Batery Box

A new member here and just introduced myself in that forum. I just bought a '76 KZ400 on line that needed a battery and carb cleaning. . The battery box is just laying in the frame attached to nothing. Carbs have K&N filters so no air box. I have spent most of the day trying to figure this out and am totally stumped. There are no other brackets with it, In fact the left side bracket for the cover is missing also. I've searched all the microfiche blowups and while they show is the battery box, They show nothing else. I have a shop manual ordered and have looked at the online ones, but they show nothing. The one parts picture shows the one top tab as pointing to the front, but if I do that the solenoid wires are too short and there's nothing to attach the box to. Any help or pictures would be appreciated. Thanks, AL

Have you try www.kz400.com/index.html
A lot of pictures and manuals

I am going to save you a lot of heartache.

Tuning the stock carbs with pods is essentially impossible. Do not attempt. People have been trying to do this for YEARS and it seems no one has ever succeeded. CV carbs simply do not like pods and no amount of effort will make them behave as well as stock. Seriously. Don't go down that path.

You have two basic options at this point:

1) Replace the stock carbs with a pair of Mikuni VM30s. These carbs can be made to work with pods easily.

2) Install a stock airbox and continue to use the stock carbs. This is a good combination and will run well for you. The issue will most likely be in finding a correct airbox for sale at a decent price, in good condition, and with all the bits and pieces.

Also I second the recommendation of kz400.com. It's a very useful site.

Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestions. I've been to www.kz400 and couldn't find anything that I was looking for.. Also started searching for the stock air filter system to see if the battery box somehow attached to that. It seems that ALL the parts would almost be impossible to find and I'd ultimately end up in the same spot I'm in and spend a bunch of money in the process. Right now, I 'll see if I can just clean the carbs up without rebuilding them. I ordered rebuild kits today. I'll just lay a new battery in the frame for now . Just want to make sure the engine and tranny work OK. I'll be ripping most of the bike apart over the winter. If I can't find what I need by spring, I'll just make brackets for it. I can always buy the Mikunis when the bike is complete. Wish i could see pics of the stock parts, though...Thanks, AL

It may be that someone has cut off the frame mounts. I tried looking at the diagrams at Partzilla & eebbaayy photos but couldn't figure it out. Sometimes a motorcycle for sale will have photos of the underside of the seat or with the side covers removed, but I couldn't find a KZ400 with any helpful pics. you might have better luck (some early 440s had the same battery case).

Look at the frame fittings diagram for your bike at Partzilla. Then search the parts & part numbers on eebbaayy to see what the stuff looks like. KZ400, battery box, bracket, etc. or look at KZ400s for sale or in completed listings.

KZ400-D3 frame fittings diagram. brackets #38 & #36 w damper #37 may be the support base for the battery box. not sure. some of the 400 battery cases I saw on eb seem to have damper #37 stuck to the bottom of them. some of the other brackets in the diagram may support the case as well. again, not sure. ???

Thank You for your help. I don't see those brackets on my bike. But I also don't see anywhere that they would go to support the battery box. All of those parts are currently available online. I may just order them and figure it out when I get them. Does the stock air box have anything to do with supporting the battery in any? I don't have a stock air box There are some on line that appear to be reasonably priced. Thanks again, I appreciate the help, AL

Nerdy wrote: Tuning the stock carbs with pods is essentially impossible. Do not attempt. People have been trying to do this for YEARS and it seems no one has ever succeeded. CV carbs simply do not like pods and no amount of effort will make them behave as well as stock. Seriously. Don't go down that path.

The bike (1976 Kz400S2) in this photo is running pods. It took us about a half dozen or so combinations to jet it.
Yes, it was not as easy as mechanical slide carbs, but certainly not as impossible as you make it sound.
The bike ran great in hot weather and cold for many years. And yes we added a front fender later. The photo was from one of the first days we were modifying the bike.




City driving, as opposed to highway, is more taxing on a bike with running issues. He was a new rider back then, so it's not like he had experience driving troublesome bikes either. As you can see he rides it with no problems. It was his only vehicle for several years, including winters.