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1981 Kawasaki KZ750 Resurrection

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    #31
    Originally posted by Nessism View Post
    Thanks for all the encouragement guys.

    Been hanging out at kzrider.com to learn a little more about these bikes. Nice bunch of guys over there but that forum is very slow compared to this one. They don't have a Basscliff either! We are SO LUCKY in GS land!!!!
    Listen to Patton and 650ed. They know their stuff and are quite helpful. They are also on a lot. Read the forum rules, they are much stricter than GSR.
    I had an 81 KZ750; great town bike. Shorter and lighter than a Honda or GS of similar vintage.
    Easy to work on as well. I installed and removed my GPz engine myself several times (very similar engine).
    Did you buy those gaskets? I used Athena on my GPz and have had no problems with them.
    Have fun rebuilding those Kehin carbs. cycleorings will be useless for that, you'll have to get OEM rings or McMaster-Carr.

    Comment


      #32
      Forgot. Were his GS1100'sin the same shape? All corroded and locked up?
      G
      Sorry, didn't mean to hijack.
      sigpic1983 1100 Katana - soon to be turbo Busa powered.
      2007 GSXR1K-Sold-But not forgotten.
      Have 2X ZG14 engine's for '81 GS750E project.
      '82 GS750E frame is TITLED awaiting GSXR1127/12B engine and '81 1100E slowly being built.

      Comment


        #33
        I would look into investing in powder coating everything but the pipes, get those ceramic coated by Jet Hot or someone.
        sigpicMrBill Been a GSR member on and off since April 2002
        1980 GS 750E Bought new in Feb of 1980
        2015 CAN AM RTS


        Stuff I've done to my bike 1100E front end with new Sonic springs, 1100E swing arm conversion with new Progressive shocks installed, 530 sprockets/chain conversion, new SS brake lines, new brake pads. New SS fasteners through out. Rebuilt carbs, new EBC clutch springs and horn installed. New paint. Motor runs strong.

        Comment


          #34
          Originally posted by Nessism View Post
          Ordered some Conti Go tires last night from American Motorcycle Tire.
          Curious Ed, have you used these Conti Go tires before?


          Life is too short to ride an L.

          Comment


            #35
            Originally posted by tkent02 View Post
            Curious Ed, have you used these Conti Go tires before?
            Bought them on faith Tom. Continental doesn't make junk (normally).
            Ed

            To measure is to know.

            Mikuni O-ring Kits For Sale...https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...ts#post1703182

            Top Newbie Mistakes thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=171846

            Carb rebuild tutorial...https://gsarchive.bwringer.com/mtsac...d_Tutorial.pdf

            KZ750E Rebuild Thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...0-Resurrection

            Comment


              #36
              Originally posted by gmansyz View Post
              Hi Ed
              I am truly sorry for turning you to the bike. It did run when I left Cali but he didn't listen tome about taking care of it. I had no idea it was in such bad shape. When I left, the black engine paint was still glossy. And of course, he did not drain the gas either.
              Sorry again.
              Greg
              No worry Greg. I'm grateful to you for turning me on to the bike. It was my decision to proceed.

              Mike's 1100's were buried in the garage and he didn't offer up a look. Nice guy. He's just a little delusional as to what damage can occur to a bike after it's sat outside for 5 years.
              Ed

              To measure is to know.

              Mikuni O-ring Kits For Sale...https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...ts#post1703182

              Top Newbie Mistakes thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=171846

              Carb rebuild tutorial...https://gsarchive.bwringer.com/mtsac...d_Tutorial.pdf

              KZ750E Rebuild Thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...0-Resurrection

              Comment


                #37
                Doesn't really look in any worse state than my Skunk was... I reckon you'll be fine!

                On the house - you don't have the same incentives I have...

                1980 GS1000G - Sold
                1978 GS1000E - Finished!
                1980 GS550E - Fixed & given to a friend
                1983 GS750ES Special - Sold
                2009 KLR 650 - Sold - gone to TX!
                1982 GS1100G - Rebuilt and finished. - Sold
                2009 TE610 - Dual Sporting around dreaming of Dakar.....

                www.parasiticsanalytics.com

                TWINPOT BRAKE UPGRADE LINKY: http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...e-on-78-Skunk/

                Comment


                  #38
                  You are right about the delusional. And the choice. It will make an excellent runner. Though I would keep the Mac header and clean up the engine. The jetting didn't need much tweaking when I messed with it. Though, unsticking everything would be a priority.
                  Laters
                  G
                  sigpic1983 1100 Katana - soon to be turbo Busa powered.
                  2007 GSXR1K-Sold-But not forgotten.
                  Have 2X ZG14 engine's for '81 GS750E project.
                  '82 GS750E frame is TITLED awaiting GSXR1127/12B engine and '81 1100E slowly being built.

                  Comment


                    #39
                    I see you picked up a factory service manual. It is organized just like a GS manual. It covers the E models (yours) and the H models (LTDs, their version of an L ).
                    The baseline is 1980, then there will be an appendum that covers the changes between 1980 & 1981. In the appendix is a very nice color wiring diagram. I blew it up to 11x17 for troubleshooting.

                    Comment


                      #40
                      Originally posted by koolaid_kid View Post
                      I see you picked up a factory service manual. It is organized just like a GS manual. It covers the E models (yours) and the H models (LTDs, their version of an L ).

                      Yeah, manual on the way. Also started gathering parts like gaskets.

                      Researching on KZrider is even more difficult than here. Those guys must get a ridiculous number of repetitive topics because the search function spits out posts related to the search term, not threads. In particular was trying to figure out what cables to order, and wanted to see if the GPZ cables will fit on my bike because I plan to use the lower lower handlebars. Seems the answer is the clutch cable will fit but not the throttle cable because the carbs are different. Researching stuff like this is proving to be a lot of work.
                      Ed

                      To measure is to know.

                      Mikuni O-ring Kits For Sale...https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...ts#post1703182

                      Top Newbie Mistakes thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=171846

                      Carb rebuild tutorial...https://gsarchive.bwringer.com/mtsac...d_Tutorial.pdf

                      KZ750E Rebuild Thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...0-Resurrection

                      Comment


                        #41
                        I could not agree with you more, Ed. It is a rudimentary site compared to GSR. You are fortunate that Patton, 650ed, and others are there now. Years ago, it was pretty much dead, and virtually impossible to get questions answered.
                        One word of caution, I purchased 2 kaw cables from Z1E. Both were MotionPro, and both were wrong.
                        Kaws are not picky about using OEM gaskets like GS machines are. I have yet to purchase an OEM gasket for either Kaw.
                        Did you see the sites to order from, and how to find the OEM parts diagrams?
                        If you need any shims, I have a ton of them.

                        Comment


                          #42
                          AFA the carbs, you will like them over the Mikunis. You can clean them with spray, and they don't clog up like the Mikunis. And you can buy cheap boots off ebay if you need them, they work just fine.
                          And they do not have the charging/stator/wiring problems like the GS machines.

                          Comment


                            #43
                            Originally posted by koolaid_kid View Post
                            I could not agree with you more, Ed. It is a rudimentary site compared to GSR. You are fortunate that Patton, 650ed, and others are there now. Years ago, it was pretty much dead, and virtually impossible to get questions answered.
                            One word of caution, I purchased 2 kaw cables from Z1E. Both were MotionPro, and both were wrong.
                            Kaws are not picky about using OEM gaskets like GS machines are. I have yet to purchase an OEM gasket for either Kaw.
                            Did you see the sites to order from, and how to find the OEM parts diagrams?
                            If you need any shims, I have a ton of them.
                            Originally posted by koolaid_kid View Post
                            AFA the carbs, you will like them over the Mikunis. You can clean them with spray, and they don't clog up like the Mikunis. And you can buy cheap boots off ebay if you need them, they work just fine.
                            And they do not have the charging/stator/wiring problems like the GS machines.
                            George,

                            I bought an OEM head and base gasket, and also what I'm told is an aftermarket gasket kit as sold though Kawasaki's accessory group. Learned my lesson regarding Athena gaskets. Kawasaki parts seem to be plentiful on ebay and such so I'll stay OEM where possible. It's nice to see what the parts look like before purchasing too. I learned about differences in throttle cables that way.

                            Bought one of those Shindengen series R/R's for it to take care of the charging system. The existing unit was covered in white powdery corrosion. Must have been running quite hot and burned off all the anodizing or paint.

                            Since there are so many OEM Kawasaki parts on ebay it's easy to check to see
                            Ed

                            To measure is to know.

                            Mikuni O-ring Kits For Sale...https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...ts#post1703182

                            Top Newbie Mistakes thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=171846

                            Carb rebuild tutorial...https://gsarchive.bwringer.com/mtsac...d_Tutorial.pdf

                            KZ750E Rebuild Thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...0-Resurrection

                            Comment


                              #44
                              Made some good progress, and some good news. The inside of the engine looks clean. Hopefully the cylinders look similar.

                              P1010282 by nessism, on Flickr



                              P1010284 by nessism, on Flickr

                              P1010283 by nessism, on Flickr


                              Found a friend keeping an eye on the bike for me. These little buggers are everywhere in my area. Have to pay attention.

                              P1010255 by nessism, on Flickr

                              P1010257 by nessism, on Flickr
                              Last edited by Nessism; 07-30-2017, 05:26 PM.
                              Ed

                              To measure is to know.

                              Mikuni O-ring Kits For Sale...https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...ts#post1703182

                              Top Newbie Mistakes thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=171846

                              Carb rebuild tutorial...https://gsarchive.bwringer.com/mtsac...d_Tutorial.pdf

                              KZ750E Rebuild Thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...0-Resurrection

                              Comment


                                #45
                                What kind of spider is it? and is it poisonous? we have lots of spiders, up here and big ones but only one that is poisonous and they are far and few between.
                                Rob
                                1983 1100ES, 98' ST1100, 02' DR-Z400E and a few other 'bits and pieces'
                                Are you on the GSR Google Earth Map yet? http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=170533

                                Comment

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