1980 KZ 750 resurrection

Hi all,

I just picked up a new project, it's a 1980 KZ750E. It has been sitting for about 10 years and needs some TLC to get it going again. I saw it on CL and thought I would go take a look and it was mostly complete, so $300 later I was on my way home. A previous owner removed the carbs and disassembled them and then gave up. I got the four carbs that I think came off this bike and four additional parts carbs that are similar but not the same. All the carb parts were dumped in a bucket and unfortunately some parts are missing. Here is a picture of the bike.

When I picked it up we couldn't get spark, but after sorting out some wiring issues last night I got spark and was able to get it to "pop" over with a little starting fluid put into the intake. The brakes were dragging badly, the paint is heavily faded, the hand grips are gone, the carbs are a mess but the seat is good so I can at least sit on it and make engine noises .

Today I sorted out the bucket of carburetor parts and determined I have most of the one set of carbs. I will need gaskets and some o-rings and one mixture screw. These are not the original carbs that came with the bike, I think they are Mikuni smooth bore carburetors, but I am not 100% sure nor do I know the size. Let me know if you recognize them. The only markins I can find besides the Mikuni name is a R67 on one side of the mounting flange and the number 299 on the other.

I am not sure how I want this bike to be original, cafe racer, or? I really like the idea of a cafe racer based on some I have seen, so I am leaning that way for now. First I want to get it running and mechanically sound before I do much custom work.

I started on the brakes today. The rear caliper was sticking badly and the fronts weren't much better. I removed all the calipers and the master cylinder on the handlebar. Disassembled them and cleaned out the old fluid and crud. I have a small bead blaster so I cleaned them each up and am just waiting on new seals.

I scored a clean (meaning not horrendously hacked apart by a well meaning but low skilled mechanic) rack of carbs. I will have to soak the jets and a few other parts and it should run like new. Started painting a few of the smaller parts today. Slowly progressing.

The US market 750's came with Keihin CV type carbs. Before messing with those VM's any further you may want to check to see if they fit into the carb holders on the head. You may have to either get some 650 carb holders or just get a set of the proper carbs.

That's what I was thinking. That is why it was only $300. Even if you pay $300 more for a good set of original carbs, you're still ahead of the game.
Steve

I should have been more clear on my last post but the suggestion of getting a clean set of Keihin carbs is exactly what I did. I also had a new set of carb boots and a owners manual put in on the deal. So the carb issue is some what resolved now.

That was a hell of a deal for $300. What else is wrong with it? New batterY?
steve

It has a lot of little things wrong with it. The brakes were hanging up and needed to be cleaned/rebuilt, the wiring had a few issues, fork seals, and it sat outside for some time so the paint is really faded. On the good side the seat is clean and not tore up, the tank is clean inside, mostly complete, clean title, etc. I'm looking forward to getting it going and having a little fun with it this summer.

Work has been really busy and I haven't done much in the shop lately. But tonight I was able to put some of the painted pieces back on the bike. so a few hours of sorting hardware, cleaning little bits, and assembly and it starts to look like a bike again. I will have to get some pictures in the next few days.

It's been a while but here are a few pictures of the bike as of the other day...