75 KZ 900 failing parts

Well, I found out this afternoon on the title
Vin goes as Z1F76007. That makes a 75 correct?

I take ownership in one week!

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.

yes sir thats a z1,up to z1f 85000 and change!
my first kz was a 75 z1 around 30 years ago,still have the key and some parts from it! :woohoo:

Parts that fail:

Regulator/Rectifier (easy plug and play replacements available)
Steering Bearings (not really a failure, just something that is often neglected - Steering neck is plain bearings unless it's been converted to rollers)
Wheel Bearings
Seals (fork and tach gear for sure), Grommets (alternator/stator cover oil leak), other rubber components (carb boots and airbox connectors)
Wear items (brake shoes/pads, tires, cables, bulbs, batteries, fuel filters, air filter, etc)
Carb components - as stated, get the o-rings, they're cheap and leak like crazy if they aren't replaced, gaskets too.

The rest depends on how it was stored, cared for, and used.

Get a shop manual (prefered) or a Clymer (not as prefered) and go through the maintenance section on them. You'll find what needs work pretty quick. Many shop manuals can be found online for download.

Thank you for the solid info Dub. Can't wait to get my hands on it!

Speaking of grommets. The grommets that hold the side covers on dryrot and you'll (you WILL)lose a side cover down the road. If you don't know, original covers are like gold. Replace those 6 grommets and search this site for some ideas on locking them in, from both falling off and being stolen. I lost one of mine when I first took the bike out of storage but I was lucky enough to be able to sand out the scratches.

anything that is original to the bike is worth money so don't throw anything out, even hardware. Put it in a box and stash it.

Kidkawie wrote: Speaking of grommets. The grommets that hold the side covers on dryrot and you'll (you WILL)lose a side cover down the road. If you don't know, original covers are like gold. Replace those 6 grommets and search this site for some ideas on locking them in, from both falling off and being stolen. I lost one of mine when I first took the bike out of storage but I was lucky enough to be able to sand out the scratches.

anything that is original to the bike is worth money so don't throw anything out, even hardware. Put it in a box and stash it.

drill and pin them on

If you keep the stock airbox rather than adding "pods", the new grommets are sufficient. They are plenty tight.

the problem with pinning the covers on like that rather than the piece of safety chain around frame tube is if something were to ever start smoking behind there youll have to get the seat open and reach down thru there to get it off

a lanyard like on hood pis can hep with that and are easily found in industrial hardware stores. (not home depot the ones contractors use like McFadden Dale)

You got super-lucky.
I just went through my first old bike, and I will tell you to check everything you can get to outside of taking the heads or cases off, for starters. The more I unbolted, the more I found wrong. I am lucky enough to have more time than money, so I rebuilt everything I found that was wrong, and I woulda been bad off if I hadn't. I found fluids that were no longer fluid, fitup mistakes by the PO, and missing parts. Missing parts. Missing parts like small plastics inside the pilot box that I may not have seen if I didn't take the box apart. Be thorough - you have an awesome piece.