1982 KZ1000p project progress

autotech2@tx.rr.com wrote:

•New chain and sprocket. I'm changing it to 530 15/35 or 15/38. Sunstar sprockets and DID xring chain.

Just a note on replacing the chain and sprockets. Don't remember the brand, but the off-set on the aftermarket front sprocket I bought was wrong. It produced a whine because the chain wasn't running straight. Be sure and compare the off-set of the original sprocket before bolting it on.

The guys at Kawasaki said they see it all the time, and typically have to go OEM.

Everything lined up fine, no issues at all with the chain/sprockets.

Balancing the carbs after the rebuild resolved the issue with the RPMs dropping after revving it at idle. Still requires full choke to start when cold but it starts first time every time.

I got both the GSXR rear sets and found out how and where I'm going to mount them. There was an issue with rear brake piston being frozen so I'm waiting on a replacement from the eBay seller.

I'm finished moving but still making room in the garage so I should have some more updates soon. I'm going to start looking for parts for the wiring harness and lightening. After a lot of research I think I want to go with the Motogadget m-Unit V.2 and and an antigravity battery.

I crashed my SV650 last Sunday and almost everything on it is smashed. I was going down Banner-Grade for the first time and a tight blind turn caught me off guard and I locked my brakes twice and went down a 20+ foot embankment and flew on my back into bushes and dirt. I was going maybe 35-40 mph and I narrowly missed trees, rocks, metal poles, etc. Really makes you reconsider things. I was being stupid, no more of that.

The SV650 will become a street-fighter/bobber project that I'll be doing in parallel. The KZ1000p is now my daily ride and it has been great. I'm also starting to do some work at the shop because I enjoy it and I want to learn. It's a kind of an apprenticeship I suppose. I've had 5 good friends move out of state over the last few months so I have a lot of free time. The garage is all setup and I've been working every day when I get home until dark.

I got the replacement rear brake cylinder for the rear set and it works great. This week my goal is to find something to mount the rear sets to that could be be screwed into the frame with spacers. These should be put on next week if everything goes to plan. I plan to keep the rear sets more upright and only a little bit back, I'm going for the street tracker style. They line up perfectly with the frame and should look really nice. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures. Wiring is next, I'm going to start buying everything I need over the next couple weeks. I also need to start selling all these parts on eBay to make room.

Glad to gear you are ok. It's amazing how quickly things an go bad. Ed

I didn't do much, just replaced the turn signals and rear brake light with something much lighter and lower profile. I also chopped the fender off a bit more. I really like how it's looking.

Here is a video of the highlights of a recent ride to Julian. (10 mins)



I'm very happy with how the bike handles, the wide handlebars are great. It was running very rich and sounds just like popcorn!

I bough some 0.25'' thick aluminum that will be cut into a bracket for attaching the rear sets and to the frame.
I'd like to use one of the existing threads in the frame and maybe tap another. The other option is to weld cylinders to the frame that can be tapped. I know where I'm going to mount them and they flow nicely into the frame.

Ahhh, oil leaks!

After riding it daily for a couple weeks it's started to leak oil again. I was thinking it was out the shift rod however I already replaced all the seals there. It looks like it may be leaking out the right side cover and possibly the bottom case (hoping that is just dripping along the bottom). I notice some other oil residue so I'm going to clean everything today to get a good idea where all the leaks originate.

Good news is that I have many of the gaskets, bad news is that I may need to pull the engine. I got all the hardware for the rear-sets and drilled one of the mounting holes. It will be easy to do them with the engine out.

I may start looking for a 3rd bike, would give me the time to properly go through the KZ.

I've also been sometimes hear a chirping sound under acceleration. I heard this when I first got the bike but it stopped after I had the top rebuilt only to come back intermittently. I assume air is getting by somewhere.

Lots of work to do.

I cleaned up all the gasket edges and found two leaks.

A small one is on the right engine cover that contains the pickup coil assembly. It may need a new oil seal and gasket.

The bad one is pictured below. At first I was thinking that it was leaking from my shift rod, however I just replaced all the seals.



It turns out that the case was previously sealed with some gasket sealer that has started to leak. I think that I'll have to pull the engine to get to it. I'll know for sure tomorrow.



If I need to pull the engine I'm going to want to do a lot more to it. Perhaps paint the frame and engine. Not having a motorcycle to ride would drive me crazy.

It doesn't look like I'll have to remove the engine but I won't know for sure until I fix the two leaks that I can see. Ordered a couple oil seals for the pickup coil and sprocket shaft. I wonder why they opened the engine behind the sprocket in the past?

Probably doing it this weekend. Progress has been slow with two projects and work. It being my primary transportation sure doesn't help.

I have an extra set of handlebar controls and grips from my SV650 2006-2007 GSXR 750 front-end swap that I'd love to put on my KZ1000p. I'll be looking into this.

Looks good, glad your ok after the accident, good luck with those leaks

It took some work but all the leaks seem to be gone.
The big leak was caused by the clutch push rod. It looks like the chain or someone being stupid marred the push rod near the oil seal causing the seal to fail. The replacement push rod is steel rather than aluminum and it didn't have the groves in it. It does seem to make shifting a little more crisp. The best part is that it no longer leaks oil all over my rear tire that would spray oil all over my back seat and backpack. I will say that my chain was very well oiled.







Here it is at work after a good cleaning and finally leak free. You can see all my old oil stains from the previous two weeks. I always park in the same spot because I can see it from my desk on the 3rd floor. The more I ride the bike the more I like it and get a feel for it. It gets me though 15 miles of stand still rush hour traffic to and from work in about 18-20 minutes. I don't know how people in other states do it without lane splitting, wouldn't you overheat?





You can see the extra bolt on the side where I'm going to try and mount the rear sets.





I have these 2006-2007 GSX-R 750/600 hand controls left over from my SV650 front-end swap. When I do the wiring I should be able to swap them over. The main change is that the headlight would always be on because there is no headlight switch. I have been riding with my headlight on all the time anyway so it should be fine. I could always just add a switch later.

VH makes three baffles for their pipes. Stage one stock, stage two hot street and stage three track. I bought 2 and three when I bought the pipes. I'm running stage 2 and jetting wasn't that big of a deal. I have 33 mm carbs so it isn't stock anyway. The stage 3 sounded like what you have without the popping. TOO LOUD! Fun though. What did you do with the side box guards? Might be interested.
Steve

swest wrote:

The stage 3 sounded like what you have without the popping. TOO LOUD! Fun though. What did you do with the side box guards? Might be interested.
Steve

The V&H sounds great with the stock baffle and all the wadding removed. It pops a lot but it's running rich and was tuned at sea level, it still needs to tweaking. The baffle was removed in the first video I posted and the ride to Julian was with the baffle in and was running overly rich due to the elevation. I don't take the baffle out anymore, I'd likely get pulled over or go deaf. The stage 2 baffle sounds like something I should try.

If you're talking about the air box chrome sides I still have those. I still have almost all the parts that I pulled off it besides the Police 1000 side cover that flew off on the freeway somewhere.