Handlebar adjustment - a newbie lesson learned

Hi folks,
As a fairly new owner of an '81 KZ750 LTD, I had been bothered by the roto-tiller look and feel of the handlebars and had been toying with the idea of replacing them with shorter ones. However, wanting to keep the bike original as it is now had its attraction.
So, while spending quality time in the garage with the bike and plenty of beer, it occured to me that I could have my cake and eat it too. This could be accomplished by simply angling the handlebars towards the rider with a few quick turns of four bolts. I was very pleased with the results and really enjoyed riding it like that Sunday afternoon. It felt a little more sporty and my hands didn't fall asleep as quickly.
Monday arrived and it was time to go to work. I made it about two blocks and the brake light indicator on my gauges was staying on. I turned it around and woke up my wife to drive me to work (never a pleasant experience).
After replacing the bulb for good measure I soon realized that the brake light was certainly working, it just wouldn't go out. I immediately suspected my recent handlebar adjustment figuring that I had stretched the cable for the front brakes or something.
After an embarrassingly long troubleshooting period, I came to know that the rear brake pedal was not springing back as it should. Which brings us to my newbie lesson, patient reader.
The brake fluid reservior sits on the top of the handlebars next to the front brake lever. This crazy angle I subjected it to hampered the flow of brake fluid into the system affecting the rear brake master cylinder first, as it is farther away.
The fix was to restore the original handlebar angle and pump the living daylights out of the rear brake with the engine running. It took a lot longer than I thought it would and this method only really found purchase when I rode it around the block a few times.
The moral of the story is, very skilled engineers set those handlebars just so for a reason! I suppose if I really wanted to adjust them back down, I could also change the angle that the brake fluid reservior sits. I think I like it better at the original angle anyway.

Regards,
Jon

thought a bout doing that myself thanks for the heads up

How is the front master cylinder connected to the rear cylinder. I did not know that Kawaski had intergrated braking.
My Guzzi Convert has it but Kawaski???

you got me too?:blink:

Glad I'm not the only one scratchin' his noggin over this one.:S
However....since you mention Master cyl angle, I checked mine (just put on clubman bars). Upon closer inspection....the angle does seem a bit radical. Didnt even notice when I took the picture shown on 2nd page of this thread:
kzrider.com/component/option,com_joomlab...iew/id,6886/catid,5/ .
So now I gotta throw tank on and fire it up and make sure I got front brakes! Thanks for heads up re: mount angle.
Apologies if this is a hijack....:whistle:

Post edited by: indykaw77, at: 2006/03/15 22:25

Thanks guys!!!!!

This is why I love this site. After reading your responses, I went back out to the garage and looked at my owner's manual and my Clymer manual. I had no idea that there were two reservoirs. It took a while for me to find the rear one, but there it is - behind the right side plastic panel. It turns out I am simply low on brake fluid in the rear and my handlebar adjustment had nothing to do with it. This explains the furious brake pumping I had to do to get the pedal firm again.
This weekend I will do a thorough bleeding just for fun.
This is my first bike and I have only had it since October. I am very grateful to this site for helping me to understand how it works.

I love you man!

Kind regards,
Jon

The angle does not really mater to much. It is an enclosed system so as long as there is enough fluid to cover the hole, it will be fine. I guess a really serious angle would be bad but as long as it is not at 90 degrees up and down, it sould be fine

del