• head was ported by Larry Cavanaugh like mine.
• has webcam 110 like mine.
• 1100cc

Curious to see what it’ll sell for.
Obvious difference I see is it doesn’t have dual plug / dual coil head.

• Link to this replica for sale on eBay.
• Link to legit original S1 that sold on eBay for $107k in 2013

Obviously a ton of options for aftermarket cams, but I’m going to highlight only three specific cams.

• specifically for the z1 / kz900 / kz1000 motor.
• specifically for 1015cc or 1075cc piston kit builds.
• oem cams – .325″ lift intake – .300″ lift exhaust – 235˚ duration at .50″

OEM upgrade replacement cam

• Get a webcam 118.
• It has .365 lift and 246 degrees duration at .050″.
• There will be no noticeable crazy power band difference. It will just be a bit more power than stock across the rev range.
• This is a good cam if you have a bone stock motor, or only an upgraded piston kit.
• Don’t need to upgrade valvetrain, even though you prob should
• Don’t need to port head.

High rpm power cam

• Get a webcam 110.
• It has .395 lift and 256 degrees duration at .050″.
• According to the KZ cylinder head guys, you want to avoid cams with more than 250 degrees duration at .050″ for a daily rider street bike, unless you have a lot of compression in the motor … or a bigger CC motor (1075 or bigger). Or unless you want to be racing revving the shit out of it.
• For example, I have this cam in my weisco 1015cc build and the cam makes all its power from 6 – 10k rpm which is super fun but 1015cc is hair small to take full advantage of the cam at lower rpm. Plus revving the shit out of your motor is going to take a toll on it at some point. Normal riding 4-6k rpm feels fine, but no, I can not go WOT at 4k rpm, it bogs a bit.
• I’m convinced this type of cam with duration will make the most peak power, especially with a ported head and carbs.
• It really feels like a strong VTEC Honda. It keeps pulling and pulling.
• Should port head a little.

Torque cam

• Get a Megacycle 470-15.
• It has .410 lift and 242 duration at .050″.
• I would say this type of cam with less duration is best for a street bike that you want to have broad power across the middle rev range, but it’s def not going to have the gnarly high rpm power VTEC feel that the webcam 110 has.
• I don’t think this set up will make as much overall power as compared to a cam with a more duration.
• This cam is for hammering it 4 – 7k rpm street riding, light to light.
• Should port head a little.

Degreeing cams

• When 1/4 pistons are at TDC, from right side of engine, with advancer aligning to T mark, intake and exhaust cams should be pointing directly at each other perfectly. This is 110 lobe centers.
• Over time, cam chain stretches and both cams will slightly sit in a retarded position. (which visually, from right side, is; intake cam tilted up a little and exhaust cam tilted down a little)
• 110 lobe centers is stock and will give broad power.
• Advancing intake cam 1-2 degrees gives more low-end torque. (tilted down a hair)
• If you advance the intake 4 degrees and retard the exhaust 2 degrees, thats 106/108 centers.
• Changing the lobe centers will just shift the power around a little bit to be higher rpm, or spread evenly, or torquey. Each cam has recommended lobe center numbers but you can put them where you want.
• Prob stay between 105 and 109. Some tuners will even say stock oem cams are better at 108 than stock 110.
• Technically I didn’t degree my cams. With my adjustable cam gears I pointed them perfectly at each other then turned them both down a hair, what I considered a few degrees to be somewhere around 105-107.

Cam gotchas

• must clearance the head starting at around .380 – .390 lift depending on the casting of your head
• shim under bucket starts after .410 lift
• Prob don’t want over .405 lift for motors under 1100
• 256 degrees duration at .050″ is prob max duration unless you have a much bigger cc motor than 1100 with at least 10.25 compression
• Stick with stock base circle size
• Your set up all needs to match. Porting, carbs, compression. If you’re doing a high rpm power cam, make sure the head flows for it.
• Prob use red loctite on bolts that hold cam onto slotted cam gears. I did.
• 30 tooth cam gear rotates twice for every one rotation of the crank. So, if you advanced your intake cam 1 tooth that is 24 degrees! 720 % 30 = 24.

From George; “I wanted to wish you and the clan a happy New Year. I ran across this Z1 article (Big Bike September 1974) and though Ed might a copy of it. It’s a pretty basic stock bike fluff piece, but you know he LOVES his Z1.”

Thanks George! Anything else you find… send it over.

Denco was an old performance company. They list the mods they made to their z1.

Fuck the z1 and kz’s are the best. I did a Kelly loop on mine last night. Such a great bike. 6-10k rpm with my cams, vtec kicks in yo. Best feeling.

As I said before, my z1 is a 74, but whomever had it before me had a 75 tank/tail on it.

They look pretty similar, however, some of the differences:

– 75 tank, top 2 stripes have black paint in between them and where the 2 stripes meet the seat, the stripes have a gap. Green paint tealish hue. 75 tail, decals curve up at end 

– 74 tank, no black between 2 stripes and the stripes touch where meets seat. Green paint is yellowish hue. 74 tail decals are straight

5 doors down from my house is an auto body shop called Liberty Collision. I stopped in and asked if they’d be into doing my paint. Owner Ben is a cool dude. He said normally prob not but being a neighbor he’s into it. 

They did a great job. Base paint / clear / apply z1parts decal kit. Charged me $450. He alluded that it was more work than they anticipated. I was more worried about decal placement than paint. They got it pretty damn close. Im happy. Also, matching paint color was tough. I wanted it close to stock but a shade darker. 

First pic is an original 74 I based my color off that I saw at mid Ohio.

At bottom you can see the body shop stuff and the million swatches I could choose from.

The planned trip was to OC, MD for couple days in the sun with my family culminating with the eclipse. Having done a few trips to OC, I knew I wanted to avoid the usual beach traffic on DE1 and 113. Firstly, book your ride in advance cause the spots sell out quick. I grabbed my ticket the night before ($39 for the bike and myself) since the slots were very limited for vehicles. I got the last ticket on the 10AM boat. After that it was all sold out till 3:30PM and later.

I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect morning to ride to Cape May. No traffic, blue skies, and the perfect temps. They ask you arrive at least a half hour early. True to my form, I was an hour early. The woman at the gate informed me that bikes are first on, first off. Solid perk. I parked in the lineup lane that I was instructed to go to and then familiarized myself with the provided amenities in the terminal. In typical NJ fashion everything was overpriced and done in poor cheap suburbanite taste but they have a shitty free mini golf course! The ferry arrived on time and the attendant slobbered over the KZ while he checked me in. Catching old dudes left and right. On the boat I was surprised that all the ferry men wanted was they bike lined up sideways to the cars, on the kick stand with only a large chock under the front wheel. No securing or strapping whatsoever. I was a bit reluctant but figured the ferry men knew best.

The boat itself is 3 decks. The first deck is the vehicle’s, second is a large interior section with more overpriced and shitty food, and the 3rd Deck is wide open with bar and lounge chairs. 3rd deck it was for me. I tend to get sea sick when indoors on a boat and to my surprise the ferry rocked more than I thought it would.

We came into the Lewes, DE port a little over an hour and I was first off as promised.  I hit throttle and ripped to DE1 only to find gridlock more fierce and frustrating than any I’ve dealt with on my other usual route. Thankfully there was a bus lane and large berm that I could use to skirt the god-awful traffic the rest of the way to OC.

My takeaway? Was is a cool experience? Yea of course. Being on a boat rules. Would I  do it again? Nah. Not worth the money, time, and unavoidable traffic. Next time I head down here I am determined to find a route from south of Dover to OC via all back roads.

Saw one just like Nate’s but with Lester wheels. Black is rare according to Adams nation wide search for the best, yet cheapest kz1000 available.

Then saw a couple 2nd years like how I’m gonna have mine painted. They’re both apparently stock paint and def don’t match so who knows what’s right?

Nobody wants a shaft drive. Less wheel power.

Anyway. Got the z1 back together. No more fuked up forks or cam caps. Added a steering stabilizer bar. Leaned out my jetting a hair. Cleaned up everything. Painted a bunch of shit.

Pics at very bottom show how fuked up it was when I pulled it out of the old guys garage. Junker.

Short list of overall everything I’ve done or had help doing:

• race-braced, cleaned up, painted frame
• detab swing arm
• mod, slim up center stand for 4-1 kerker
• steering stabilizer bar and tab
• Lockhart oil cooler
• laced new boranni style wheels, spokes. 18 front
• 630 to 520 JT chain conversion. Custom aluminum rear sprocket. 17/42 gearing
• slim seat
• headlight, fork ear update
• kerker exhaust with 2″ comp baffle
• keihin 29 CRS carbs, velocity stacks
• kaw H1 fork leg bottoms
• kaw kz750 shorty fender
• progressive suspension front & rear
• Dyna ignition
• Larry Cavanaugh street ported / clearanced head
• Kenny Harmon L1 cams. .400″
• weisco 1015, 10.25/1 pistons
• APE valvetrain
• APE clutch kit
• all new wiring for everything
• Ricks reg/rect

My z1 is a 74, but for some reason the dude I got it from had tank and tail from 75 on it. I’m gonna get my shit repainted back to 74 colors. 

So, either: green with yellow stripes or maroon-brown with orange stripes. I can’t decide.

So, I heli-coiled the z1 cam caps fucked threads last night.
Went well. Engine is fixed. Really glad I didn’t have to take head off and take to Mar auto. I loosened and re-tightened all 16 bolts. All tightened down well. Hopefully no holes blow out again. Gotta love old shitty bikes and high-lift cams.

So, now I have about 8 or 9 of 16 holes heli-coiled.

My method of installing heli-coils is below: (all points open for debate)

• buy new pep boys thread repair kit – m6 / 1
• buy some blue loctite
• if not taking engine apart tape shit off real well
• drill out hole on super low speed with motor oil on drill bit
• use thread repair kit to re-tap hole to bigger size. Oil on tap
• while re-tapping hole, turn in 1 full turn. Then back out half turn every full turn
• while re-tapping hole, completely remove tap every 3 full turns to clean debris from tap inner catch area
• once hole is re-tapped and smooth, clean out any debris and oil
• put heli-coil in with a small drop of blue loctite on outer side of heli-coil
• make sure bolt goes into heli-coil smoothly
• I would not recommend using any loctite on the bolts that go in and out the cam-cap holes as they need to be serviceable, regardless of if any of the holes are heli’d or not.
• Larry Cavanaugh, the kz cylinder head guy, recommended keeping the threads on the bolts that go down into the cam caps holes oiled or greased. He said this to me in one of our emails when he ported my head and fixed a couple fucked holes.
• Specifically Larry said: Make sure you oil the cam tower dowel pins and the boss holes they go into in the caps when you install the cams. Oil the cam bolt threads too. Make sure the tapered end of the dowels point up toward the cap. The majority of stripped cam tower bolt holes result from the caps binding on those dowel pins
• Done. Go race people.

The first gen KZ motor has a weak spot. The caps which hold the camshafts down and in place, have shitty bolt holes. They’re m6 threaded holes in the soft aluminum head. The sequence for removing the cams and installing the cams almost guarantees you’ll potentially strip out a couple bolts. As you tighten the cam caps down, it’s essentially pushing a valve open, so you can’t always guarantee it’s going in smoothly. Combine that with the fact that the service manual has the wrong (overly tight) spec for how much to torque them down.

Everyone on kzrider says to go super light or hand tighten them only. It’s the number one fuk up on the KZ motors that everyone fuks ups. Especially if you have high lift cams, which I have, it extra aggrivates the risk.

Anyway, long story short: I heli coiled a couple holes about 4 years ago, and had Larry C fix a couple holes when he ported my cylinder head. (Shoulda had him do all 16 holes).

It’s been exactly a year since my last engine rebuild. Bike rips and has been super solid. The other week while on a Thursday ride I instantly heard a super loud valve noise from left side of my motor.

I limped the bike home, and pulled the valve cover the next morning. Turns out, that out of no where, for no reason, 4 bolt holes on the exhaust cam stripped completely out. Fuk.

So, with Nates help, pulled motor out of frame and gonna heli coil them myself without taking the head apart. If I can’t fix myself without taking head off, I’ll break engine completely down and take it to Mar auto to have them fix the holes.

While the motor is out I’m gonna clean a bunch of shit up and paint my frame gold.

I’ll update once I try and fix the holes myself… See how it goes. When I put heli coils in 4 years ago, I didn’t loctite them in… but I’m thinking about using blue loctite on the heli-coil itself so it never moves in the fresh cut head threads. Thoughts anyone?

IMO, motorcycles are a combo of what I loved about bmx and cars; fuck-around, have fun attitude of bmx. And Japanese engine technology / power, of what I always liked in my Hondas, but way cheaper and easier to modify.

Isn’t part of the reason we like motorcycles because they’re fun as shit and fast. Isn’t that part of the reason KZs are the hot shit… Because they’re fast as fuk. If we didn’t want to have fast bikes and gas it every now and then, we’d all ride scooters or Honda rebels right? Seriously, what the fuk.

We know…
Kawasaki’s are the fast bikes of the 70s / 80s.
Eddie Lawson was the factory Kaw racer of the very early 80s.

– Kaw big 4-cyls started out with the z1 (73-75)
– z1 became a kz900 (76-77)
– kz900 became a kz1000 (77-83?)

In early 80s, kawasaki took the J motor kz1000 and gave it the green race colors and a kerker exhaust to make it look like what Eddie Lawson’s race bike kinda looked like. Kaw tried to increase sales with it, but it didn’t sell that great, so its pretty rare now. 750 were made total. Pic at the very top is the Eddie Lawson Replica (ELR) that you could buy from the dealer. They were 90hp. Same as normal kz1000.

Kaw also made a real race-ready version of the ELR, which was called the “S1”. Normal person couldn’t buy one. It was for certified racing teams only. It was almost identical to the bike the team made for racing in the 80s. They were like 150hp. Only 29 made ever. One sold on eBay a bunch of years ago for like $110K … fucking nuts.

Kaw ELR “S1”. Pic below.

Long story short, I picked up another bike below.
Its a 2003 Kaw zrx1200r, which as of right now, is the only modern version of what the KZ kinda used to be. It’s 122hp / 82tq.
I bought it in the colors which reference the Eddie Lawson Replica bike.
I dig it and got a good deal on it.

Vid about Kaw and Eddie Lawson. I love these old vids. This one is so good.

My modified 74 z1 below. Prob 100hp / 70tq now? Cool to see the similarities between the years.

There some really good info in this article about Eddie Lawson, how he was given an ELR from Kaw, and then some Jap dude offered to buy it for a $Million bucks. He turned the dude down. All his actual race bikes from circuit racing were crushed by team mechanic Muzzy. Some other good stuff… give it a read.

I started with a barn find KZ650 and ended up with 700cc bore race cam equipped rocket.  I kid you not…this thing hauls ass.  It’s still being broken in so I’ve been hesitant to rev it over 5k rpms but man does she go.  70+ mph at 5k rpms and pulls strong!  Redline is at 9k….shit I am in for a surprise when I get there.

Here is a list of work/mods/upgrades with KZ photo porn to follow:

• Wiseco K700 Piston Kit (10.25:1) – Bore by PowerSeal USA
• Andrews#20 Cams (.350 lift)
• APE Manual Cam Chain Tensioner
• APE Cylinder Head Nuts
• Rebuilt Head by Mar Automotive
• Lockhart Oil Cooler
• Sprocket Setup 17T Front / 42T Rear
• Braided Brake lines
• Driller Rotor
• Progressive Suspension 14 Series
• Tarozzi Fork Brace
• Unifilter Pods running 110 Mikuni Main Jets
• Martek 440 Ignition System
• Updated FuseBox and LED Flasher Replays – CWS Wiring Solutions
• Fender Eliminator with ZX6 Taillight
• Kerker 4-1 Exhaust
• Pingel Manual Petcock

Here is where I left off.  Polished the engine covers.  Two Dremels saved my life trying to get that valve cover to looks so nice.

Used a K&L Motorcycle Engine Stand for the rebuild and installed new crankshaft bearings as shown covered in assembly lube.  If you look closely I nearly made a mistake during assembly.  The right most shift fork has a guide pin sticking out of it.  That pin is suppose to be recessed to meet up with the shift drum guides.  Turns out I had it reversed.

I used a little bit of carb cleaner to ensure the case halves were free of contaminates before sealing.  There is big debate about what sealant to use but Hondabond worked just fine.  The trick is to apply a thin coat.  Once the case halves are mated the the rest will squish out.  Applying too much can create major problems and potential clog important oil passages.  Red stuff is assembly lube…goes on gears and smooth bearing surfaces.

Not shown in the picture but during the case mating process the most important part was to make sure the shift forks line up to their respected gears on the other half.  A second person was critical in this setup.

Using two pieces of cardboard I was able to create a tool that allowed me to install the Wiseco K700 Pistons (+2mm) with ease.  I’d highly recommend watching techniques on how to install circlips on the ends of the piston.  It’s to easy to damage a piston during this process if you don’t have the right technique.

Dropping the block on to the pistons took two people as well.  A ring compressor wasn’t needed but it can be done by slowly squeezing each ring into their cylinder one by one.  Each ring gap has a specific position it needs to be facing.  This step is very important.

Installing the head and cams was easier than I expected.  Setting the timing on the camshafts was simple with the service manual.

WARNING:  Be careful with over tightening the bolts on the camshaft caps.  With these old bikes its a common problem for them to strip.  I had to replace 2-3 using Helicoils.

Installed a ZX6E tailight and LED blinkers with LED flasher relays – look great in action!

Started it up on Christmas Day and took her out for the first ride.  Bike is not quite tuned at this point.

So far I have 86 miles on her thanks to the recent warm weather.  I’ve used a Gunson Colortune to set the air/fuel adjustment and then synchronized the carbs.  Working everyday on breaking it in.  4,500 rpm limit till 500mi, 6k rpm limit till 1000mi.  Took her on quick intercity highway run to lay on the G-forces.  As I said earlier, damn this thing goes!  Got some solid praise from William Becker.  A man known for his incredible builds feature on BikeEXIF – XS650 – AERMACCHI SPRINT – NORTON COMMANDO MK III

New paint job to come but for now I’ll be stopping by Thursday night Chin On The Tank ride regularly.

My Current KZ Mindset:

OBSESSED

Today I came across a KZP in Lancaster for a fair price of $3500. Slimming some of the extra stuff off this bike, fresh paint with no police decals, adding a kick start, and putting standard KZ decals on it would make this bike look even better.

Random Question: Why do cops around Philly ride side-by-side and not staggered like you’re supposed to?

This got me more curious about the history of these bikes. Here are a few things I found:

MODELS:

SPECS:
Engine type: 4-stroke, DOHC in-line four, 2 valves per cylinder
Displacement: 998 cc (60.9 cu in)
Starting: Electric
Power: 88 hp (66 kW) @ 9,000 rpm
Torque: 112 lbf·ft (152 N·m) @ 8,000 rpm
Carburetion: Mikuni Bs34’s
Transmission: 5-speed
Overall length: 90.2 inches
Overall width: 35.2 inches
Seat height: 30.7 inches (780 mm)
Curb weight, as from factory with fuel: 596 lb (270 kg)

Interesting Facts:

The newer Kawasaki Police bikes do not look good in my bias opinion.

Check him out on Instagram: number8wiremotorcycles

Ready to roll!! It's been mad but both bikes are rebuilt, running, being broken in for our road trip of the west next Tuesday. We'll be posting pics!! @lad_charrabee #seafoam #sendit #roadtrip #touring #Yamaha #kawasaki #xs1100 #kz700

A photo posted by Number 8 Wire Motorcycles LLC (@number8wiremotorcycles) on Apr 27, 2016 at 6:10pm PDT

Gearing up for the ride next week! The shop will be closed from Tuesday 5/3 – 5/8, open Monday 5/9, Tuesday 5/10 yen closed again until Monday 5/16 !! Thanks for the cooperation and support #Missoula ! #motocamp #motolife #mototrippin #ridethewest #3borders #kz700 #xs1100 #touring #sendit #supporttheindependents #mototripequalssanity

A photo posted by Number 8 Wire Motorcycles LLC (@number8wiremotorcycles) on Apr 28, 2016 at 9:26am PDT

Morning number 1 of the trip! Made it into #Idaho ! Mornings like these are what dreams are made of! #motocamp #motolife #visitidaho #ridethewest #vintage #motorcycles #Kawasaki #yamaha #harleydavidson #sportsterlife #caferacer #getoutside #camping #inthewoods

A photo posted by Number 8 Wire Motorcycles LLC (@number8wiremotorcycles) on May 4, 2016 at 9:19am PDT

Camp for the night. Hot springs off #americasloneliesthighway #Nevada putting in a good show! #sky #dramatic #western #westernasfuck #ridethewest #herecomesthebraap #suddenwisdom #motolife #motocamp #getweird

A photo posted by Number 8 Wire Motorcycles LLC (@number8wiremotorcycles) on May 5, 2016 at 6:41pm PDT

It's that time of year again! The weekly ride is starting up tomorrow! Tuesday evening. Leave the shop at 6:30pm sharp. Ride for an hour or so, finish in town, grab food and a beverage. 6:30PM 525 MICHIGAN AVE 59802 #Montana #motorcyclemontana #groupride #caferacer #bobber #chopper #cruiser #custom #motolife #streettracker #kawasaki #Yamaha #honda #harleydavidson #motoguzzi #suzuki #sendit

A photo posted by Number 8 Wire Motorcycles LLC (@number8wiremotorcycles) on Apr 18, 2016 at 11:52am PDT

#Montana roads don't suck. Make sure to get your ticket to the @rockymtnroll and join me on a beautiful ~200 mile Saturday group ride I'll be leading! July 29th- 31st, Corvallis, mt #motocamp #motolife #rockymtnroll #motorcyclemontana #strangevacation #caferacer #chopper #cruiser #tracker #custom #geoutside #gocamping #ridemotorcycleshavefun #visitmontana

A photo posted by Number 8 Wire Motorcycles LLC (@number8wiremotorcycles) on Apr 13, 2016 at 9:07pm PDT

Start every day with a motorcycle. Or something like that… #motolife #kawasaki #kz700 #kz650 #caferacer #touring #kickonly #aircooledforlife #custom #fresh #simplicity #stripped #builttobebought #forsale dm for deets #supporttheindependents #motorcyclemontana

A photo posted by Number 8 Wire Motorcycles LLC (@number8wiremotorcycles) on Mar 30, 2016 at 9:59am PDT

NEWS FLASH!! The #Kawasaki #kz550 #kz615 #cafetracker #streettracker will be up for sale very soon! Featured on silodrome.com and at @the1moto show right now! Email number8wiremotorcycles@gmail.com for info!! #custom #motorcycle #the1moto #handmade #wiseco @hagonshocksusa @coneeng @seeseemotorcycles #supporttheindependents #bmwmotorrad #honda #flattrack #icon1000 #harleydavidson #portland #soportland #missoula #motorcyclemontana

A photo posted by Number 8 Wire Motorcycles LLC (@number8wiremotorcycles) on Feb 14, 2016 at 12:17pm PST

It was found in a shed sitting for over 15 years.  Naturally some things would be wrong with it.  It had dry rotted tires, a frozen master cylinder, oil leaking out of the engine halves, ugly decals, and a hideous sissy bar.  First things first, lets make sure it runs.

GOOD LORD!  That’s certainly not the sound of a stock engine.  Later on I had discovered this KZ has been highly modified with 65mm pistons (+3mm over stock), Andrews #20 Cams (.350 lift vs .304 stock cams), and a Martek 440 electronic ignition system.  All of which screamed to the tune of a Kerker 4-1 exhaust.  It was now time to tear down the engine, frame, and rebuild her with some additional performance upgrades along with a new look.

Opps I managed to chip the piston wall during removal of the circlip .  This is going to suck.

It’s just my luck that Wiseco no longer makes the 65mm kit.  Instead I had to take a small step backwards if I was going to stick with the Andrews Cams.  So I purchased Wiseco’s 64mm kit and a used stock cylinder block on eBay.  Cylinders were bored out by PowerSeal USA and fitted to the new pistons.  Since this is Part 1 of this project I am still working on reassembling the engine.  At this point I continued with the tear down of the motor.

Lucky me, more upgrades!  Those are performance springs installed on the clutch.  I couldn’t be happier.

With the engine torn down I began the restoration process.  First with vapor blasting the engine.

Following that I had the frame and miscellaneous parts powder-coated.  This was my second time using Prestige Powder Finishing in Newark, Delaware.  They primarily work on industrial contract jobs but they will do frames on the side.  Here is the before shot.

And here is the after shot.  The finish is ‘Satin Black’.

The head was rebuilt by MAR Automotive.  Thanks to Ed for the recommendation.

The dirty carbs kept bugging me so I gave them a good wash using an Ultrasonic Cleaner and Simple Green.  Clean on the left, dirty on the right.

Keeping in mind that air-cooled bikes are not particularly fond of hot summers and stop and go city streets I thought it would be proper to add an oil-cooler to the KZ650, especially with all this extra heat I’ll be packing.  Oddly enough there is a simple solution.  A direct oil sump swap from a 84 GPZ750.  You’ll notice the exchange for the oil cooler at the top.  KZ650 on the left, GPZ750 on the right.

Time to get back to the frame and wheels.  Black spokes, polished hubs, and Avon Roadrider for tires.

I replaced the fork seals and added performance springs with 15w fork oil for better dampening.  I also added a Tarozzi fork brace for better handling.

I continued with handling upgrades by installing Progressive Suspension on the rear.

The KZ650 stock sprocket sizes are 16T on the front, and 42T on the rear.  I’ll be running 17T, 42T.  This will drop the RPM’s 1,000-1,500 while cruising on the highway.  I’ve heard the stock setup revs high at 70mph and this should help with that.  At this point I am glad the KZ is finally standing on its own again.

I am using a KZ900/1000 front fender.  It looks better and wraps around the tire to prevent slinging rain and rocks.  Aesthetically you’ll notice I blacked out some pieces and added black euro style handlebars.  I also added LED turn signals.

I found a rough design for a Fender Eliminator on a KZ650 forum.  I purchased an aftermarket LED taillight and began drafting up a template.

I then tried it on for size.  Once I get the fitment right I’ll then go ahead and fabricate the final version.

Currently this is all I have to share at this time.  I am in the midst of polishing my engine covers.  I hate polishing at times but love how it looks in the end.  Philadelphia’s own Bill Becker has agreed to assist me with my engine assembly and after that I should only require a fresh paint job.

Hope you enjoyed reading this.  Stay tuned for Part 2.