Oh NO! What have I done! My new KZ1300

Irish-Kawi wrote: Bike looks amazing Tyler, thanks for sharing some "show" pics and she came out gorgeous! I can't even imagine trying to pull that thing up onto the center stand though :S

Brett

That is a shitty job on a smooth garage floor, if you can't get the stand to bite down its a loosing proposition. I left it off for now. If I go a long road trip someday it would probably go back on.

Tyler wrote:

Irish-Kawi wrote: Bike looks amazing Tyler, thanks for sharing some "show" pics and she came out gorgeous! I can't even imagine trying to pull that thing up onto the center stand though :S

Brett

That is a shitty job on a smooth garage floor, if you can't get the stand to bite down its a loosing proposition. I left it off for now. If I go a long road trip someday it would probably go back on.

For sure I can't even imagine trying to! You'd have to have one seriously big heinie and a lot of bras balls to pull that pig onto the center stand alone!

Glad it has been such a great rebuild and end result though, have fun and be safe with that incredible Ferrar-asaki :evil:

Brett

Aren't the feet on the stand graduated so it will come up easier?
Steve

Wow Tyler!


Great work on the 1300.

Really Nice job man. Thats a screamer for sure. I wish I had the money to rebuild my bike that nice. I Got a 82 KZ1100 Spectre last year. It runs but needs carb work, shocks, and a few odds and ends. Someday I'll get her looking as nice as yours. Congrats man.

So here is the build tally...

Project Bike was Purchased for $800



This bike was not running, and it looks much better than it really was. There were some serious issues with this bike, but it was complete and that is the most important thing I can say about a 1300. If you buy one that is not running make sure it's complete. Rear turn signals sell for $100 a piece of you want originals, front fork ears sell for $400-$500 a pair... the head light bucket can fetch $200, some parts are just about impossible to find at any price. So just be aware of that. The salvage value of these bikes come from only a hand full of parts, the rest of thing you can't give away. I bought an entire rear swing arm/final drive/drive shaft set for $30 plus shipping... the guy tried to get me to take the rest of the bike... This means you may not be able to part out a 1300 for much money at all if the pricey bits are already missing. The Chrome air box cover on the right side of my bike sole for nearly $300 to a guy in Europe.... just crazy!

This project took quite a while (6 Years) because my life got busy, I bought my first house, got married, went back to Graduate School in Engineering while working a professional job that often includes nights and weekends, my Daughter was born, I Graduated and now have a 2nd child due in July.... so it was a lesson in time management and patience to get this one done. Most of this work was done between the hours of 9pm and 2am in may one-car garage.

Total Project Cost Including Purchase Price = $5600

This is better than I expected, I managed to keep this project on a budget. Nice 1300's are selling between 5 and 6K currently and it is very rare that a project bike is finished for less than they are worth (it is just the cold hard truth of wrenching on old bikes). Of coarse I'm counting my time as free, but I love tinkering in the garage at night... who doesn't right.

I know some of you following this project may be surprised at the costs, but this really was budget restoration. Look through the detailed list below...

Parts and Repair List

Carburation/Induction - $250
Carbs ultrasonically cleaned
Enrichener tubes repaired
(3) Carb Kits (Z1-Enterprizes)
(3) Brass Floats (Forum Member at KZ1300.com)
Jet Kit (6 Sigma, Cheap on E-bay)
Air box Top “Snorkel” Replaced
Carb Boots (Used E-Bay)
Pingle Fuel Tap w/Adaptor (Dennis Kirk)
Fuel Line and Filter
Uni Air Filter (E-Bay)
Fuel Level Gauge (Used, E-bay)

Engine - $2250
All Engine Mount Bolts and Nuts (Used, E-Bay)
Gasket Kit (Generic)
OEM Base Gasket
Custom Comitec Head Gasket
OEM Timing Chain Rollers (Updated Version)
ZX-10 Tensioner
Timing Shaft (Used, E-bay)
Water Pump Drive Gear, Plastic (Used, E-bay)
Water Pump Mechanical Seal
Water Pump Oil Seal
Thermostat (OEM)
Thermostat Cover Gasket (OEM, pattern gasket was crap)
Radiator Hoses (Cut Pieces from Single Automotive Hose from NAPA)
Colling Fan Switch Sensor (OEM)
Repaired Colling Fan Wiring
(6) Forged Pistons from Ross w/Wrist Pins and Clips
(6) Total Seal Piston Ring Sets
(6) Vesrah Intake Valves
(6) Exhaust Valves (possibly Vesrah from the UK)
(12) Valve Seals, Steel Bucket Type from Z1-Enterprizes
A Few Valve Shims (Two from Z1-Enterprizes, One from E-bay)
SS Allen-head Bolt Kit (E-bay)
Custom Blanking Plates for Emissions Reed Valves
A Ridiculous Number of O-rings (All OEM)
Valve Job, Re-Surface, and Mild Porting from Cavanaugh Racing
Cylinders Bored by Quality Machine in Fargo, ND
(4) Rubber Cam Plugs form Z1-Enterprizes
OEM Clutch Cable
Chrome Engine Covers Stripped and Polished

Exhaust - $550
DG 6 into 1 - Worth Every Cent!

Suspension and Brakes - $400
Front Fork Seals (OEM)
15w Fork Oil
Front Tire, Shinko 230 Series
Rear Tire, Shinko 230 Series
Rear Swing Arm, Pivots and Bearings (Used Parts, E-bay)
(2) Rebuild Kits for Front Calipers
Rebuild Kit w/Center Seal for Rear Caliper
Rebuild Kit for Front Master Cylinder
Piston Seal for Rear Master Cylinder
Spiegel SS Break Line Kit w/Bolts and Washers
Front and Rear Brake Pads
Progressive Air Shocks (Used E-Bay – Rebuilt)

Final Drive - $50
Drive Shaft (Used Parts, E-bay)
Drive Shaft Boot (Used Parts, Ebay)
Ring Gear Shims
Final Drive Oil Seals
Gear Housing O-ring

Ignition and Electrical - $300
(3) Dyna Coils, Green (Ebay, One at a Time)
Fabricated a Plate to Mount Coils Where Tool Tray Would Normally Be
Added Wires and Loom to New Coil Location, Threw Old Coil Resistor in Garbage
Spark Plugs, NGK
Plug Wires (Generic Automotive 6 Cylinder Kit)
Battery, AGM Type (Batteries Plus)
Battery Tray (Used, E-bay)
Battery Hold-Down Bracket (New OEM, Found One Cheap Old Stock)
Rear Turn Signals (Generic ones from Dennis Kirk)
Turn Signal Stems (Used Parts I Already Had)
Rubber Mounting Grommets for Turn Signals (American Classix)
Repaired Wiring for Rear Lights, Replaced Diode for Running Lights
Cleaned all Connectors, Replaced Stator Connector and Contacts (Z1-Enterprizes)
Lower Head Light Bracket with Rubber Parts (from Germany)
Rubber Side Mounts for Head Light (OEM)
Spare Ignition Module (from Lauri in Finland) - Price not counted, purchased by selling some unused parts

Body Work - $1000
Air Box Covers (E-bay, Lucky To Get Them Cheap)
Left Rear Foot Peg (Used, E-Bay)
Side Cover Mounting Grommets (Z1_Enterprizes)
Rear Grab Bar (Reproduction from the UK, E-bay)
Tail Piece Rubber Mounts (E-Bay)
Gas Tank Rear Mount and Bushing (E-bay)
Gas Tank Caustic Dipped, Then Old Epoxy Liner Removed
Repaint Body Work GM Synergy Green (Local Body Shop)
Repainted Frame, Swing Arm, Engine, and Misc. Brackets ( Rattle Cans, VHT and PJ1)

Miscellaneous Other Crap
Screws, Nuts, Bolts, Washers, Etc.
Used Bore Gauge (E-bay)
Sealants, and Silicone
Honda Bond 4 (for the Water Jackets in the Head Gasket)
Grease, Gear Lube and Engine Oil (Filter Too)
Assembly Lube
Antifreeze
Permatex Gasket Remover

Some of the costs, especially in the engine should serve as a sobering reminder... The engine work I did myself apart form machining work, the pistons were pricey but they are still in line with costs of the alternatives discounting the cheap e-bay kits. Larry's charges were very reasonable for the work he did on the head, but I had to replace the valves and they are not cheap. All the little things add up, and this engine is full of little things. I would bet there are $150 or so in just O-rings and oil seals. And really every one should be replaced, these engines are way more work to take apart than an air cooled 4, you can't justify skipping something small because its just too much work to take it all apart again. A number of people on other forums have had problems with the oil seal on the water pump drive shaft leaking after a rebuild, and that requires removing the cylinder head to get to.... for a $6 seal... you get the idea.

Another example is the water pump, the mechanical seal is $55, but there is a gasket $4 and three O-rings $4 a piece and the oil seal at $6, and the Thermostat at $37 and if you find the plastic drive gear is damaged you can out much more $$$...

I am not trying to discourage people from tearing into one of these, just be realistic as to what you are dealing with. Just a set of stock bore piston rings will run nearly $300.

I will update this list again as I am sure I've missed some things. I hope this project thread will continue to be useful to those considering a 1300 project or working on one. There really are only a few good project threads on these bikes out there. I will go back through the entire thread at some point and add some additional info about parts availability as there are some different options now that were not available when I did the work. The German shop has added quite a few reproduction parts... if you can afford them.

This was a fun project to work on, but it tested my patience many times. Totally worth the effort though... these things are just awesome!

Just caught this thread man, nice build! Now I see why you needed the parts you did! :woohoo: ...you are a :evil:


Later...

I will try my best to salvage the carbs I bought from you, would be nice to have an extra set. If not I can take the useable stuff off them. And if they are really, really bad they can be used to anchor my fishing boat...

Tyler wrote: I will try my best to salvage the carbs I bought from you, would be nice to have an extra set. If not I can take the useable stuff off them. And if they are really, really bad they can be used to anchor my fishing boat...

BWAHAHAHA that would certainly be one unique boat anchor :woohoo: :silly:

Brett

I bet the sound that 6 into 1 exhaust makes is pure music.

Just another update and some thoughts after my first season riding the 1300.

The bike has been very reliable, I have only had a few minor issues come up this year.

-The turn signal flasher died
-I had a small oil leak from the stator wire gourmet in the engine cover
-one fork seal has a slight leak
-Valves clearances checked, a few re-shimmed.

The first two were an easy fix, I have to find out why the new fork seal didn't take. May have a problem with tube itself, not sure though.

I drove to work regularly and went on some nice rides this summer, even had some unusually warm weather this month and got some nice November riding in. I did not get to go on a weekend trip like I planned this year, but I will make a point of it next summer. I have gotten used to the size of this pig, and to be honest I really enjoy riding it. When I take my 650 out, it feels like a moped at first.

I did tune the carburetors further, I went up one more size on the main jets the plugs look better. It's hard to find enough vacant road to run to redline in top gear... ( hypothetically speaking ) It pulls vey well, and is maybe a bit flat on the very top end, but the tune is good enough. Rolling on the throttle hard will damn near lift the front wheel( in ANY gear :ohmy: ). Cold starts have gotten better too.

I have a spare set of carbs from a '79 I going to attempt to rebuild this winter. Other than that I've got my next project lined up. It's 2 stroke time.... :evil:

Good to hear you've had a great season with the 1300.


And now a two stroke in the works.
How many cylinders?