Carb Conversion '80 Z1

My brother bought a new Z1 Classic in 1980 and after 6000 miles, for reasons he does not remember, climbed off and never rode it again. Now he has a GL1800 and wants to sell the Z1. Of course after all those years, it will not run. Took it to a couple of Kaw shops and they say he needs injection parts that cannot be found. It is a great bike and if I can do a carb conversion, I will take it off his hands and ride it myself. It is in cherry condition and would hate to just give it away. Need opinions and a ball park on parts costs. Appreciate the help.

carbs and ignition no big deal!:whistle:

i see on ebay where a lot of people switched them over to carbs with great results they say

The cylinder head is a bit different as the injectors are fitted into ports in the head. I am pretty sure these can be capped and then you will need to buy a new throttle cable and intake manifold. Depending on which type carburetors you choose, you may or may not be able to use the stock airbox due to venturi size differences. Since you will have to choose the carburetor type you want to mount to cost the project, it isn't possible to give you a specific cost at this point. Drop me a note at lesho@bigfoot.com if you need more help with this.

Scoot!

Another option to explore may be to replace the entire fuel injection system including the computer...this isn't as far-fetched as it may sound. If you aren't in a hurry, then watch eBay...since many people did exactly what you said you are planning to do (convert to carbs), there are FI systems bumping around and appearing on eBay...for very reasonable costs. For example, I have a FI 1982 GPz1100 and I picked up a spare set of injectors with throttle bodies and another computer for less than US$100.00. The K shops are correct...parts ain't available from Kawasaki but eBay is a remarkable resource! In the long run, the G model will be worth more unconverted (=stock) than with a carb conversion.

Fix the EFI. IMO it's better than carbs in terms of ongoing maintenance and fuel economy. Have an 82 here with EFI and am converting a 87 police engine to EFI. You can go cheap and get used model specific parts or spend a few $hundred more and get an aftermarket controller kit (megasquirt) and throttle bodies/injectors off a late model bike. Might even be able to adapt the controller off a late model bike if you could find one with programmable mapping (anyone know of models which allow this???)

If you're in the Atlanta area, I'll be happy to lend a hand. I just picked up a setup for testing fuel injectors (at the thrift store of all places). Haven't tried it out yet but...real soon.

-Duck

Without being close to one of you genuises to guide me, I am leaning toward running down the FI parts, now that I know where to look for them. I am in norhern California. It would seem the easiest way
to go. I have not done any appreciable work on a bike for thirty years and never anything concerning FI. Not knowing what you are doing could cost double what it should through trial and error. Anyway, you good folks provided three or four good options. If I get myself into trouble, I will be whining back to the forum.

Scoot wrote:

Not knowing what you are doing could cost double what it should through trial and error.

Ha! There are more of us than you think that don't know what we are doing!

yeah but were having a good time though!:whistle:

Would that be the Blind leading the Blind ?:whistle: These guys know more than they let on .. But all has a good time doing it :whistle:

Keep it stock, it's worth a bunch more in stock condition.

KZCSI