75 KZ 900 failing parts

Hello everyone, I was hoping some people could tell me the parts tend to go
on these bikes besides the normal (chain, sprockets, cables, tires, etc) Mine is original with 20k miles.
From everything I have read, the KZ900 is a superb machine (reason why I got it). I want to
replace anything that on this 36 year old machine that may not be totally reliable or parts
that are prone to failure.

nothing ever breaks on the 75 kz 900,mostly because they didnt come out till 76. :laugh:
so you either have a 75 z1 which is a rarer bike or a 76 kz900,either of which is a good bike.
start at one end and work your way to the other cleaning/checking everything as you go is the best advice i can give ya

Thanks. Good to know. What is the diff between 75-76? 90% sure its a 75. Do you
know what the 75 vin starts with? Thanks man!

post a picture of what youve got,easiest way to pick a 76 out of the crowd depending on what bodywork is on it is by the way the battery mounts.
the z1 battery goes in from the top under seat,the 76 is the one year that i know of that goes in from the side under right side cover .
im thinking the 76 still uses z1f on the steering head before the number same as z1,engine is probably z1e also.

my old computer crashed and burned with all my z1 pictures :blink:
the 73-75 are still the best in my little world,followed by the 78 z1r,dont let the mkII guys fool ya! :woohoo:

Pics soon.. the bike is not at home right now. Original owner told me it's a 75.
The battery drops in from above right underneath the seat.

wireman wrote: post a picture of what youve got,easiest way to pick a 76 out of the crowd depending on what bodywork is on it is by the way the battery mounts.
the z1 battery goes in from the top under seat,the 76 is the one year that i know of that goes in from the side under right side cover .
im thinking the 76 still uses z1f on the steering head before the number same as z1,engine is probably z1e also.

Don't overlook all your bearings. The greese in all of them is more than likely not any good anymore. I changed all of them for new. that includes the swingarm bearings the wheel bearings the hub bearings and the steering head bearings. After thirty years my swingarm bearings were mostly dust when we replaced them. The wheel and hub bearings had been serviced over the years but I replaced them anyway once I had them out to look at them. I replaced the steering head bearings with the new more modern tapered bearings instead of the original ones.

Anything above Z1F-87501 is a 76. It always worries me when someone says "thats what he told me" which really means "I dont have a title for this bike" because the title would tell you right there what year it is.

battery going in from top instead of side gives me hope! :laugh:

My 75 was pretty much all original and wasn't on the road since about 1980. 12k miles. The only things I would recommend doing are swapping out the steering bearings for tapered ones and sealing up the generator grommet properly.

Anything else is regular maintenance like any other bike. If it hasn't been run in a while you might want to clean/lube the advancer and keep an eye on the engine seals. I had to replace the shift shaft seals on mine. Carbs will need a complete rebuild WITH the drain screw o-rings.

You have quite a collection so I'm sure you know your way around two wheels.

Thanks you. thats good advice!

dblhdr wrote: Don't overlook all your bearings. The greese in all of them is more than likely not any good anymore. I changed all of them for new. that includes the swingarm bearings the wheel bearings the hub bearings and the steering head bearings. After thirty years my swingarm bearings were mostly dust when we replaced them. The wheel and hub bearings had been serviced over the years but I replaced them anyway once I had them out to look at them. I replaced the steering head bearings with the new more modern tapered bearings instead of the original ones.

Thanks for the advice Kidkawie! Creating a good checklist here!