Harsh Ride ?

Steve, I pretty sure after I poured the oil into the forks and added the springs, I pumped the forks up and down after I installed the caps, so I don't think that is the problem ?

Probably comes down to fork oil wt., rear shock condition, and maybe a little too much tire air pressure ?

When you assemble them you pump oil into the dampers then measure and top it off. The rear shocks could be bottoming. If nothing else they're at the stiffest part of their compression. There are other ways to lower the rear end and keep the travel. I run my tires at just below the max pressure. Anything less the bike feels unstable at high speeds.
Steve

kzdcw wrote: Ed, I did look at your Link as well as my FSM which is for the KZ1000 revised Sept. 6, 1977. My page # 185 show a chart for a KZ1000-A1 which is what mine is, shows the Fork Oil capacity after dismantling and dry to be 170-178 cc. And that's what I poured into each fork tube.

Only discrepancy I did discover is that I used 15 Wt. Bel-Ray fork oil instead of the recommended 10 wt. So that might be a little problem there ?

Tire pressure may be a little high too as the FSM says 28 lbs. ( F ) and 32 lbs. ( R ) ?

And again the rear Shocks look identical to the Factory ones but are shorter. So who knows where they are from and what weight they designed for ?

The parts diagrams show that the 1977 K1000-A1 and the 1978 KZ1000-A2 both use the same inner fork tubes, springs, fork cylinders, and outer fork tubes. If those parts diagrams are correct I believe the Bel Ray 15w fork oil should work perfectly fine since the revised manual calls for 10w20 fork oil. In fact, I have always used Bel Ray 15w fork oil in my KZ650, and find that it works great.

Does your earlier version of the Kawasaki Service Manual describe how to measure the fork oil level inside the forks? Ed

Yes, It says to elevate the front wheel off the ground, then insert a thin rod down into tube and measure the distance from the top of the inner tube to the oil level. The distance is 426 mm. My question is to measure that, do you remove the spring ?

Also, I guess I could measure the spring length which is 465 mm and a service limit of 455 mm.

The KZ1000-A2 etc. manual shows the springs in during measurement (see image below). Check your KZ1000-A1 manual to see if the drawing shows the springs in. Ed

Ed, I'll have to find some sort of Rod that will fit thru the fork springs and will touch the oil. Any suggestions ?

Hi kzdcw,
Straightened wire coat hanger.

1/8" - 1/4" wood dowel, easier to see the oil level.

Don't drop em' inside, longer is better just in case.


Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

kzdcw wrote: Ed, I'll have to find some sort of Rod that will fit thru the fork springs and will touch the oil. Any suggestions ?

A wooden dowel or metal rod will work fine. Make a mark near the top of the rod and a second mark the specified distance down the rod then hold the top mark even with the fork tube top when measuring.

I modified a metal rod by inserting a smaller metal rod through it near the top, measuring down the rod the specified length from the manual, and marking that distance near the bottom end of the rod by scribing a line around the rod using a tubing cutter. Because the small metal rod fits flush against the top of the fork tube I can just drop it in the tube and pull it out like a car’s dipstick. Making it took a little bit of time, but now I can accurately measure the fork oil level very easily. Overkill for sure, but it was raining outside the day I made it. :laugh: Images below. Ed

I use this less elegant tool. Tape marks the desired oil level. The u clamp lets me adjust for different bikes. It is a brass rod, a u clamp and a piece of plumber's tape.

I'm assuming these rods or dowels are fitting inside the fork springs and long enough to touch the fork oil ?

Ed and Texas KZ, what diameter is your metal and brass rod ?

I'll drop by ACE hardware in the next day or two and pick one up.

The rod I used is a bit under 1/3 of an inch thick and about 24 inches long. That leaves a couple inches below the bottom "fill to" mark and about 6 or 7 inches sticking out of the top of the fork tube above the little cross piece in the rod. Ed

Thanks Ed, I'll look for that size at ACE when I stop there next.