Hello all, I picked up a 1976 KZ400 today for $125 that is not running. Its a project bike with everything needed except air filters. The wiring harness is not hooked up, and its safe to say that I'm horrible with electrical work. I'm pretty lost and have no idea where to even begin, so I've come here for some help. Ideally I would like to turn this into a cafe/street tracker/brat styled bike, but before I do anything as far as styling I want to get it running and mechanically operational, design can take the back seat for now. I'm a noob to bike building and mechanical work, but I am pretty mechanically inclined and have ridden motorcycles for about 10 years now. Please someone help me out so I can get cracking on this. thanks, Shane
Got my KZ400 project... Now what?? Need help!!
- Thread starter spf135
- Start date
Thanks for the reply Nebr, I've checked out kz400.com quite a bit, great site. While they have tons of useful info, I guess I'm looking more for what steps I should do first i.e. rebuild carbs/seal and clean tank/change oil. What's the best way to attack this thing? Once I get a grasp of the project as a whole it should be pretty easy for me to break it down and take it step by step. Thanks, Shane
Anthiron
Active Member
It kinda sounds like you should have bought a running bike if you have limited/no knowledge of what is needed.
That said, do some research - look for wiring diagrams for your model and step through it slowly or take it to a shop to have them get it running for you. (this will be expensive) At least then you have a functioning bike and you can focus on aesthetics.
Does the motor turn over? how long has it been sitting? Did the previous owner have it running or have you bought a second hand project because he was in the same boat as you and didn't know how to move forward?
Your question is a bit like "How long is a piece of string?", what needs doing depends on what needs doing. If the bike ran then I would start with draining the tank and carby bowls, cleaning the tank out and adding fresh fuel, change the oil, new plugs, set points and then sync the carbies.
That said, do some research - look for wiring diagrams for your model and step through it slowly or take it to a shop to have them get it running for you. (this will be expensive) At least then you have a functioning bike and you can focus on aesthetics.
Does the motor turn over? how long has it been sitting? Did the previous owner have it running or have you bought a second hand project because he was in the same boat as you and didn't know how to move forward?
Your question is a bit like "How long is a piece of string?", what needs doing depends on what needs doing. If the bike ran then I would start with draining the tank and carby bowls, cleaning the tank out and adding fresh fuel, change the oil, new plugs, set points and then sync the carbies.
Anthiron, thanks so much for the reply. That info is exactly what I was looking for. I have a running bike that is my daily rider so I saw this pop up for so damn cheap I couldn't turn it down, even though it isn't running and I have limited skills. I really bought it so I can learn while making something I could be proud of.
A bit on the bike... It was running a year ago before the wiring harness was disconnected and labeled. The motor turns over and there is plenty of compression. The PO builds cafes all the time to race, he intended to turn and burn this one to make a little cash to fund another project.
On that note, I'll get started with what you suggested and go from there. I found one of those animated wiring diagrams which looks simple enough to figure out.
Any more comments/suggestions are welcomed.
Wish me luck and thanks again
A bit on the bike... It was running a year ago before the wiring harness was disconnected and labeled. The motor turns over and there is plenty of compression. The PO builds cafes all the time to race, he intended to turn and burn this one to make a little cash to fund another project.
On that note, I'll get started with what you suggested and go from there. I found one of those animated wiring diagrams which looks simple enough to figure out.
Any more comments/suggestions are welcomed.
Wish me luck and thanks again
crackerman
Been Around the Block
Google "simple motorcycle wiring harness". There's a few good diagrams that will show you how make your own harness. I've used it to build my own, wasn't to difficult. Start with a real simple one, just to start the bike. Then build off the harness for what you need.
spf135 said:
So, if the harness is there and labelled what is the problem?
Get a workshop manual for this bike. It will have a wiring schematic.
Your goal is to get the thing running first before you do any cosmetic mods. Even though the engine appears to have compression, it could still be junk.
Is it even titled? Don't spend any money on it until you have that sorted.
Thanks for the replies all.
The wiring harness is all labeled now and it is mostly all clip in type connecters which makes it pretty easy.
As far as the problem, I just needed a little push to get me started in the right direction. So today I removed the tank and cleaned it out with some distilled water and sand, then poured in some apple cider vinegar to do the rest of the rust in.. Surprisingly, it looks pretty good inside, I'll be sealing it soon. I took off the petcock and found that the little screen needs replaced, I cleaned the rest of that up real nice.
Running into a little trouble with pulling the carbs off, so I drained the one bowl but the other drain plug is stripped and I'm not sure if I should try to drill that out or dremel a new notch in it so I can break it loose.
How the hell do I get the carbs off? I cant reach two of the screws bolting them onto the cylinders, so I'm kinda stuck there.
The wiring harness is all labeled now and it is mostly all clip in type connecters which makes it pretty easy.
As far as the problem, I just needed a little push to get me started in the right direction. So today I removed the tank and cleaned it out with some distilled water and sand, then poured in some apple cider vinegar to do the rest of the rust in.. Surprisingly, it looks pretty good inside, I'll be sealing it soon. I took off the petcock and found that the little screen needs replaced, I cleaned the rest of that up real nice.
Running into a little trouble with pulling the carbs off, so I drained the one bowl but the other drain plug is stripped and I'm not sure if I should try to drill that out or dremel a new notch in it so I can break it loose.
How the hell do I get the carbs off? I cant reach two of the screws bolting them onto the cylinders, so I'm kinda stuck there.
Nebr- Not sure where he races, but I can ask.
Also, I got the carbs off last night finally. The boots were reasonably pliable, I just didn't want to rip them up so I was nervous about pulling them out with too much force. Got them apart and they are pretty dirty, cleaning them today. Should I replace the gasket on the bowls? Anything else I should replace from within the carb as a precaution? I'll post some pics of the inside of the carb when I get home so you can take a look.
- drained the oil, seems like the filter bolt is pretty corroded and is gonna be a b*tch to remove.. I'll get to that today.
I appreciate all of the help, you guys are awesome
Also, I got the carbs off last night finally. The boots were reasonably pliable, I just didn't want to rip them up so I was nervous about pulling them out with too much force. Got them apart and they are pretty dirty, cleaning them today. Should I replace the gasket on the bowls? Anything else I should replace from within the carb as a precaution? I'll post some pics of the inside of the carb when I get home so you can take a look.
- drained the oil, seems like the filter bolt is pretty corroded and is gonna be a b*tch to remove.. I'll get to that today.
I appreciate all of the help, you guys are awesome
