1980 KZ750 LTD Pods

I've never owned a bike before. I probably bit off more than I could chew. Anyway I've always worked on cars and know a decent ammount about them but figured a bike wouldnt be that bad. The 1980 KZ750 LTD I picked up needs work. After a few hours off messing with it, it will idle kinda smooth. The Air box is broken and the tubes were missing. I rigged it up to work just to hear it run but with parts limited I think pods would be easier in the long run. I have stock exhaust and carbs. If I put pods on I know I'll need to replace jets but I'm not sure what jets to use, where to find them or anyhting like tgat honestly. I think i can replace them on my own, i think carbs need adjusted too but ill figire that out. As far as getting the actual jets though, I am lost. Any help would be amazing as I am super new to this. Thank you.

You might be able to find an airbox on EB. If you go this route, make sure it has the cap & filter holder at the bottom.
New ducts & air filter are available at Z1Enterprises.com et al.
The stock airbox is embossed w KZ750E/H. The 81-83 KZ650-CSR is embossed the same.
I'm not certain if other 750-4 airboxes can be used. I'd guess yes, but that's just a guess.

EB search = KZ750 airbox. This one looks promising. has Make Offer option. There are others.

Lots of airboxes available on ebay. Or post a WTB thread here. Good chance someone has one they are looking to offload.

If you decide to go pods some K&N's are both higher quality than the generic cheapies and more expensive. You get what you pay for in this instance though.
Rejetting is a trial and error process unless you spring for a jet kit like the one sold by Dynojet.

Oh, and new rubber boots, both the ones that attach to the head and those on the airbox, are still available new from Kawasaki. Z1 is a good source but if they don't have something, check Partzilla.

For best overall performance and to keep from spending a lot of time trying to find the magic combination of jets, etc. your best bet is to find a good airbox and use a Kawasaki air filter in it. Expert engineers at Kawasaki / Mikuni spent a lot of time developing the airbox and ensuring that it works well and delivers good power under all throttle positions. Keep in mind that while you will see pod or in fact no air filters on various race bikes those bikes are pretty much run at wide open throttle most of the time, so for them riding at normal throttle openings is not an issue. The image below gives the perspective of one of the Mikuni engineers. Ed

You should get the bike running in stock form first and then modify it later to suit your taste.
Stock these bikes run pretty good. The KZ750/4 has some aftermarket support, cams , pistons, exhaust and intake.


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If the carbs are properly cleaned and the airbox installed (with properly sealing boots) there will be no questions relative to jetting and such when you go to fire the bike off. You are guaranteed that the bike will run perfectly. With pods there are jetting questions and trial and error required. Not to mention a set of real K&N pods and Dynojet kit will set you back $300+.