My KZ650 Cafe Build

JonnyC

JonnyC

New Member
What ups guys. I'm Jonny and I hail from Massachusetts USA. So this is my 1977 Kawasaki KZ650 C1. I bought it back late 09 had issues for a long time with it not running right then running right. Pretty much my ENTIRE build(pics and videos) from when i got it home till now can be seen on my blog at

www.futureuntold.wordpress.com

Here is a cell pic of how it sits now.

0813111556a.jpeg


And this is what it was when I first got it, Everything was spray painted black. The bike was the original blue color.
teardwnprt1.jpg

Did so much to this bike and added many new parts and whatnot to get her going, it all came down to valve shims so everything is set now. waiting for a nice non rainy day so i can get back out side clean up the wiring put everything together throw gas in it and see what happens.....it runs and works just needs to stay that way.

As for making it cafe i took some flat tracker bars I have and flipped them around to make a a fake set of clubmans. sometime before the month ends im going to try and fab up a cafe styled seat/cowl and use that seat u see in the first pic. At first i wanted to make this into a bobber, that didnt work. then i thought hmm i guess it looks like a flat tracker. but I want something I thought in the beginning i didnt really want...........a Cafe(its been almost 2 years and i just realized that....hmm)

Anywho plans for tomorrow while it rains is to bang out some knee cutouts. any tips? or just go crazy, but easy, with a hammer? I was thinking makign an outline with tape and hammer within that. then make it smooth as possible with hammer then use filler.
 
Howdy. I have a new version of the KZ650. I have the 81. I too have had issues, mostly wiring and obtaining a title. All that done. Now, I need to find a new throttle tube due to breakage of the original. Any clues where I could find one? I'll be interested in seeing how yours turns out and get some ideas as well. Let me know how the seat goes, I might be interested in buying your plug. LOL (I have very limited tools to build a seat, laying of the glass though I can do)
 
Nice looking bike! I have its bigger brother, the 750, I too had major issues with it running crappy, but I've since figured them out, trial and error jetting is something everyone has to experience once in life.
 
Push/pull throttle tubes can be found on eBay. I just worked on one this weekend from a 78 kz650. You can use a pull only, but if you want to keep it original, get the twin cable tube.
 
I would love to do fiberglass but I dont know anyone and I really dont want to mess with it. I was thinking of thin gauge sheet metal cut out how i want it then give it to my bro who has friends that weld. actually i was also thinking of using the original stock plastic tail and use that as a cafe cowl and all i would have to do is just bolt it on.

Im going to have to rejet my carbs yet again since i went back to pod filters. i really dislike it, but someone has to do it and with me its free haha.

Jewbacca.......love that name, love starwars
 
Nice ride! It looks like a pretty decent transformation. I am running 17.5 for pilot and 112.5 mains with pods,4-1 with Jardine exhaust. What kind of problems have you been having? 77KZ650 B1 here and lovin it!
 
nice ride. ive got a 78kz650 b think im running the same jets as rocketman (hard to read the numbers) i also have pods and a 4-1 exhaust.
 
rocketman said:
Nice ride! It looks like a pretty decent transformation. I am running 17.5 for pilot and 112.5 mains with pods,4-1 with Jardine exhaust. What kind of problems have you been having? 77KZ650 B1 here and lovin it!
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Nice. for a while it was running weird, i have youtube videos showing it, there would be days were it would start sound amazing and work, take it for a ride then boom start to bog then would die then never start again. at times only exhaust 1-2 would get hot when 3-4 were just warm. it was like that for so long and i just kept doing things and replacing things and fixing things..........low and behold one guy said check your shim clearance, he then said if the bike runs and after getting warm starts to bog and then eventually would nto start, he said it would be valve shim problems, checked them and boom all of them were at .05mm now with new shims i have it at .10mm on all of them. so im praying that the shim problem was the only problem to this whole ordeal and once a nice day comes throw gas in it and see what happens
 
I hope you get to ride it soon and all is well. What type of ignition system you are running? Was it fairly straight forward changing valve shims? Mine was bogging down on WOD and it turned out to be a bad petcock. I pulled it off and it was all gummed up and not allowing enough fuel to pass.
 
always remember.. your not dealing with a choke.

your "choke" is really fuel enrichment.
the plungers in there.. the little rubber hats.. all things too look at.
 
rocketman said:
I hope you get to ride it soon and all is well. What type of ignition system you are running? Was it fairly straight forward changing valve shims? Mine was bogging down on WOD and it turned out to be a bad petcock. I pulled it off and it was all gummed up and not allowing enough fuel to pass.
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Stock ignition. Changing the shims was way easier than i thought it would be, i have never worked on any engine ever, let alone open one up and mess with the cams and all that. clymers manual and some forum help and i did it all in like a day
 
Beard, good point!! I cleaned my carbs but did not take apart choke circuit and it wouldnt idle good. I took off and cleaned choke circuit and voila! I also discovered orings on 3 of the air/fuel screws were shot. Jonny , I would make sure points are clean and adjusted(or get electronic),advance lubed and bike timed. Also hows compression?
 
rocketman said:
Beard, good point!! I cleaned my carbs but did not take apart choke circuit and it wouldnt idle good. I took off and cleaned choke circuit and voila! I also discovered orings on 3 of the air/fuel screws were shot. Jonny , I would make sure points are clean and adjusted(or get electronic),advance lubed and bike timed. Also hows compression?
Click to expand...

points are brand spanking new, thinking that was the issue last year did them a few months ago. advancer is nice and lubed, member a guy told me to do that that when it hesitates its cause the advancer isnt opening and closing proper. never checked compression but i think its solid, will have to rent the tool. never timed either so thats another thing ill have to eventually check, well ill have to considering i messed witht he cams. i did the old wire tie the chain to camshaft then roll it iup and out of the way to get into the shims.
 
The problem there is when you get a bike for $100 you just don't know what's been done to it. Heck my $750 bike I find something new someone modified regularly.
 
qucik lunch brake, installed new front calipers on bike, need to add fluid and bleed. need to take valve cover off again to add a lil silicone to the area that leaks oil. mocking up factory duck tail as a cafe cowl
 
cant believe it took me all weekend to sync my carbs....human error to the fullest this whole time ahhh...anywho they are synced up and ready to go back on bike tomorrow......she should be all set and ready for test ride then thursday go for permit and legalize this baby in MA
 
Do you mean you bench sync'd the carbs? If so, you'll also have to sync them again once they are on the bike. The bench sync is just meant to get all the carbs close in spec to each other, but to truly synchronize the carbs, it has to be done on the bike with the engine fully warmed up and running.
 
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