WG coil wiring mod blowing out regulators?

An "ST" is a shaft drive KZ. "ST" stands for SuperSport Touring.

KZCSI

So, WG, did you make a bracket to bolt to the handlebar/cover? My gauge just has sticky tape on the back.

To be honest, I can't recall how I mounted the thing now that you ask. It was about a year ago. I think I made a small flat bracket the size of the gauge that could be bolted to a riser bolt and then stuck the gauge on the bracket.

As to what ST means. I don't think it means anything... it is a model name for the KZ1000E1 and KZ1000E2. Some folks say it stands for Sport Touring but the LTD model doesn't stand for limited... it is just a model designator. I won't argue with Bill's explanation since he is so much older than me and can remember those good ol' days from the late 70s! I can barely remember what I had for breakfast. Actually, the bike sold poorly and although it has a MK II engine and the frame is rock steady, unlike almost any of the other earlier KZs, the bike never sold all that well and the bike holds little interest for collectors. This is possibly due to the shaft drive which adds about 40 or 50 lbs to the bike over its chain drive cousins.

I think ST just was short for "shaft".

Question on the handlebar switches:

Z1 Enterprises has them for KZ900s, but not specifically for KZ 650s, so they'll require some rewiring.

Mikessx.net has Yamaha XS 650 switches that I actually like a bit better. price is essentially the same.

www.mikesxs.net/mikesxs-electrical.php?category_id=2.5

Which would be the better choice?

WG said "I won't argue with Bill's explanation since he is so much older than me and can remember those good ol' days from the late 70s!"

Most of the 70's are a fog to me as well.:blink:

I had to rely on buykawasaki.com for the meaning of "ST".

If you look up a 1980 1000 cc shaft drive, you'll see that the product type is "Supersport Touring".

Bill

The Z in kz stands for zapper according to what I read somewhere.

Well, the mystery of the ST designation remains... perhaps the mystery will make the value of these beasts go up some which would be good since I have two of them.

As to the switches... have you ever rewired a switch? AIN'T no simple matter splicing in a switchgear for a different model. Some of the wires will be the same and some different and the ones that are the same are in the wrong place and some wires will just be missing and you will need to pull from some other area of the bike to connect to the frame. A couple years back, I had a person buy a wiring harness and ask me to install it. Unfortunately, it was the wrong harness for his bike so all connectors were wrong and the LOTS of thought had to go into the project.

IF I were in the mood to switch switchgear, I would buy both and buy the matching wiring harness and patch panel (if it is available) and convert the whole bikes wiring to Z1 or KZ900 or whatever Z1E sold rather than try and mix/match. The new harness would not get hacked up and provide better electrical flow and a lot less problems and I don't think a replacement harness is more than $150... it would be money well spent.