'79 kz650 brat/tracker project (my first bike)

as much as i love winter and snow, i can't wait for the warmth.

yesterday, we had a wintery storm up here mainly consisting of crazy winds. i came home to my bike lying on its side. I removed the cover lifted it back up and noticed a cracked and broken cover on the right side near the brake. i cannot tell what part this is, i've added pictures below.

if you can help me out finding out what piece this is i'd be forever grateful!

thanks!
 

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It is the ignition cover - may be electronic in there and not points though depending on year
 
Good. There appears to be only 1 points cover on ebay at the moment that I could see.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KAWASAKI-Z1000-Z900-Z750-Z650-Polished-Engine-Points-Electrics-Cover-KZ650-/131151103023?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts_13&hash=item1e8937042f

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1980-83-KZ-550-C-A-LTD-KZ-650-KZ-750-Right-Side-Engine-Contact-Breaker-Cover-Cap-/261429598078?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cde6b177e&vxp=mtr
 
cheers teazer! bidding on the polished one and hoping it fits!

furby - it's been a rough year and SLOW getting her up and running. a lot of it has been my own fault and the fact that life gets in the way of the fun stuff! this was just bad luck.
 
as it's been a while since she's run and i'm really anxious. is it bad to kick her and let her run with that cracked, maybe take her for a spin around the block?
 
gee_tee_p said:
as it's been a while since she's run and i'm really anxious. is it bad to kick her and let her run with that cracked, maybe take her for a spin around the block?
Click to expand...

if it isnt raining and you are riding on dirt roads - you shouldnt have much of a problem.
 
It's a points cover - it doesn't need to be oil tight or anything.

Truth be known you could JB weld it and paint it if you can't find another one.
 
Cool bike man. I have the same model. I believe you actually have a 1978 KZ650 B2. luminous blue with that stripe pattern was only offered in 78'.

If i could make a couple friendly suggestions; If you're learning to ride on this bike you might want to put those case savers back on, they already would have saved you some money, just paint em black and you'll hardly notice em. I know you want to change the aesthetics of the bike (turn signals look good btw!), but you may want to get the bike in proper running condition before you spend time and money on customizing it only to learn that it needs something crucial down the road. I would preform a complete tune-up including a valve clearance check, and compression check. I made a this mistake with my first bike, all frosting and no cake, but it looked real good parked ;D. Get yourself a factory service manual and hit up KZrider.com for tech questions, it is one of the best technical forums I have come across.

These bikes are fairly simple to work on, and IMHO preforming your own bike maintenance is part of owning a vintage motorcycle. For example, the mechanic you paid to rebuild your carbs assembled the float bowl covers in the wrong order. The drain screw should be on the outside of carb 4, not the inside. it wont make a difference in how the bike preforms but to me it shows someone rushing a job to get paid. I had a mechanic rush a tire change on me once, only to realize 500 miles later he never tightened the axle bolt. Its good to see someone interested in KZ's in the sea of Hondas that is on this forum. Good luck, ill be watching this one 8)

ps. heres a pic of my B2 right before I had it painted.
ROT_7583_zpsb50422ac.jpg
 
BTW the points cover you currently have is from a 1980 or later model, possibly a KZ750. they are interchangable, but if you want to match your stator cover you should get one from 77-79 b1-3, c1-3 or d1-3
 
doc_rot thanks for the heads up and your input. I'm clearly a noob so any and all help is greatly appreciated. I'm hoping to swap the cover this weekend, throw the battery back in, add fresh gas and try to kick back to life.

When I get it started and ride around a little but I'll have a better understanding of what I need. I have been around motorcycles all my life but this is the first that I've really had to do work on besides swapping plugs and mixing fuel. I'll be keeping this up-to-date as much as possible. The weather is FINALLY turning up here and I hope to get a lot of wrenching and tuning done. I plan on riding her the way she is this season and then take care of the cosmetic stuff.

cheers


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
baffle!!!

I've been riding illegally for about a month on a sporadic basis and loving it. the other morning I was kicking to start, and the baffle came loose, I wedged it back I'm and rode to work. it came loose one my way in, twice.

without the ability to weld, does anyone have an idea for a temporary and rideable fix? my next purchase is a muffler and new tires but until then I want to be able to ride w/I attracting attention from the law.

thanks
 
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