1978 KZ1000 A, Mild Mods

Well, here's the latest on the project....things are moving backwards.
It all started when I decided to change the front wheel, then the fork seals.....then the steering bearings......and, well....you'll see below :lol:

Ha! I know that feeling well. You aren't happy with one small thing and then you keep pulling it apart until you have a bare frame. WHERE DO YOU STOP?! :woohoo: Bike was looking real good pre tear down. Love those EBC disks.

thats okay,
that bad boy will be just that much better when you get it back together :evil: !

keep us posted ,

leon

I thought it would be nice to paint the frame while I had it mostly apart....then I thought it would be better to paint it the right way and strip it down completely. I'm going to have the frame and associated parts powder coated and then it should be a pretty straight forward reassembly.

Oh yeah, I plan to either clean and polish or paint the engine. I've always loved the black engines so I might go that route. One of the cam cover plugs has a slight leak, so I want to pull the cam cover and reseal everything. I'll also check the valves with the cover off. Now if I can just stop myself from throwing in a set of cams, a bore kit, etc..."while I'm in there" :ohmy: I'm going to try very hard to keep the motor stock for now. I do have a nice set of 29mm smoothies for it though.

You only got till Spring, Ta Get-R-Done !! :laugh: :laugh:
Pete

you couldent stop i know the feeling you want it perfect ,as a new part goes on you think now i see plenty of other things i can do to her

So the parts have been at powder coating for over 4 weeks now...was told "about 2 weeks". Not surprised though...this happens with EVERYTHING I have ever had done relating to a motorcycle. Anyway, I have a relatively unimportant question but thought I'd throw it out there just in case somebody reads this and knows the answer.

The M6 hole on the LH reflector mount on the frame has been drilled and tapped to 8mm for a steering damper. My question is............Does anybody know of a round, amber reflector that comes with an 8mm stud instead of a 6mm stud? I'm going to use the damper for now anyway, but I'd like to have the 8mm reflector ready if / when I decide to restore to 100% original condition. And I'm very curious.....seems there should be something like that out there. Another option would be to drill and heli-coil, but that's a lot of work for a reflector. Thanks

Does anybody know if the early style valve covers / cam covers / cylinder head covers are symmetrical? There is no arrow marking the front like there is on some of the other covers I've seen. I got mine back from powder coat and I can't tell which is the front or if it even matters. The gasket seems symmetrical too. Does it matter how they go on the 77/78 KZ models? Actually, I think I have an earlier Z1 valve cover...not sure if it matters though.

It will go ether way. The Z1 cover is a different Style. It doesn't have the top circle on it. It should work.
Steve

Wow, I have been seriously neglecting this thread. I've got a lot of progress to report so I'll try to do that very soon. I was searching google for pictures and my own pic showed up and led me to this thread!

79MKII wrote: I was searching google for pictures and my own pic showed up and led me to this thread!

that's always a kick! :laugh:

leon

Looking forward to "the rest of the story."

531BB, Have you had a lot of shaking lately in Skiatook?