was that this kind of money won't buy a "plug and play" solution which I believe the OP was looking for under the recommendation of his mechanic (best get another engine). Surely understanding what you already have must be the best starting point ?

My opinion would be to rebuild what the op has.
Option one, pay for a rebuild on your engine of unknown quality. 
Option two, pay for a new engine of unknown condition and quality. 
Option three, rebuild what you have, learn during the process, probably cheapest option, end up with an engine of known condition, gain experience for the future, gain immense satisfaction that you fixed it yourself,  Have pride in what you've achieved. 

There's not much as satisfying (in the motorcycle world) as that first test ride being successful. 

Warren3200gt wrote:

My opinion would be to rebuild what the op has.
Option one, pay for a rebuild on your engine of unknown quality. 
Option two, pay for a new engine of unknown condition and quality. 
Option three, rebuild what you have, learn during the process, probably cheapest option, end up with an engine of known condition, gain experience for the future, gain immense satisfaction that you fixed it yourself,  Have pride in what you've achieved. 

There's not much as satisfying (in the motorcycle world) as that first test ride being successful. 


 

It appears this dude is looking for either a good core, one in decent shape, or to have his rebuilt.

Some ppl like to build and ride, and some ppl just like to ride. Im somewhere in between. I hope this guy finds a decent engine because rebuilding an engine, with no prior experience, can be a COMPLETE waste of time and result in many many mistakes. Of course, its his decision and he may learn something if he decides to rebuilt it himself. But the subtext of his post is, he is NOT looking to spend time personally rebuilding an engine.

I could be wrong.

Keeping a 40+ year old motorcycle on the road safely, requires almost constant mechanical involvement.  There is always something to do in terms of maintenance.  Paying someone to work on your old bike requires a LOT of money, which is why most of us do the work ourselves.  If you don't want to work on your bike, it may be best to get rid of it and get something newer, like a Toyota.  

DanMadBoy wrote:

 
Some ppl like to build and ride, and some ppl just like to ride. Im somewhere in between. I hope this guy finds a decent engine because rebuilding an engine, with no prior experience, can be a COMPLETE waste of time and result in many many mistakes. Of course, its his decision and he may learn something if he decides to rebuilt it himself. But the subtext of his post is, he is NOT looking to spend time personally rebuilding an engine.

I could be wrong.
 

I hate mechanical work and I am not good at it but as mentioned by others you either need money to burn or you need to learn. I had to violate my lifelong, inviolable rule in order to try and fix my bike. That inviolable rule was: never, ever, go deeper than removing the valve covers on an engine because you (me) have no business in there. 

But I didn't have money to burn so I had to learn. And now I have confidence that I can do it again if I have to and, unfortunately, I have to. lol. So in I go, once again, to replace the cylinders.

The OP has a different bike but if they can mow the lawn they can tear the engine down and put it back together, with the help of this group. You don't have to WANT to do it, in order to do it. I don't WANT to tear mine apart again one tiny bit, but it must be done.
 

82KZ305Belt wrote:

DanMadBoy wrote:

 
Some ppl like to build and ride, and some ppl just like to ride. Im somewhere in between. I hope this guy finds a decent engine because rebuilding an engine, with no prior experience, can be a COMPLETE waste of time and result in many many mistakes. Of course, its his decision and he may learn something if he decides to rebuilt it himself. But the subtext of his post is, he is NOT looking to spend time personally rebuilding an engine.

I could be wrong.




 

I hate mechanical work and I am not good at it but as mentioned by others you either need money to burn or you need to learn. I had to violate my lifelong, inviolable rule in order to try and fix my bike. That inviolable rule was: never, ever, go deeper than removing the valve covers on an engine because you (me) have no business in there. 

But I didn't have money to burn so I had to learn. And now I have confidence that I can do it again if I have to and, unfortunately, I have to. lol. So in I go, once again, to replace the cylinders.

The OP has a different bike but if they can mow the lawn they can tear the engine down and put it back together, with the help of this group. You don't have to WANT to do it, in order to do it. I don't WANT to tear mine apart again one tiny bit, but it must be done.




 

Looks like the OP bailed on this topic.  His exact words were "Im not a mechanic," the subtext being, perhaps he has neither the time, and most certainly not the skill or wherewithal to build it himself. He was told "build it yourself," which is indeed valuable advice, but clearly not what hes looking for. I hope he found a good core, or was able to afford his mechanic.