Help- Superbike Bars for a 1977 KZ 1000 LTD

So I want to swap out my stock handle bars for a pair of superbike bars. Does anybody have any advice? I'm concerned about the drilling. I don't have all the tools I'd need to do a good job. Any tips/advice? Has anybody had trouble getting the blinker/headlight switch off of the original bars? I can only access one of the screws within the housing that would disconnect it.

Thanks in Advance

1977 KZ1000 LTD
2005 ZX-R 6
2006 KLR 650
2007 CRF 450R
1984 Honda XL 350R
1985 Honda XL 125S

If you're going from the original LTD Bars, than the shorter "Z1" cables would be in order. Drilling them for a "Clean Look" is optional not necessary. Super Bike Bars on a Z1, with No Switch Housings, or Turn Signals, only a Tether Kill Switch. Nice & Clean.

Thanks for the response Kraz. However, I'm in Utah and have to have blinkers/horn, ect. How did you set up your tail light? Eventually, I'll be dropping my stock fender/light for an under-fairing set-up as well.

Tail Light is set up as a "Chaser Light" for the Drag Strip, even when the lights are off. No Turn-Signals required here. That is a Custom Chrome Cats Eye Tail Light, that's not in production any longer.

There's a tang that protrudes out of the switch housings that goes into the holes in the handle bars to locate the switches properly. That means you have to take them apart to get them off the bars. If you don't drill the new bars, you will have to break those tangs off. Your cables and wires will be too long but still be usable. The brake line will also be too long but usable. The only other thing is clearance between the switches, levers, and the gas tank. They will be close. Depending on the alignment of the banjo bolt on the master cylinder, it may clash with the fork top and or the triple tree.
Gotta take a long look at that stuff first.

Recently changed the bars on my 1982 LTD and was wondering what link cables to order but I believe from the info here I could simply order stock cables for a earlier model, if so could someone give me an application? Thanks.

Call Z1Enterprises. They will advise you, it's their bread and butter...

Running the wiring inside the bars? If so, read this:

Pulling Wire Bundles Inside Handlebars

Before running any wiring inside the bars, take time to see if any sharp "Burrs" are there, otherwise they will quickly strip any insulation away from the wire's conductors, resulting in an electrical short.

A Dremel tool with a small stone grinding bit will smooth most burrs away. If a Dremel is not available, a small round rat tail file works just as good.

When preparing to pull the wire bundle through the bars, carefully taper the bundles end with masking tape as this makes for a better pulling situation.

I use aircraft 0.032" diameter safety wire secured to the wire bundle as a pulling medium, Nylon string or small diameter cord will work for this too.

Silicone spray or electricians pulling lubricant should be applied to the end of the wires to ease the operation. It's best to have a helper while doing this to avoid problems of possible pinched or damaged wires. Have your helper apply a steady pulling effort while you carefully feed the wire bundle into the handlebars.

After the job of pulling is done, get a multimeter, set it on the lowest ohm setting, open up the switch housings to access the wire ends and then see if a wire of two has shorted out.

Put one probe on the handlebar and the other on any soldered wire ends on the switches and see if the meter indicates continuity by either making a buzz(some meters have built in buzzers) or a display on the meter face.

An analog meter(the type with the needle indicator) will act similar (except no buzzer) by showing usually a full deflection(needle movement)if there is a short by again, checking with the lowest setting on the ohm scale of the meter.

Finding a short now is a whole lot better than when it's wired up & blowing fuses or possible stranding you on the road.....

MFolks and DiamondSkyBlue,

You guys were right on. HOWEVER, I got your posts too late and had to learn the hard way!!! Everything you said was pretty much exactly what I experienced. This will be a good thread for those looking to do this in the future. Here's a few tips I learned (same is the same that you just told me).

1) Handle Bar Removal- Pulling the wires will be the toughest part. Lube them up and make sure you have nothing snaging. The old shrink wrap will look for any excuse to get caught. It a balancing act between pulling hard enough to get the wiring out but not to hard as to damage anything.

2) New Handle Bars- Measure well so you know what will fit where. Euro bars can handle your stock blinkers, most superbike bars probably can't, and drag bars not a chance unless they're mega wide. I actually bought both drag and superbike bars. Drilled and fitted them both. I like the superbike bars better. Great blend of comfort and performance- 110 MPH is SO much smoother than with the stock bars (even I was suprised at what a difference it made).

3) Drilling New Bars-
A) Hole Location- Measuring is pretty easy, but be sure to locate your holes properly. Remeber, the bars sit on the tree at an angle so the "bottom" of your bar might not be exactly where you think. I went ahead and drill my holes just a couple MMs back to put a VERY slight angle on my controls so they would face slightly upwards towards me- worked just perfect. Once you have correct measurments/marks, use a center punch and a drill. You can even use a smaller bit for a starter hole after the center punch, but USE A PUNCH, it makes it pretty easy. Don't forget to drill small wholes for the tabs on the control housing (mentioned above). You will see these on the stock bars.

B ) Drilling- I used a $20 electric hand drill (I don't own a drill press... yet) with 1/2 bit for the control housing holes which I later widened with a Dremel (if you don't own one, buy one, I did just for this project knowing I would use it in the future, totally worth it). For the larger center hole, I used two side by side 1/2 holes that I later connected via a the Dremel with a cutting disc. I then used the Dremel to smooth (but NOT sharpen) the edges of the holes for the sake of the wiring.

C) Pulling wiring back through- See MFolks excellent remarks above. Couldn't have put it better, especially if you're tackling clubbies.

D) Fitting Everything w/new bars- I went ahead and built a small bracket coming off my headlight for new blinkers. It's simply too tight a fit on the throttle side. I updated to LEDs. It was SUPER easy. You just swap out the old relay by the battery with a LED-compatible relay and plug and play. Be gentle with your master cylinder and brake line. I routed it to the outside of the headlight bracket and it fits much better. Did the same with my clutch cable. Ideally, as mentioned above, you'll probably want to swap out your cables. I'm still using all of my original lines and cables and everything is working great, but eventually I'll swap everything out. Again, see above for the how-to.

Thanks for all who contributed to this thread and I really hope this info will help KZ riders in the future.

That is a beautiful bike kraz