kz1000s handle wierd since they were new...

Hi everybody, im a new member to the site, but have read bits and pieces for years. i have one kz1000 and a kz440. one thing i have noticed about every person i have talked to... they all talk about how the bikes would either wobble down the highway, or toss riders off in corners.
one article i read said that the first thing they did in the 70s was to cut the neck off of the frame and weld it back on straight. i guess they were crooked from the factory.
another article said the frames flex so bad because they are under built that they flex like mad.
another reason i have been given was the rear swing arm.
yet another was the neck bearings and the preload on the bearings being either too tight or too loose.
to follow were shocks, handle bars and just about every other excuse you could think of....

so my bike snakes down the highway, wont go straight, just kind of long slow wobbles from side to side. i can go 140 mph and it isnt bad enough to kill me, but it feels pretty wierd. i've adjusted the front fork "fall away" and have tried looser and tighter(tighter makes it worse). i have new tires, and ok rear shocks, i have stiffer fork oil in the front forks, and clubman bars.

basically my question is... are the 1000s just too much motor in too flimsy of a frame, or is something wrong with the wobbly ones.

Post edited by: archemitis, at: 2007/07/17 15:44

Check the wheel alignment, wheel bearings, swingarm bearings. But hey, anyone who can go 140 on a wobbly bike probably knows what to do anyways...:whistle:

sweet, my first smartass reply... is this one of those sites?

The frames can allow "wobble" in hard cornering under high speed. This can be toned down by adding braces or gussets at strategic places on the frame(I have seen kits made for this and also I have seen pics of individuals doing this). Though I don't have any personal experience with these "additions".
Also you can get roller bearings for the steering head to replace the ball bearings that I have heard is more stable.
I've seen 140+mph on mine (bike speedo) and don't have any probs at all. I did have some probs with cornering before I replaced the rear shocks and it is better.
As already mentioned wheel bearings/alignment, tire wear/condition/pressure, swing arm bearings can all account for this type of action.
And yes, as all other sites I've been on, your going to get some "smartass replys" from time to time.
Luck

Post edited by: ejshotgun, at: 2007/07/17 14:20

I've never had my 900 much above 100, but it runs steady and straight at that speed.
1976 was the year that Kaw manufactured a sturdier frame. At least sturdier than the Z1s and two-stroke triples. But it's still a 30 year old bike, and normal wear & tear may loosen it up some.

well ive had many z1s and kzs over the years.the kz frames were a vast impovement over the z1s,they had some issues mostly junk stock tires and rear shocks but i dont remember one ever trying to high side me in a corner and the only time i ever felt a frontend problem was after lowering frontend without lowering rear which screwed up rake/trail in frontend. i aint never seen a stock kz thatll do 140,did 140 and some change on hotrodded 1170 years ago but i dont reccomend itB)

yeah, thats another thing, do stock 1000s do 140mph? i mean it was on the speedometer, so there must be some margin of error there, but its gotta be close, my odometer counts mile markers on the highway corectly, so it must be...
i do have some reworked carbs, pod filters and a 4into2into1 kerker, and dyna ignition.
its worse at 20-60mph than at high speeds.

Your odometer can count the miles accurately, but your speedo needle can be off.
You can check your speedo by timing the miles with a watch, if you can hold your speed steady. But do it at 60 or 70 mph, not 140!
I think the top speed on a stock KZ1000 is about 125, but lots of members will argue that they've gone alot faster.

Jack up the front and tip the bars left and right. They should fall all the way to the stop. If there's any notchiness (not caused by cables)replace the head bearings by tapered rollers. If the roller bearings have been over tightened at some point the races may be dented. You may want replace these bearings anyway for peace of mind, it's $36 well spend. If it doesn't fix it it eliminates one possible cause - and it's the cheapest one to fix (except for wheel alignment).

it looks cool too

an old guy here says "guaranteed 130 out of the box, or your money back" was their old advertisement

Owned Z's since 1974 and I don't care what the oldtimers say ( hell,I am one...) the average Z topped out at a buck twenty but the speedometers read all the way to 140.Very optimistic and always wrong.

If you had a motor that would actually go 140 it sure would flex the hell outta that stock Z frame. Me ,I like tapered roller bearings in the steering head, good shocks and springs, frame gusseting, good swingarm bearings,heavy duty motor mounts and a quality steering dampener to tighten things up.