Hi - 1975 KZ400D

Edit: i meant to post in new members, but I guess I will need a project thread anyway. Hello all, I'll keep progress of my KZ400D right here. I have no major plans for the motorcycle yet… just want to get her running right. Your comments and help will be appreciated.

Gallery:
imgur.com/a/QJbgs

Connectors from carburetor to airbox are dried up and torn. Unfortunate. I think I've read that airbox parts are hard to come by, is that why so many people run pods? Anyways, next up is inspecting the carbs. Should be educational.

I think that most people run pods from the misinformation that they make the bike run better or that it will be cheaper than running the stock air box ( if broken or missing). Since better is really an opinion , lets just say that stock is maximum efficiency ( fuel, power.....) And it is by far not cheaper to rejet and put pods on these bikes. The easiest thing to do is purchase the boots that fit the airbox/carbs new or off ebay. On a side note, looks like you have a real gem in the rough!

Yes.. that bike is too sweet to mod it all out.
And I agree with punisher.... find some replacement boots.
$$$ well worth it.
I have a small fortune in brass from trying to run pods on twins and big four Kawasaki bikes!!!
I'm not 100% sure if I every felt any improvement in power with any pod system I've ever used, except in a crazy custom system on the old Z1, which also used modified velocity stacks with small UNI pods tucked and crammed in front of the battery area.
And I still had many tens of dollars in various jets with that set up plus what seemed like a 100 hours of fab work....so there was ZERO dollar savings.

punisher11b wrote: I think that most people run pods from the misinformation that they make the bike run better or that it will be cheaper than running the stock air box ( if broken or missing). Since better is really an opinion , lets just say that stock is maximum efficiency ( fuel, power.....) And it is by far not cheaper to rejet and put pods on these bikes. The easiest thing to do is purchase the boots that fit the airbox/carbs new or off ebay. On a side note, looks like you have a real gem in the rough!

missionkz wrote: Yes.. that bike is too sweet to mod it all out.
And I agree with punisher.... find some replacement boots.
$$$ well worth it.
I have a small fortune in brass from trying to run pods on twins and big four Kawasaki bikes!!!
I'm not 100% sure if I every felt any improvement in power with any pod system I've ever used, except in a crazy custom system on the old Z1, which also used modified velocity stacks with small UNI pods tucked and crammed in front of the battery area.
And I still had many tens of dollars in various jets with that set up plus what seemed like a 100 hours of fab work....so there was ZERO dollar savings.

Thanks for the comments guys. I've set a modest goal of simply getting this gal running, and have something enjoyable to ride some spring time. No plans on major modifications. Also, this is my first go at something like this, so I'm trying to take it slow and not get overwhelmed.

I can't lie, last night I looked at those cracked boots and asked what else is wrong / what have I gotten myself into…  I guess that's part of the process.

There are going to be a lot of little things like that you will need to replace or put some serious elbow grease into in order to get the bike back to normal. Take your time and have some fun with it. :silly: In the end those bikes run forever once you have them back in good condition and maintained. So fix one piece at a time and remember that your building a bike of a higher quality than almost anything new! :woohoo:

Following. She's a beauty! I'm rebuilding a '75 kz400S right now. (no power start).
I love the paint scheme you have. Real sporty!

I've been having difficulty finding replacement air cleaner ducts but finally stumbled upon them at this site: mcshop.dk/ . Does anyone have any experience with purchases from this site?

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Thanks man. I wish you the best with your KZ. I'm really excited at the thought of doing this right, but I also just want to get her running to go for a quick ride. Ha.

There were posts on the old kawasaki twins forum (dont know if it still exists) that alluded to using fernco plumbing adapters (did it on a 750 twin myself) not sure what size tho. Might be worth looking into

Try here, if its not listed call to see about having them made. www.claussstudios.com/index.html

Kidkawie wrote: Try here, if its not listed call to see about having them made. www.claussstudios.com/index.html

Really appreciate the tip Kidkawie. He doesn't have the part but I sent an email to see if it can be fabricated.