I've been looking at some GS 1000 swing arms. They were the fix in the day.
Steve

Thanks a ton everyone! The frame, swing arm, etc. is drying as we speak. Next weekend itll start being put back together into the Rolling chassis. These bikes are awesome!

I've owned my KZ650-C1 for about 38 years and have always done all the maintenance myself. I have never seen a device like that on my bike.

Regarding the lack of spark. Is the battery fresh and fully charged?

Here are some general tips that may be helpful -
Many newbies and not so newbies run into or issues with their bikes which could be easily avoided with a little preparation or information. Here are a couple recommendations that I hope you will find useful.

Before riding your KZ you should take a little time to become familiar with it. Simple things like checking the oil, tire pressures, etc. are explained in the Kawasaki Owner's Manual. If you bike didn't come with one (they normally are in a little holder on the bottom of the seat) you can usually find one on eBay - be sure to get one for your exact year/model.


MANUAL

You really should consider buying the Kawasaki Factory Service Manual for your bike. The factory service manual provides instructions on the various maintenance procedures and schedules for your bike, procedures for diagnosing problems, proper torque values for the various fasteners (VERY IMPORTANT), and insight into how each system on your bike works even if you are not repairing that system. Studying the manual before you attempt performing service on your bike will impart an understanding of the system you are working on which will increase the odds of success.

The manuals usually are readily available for most models on eBay and other sources; but be sure to get one that has your specific year and model in it as there are differences between the various KZ650 models. I do not recommend Clymers, Haynes, or other aftermarket manuals as I have seen instances where they provide inaccurate advice. You may decide to use those to supplement the factory manual, but in my opinion they are not a suitable substitute. If you have trouble finding one for your model ask us to help.


TOOLS

WARNING! Do not even try to use Phillips screwdrivers on the Kawasaki cross head screws. Despite their appearance they are not Phillips screws. They are Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) screws. The tips of Phillips screwdrivers are too long & pointed to allow the 4 blades of the screwdriver to properly engage the screws, so when you apply force the screw head slots will deform and look like crap. The fact is that Phillips screws were deliberately designed to have the screwdriver bit "cam out." This was done to prevent production line assembly from over-tightening, stripping, or breaking the screws. JIS screws do not have this problem. A proper fitting JIS bit can tighten a JIS screw to and beyond the torque spec without camming out. Here's the good news - you can easily modify standard Phillips screwdriver tips to fit the JIS screws.

I have ground down the tips of DeWalt #2 and DeWalt #3 Phillips to make them fit JIS screws. The large crosshead screws on the cases take modified #3 bits (or genuine #3 JIS bits). To modify the DeWalt bits you need to grind the very tip a little, then test fit, then grind a little more and test fit, etc. until the bit no longer "rocks" back and forth in the screwhead. Picture 1 below shows how a DeWalt #3 bit fits the case screws of my KZ650 after being ground properly. The #2 DeWalt bits can be modified the same way to fit smaller JIS screws. Pictures 2 and 3 below shows DeWalt #2 and #3 modified bits.

I did find a place that sells authentic JIS bits. They don't list the #3 bit, but if you contact them they can provide the #3 JIS bits even though they are not listed on the website. These folks were very easy to work with, and the authentic bits do work great. Here's their site:

www.rjrcooltools.com/shop_item_detail.cfm?subcat_ID=89

Pictures 4 & 5 below show a comparison between my home made modified bits with the authentic JIS bits.

PICTURE 1

PICTURE 2

PICTURE 3

PICTURE 4

PICTURE 5

Before reaching for that wrench or ratchet consider the following. The bolts are steel, but your engine and front forks are aluminum. The bolts are much tougher than the aluminum and if over tightened will strip the aluminum threads. Although these can be repaired, preventing damage by applying proper torque will save you grief, time, and money. Tightening fasteners properly requires torque wrenches. Various vendors, including Snap-on, CDI, Sears, etc., market torque wrenches. The two most popular types are the bar type and micrometer type. Either will work, but the micrometer type is a bit easier to use, especially if you are tightening several fasteners with the same torque - such as cylinder head covers. You will need a torque wrench calibrated in INCH POUNDS for many of the bolts. You will also need a torque wrench calibrated in FOOT POUNDS for the larger bolts. Don't try to use the foot pounds wrench on the smaller bolts as it will not be sensitive enough at low torque settings to provide accurate torque. There are many fasteners that require low torque. These include such things as 6mm oil pan bolts, cylinder head cover bolts, etc. for which the torque in 61-78 inch pounds. These low torque bolts require a wrench that is accurate at low settings and this wrench should be graduated in inch pounds. In addition, there are numerous high torque fasteners such as the front axle nuts (51 - 65 foot pounds) or swing arm pivot shaft nuts (58 - 87 foot pounds). These require a wrench that is accurate at higher settings; this wrench should be graduated in foot pounds. Using the proper torque wrenches to correctly tighten fasteners will help prevent damage and contribute to a safe bike. The Kawasaki Service Manual will list the various torque specs for the bolts. I suggest you get the manual before buying the torque wrenches so you can decide which wrenches best meet the torque specs.

Consider buying a can of Kroil penetrating oil and use it to soak stubborn fasteners for a couple days before trying to loosen them. Remember, the original screws and bolts were installed on your bike when Jimmy Carter was President, so many of them may be hard to remove. Kroil can be bought online, at guns shows, and at some other venues.


MOTOR OIL
The ingredients in oils have changed over the years. For example, today's Castrol GTX oil (and pretty much all other AUTOMOBILE oil) is not the same as it was in the 1980's. Back then it worked great in KZ bikes. But, things have changed. Early AUTOMOBILE oils contained zinc phosphorus compounds (ZDDP) to protect engine components from metal to metal contact. This was good for engines, but it was found to be destructive to catalytic converters. Consequently, in AUTOMOBILE oils ZDDP was virtually eliminated and replaced with different chemistry generically referred to as "Friction Modifiers." These work fine and offer good protection for normal AUTOMOBILE engines. However, today's AUTOMOBILE oil "Friction Modifiers" are destructive to wet clutches. KZ bikes (and many other brands) have wet clutches. As a result of these oil chemistry changes a distinction needed to be made between those oils which are suitable for wet clutches and those which are not. That distinction was documented by the Japanese Engine Oil Standards Implementation Panel (JASO). JASO developed a number of different oil specifications for different applications. The specifications that apply to 4 stroke motorcycles fall under the "4T Specifications." Within the 4T specifications the JASO MA class oils are specifically formulated for 4 stroke motorcycles with wet clutches.

There are synthetic, semi-synthetic, and non-synthetic oils that meet the JASO-MA standard and any of them will work ok. However, using oils that are not designated as meeting the JASO-MA standard is destructive to KZ clutches.

Good luck with your bike. Ed

here are some top hat style bushings that i machined out for benhurmx's zx636 to kz swingarm conversion.





this seems to be a very effective solution.
to the large diameter pivot bearing blues


hth,

leon

what year on the arm from the gsxr?
how will this interfere with the rear brake, and chain etc.?

To be honest,Im not sure of the year of my swingarm,it may be somewhere in my build thread.
CSR1000 Project Build.
This worked for me,though you would need to research your bike and whats possible to do to it. You have many hours ahead reading project builds on this site and others.Lots of possibilities,depending on how far you want to go with it.
A quick and easy swingarm swap is the popular gs1100. Goes straight in with a couple of spacers and you can keep your original wheel,chainline and brake.(youll need to change your shocks though) Or you could go with something more radical,fit a mono shock and a 180 tyre with all the work thats involved to get that sorted.
I have gone with something,I think,inbetween.It was still a lot of work though.
Pretty much everything that can be done to a bike,has been done and a lot of it is on this website.
Get reading and good luck

I think itll depend on what sort of swingarm you have and what size tyre you intend to fit.
I put a gsxr600 arm in mine with a Bandit600 wheel and a 160 tyre. It all fitted without having to bugger around with the frame. The Bandit wheel is a 3 spoke cast.

I needed to do something similar, to remove the orig front sprocket on my D2.



Took this rig, some heat, a 3' cheater bar and both hands to break this nut loose! The swingarm was there to keep things from moving, but the hinge pins didn't fare to well!

Hey boys and girls, found this in a barn in elma, wa

Take it down, pass it around and give me some ideas

Those are only miles I know of, oil and filter were new.

1984 gpz unitrack, not sure about the feering, was on it, but not wired, starter spins, crank is free, but no fuel, and haven't worried about spark yet.

Planning on a 200hp walbro fuel pump, adjustable fpr, hid conversion, set of bags (custom hand made)
Maybe a 1400 conversition?
Might want to switch out rear swing arm?

Hi, can anyone help with torque settings for the swingarm pivot and rear wheel axle on a zephyr 750 please?

The only visible difference in the frames that I can see are the passenger foot-peg/silencer-mounting supports. Ltd's did not come with a center stand but the lugs are still there to put one on. I believe also that the swingarm pivot tube has double needle rollers as opposed to bronze bushings (please correct me if I am wrong here ........if anyone knows for sure)