I don' know if you have seen the info below; if not take a look - especially the section labeled "TOOLS."

Here are some tips that you may find helpful. If nothing else be SURE to read the section on JIS screws under the TOOLS heading.

Many newbies and not so newbies run into the same problems or issues with their bikes which could be easily avoided with a little preparation. 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.

When you get the manual take a look at the torque specs. MANY of them are in INCH pounds, and some of the larger bolts are in FOOT pounds. You will need 2 torque wrenches; one small one calibrated in inch pounds and a larger one calibrated in foot pounds. Trying to use a foot pound calibrated wrench to tighten the inch pound fasteners won’t work properly even if you do the conversion correctly because the foot pound wrench will not be sensitive / accurate enough at its lowest settings.

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

Things are moving forward with my 77' KZ1000A. Rebuild the Rear Brake Calipers yesterday. Full of old dried up brake fluid. But cleaned well, everything seems to be working good now. Even the Rear Master Cylinders seems to be not leaking at all since I took it apart and cleaned again.

Upon examining my 630 Drive Chain, the wheel is shoved al the way forward in the swing arm and chain has about 1/2" free play which tells me either the chain is too short or sprockets have been changed.

So I counted the Sprocket teeth.
Rear: 33-T
Front: 14-T ?

Drive chain is 90 Links

So something has been changed from prior owner? Who knows, bikes been out of commission 25 years. Obviously I need a longer chain, at least where the axle is moved back so that I can at least read the adjustment marks on the swing arm.

I want to go with a 530 chain and sprockets and keep the same drive ratio as stock.

WHat do you guys recommend ???

Firestorm3 wrote: No apology needed mate for going off topic but still talking about Kwakasakis all good!!

Knowing Peter, he would have done it to the exact right colour that the S1 came in - and I think (??) that it is the Kwaka Green that the KLR came in - maybe because the picture was taken in bright sun it looks a bit different.
Compare it with a couple of others and a genuine S1 off Ebay ( for US $107600 ) with zero miles on it ....so that would have to be the right colour, yes? The other bike is a race bike in Germany, also a copy, belonging to Klaus who runs a business making stuff for S1 - those S1 copy brakes are his.

The swingarm - mate, that was a one-off special just for the S1. I have posted pictures of mine - the guy who made it was a true artist, the welds are brilliant. I do a lot of welding myself ( and have 6 welders including a lovely $12K Fronius pulse MIG that makes amateurs look professional!!! ) and I can no longer do welds that nice, especially since my hands aren't that steady and eyes are crap.
The thing, I would think you would agree, is a work of art. Note the cam adjusters for back axle, race stand lugs, built in oil catch can - and it is very very light - a perfect replica of the S1 swingarm - and a price to match!!!!
No, and I won't leave you that in my will either, mate.....!!! :laugh:
Cheers
Wayne

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Very Nice!

I only read bits and pieces of the posts in this thread... for what you're after in the transmission two thoughts come to mind...

a] you don' need a six speed...but that's my opinion and has nothing to do with satisfying your goal....

b] I would investigate some of the big bore, late model transmissions before laying down a pile of cash for an aftermarket transmission...

Regarding my first comment, If you build the engine properly you'll have so much torque that you can simply use taller final drive sprockets and achieve great results.....

No apology needed mate for going off topic but still talking about Kwakasakis all good!!

Knowing Peter, he would have done it to the exact right colour that the S1 came in - and I think (??) that it is the Kwaka Green that the KLR came in - maybe because the picture was taken in bright sun it looks a bit different.
Compare it with a couple of others and a genuine S1 off Ebay ( for US $107600 ) with zero miles on it ....so that would have to be the right colour, yes? The other bike is a race bike in Germany, also a copy, belonging to Klaus who runs a business making stuff for S1 - those S1 copy brakes are his.

The swingarm - mate, that was a one-off special just for the S1. I have posted pictures of mine - the guy who made it was a true artist, the welds are brilliant. I do a lot of welding myself ( and have 6 welders including a lovely $12K Fronius pulse MIG that makes amateurs look professional!!! ) and I can no longer do welds that nice, especially since my hands aren't that steady and eyes are crap.
The thing, I would think you would agree, is a work of art. Note the cam adjusters for back axle, race stand lugs, built in oil catch can - and it is very very light - a perfect replica of the S1 swingarm - and a price to match!!!!
No, and I won't leave you that in my will either, mate.....!!! :laugh:
Cheers
Wayne

My Kawi's rear wheel wasn't spinning nearly as free as it once did. I thought replacing the bearings would help, but now I know there's more going on.

When trying to reinstall the wheel I couldn't quite get the chain adjusters to line up with the ends of the swing arm on the right side. Thought maybe I didn't drive one of the bearings all the way in, but it turned out that there was a small gap between the caliper holder and axle collar that I had trouble closing.

After forcing the gap closed the wheel went on, but the spinning tightened up and the slot of the torque link didn't exactly line up with the caliper. When I pulled out on the top of the caliper things eased up and froze again when I let go.

At that point I noticed the outside of the disc had been scraping on the caliper, even though there is still a decent amount of meat left on both pads, which are worn evenly. The piston wasn't pushed out at all and the pad was even with the caliper surface.

Bled the system dry and took the caliper and rear master cylinder apart, but nothing obvious jumped out at me. As far as reassembly goes I've been comparing A1 and B1 diagrams, and feel like everything should be okay, but is obviously not. Maybe one of you with more experience can shed some light on what I'm missing.

Looks great so far.
Isn't that a GS1100E swingarm?

A 150 should fit fine inside that swingarm. Be sure to check tire to chain clearance though, and chain line.

If you measure from the centerline of your current tyre (or wheel rim) , with all the spacers etc in place, to the chain,that should give you an idea of how far you can go with a fatter tyre.

I have a 77kz1000 with a 81 gs1100 swingarm and an aftermarket 18in wheel that I believe to be 4.25in wide. Does anyone know if I can use a 150-70 tire, why should I or should I not go with the wider tire? Avon makes the tire in 130,140,or 150. Any help would be appreciated

May not apply to your problem, but some places to check:

I copied this from a post from Jeff Saunders (owner of Z1 enterprises)

Motorcycle Wobble Causes

There's a LONG list of potential area that can cause this.

These are not in any particular order

Wheel bearings

Steering bearings - repack grease, check tightness

Swing arm bushings/sleeves/bearings - replace if worn, repack grease

Fork springs aging - check spring length

Unequal fork oil - if seals leak, then your damping can be ineffective

Rear shocks aging, damper leaks - if you have oil leaking from the seals, the damping is toast.

Worn Tires/Mismatched tires/tire pressures/wrong size tires
Wheel alignment - don't trust the chain adjusters - I visually align the wheels.

Bent rims/broken spokes - get the wheels off the ground and
spin them - check for runout / damage

Front disc warped - check for runout

Steering & swing arm bearings are very common problems, but so are tire issues (pressure/mismatch) and wheel alignment.

Not having a front fender, as it helps stiffen up the forks. I’d suggest a fork brace.