1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2 (New pics from winter ride on page 6)

[Gryph]

Hey guys,

I've been lurking for a while and have made some progress on the KZ400 that I picked up this summer ($300 bucks for it and a parts bike!).

Since getting it I've replaced the broken clutch cable, oil/filter change, new plugs and gas (that little bit got it running this summer but insurance is killer so I didn't plate it). Over the winter I've done the valve adjustment, tightened the cam chain, new points/condenser, checked the timing, changed the fork oil.

Now last night I just did the "coil mod" as per "wired george" http://www.wgcarbs.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=26

This made a huge difference, prior to the mod I was getting 12 volts at the battery, but only 11.3 at the coil, I'm now getting the full 12 to the coil and the bike starts and idles/revs MUCH better, it's like a whole new bike.

Now I'm trying to decide what direction to take the bike, I think I'm going to clean up and paint the frame, and I'm trying to decide on a colour/scheme for the tank/sides/tail.

I was thinking gloss black with a fat white stripe following the raised section on the tank and flowing onto the tail.

What do you guys think? Any suggestions? (I'd love to see pics for inspiration)

Here she is.
Whole Album:
http://s246.photobucket.com/albums/gg91/Gryphs/1979%20Kawasaki%20KZ400/

All cleaned up before tear down (my daily rider in the back ground)

Before polishing

After

Tear down

Tank/Tail/Sides

 

[Tim]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

You should post up the details on the 12v coil mod in the $50 Mod thread here - give full credit and link to Wired George's site. Looks like something I might do on my bikes.

 

[DrJ]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

Now last night I just did the "coil mod" as per "wired george" http://www.wgcarbs.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=26

This made a huge difference, prior to the mod I was getting 12 volts at the battery, but only 11.3 at the coil, I'm now getting the full 12 to the coil and the bike starts and idles/revs MUCH better, it's like a whole new bike. (I'd love to see pics for inspiration)

Looks like a relatively simple mod, I'd like to try it. Where did you get the relay?

 

[BigBSBusa]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

Where's the after pics? That coil mod is definitely a $50 mod candidate.

 

[Gryph]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

Looks like a relatively simple mod, I'd like to try it. Where did you get the relay?

I got mine at a local surplus store (KW Surplus in Kitchener, Ontario), they had everything I needed for the mod. I think the relay was $2.95 and the relay pigtail that plugged into it was $1.95.

i'm really surprised at the difference it has made.

Oh and after pics are coming, my insurance is up for my Ninja 250 and my car in April, so I need to have this bike safetied and ready by then so I can bring all of the vehicles over to State Farm and save a bunch.

Today I'm going to clean up and maybe spray some of the random black bits and the frame, going to polish more of the metal, and maybe do a few other small things. I have to ride out about ~1hour away to pick up some awesome Willie & Max saddle bags for it, I think I'm going for this kind of look, but I'm still undecided as to how much is going to be black and how much polished metal.

I'm also not sure what I'm going to do about the bars, I don't want anything too aggressive because I already have my 250 for that type of riding, I think I may leave them stock for now? (sacrilege I know).

 

[Represto]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

Will state farm even insure the bike? I think it might be too old for them.

 

[valvesprung]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

It's nice to see another KZ400 on here! Looks like a killer find for the price!!!

I've yet to do the coil mod on mine, but will likely have it done in the next few weeks. I've heard nothing but things about it from the guys on KZRider, but hadn't heard much real life experiences on the 400, I'm definitely in now!

Check out my build thread, I know it may be a different style then you're going for, but it may be some good inspiration.

http://dotheton.com/index.php?topic=4430.0

 

[Gryph]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

It's nice to see another KZ400 on here! Looks like a killer find for the price!!!

I've yet to do the coil mod on mine, but will likely have it done in the next few weeks. I've heard nothing but things about it from the guys on KZRider, but hadn't heard much real life experiences on the 400, I'm definitely in now!

Check out my build thread, I know it may be a different style then you're going for, but it may be some good inspiration.

http://dotheton.com/index.php?topic=4430.0

Hey valvesprung,

I've been following your build on here and on the kz400.com forums, I love the understated style of your bike. It has definitely inspired me.

I just got back from picking up the bags, they look pretty sweet, sucked when they flew off my bike on the road home though LOL... Somebody yelled at me to tell me, and when I found em a guy in a harley shirt was about to put them in his pick up. Doesn't look like they sustained any damage at least. I'll have pics later today.

Oh and I've already got a quote from state farm, I save about 400 bucks on the KZ vs. Jevco, save a bit on my 250 as well, car is a touch more, but its still worth it.

 

[valvesprung]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

Thanks for the kind words mate! I'm pondering doing a fiberglass seat here soon, but if I do I'll be hooping the frame to give it a finished look. Not sure what it would take, but the seat that is on my bike would look killer on there with the brit look so if you're interested let me know. I also have 2 spare stock seats if you wanted to convert to the old stock style seat.

I love the look of those bags and it should make a pretty killer style.

Can't wait to see her all finished up!

 

[Gryph]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

Valvesprung I may be interested in changing the seat, I'm betting shipping to Guelph, Ontario, Canada would be a ton though (not sure where you're located actually).

Here are the bags, not as cool as the ones on that Triumph, but just about ideal in terms of size and almost exactly the style I wanted.

Now enough of this frivolous business lol, back to work.

 

[valvesprung]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

Those should look killer! Especially once the bike is black. I'd look into rocking a Lucas style lamp/plate holder to round out the brit look. Superbike bars are probably the best way to go, just a bit lower then stock for a better feel, but not so aggressive to kill your back or require rearsets. I use www.speedmotoco.com for a lot of my goodies and he's been very helpful. He has more on Ebay, then he does on the actual site.

I'll have my mom (business owner and pro-shipper) do some research on what it might take to ship that bad boy to see if it's outside of the realm of reason.

 

[Represto]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

The bag on the triumph is a suitcase...no? Looks a little too square. Might as well ride a vespa. ;D

 

[Gryph]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

Alright fellas I have it nearly stripped to the frame/engine.

I'm thinking about spraying the frame with a silver or gunmetal kinda colour. I think the contrast with the black would look awesome, I was thinking about maybe using wheel paint because it's really durable. Is this a common practice, or crazy lol.

So I guess what kind of paint should I shoot the frame with?

 

[valvesprung]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

Not crazy at all! Not only should it be pretty durable, it'll be built to deal with heat as well. When I do a full tear down of mine, I'll be doing a heavy metal flake gunmetal powder for the frame so I think it should look HOT!

 

[Gryph]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

Not crazy at all! Not only should it be pretty durable, it'll be built to deal with heat as well. When I do a full tear down of mine, I'll be doing a heavy metal flake gunmetal powder for the frame so I think it should look HOT!

Hey Valvesprung I'm going to be tearing it down to about the same level as you before paint. What did you do to prep the frame?? Should I chemically strip it or just wire wheel to rough everything up, then primer, then paint?

What primer/paint did you use? I'm still undecided on whether to go with Graphite Duplicolor Wheel Paint, or a semi-gloss engine enamel of some sort.

 

[valvesprung]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

brake clean on the greasy parts (i.e. engine/trans, frame below it, swing arm, etc) then soak the entire bike in Castrol super clean and pressure wash (do this twice or until all the grime is gone. Let the bike dry really well for a few day just to avoid push water out of palces and ruining the paint job.

I used Duplicolor engine primer and 500deg Cermaic paint for my bike, they have a really great "cast iron grey" that I use on all my automotive engine/acc needs. It has a matte finish so grab clear too if you want it glossy.

Just take your time, light coats, but recoat as soon as it sets up for a few seconds (15-45 seconds), short bursts of paint not long drawn out sraying.

You'll do great!

 

[Gryph]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

Well today I attempted to degrease the engine:

Started taking off parts:

Then tore it down, masked, and hit as much rust with a wire wheel as i could:

Pulled my carbs off too, and I think I'm going to clean them even though the bike seems to be running fine:

Rethinking my idea to paint the frame with wheel paint (was going to use Duplicolor Graphite Wheel Paint), now I'm thinking I'll go with flat or semi-gloss black, that way no matter what colour I go with for the tank/sides it will look good.

 

[Tim]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

Looks like you're 20 minutes from having the frame completely bare - why not go all the way? Pull the engine and drop the front end off

 

[JRK5892]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

+1... do it right... do it once

 

[Gryph]

Re: 1979 Kawasaki KZ400B2

I'm going to wait to pull the engine when I do a full rebuild.

Today I picked up some Duplicolor Sandable Primer and some Duplicolor Low Gloss Black Engine Enamel. Will this work on the frame? Nobody around here seems to carry duplicolor engine primer so I had to buy their other sandable primer.

I wire wheeled some more, then sanded everything smooth with 400 grit, then cleaned with paint thinner, then sanded again with 400 grit and then cleaned with isopropyl alcohol.

Going to start painting either this weekend, or maybe monday if I end up going to visit my parents instead.

Oh and I took all the emblems off and went to take off the petcock, it was siliconed on there, and there was some degrading silicone in the tank and the petcock, also the petcock is missing the filter part that goes up into the tank. Not sure what I'm going to do about that.

Oh and for paint scheme I'm going to go with Honda Galaxy Gray I think with a fat black racing stripe.

This colour:

I'm thinking something like HerrDeacon bike from this site. Been in love with this colour since Eleanor from Gone In 60 Seconds.