Tank Opinions - KZ440 LTD

Hello all,

The weather is finally picking up here in the Midwest and I've rolled out an old project that's been on the back burner for far too long.

I'm mid-project with an '82 KZ440 LTD build and really like the direction it's going. So far, I've:

- converted to a single Mikuni VM32
- pulled off all extracurricular unnecessaries (rear fender, sissy bar, engine guard, side covers, etc...)
- updated front signals and tail light to LED
- changed bars to superbike bars
- lowered front fork 2 inches
- relocated starter button to under seat pan
- other minor cosmetic stuff
- (need to update master cylinder next)

And possibly the biggest change of all, setting aside the oem LTD two-up seat and building a slimmed down enduro / tracker seat from scratch. But that's for another post another time.

So, to get to the point, I'm on the hunt for a beefier tank to balance out the new lines established by the slimmer / flatter seat. I'm not in love with the tear drop shape of the 440 LTD, so I've been looking at the GPZ550 and KZ400 tanks from the late 70s / early 80s, but wanted to get others' opinion before pulling the trigger. I'm not totally sure which Kawa tanks are plug and play for the KZ440 LTD, but I figured I should start there, for ease of transition and fit. After that, I'm up for pretty much anything that would work with minimal retro-fitting.

For reference, I've included a recent shot of the 440's current state, pre-upholstery.

Thanks, everyone!

The triple tree may bang against a larger fuel tank.
How many gallons is yours? and can you take some measurements of it? flip it over & hook a tape measure on a front mount to get the distance to the rear mount. and measure from front of tank to rear mount. There isn't much interchange between models, so that info would help before speculating.

martin_csr wrote: The triple tree may bang against a larger fuel tank.
How many gallons is yours? and can you take some measurements of it? flip it over & hook a tape measure on a front mount to get the distance to the rear mount. and measure from front of tank to rear mount. There isn't much interchange between models, so that info would help before speculating.

Hey martin_csr,

Thanks for the feedback. I do know the manual says the tank is 14 liters, or 3.6 gallons.

I'll run out to the garage this evening and get some good photos of the underside of the tank, including detailed measurements.

Thanks again!

My 440 is only 2.5 gallons, just figured I would throw that out there. Pushed it to the gas station enough to know that one :blush: . I'm curious how you like the VM 32 on your bike? I too was looking to replace my tank, found it was a lot easy to stick with stock. I'd be excited if you find something interesting to change it to though. :woohoo: 2.5 gallons is a bit small, especially with the 20 mpg I get with the VM 34 carb :laugh:

punisher11b wrote: My 440 is only 2.5 gallons, just figured I would throw that out there. Pushed it to the gas station enough to know that one :blush: . I'm curious how you like the VM 32 on your bike? I too was looking to replace my tank, found it was a lot easy to stick with stock. I'd be excited if you find something interesting to change it to though. :woohoo: 2.5 gallons is a bit small, especially with the 20 mpg I get with the VM 34 carb :laugh:

Hey punisher11b,

Actually, now that you mention it, I'm thinking my tank is the 12 liter, so closer to 3.14 gallons. But yeah, having a little more capacity would certainly be easier on the legs every once in a while. hahaha

The VM32 has been great for me. I'd have to go check my garage log, but I'm pretty sure I'm running a 35/155 jet setup at the moment, but don't hold me to that one. Could be off there. But UNI foam filter and stock pipes with the 2-1 manifold from 11th Hour Industries.

Hopefully we can find a replacement tank that adds some nicer lines and a few more liters! I really dig the old GPZ550 tanks, but those may be too bulky up front to play nice with the stock tree.

Sounds about right, probably closer to 3 gal.
I think the bike and carb setup really likes those uni pods. I'm running 35/165 for my jets with a k&N filer(couldn't use a uni due to space).
Would definitely look good with one of the old gpz tanks on it. I've seen a couple of 440s where it looks as if something like that was done, never could get more info though. Now I'm all excited to start looking into it again. Haha

punisher11b wrote: Sounds about right, probably closer to 3 gal.
I think the bike and carb setup really likes those uni pods. I'm running 35/165 for my jets with a k&N filer(couldn't use a uni due to space).
Would definitely look good with one of the old gpz tanks on it. I've seen a couple of 440s where it looks as if something like that was done, never could get more info though. Now I'm all excited to start looking into it again. Haha

Yep, I had the same clearance problem with the filter running into the battery / battery box. Went with a smaller AGM battery and moved a lot of the electronics to a tray under the seat pan. Plenty (just enough...) of room now for the filter.

I'll check on my stock tank's specs tonight with measurements and see if we can find something that's similar underneath from another KZ / Kawa.

Nothing is likely to bolt on. But because the KZ440 frame top is only one rail you can fit a wide range of tanks. Martin is right that many will hit the gas tank. I loaded a buddies project KZ750 up in my truck once and we went to a bike salvage where he tried maybe 20 tanks before deciding he liked the stock tank the best. LOL. Thats a great way to test tanks out, seeing them in person is the way to go.

DoctoRot wrote: Nothing is likely to bolt on. But because the KZ440 frame top is only one rail you can fit a wide range of tanks. Martin is right that many will hit the gas tank. I loaded a buddies project KZ750 up in my truck once and we went to a bike salvage where he tried maybe 20 tanks before deciding he liked the stock tank the best. LOL. Thats a great way to test tanks out, seeing them in person is the way to go.

That's a good point, DoctoRot.

There's at least one or two moto salvage yards within an hour of me. I might need to load the bike up and give them a visit to really get a good idea of what will and won't work. Definitely more cost effective than taking a chance on a $100 ebay tank.

Ok, took a few days of looking around, but I did tons more research and found a couple of tanks that aren't directly plug 'n play, but are pretty darn close. I picked up the tank below, but it didn't come with a cap. I'm having a hard time coming up with a part number for the cap to find a replacement. Anyone have any ideas as to the year / model of bike this tank would've come from - or - a part number for the cap?

I dug through partzilla and bikebandit to find tanks that look similar and found the 1980 KZ440B Standard and the 1979 KZ400B Standard seem to be close, but searching the part number ( 51048-1001 ) doesn't provide a whole lot of results.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions - or happens to have one of these caps lying around - I would certainly be interested!

Thanks!

Looks like it could be a 1978 SR 650 tank
Pete

Hey Guys,

A couple updates on the tank swap search for the 'ol KZ440.

I talked again with the seller of the tank and they're saying , to the best of their knowledge, it came from a blue 1979 kz400-B and was repainted black with yellow and red pinstripes at some point in it's lifetime. it certainly has some rust issues inside, but I hooked up the electrolysis method of cleaning last night and will check on it again after work this afternoon. I already love the look of this tank. It's going to work perfectly with the new seat design, too. The only cause for mild concern is the back-under bit of the tank that usually bolts in on the original. But, shouldn't be a big deal, especially when I'm able to integrate the final seat design to work together with the tank.

Also, as some of you may already know, the caps for these guys are something of a rarity. I called up my local Kawasaki friends at the dealership and they say (at no surprise) that specific part is no longer in their systems, although (surprisingly), a lot of OEM parts are actually still able to be ordered.

Anyways, they aren't able to locate any caps, BUT they do have a warehouse of 1970s - 1990s Kawasakis that they said they would be willing to rummage through and sell a cap off a tank if it fits. Thus perpetuating the cycle of that first person who lost / sold a cap without the tank...

I've checked off a lot of things from the ongoing list within the last couple weeks, including:

+ cleaned the engine exterior
+ hit a couple minor parts with some plasti dip to match the new tank / seat setup
+ cleaned up the electrical tray concept
+ treated the header pipes with DEI Silicone Coating before wrapping with titanium wrap
+ replaced a couple worn out 10mm bolts and rubber gaskets

Anyways, I'm going to keep documenting the process and possibly open up a build thread focusing mostly on the seat pan and overall geometry options of the KZ440 LTD setup. Hopefully this keeps the ball rolling for other LTD guys who don't want to chop their frame but also want a more aggressive 'cool-guy' ride.

I'll update everyone over the weekend with better photos.