1983 KZ750 identification by gauges

Howdy!

I'm just going to tell my story, because I think it's kind of interesting. If you disagree, just skip to the end part

So, I scored this amazing thing from craigslist. A $750 1983 KZ750 4-cylinder. I spent slightly more than that getting the carbs rejetted and the fork seals replaced, but I'm still pleased as punch.

My newest problem, however, has been the gauges. The fuel gauge is permanently shot because the device in the tank is blown out. No big deal.

But inside of one week my speedometer and tach both destroyed themselves. The speedo needle started wonking out like crazy until it snapped the tip off the needle and the cable released itself from the case. Then the tach needle jumped out into the case.

I found a set of gauges on ebay for $5, but the mounting hardware is different and the tach on my bike is apparently electrical.


My questions are these:
1) What model do y'all think I have?
2) Are there any known models of 1983 KZ750 that had an electric tachometer? Is it feasible to retrofit to a mechanical one, since every cluster I've seen online has been mechanical for speedo and tach? If yes, then maybe someone turned my bike into an electric tach.

I'm giddy with anticipation from fellow KZ riders!

Hi there staniel

Pics of the gauges might help with identification. The VIN # on the bike might also work if you go to kawasaki.com then owner info then parts diagrams and there should be an option to search by VIN #.

The earlier 750s like mine had mechanical tachs with a tach cable same style as the speedo cable connected from the tach to an opening on the cylinder head right hand side near the #3 exhaust. The mechanical tachs were driven by a thread on the exhaust cam..............so if you wanted to go mechanical you would need to replace the cam + get a new cylinder head. I guess anything is possible if you have enough money. There are replacement sexy electronic tachs out there. Might be an option.
Strange that both your tach and speedo self destructed .

Hah, yes, strange indeed about the uniformly destructoconsole. When I bought the bike, the speedo was not working, so it was stalled at 13k miles. I remain skeptical.

I've tried to ID the bike on kawasaki.com, and have had no luck. I'm not sure whether it's a good idea to post a serial number online, so I probably won't do that, but it's like so: JKAKZ0L160AXXXXXX

Good call on the photo. I'll try to get one next time the sun shows.

As for replacing stuff, I'm aiming for the cheapest option in general, and willing to put some work in. The current plan is to install the new speedo I got and go without a tach until I can find one that mounts.

An image of the gauges for your perusal. I apologize for the blurry image, but I think you can see it's a one-body console. The speedo is mechanical and the tach is electrical. All the plugs are jammed into the headlamp case, or I'd have pulled the thing completely off by now. (I've been riding with this thing zip-tied to my cables for about a week of commuting.)

I also apologize for taking a picture of my bike parked in the rain.

I hope you will all accept me even though I'm kind of an abuser.

Definitely needing some rain protection! :laugh:

Good Luck!

Just in case... Since the VIN lookup isn't working for your bike, you could search Kawasaki.com by year only, then choose your bike from the list. Acccording to the cross-reference, the 83 L3 Sports seems share some meter parts w an 84 KZ700 & couple of KZ1000s.

I have an '83 750 F1 LTD. It's shaft drive and has an electric tach, unfortunately the tach is missing. The gauges are separate units, not combined in one case like the picture you have.

Hello staniel...as you probably know, you have a 1983 KZ750L3 and your bike shares much with the 1982 KZ750R1 (aka first year GPz750), the 1984 KZ700A1 (aka tariff buster), and the Canadian KZ750L4 (which sometimes ended up in the US but still gets parted on eBay).

those are the same gauges as my 83 kz750 L3

This is incredible. No, I didn't know I had an L3. I've suspected it, but I've been trying to confirm it for months. Thank you!

As for the gauges.. krazinite2003, you think you could copy/paste me a set of those and ship them to me?

I'll keep looking for a new set. I think mine is beyond repair.

Thank you all for the help!

Parts for the Sports models seem kinda few & far between.

1984 Kawasaki KZ700 Instrument Cluster Extremely Rare!! - $165

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationJMKZHI wrote:

Parts for the Sports models seem kinda few & far between.

1984 Kawasaki KZ700 Instrument Cluster Extremely Rare!! - $165