Leaky MC - Rebuild Kit - '78 650 SR

My front MC is leaking (where the lever pushes on the plunger), and I'm wondering if there are rebuild kits for these. Mine is the trapezoid shape for dual front discs. It has 5/8 stamped on the bottom ('78 KZ650 D1).

Also, do rebuilds usually work good or am I better off getting another MC. Short on cash as well so looking for a cheap working solution.

I looked around on Z1 but I'm not really sure whether the ones I saw are correct or not.

www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=33

www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=1561

Getting a bit confused

Didn't see anything on eBay either.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Take a look at the parts diagram at Kawasaki.com. I believe you'll find that your bike uses part #43020-1023 Piston-Comp-Brake. That part # appears in the first Z1E link you provided, so I would think that's the kit. The genuine part is still available, but it costs more than the Z1E replacement and that doesn't include the dust cover and piston stop that come in Z1E's kit. You may want to contact Jeff at Z1E to double check - he will know for sure.

I rebuilt my front master cylinder about 25 years ago and it still works like new, so rebuids definitely work. Just make sure everything is squeaky clean before assembling. MUCH cheaper than new master cylinder! Ed

Excellent! Never thought about cross referencing the parts number against kawasaki.com. Never even noticed the numbers in the Z1 description.

Thanks for your help!

Deacon, check out RedlineCycle, they have rebuild kits and I'm sure the 650 shared a master cylinder with one of the 1000's, like the A2 maybe...

Just looked them up and they carry them, but the price is way higher than Z1. More than $20. I'll contact Z1 tomorrow to see if they have one in stock.

Thanks

Also it's a easy job on a 78 unlike the round 1977 master cylinder with that c-clip buried way up in the body. You should have no problem. The one problem I always had was getting fluid to build pressure. Sometimes you're just pumping air until fluid gets drawn in. You can use that mityvac setup or just suck on a hose on a bleeder fitting to get fluid drawn into the lines.

If you would permit a "newby" to interject a thought, as I have just recently rebuilt the front master cylinder on my '81 Gpz550. The K&L aftermarket kit is not only cheaper, but in my case, was identical in quality to the OEM part. I bought a new piston and seal assembly from Kawasaki and K&L for comparison and they were identical. Same letters and numbers cast into the seals. Recommend getting a rebuild kit from Z-1. You may have to get a little creative in honing out your master cylinder, but it will be worth it. Be careful taking off that white plastic retainer that comes off first as it is fragile!

Robert

Thanks for the tips guys, appreciate it.

deacon if you have any bike shops close there in nf find one that has moto-van as a distributor they are a major supplier in canada they have master cylinder rebuild kits any decent bike shop will have them or thibault distributing and they sell rebuild kits as well if you don't want to go cross border. you can't buy direct from them only thru a dealer

Thanks timebomb, I'll check it out.