My first 440 "cafè'ish" build.

Chain slack should be less than an inch at it's tightest point.


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I think your tire pressure is too high. i would start at the recommended factory setting and change form there if you like. I think its like 28/30 but you should check to be sure. Take a straight edge and place it on your sprockets. they should be on the same plane. Dropping the forks through the trees can have a significant effect on handling, because by lowering the front end you are shortening the trail, making the bike more responsive but also less stable. Usually you can get away with an inch or so, if you lowered then 2.25" and went to a 18" you have lost at least 2.75" in the front, and gained an 1/8th inch in the rear(stock is 12.5"), compounding the issue. This could likely be the source of your problems... I would put them to stock and see if the problem persists. Also if it hasn't been beaten to death enough already.... fork brace needed.

heres is some reading on rake and trail if you are interested....

www.motorcycle-superstore.com/4125/mngr/...trail-explained.aspx

So the wobble still hasn't occurred since the first experience. Haven't made any adjustments except tire pressure and readjusted the chain sagg (thanks Vic and Nebr) but now a more pressing problem has risen as I was exiting the freeway to work this morn. Was a little wet and windy this morn, no biggie. It's about 12.7miles from my place to work. Near the exit the bike started feeling like I was running out of gas which wasn't the case cause I just filled up last night? So coming down the hill of my exit the motor starts making an audible "knock" thats consistent with the rpms. The knock is only happening in the higher rpms though. I'm freaking now cause I still had another mile before I get to my shop!? I did my best to keep the revs low for that mile. Bike still idles but it's a little lower than before. Oil is between the lines in the window. Did a valve adjustment weeks ago to spec. which improved engine/carb performance. Oil is Maxima premium4 10/40 and a K/N filter. Before the bike came of the table fresh oil and filter was added, put 1k miles on it or so and changed both again just 2 weeks ago. Gonna hook up an oil pressure gauge inline with the sensor and see what that shows. Any other thoughts would be fantastic as fuck! Lol..thanks guys!!


ed

Sounds like a rod bearing.


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Nebr_Rex wrote: Sounds like a rod bearing.
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That's what I'm assuming? Smh..I've heard rid knock plenty of times on cars an such, never heard it on a bike but it surely sounds the same I didn't have any type of oil pressure gauge for the sake of it so went on ahead and put new a filter. The old oil looked a bit on the darker grey side like carbon was getting in it, didn't see any glitter or shavings though. Anyways, new oil and the knock is 90% gone. The odd thing now is when I first started it, the knock was there like all the oil was gone but went away after the bike started. It's still audible ever so slightly but I'm still reluctant to ride it home? Where's a good source for rod bearings and a gasket set? Went to Z1's web but didn't see any choice for bearings?
Actually they have brown. Not sure what color I have yet so gonna wait to order thems.


ed

if the crank specs out, grab any for pickings are slim.


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So gonna start tearing down my motor to fix the rod knock. I feel pretty good that I caught it earlier enough and took precautionary measures while riding with it, that I didn't do any major damage. Before I can order any kind of bearings, I gotta get to the crank. if worse comes to worse, I can give Brian a call at Crower and see if he can source me something? I'm gonna try to get this done within a weeks time hopefully? I'll definitely look over everything else as I've been reading and studying the manual on kz400.com religiously!!
Here's a list of things I've got in hopes to make this as easy and painless as possible..

Ziploc bags of various sizes...CHECK.
Roll of masking tape for labeling said bags...CHECK
New sharpies to write on said tape to label said bags...CHECK
Rags...CHECK
Various micrometers? :whistle: ...CHECK
Repair manual.(it's a digital PDF on my ipad)..so...CHECK
Brush to clean(motor ain't dirty though..jic )...CHECK
Music...CHECK
Peace and quiet so I won't get side tracked(have the shop all to myself right now)...CHECK
Cans of paint since it'll be torn down...CHECK
Gasket kit on order...CHECK
Tools...CHECK
Preparedness for the worst?...small check :dry:

If you think I might need anything else or got any last minute tips, feel free. as this mission is gonna be underway in roughly an hour PST



ed

happy hunting!

leon

boooo! my ipad foiled me. Had a lengthy post too. Anyways, took a week off work (along with some other close friends and fams) to spend some QT with a nephew of ours that got diagnosed with Danons disease..enough with the tmpi emo stuff.

Finally split the case earlier today and firmed that the left cylinder is the culprit. Now this is where I got confused or it just got weird? Both the crank and rods were unmarked, no color stamp on the front. Mic'd the bad rod journal on the crank, 34.91mm. Going off the numbers from the manual on kz400.com the service limit is 34.97? Big end of the rod came in @37.94. I measured everything 3 or more X's with 2 different calipers. The crank looks like it can get a minimal amount of grinding done then a polish. The measurements are whats throwing me off? Im guessing i should now hunt down a pair of green coded(1097) bearing halves? That is if the crank is reusable? The scoring is minimal at best. If it were a honda civic, id squirt some WD40 on a sheet of 600 up to 1000-1200, clean it real good, make sure theres no severe play as well as nothing binding up then call it a day! Been there done that.

Oh and on a side note, I wanted to see just how hard it was to pull the motor from the frame rather than pulling the frame from the motor laid on its side. Omfg..what a PITA!! Will do the "lay on its side" method when the time comes. Then i thought of something thats used on a lot of sandrails now a days.
weld a pair of these in one of the lower frame tubes?


The business end of the crank..


another angle..



You can see a hot spot on the cap but the crosshatching is still clearly visible. but heres cap and the ugly shells..whats left of them anyways.




Motor isnt totally disassembled yet, just wanted to get to the knocking one. The mains seem more readily available so 4 pairs of the right ones are on my list. Im trying to find a "seal kit". Ive seen a few for a 750 and 1000.
So now im requesting guidance from the forums Kawi gurus once again...pwease I refuse to let a bearing prevent me from enjoying my KZ. I saw a 440 crank with attached rods no pistons for a good deal? I think that might be the route ill be informed to take? Thanks in advance fellas!


ed

Polish the crank. Don't worry about bearing color unless you can find ZR7[?] bearings.
KZ650,750/4,ZR7 use the same. Bearing cap is ok. Buyer beware on crank assemblies.
I once drove 3 hrs. one way to find out it was in the same condition as yours. No seal
[kit] I'm aware of. Last I knew all seals are available except the clutch push rod seal.
A valve stem seal can be used with an original taking up the difference to the cases.


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Nebr_Rex wrote: Polish the crank. Don't worry about bearing color unless you can find ZR7[?] bearings.
KZ650,750/4,ZR7 use the same. Bearing cap is ok. Buyer beware on crank assemblies.
I once drove 3 hrs. one way to find out it was in the same condition as yours. No seal
[kit] I'm aware of. Last I knew all seals are available except the clutch push rod seal.
A valve stem seal can be used with an original taking up the difference to the cases.
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Thanks for that precious info Neb. So the color code crosses over..That'll broaden the selection for me. Just using kz440 in google gives me 2 links and the funny thing about that is they're posts/threads by or from you..lol One link comes here and the other takes me to DTT. Damn crafty with that EFI setup. Ever hear of a company called "splitsecond" .
Of course the push rod is the first to change. All the lower seals, even the clutch rod are still the consistency of a soft rubber as opposed to a dried out 30+y orig that is two days from being plastic.


ed

So just to clarify, get any color but I'm assuming as long as it's a set. Like don't mate up a green with a brown?


Ed