1979 KZ1000 LTD B3 Help wanted - Bike will not start

Took off the pistons this morning and I just came back to see my Kawa guy.

He says cylinders 1 and 4 will not be OK after honing. To do a proper job he would need to send them to get bored, he would bore all 4 by 1mm to 71 mm. The cost is $350 CAD ($250 USD) plus I am going to need a Wiseco kit which I can buy from Z1 for $523 USD plus shipping = $580. So total of $830 USD or $1,100 CAD.

He said if it were him, a good alternative would be to stay on the lookout for a decent running bike for the same price and I would have all of the extra parts to work with.

Plus he says I need to check the head out real good to see if the valves are good and factor all of that in my decision.

I am a bit bummed out by all of that but he is a good mechanic and good advise. I will ponder all of that this week.

Got my valve compressor and my seals so I am going to look at that in the next few days.

There are a couple for sale on ebay, but you take your chance that the cylinders are still good. I've bought two sets that way and had no issues but....

If you did that you could use the old pistons with new rings. Assuming they meet spec, just get your Kaw guy to hone the cylinders before installing them. Anything between 1977 and 1980 KZ1000 will fit.

Marty (z1kzonly) has a excellent deal on a stock setup.
Steve
kzrider.com/forum/13-bike-related/604362...ere?start=180#785880

Marty (z1kzonly) has a excellent deal on a stock setup.
Steve
kzrider.com/forum/13-bike-related/604362...ere?start=180#785880

The real deal was sold 24 hours ago. Would be a low price replacement but it´s to late.

GOTTA BE QUICK
Steve

SWest wrote: GOTTA BE QUICK
Steve

Yep but the verdict fell yesterday afternoon. Too bad because its a nice clean head and I think it would have worked out great.

I am not going to worry about it. I know that worse case scenario I can go and do the bore/wiseco option. Saw it on Amazon for a much better price too which would bring my overall cost down to $994 CAD ($750 USD)

I will be watching Kijiji, Ebay and this forum and be on the lookout for cylinders and pistons.

Is a KZ more desirable with a stock setup ? Or a Wiseco setup or it does not really matter ?

I have a ton of stuff do on the bike, need to finish cleaning off the cylinder base, the head, polish the ports, remove the valves, change the seals, fix the clutch etc etc so plenty of stuff to do. I am not going to get myself discouraged and this bike is going to run.

New Wiseco's would be the better choice. I'll be going 1105 next time around.
Steve

Some people prefer stock and some prefer non-stock. It's probably a more important issue with visible parts..not so much with internal parts. My B4 has a '78 head on it. The carbs are '76. Lots of other non-stock parts. My Z1's are as stock as I can get them, but there is a heavy price to pay for that.

hardrockminer wrote: Some people prefer stock and some prefer non-stock. It's probably a more important issue with visible parts..not so much with internal parts. My B4 has a '78 head on it. The carbs are '76. Lots of other non-stock parts. My Z1's are as stock as I can get them, but there is a heavy price to pay for that.

That's what I figured. My bike not being an exotic like say a Zr-1, I figure I can pretty much go either way depending on what deal I can find.

I took out the valves out during my lunch break. The tool I bought worked great. In general the valves look good and straight. The bases have carbon deposits. The intake oil seals came out easily and still had some rubber properties while the exhaust valves were hard, difficult to remove and broke into bits.

I will post some pics later tonight.

I went with the Wiseco's because the stock ones cost as much if not more than them. I also had to replace the valves. Wound up getting more power with the 10.25/1 1015 kit rather than 8.5/1 903 stockers. I bought the bike as a rider not a show piece. 43 years later, 200,000+ miles on it, still running and I RIDE THE PISS OUT OF IT. :woohoo:
This time around I got a good used block and put it back together.
I'd get Viton valve guide seals not the kind you get in a gasket kit.
BTW, Z1's are only worth a lot if they're low mile originals. :whistle:
Otherwise they're Franken bikes like mine. :lol:
Steve

And always use a condom for the new valve seals. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
The condom i am talking about is a plastic tube that goes over the valve stem (valve keeper groove), to protect the sealing lip of the new valve seal to cut and damaged by the sharp edge of the valve keeper groove.

kzrider.com/forum/11-projects/607620-197...ject?start=20#780153





Michael

Never used one. :lol:
Steve