1981 KZ750 H LTD

Hi Guys,
Wanted a place to keep all my photos. Bought this bike a few weeks ago. Its my first motorcycle and project really. I have no idea how to ride (can't wait to learn) and I've never worked on anything like this before, so I'm doing this really as a learning experience. I don't quite have a goal yet, I'm hoping itll come to me along the way.

Here she is the first day I brought her back. PO had it in his back yard after he couldn't get it to start anymore. 450$ and a short ride later and she was mine. For a 35 year old bike its in pretty solid condition. Tank looks great, no real rust, just some grime and a torn up seat.



New battery, gas, oil and filters in and a little bit of patience and I managed to get her started


Starting dissassembly.


Some things are easier to take apart than others. The electrical system wasn't terrible. But it was pretty mangled and all the connections needed cleaning. There was a lot of this.

And this

So I decided to rip out the entire harness and go the M-Unit route. As an engineer, I appreciate the old mechanical systems, but I hate the old electronics

Some mechanical disassembly, making some room


I'm not a fan of the old handle bars so I switched from this

to a superbike style


And here I am today, just playing on the jack



The goal is to keep breaking it down and get it to just a frame so I can have it sandblasted and painted, and work my way back up. I'm going to go with new controls (electrical and physical) just because I'll feel much more confident doing that myself.

And I know how sacrilegious it is to remove old parts so I have everything saved and set aside. Some of its a little worse for wear, turn signal is jacked up and the exhaust rusted through and snapped when I removed it, If anyone is in need of parts just PM me and we can talk

Welcome.
Steve

Nice, These are really fun bikes, fast too. I have an 81 and and 82. It looks like the cross pipe is missing from your exhaust.

dom2570 wrote: Nice, These are really fun bikes, fast too. I have an 81 and and 82. It looks like the cross pipe is missing from your exhaust.

Hahahaha unfortunately its still on the other half of the exhaust. it was 95% rotted through when I pull the exhaust and it just snapped in the process. I planned on switching to a 4-1 exhaust anyways.

Welcome!
I have the same bike, great and fun to ride. Keep up the good work.

So I've been working on this quite a bit and realized I haven't posted an update.

With some help from a friend I got this monster out. It too, is just disgusting. The PO let it sit outside for two years. It shows.


Frame cleaned up and up in my painting "booth". I didn't get it powder coated because I'm really trying to keep costs down and I'm really trying to rebuild this 100% myself.


This is what I'm dealing with with the engine.


Definitely making progress on cleaning. Pistons are nice and shiny again. It looks like I do have a single bad valve, confirming what the PO believed was wrong with it. Still deciding how to go about fixing it.

Now for the nice pictures!
Forks, fender, frame. All painted. Wheels are being cleaned up, I'm going to stick with the stock silver and black. Going to be the theme for the whole bike. New shocks also installed.

Drag handlebar installed. All new controls in progress.


Currently waiting on a new head gasket and cylinder base gasket. The engine is pretty stripped and cleaned, but can't finish putting it together until I get those parts. Once I have everything the whole block will be painted black to match the rest of the bike.

I know the all black isn't for everyone. But its definitely my preference when it comes to vehicles: