- Posts: 854
- Thank you received: 255
'78 KZ1000 Ugly Duckling
- Rick H.
- Offline
- User
Rick H.
Rick H.
1977 Kawasaki KZ-1000A1
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Buzz Nichols
- Topic Author
- Offline
- Sustaining Member
- Posts: 217
- Thank you received: 110
Thanks for the input, everybody.
Is this thing working? Is this thing on?
1978 KZ1000 LTD
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Buzz Nichols
- Topic Author
- Offline
- Sustaining Member
- Posts: 217
- Thank you received: 110
Attachment 3452801-1598750758-341025.jpg not found
The seller doesn't know the year and (it sounds like) can't be bothered to decode the info from the steering neck. This is the only photo he's posted. Can anyone identify enough design points to put a year to this bike? The final drive, tank, and wheels make me suspect '80-ish, but I'm betting somebody here can ventrue a way more educated guess.
I like the mkii-style tank, and I'd love to have a spare lump. I initially asked the seller what he'd want for the tank, and he said $40, although he didn't specify whether that would come with the cap and petcock. I haven't yet heard back about what he wants for the whole machine. It would be a 2.5 hour road trip to get it—or to look it over.
What do you think; should I pursue it, and what's it worth?
Is this thing working? Is this thing on?
1978 KZ1000 LTD
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- 9er rider
- Offline
- Sustaining Member
- Keep a cool tool
- Posts: 580
- Thank you received: 87
76 kz 900 1075 76 kz 900 a4 78 kz 1000 ltd
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Buzz Nichols
- Topic Author
- Offline
- Sustaining Member
- Posts: 217
- Thank you received: 110
9er rider wrote: Parts is parts untill it runs!
...which raises the question of whether this is really a parts bike, or another project altogether. Just in case I settle on the latter, how do the KZ shafties stack up? More trouble? Less?
Also, has anybody dealt with getting an abandonment/salvage title in Utah? I know that's not a big deal in some states, and in other states...
Is this thing working? Is this thing on?
1978 KZ1000 LTD
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- kzstreetfighter71
- Offline
- User
- Atlantic West Coast
- Posts: 876
- Thank you received: 250
06 Gsf 1200 bandit, 08 Triumph tiger 1010
05 Yam xv1700 , 02 Hon shadow 1100
1975 Z1 (currently working on)
1977 Z1000 ( running and in storage)
1978 Z1000 (currently working on)
1978 Z1r "skinny tank" (currently working on)
1978 Z1r "fat tank (gathering parts)
1979 z1000st (currently working on)
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Buzz Nichols
- Topic Author
- Offline
- Sustaining Member
- Posts: 217
- Thank you received: 110
Anyhoo...
The bike's running nicely now, although it leaks oil like the Exxon friggin' Valdez. I'll effect a top end rebuild after the holidays, which is the soonest my budget will be reset. In the meantime, I figured I'd do what I can for free, and that got me thinking; I titled this thread "Ugly Duckling" because I wanted a title that's easy to find, and because I found the bike as left by the PO pretty homely. It occurs to now that a lot of that homeliness can be attributed to the PO's decision to lose the rear fender and the ducktail that IMHO did an awful lot to make these bikes pretty.
Somewhere there must be a "How to customize a motorcycle" website where it says "Step 1: remove the back fender." Whoever is behind that foolishness needs to be stopped. But I digress.
I don't think I'll be able to fabricate a good looking ducktail without pulling a mold off one—and I don't have one. Therefore, I think I'll make a simple bump stop cowl seat, It's entirely possible that could look stupid on this bike, so I'm going to make it so it mounts onto the existing hinges. That way, even if I do like it, I can always swap it out for the original seat. So, here goes:
I had some steel pipe hanging around that had the same ID as the OD of the frame rails:
So then I did a little CAD (cardboard aided design) work:
That got around the inner fender. I mocked it up with a piece of ABS, but I didn't have any suitable steel tubing, and ultimately decided it would be better to build a flat bridge out of sheet metal. I harvested the metal from this old backboard:
It's pretty darned heavy (12 gauge), but it's free, and it's got convenient 90 degree bends all around it—a real bonus for a guy without a metal brake. So after a bunch of cutting, grinding, and welding, I came up with this:
Then I made a mount for a tail light and made some hinges with 90 degree backboard brackets and a few old bushings I had hanging around:
I climbed on and decided the front of the little sheet metal "bridge" was a good (and convenient) location for the bump stop, so I mocked it and a cowl up with a piece of 1/4" plywood, some poster board, and painter's tape:
It's getting to be way more of a cafe racer aesthetic than I had originally intended; I'm no purist about that stuff (or much else), but I usually think bigger bikes tend to look a little odd cafe'd. Still, I gotta say, I'm pretty happy with how it's looking. I'm also happy knowing I can pull it off and put the old seat back on if the finished product underwhelms me. Moreover, even if I do like it, I'm likely to snap up an original fender and tail piece if they crop up, and I think it's kind of cool that, with minimal work, I could have a totally different looking bike on short notice.
Is this thing working? Is this thing on?
1978 KZ1000 LTD
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Skidmark
- Offline
- User
- Posts: 1071
- Thank you received: 265
Retired gearhead
'81 KZ-750 E2
'87 Suzuki Savage 650 Street Tracker (lost in the shop fire)
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Buzz Nichols
- Topic Author
- Offline
- Sustaining Member
- Posts: 217
- Thank you received: 110
I formed it from a piece of thin steel I found in my backyard; I think it might have been a panel off of a defunct swamp cooler. It was thin enough to bend with main strength (I don't have a slip roll, an English wheel, or any cool stuff like that) and, really, too thin for my big mig welder. Unfortunately, I just discovered my little mig welder is in need of some attention before it's once more operational. The upshot was, a little welding and a ton of grinding. Still, I'm digging the look so far. I reckon I'll find an old camp mat (I know I've got several) and some upholstery—maybe an old leather jacket, if I can find a 2nd hand store that's open despite the pandemic.
I'm thinking plywood with countersunk carriage bolts to attach the upholstery to the horizontal panel (which I made to attach to the stock mounting hardware) and upholstery attached to plywood with rare earth magnets epoxied into mortises (so I don't have to figure out hinges or anything) for the bump-stop. If anybody has better ideas or insights, I'm totally open to that.
Is this thing working? Is this thing on?
1978 KZ1000 LTD
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Buzz Nichols
- Topic Author
- Offline
- Sustaining Member
- Posts: 217
- Thank you received: 110
I've had this set of Valter Moto rearsets hanging around for years—somebody bought them new and decided he couldn't use them, so he put them on Ebay for $50. I bought them, figuring I'd find a use for them eventually. Here they are on the mounting plates:
Is this thing working? Is this thing on?
1978 KZ1000 LTD
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Buzz Nichols
- Topic Author
- Offline
- Sustaining Member
- Posts: 217
- Thank you received: 110
I had a sudden, uniform drop in compression (mid-60's) so I bit the bullet and tore down the engine. This is what I found:
...and pretty much the rest of the timing system is junk. I'm waiting for stuff from Liska and from Z1 Enterprises. Meanwhile, the case halves, cylinder block, and head are off to be vapor honed. While I waited for that, I decided to do a little arts-and-crafts
to inform a little drilling
I didn't intend the innermost holes to be on the shoulder of the disc (I rubber cemented the templates to the back side of each disc so it could sit flat on the drill press), but I'm hoping they'll look cool once they're on the bike.
I've done a bunch of other stuff, but I won't be near the shop until after the weekend. I'll post pics and seek advice then.
Is this thing working? Is this thing on?
1978 KZ1000 LTD
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- 78z1Joe
- Offline
- User
- My man cave is my garage....
- Posts: 85
- Thank you received: 21
1978 KZ 1000
1982 GS 300 training bike
Previous Rides...
75 RD 350
72 CB 500 Four
72 SL 125
71 CT 70
69 3 1/2 HP mini bike
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.