KZ250 without direction (Just seeing what happens as we go.)
 

Pics:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...0922101305.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...922101305a.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...0922101307.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...922101307a.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...922101307b.jpg

Started pulling it all apart to get better access for cleaning and maintenance:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...0922101356.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...922101356a.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...0922101357.jpg
Notice the goodies^^^^

Started pulling the stator cover off:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...0922101433.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...0922101435.jpg
^^^^Nasty dented chain guard... trash.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...0922101449.jpg
^^^^Stator cover off, only problem I see is the red **** on the magnets... it was in the oil filter. :( Might be a problem later, but we'll let it go for now.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...0922101450.jpg


Clutch cover off:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...0922101502.jpg
^^^^ Pic doesn't do it justice... filter is nasty, but probably more from age than anything.
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...0922101525.jpg

All yesterday's progress.

Waiting on carb rebuild and gaskets, but I'm going to pull the carb off today and get it apart. Gotta find a shoe-box or something.

Man, I love having open access to a garage right out back.

This post copied from my posting at CF. You'll find both in google searches.

um, where's the pics, mate?

post the pics up buddy.

LOL. I"ll have to work on that. I forgot they were hosted on CF... can't see 'em unless you're logged in, I think.

Gonna take me a few mins to xfer them all to an album here, so hang tight.

All the work done yesterday was to track down a sticking clutch issue.. everything seemed to be working fine, but since it sat since '88 in a garage, the clutch friction discs (which appear almost new) were sticking to the plates, and it seemed like that was going to be an issue since jerking the wheel didn't free it up. I ended up getting them all loose and cleaned up with shop cloths and my fingers, and put it all back together. Going to use black RTV for gasket.

Once I get the carb off and cleaned, hopefully tonite, this one should start right up. Gotta get a battery for it.

Take notice, guys, that this bike DOES NOT have a kickstart option. Kinda wish it did...

I thought some of looking around to see if I can adapt a crank-recoil to it, but I doubt I ever will even try.

You could just get a running start and roll start it...I've had to do that before, much easier if there is a hill, and if you pop it in 2nd or 3rd, depending on the gearing, it'll start up, generally.

Nice find on an old garage kept bike just barely broke in!

I could! LOL. But I'm not gonna. I'm not THAT worried about the electrical load from the starter. The only reason for the crank-recoil idea was because it could easily be retrofitted into the existing starter location.

thats a cool looking little bike. good luck with the project. keep us updated.

Did some more work, pulled off the fenders, exhaust, and did a little cleaning for the sheer **** of it.

The stock swinger looks wide enough to accept the ZX6 wheel, but I'll have to mock up for the caliper and I'm gonna have to build some rearsets or something.

I'm pretty certain at this point that I'm going cafe with a newish flair. The bike just looks like it likes that kind of attention to me, although it would probably look pretty interesting with a pocket bike tail on it and a big tank with knockouts on it.

Ordered the oil filter, so that'll be here eventually. I'm just gonna go with silicone putty to make gaskets for the engine covers, and even though the carb has been cleaned (omigod) and put back together, I haven't changed the O-ring on the bowl yet. I did clean the rubber gasket out of the groove, though.

I'll put the pics up later if I get a chance.

I'm gonna start weighing parts that aren't going back on, for reference.

I gotta check the laws around here. If I don't need signals, I ain't gonna run 'em, so that stuff can mostly get lost.

If the law says I need 'em, I'll figure out something that isn't mounted on a 6" stick.

Rear fender's definitely staying off, and the front one is definitely either staying off, or getting changed to something not so damn shiny.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...0929101650.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...929101650a.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...929101650b.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...0929101703.jpg

So right now, I'm looking at a Ducati GT1k front end (maybe, already bought it though), a round cafe tail, custom mounted rearsets in place of the passenger pegs, and clip-on handles, with ZX6 (16") alloy wheels. I'm adding weight to the design, unfortunately, but it'll look and feel more modern with those parts installed, and I'll have hydraulic brakes and more modern street tires instead of the things that are on it now.

I may or may not run a cafe fairing. Still haven't decided.

I also managed to get the carb cleaned out, just need to replace some gaskets, and put a pipe on it, oil and filter, and some gas, and it should be ready to fire up.

The cafe conversion is aerodynamic, at least... it lessens frontal area because of the leaning position. ;)

Forgot to post the pics from cleaning the carb. Not too many here, wasn't a clean job, and didn't want to mess up my phone.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...0927102355.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...0928100002.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...928100002a.jpg
http://ecomodder.com/forum/member-ch...0928100017.jpg

The first pic is the top opened up. Nothing going on in there, so I wiped it with oil and put it all back together.

The next one is the main jet holder when I pulled it out. Black/green grimey crap on it. The napkin was what quickly wiped off with no solvents or anything.

The last pic is after a quick brush w/ a brass filament brush. I later cleaned the passages with wire and cleaned the carb body with drill bits and 150PSI shop air.. there was literally caked tar-like stuff (like tobacco tar) in the carb air passages. No idea what it was, but this bike definitely sat for more than a year, like the PO was claiming.

The inside of the motor looks cared-for, though, so it's still not bad-off.

Try some tarn-x on the emulsion tubes.

regards
Mech

I don't worry so much about them being tarnished a bit, cuz it won't affect the way the carb works, and it's not like anyone can see them anyway.

I just clean 'em up with a brush, clean the passages out thoroughly, and re-assemble. Been doing that for years.

The only things I clean shiny are the air passages, the bowl vent tube, and the bowl/inlet.

Smart man. The inside is more important.

BTW I like that quote. I do not want a better life. I want to be happy with the one I have now.

Keep it up!!
 

Looks like you are well on your way keep it up! What do you think you'll squeeze out of that bike?

To be perfectly honest, I have no idea. According to some others, 65-80 cruising, 30+ under aggro riding.

I don't plan on doing too much "playing" with it, and I'm certainly not a knee-dragger, so I figure on getting into the higher range of those figures.

options... decisions.
 

So.

I've decided not to use the USD front end (Ducati GT 1000, inverted forks) that I ordered on this bike. I'll use them on something else. Instead, I'm using the Katana's front end (See "Country Brawler"), with the stock clip-ons but different bars in them.

I'm gonna use the Katana's rearsets as well, and place them low and back on the main frame section. The basic profile here is forward crouch while riding, but I'll have the tank to lay my chest on, so it won't be uncomfortable.

The options come in w/ the seat pan and tank configuration.

I want to keep the classic cafe style of a squarish tank with a rounded seat cowl, level cowl/tank line, long tank and low bars. I also want to hide the wiring and electrical inside a pocket between the seat and tank. This leaves the options as follows:

1. Have someone make a custom tank and pan, aluminum, steel, or even plastic, with a pocket in the tank for everything.

2. Try to find a squarish tank that fits the profile , then cut a section of it and make a compartment big enough to fit the electrics (minimal, by the way). Then make a seat pan and cowl using the cut section of the tank as the front, so they mount flush together.

3. Grab a tank that doesn't fit right, but shim it and raise it off the frame so that it sits level on top, then skin the bottom and put everything behind the skin, then make a seat/cowl that fits properly.

4. ????????

Besides that, I'm using '88 ZX6 wheels with street tires, swapping to hydraulic brakes front and back, and I've got a friend at Custom Fighters sending me a stock muffler from a '99 CBR600 F4 to make a custom undertail or underbody exhaust from. Now that I've made those few decisions, it should start coming back together once I get the oil filters in the mail and get some silly-cone for the engine cover gaskets.

I took off some more parts.

Currently, I'm waiting for delivery on a CBR F4 exhaust, a speedo gear for the front ZX6 wheel.

I've checked into bearings sizes needed for the front end swap, looks like it's gonna be pretty straight forward to put the Katana triple trees on to the KZ.

Looking into a longer OE swing arm, thinking about a mono-shock conversion.

Still have to get a cush-hub and sprocket for the ZX6 rear wheel, as well as spacers made for the front and rear once everything is mocked up.

I still have to remove the rearsets from the Katana to bring them over and mock them up.

I'm also second guessing myself as far as whether to go Cafe or sport-touring.

I need a rear sprocket, hub, and cush drive from one of the following bikes:

1972 Kawasaki H1 MACH III(H1)US
1972 Kawasaki H1 MACH III(H1B)US
1985 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600A1)US
1985 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600A1L)CA
1986 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600A2)US
1986 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600A2L)CA
1987 Kawasaki EX500(EX500A1)US
1987 Kawasaki EX500(EX500A1L)CA
1987 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600A3)US
1987 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600A3L)CA
1988 Kawasaki EX500(EX500A2)US
1988 Kawasaki EX500(EX500A2L)CA
1988 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C1)US
1988 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C1L)CA
1989 Kawasaki EX500(EX500A3)US
1989 Kawasaki EX500(EX500A3L)CA
1989 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C2)US
1989 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C2L)CA
1990 Kawasaki EX500(EX500A4)US
1990 Kawasaki EX500(EX500A4L)CA
1990 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C3)US
1990 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C3L)CA
1990 Kawasaki ZEPHYR 550(ZR550B1)US
1990 Kawasaki ZEPHYR 550(ZR550B1L)CA
1991 Kawasaki EX500(EX500A5)US
1991 Kawasaki EX500(EX500A5L)CA
1991 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C4)US
1991 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C4L)CA
1991 Kawasaki ZEPHYR 550(ZR550B2)US
1991 Kawasaki ZEPHYR 550(ZR550B2L)CA
1992 Kawasaki EX500(EX500A6)US
1992 Kawasaki EX500(EX500A6L)CA
1992 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C5)US
1992 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C5L)CA
1993 Kawasaki EX500(EX500A7)US
1993 Kawasaki EX500(EX500A7L)CA
1993 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C6)US
1993 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C6L)CA
1994 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C7)US
1994 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C7L)CA
1995 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C8)US
1995 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C8L)CA
1996 Kawasaki NINJA ZX-6R(ZX600C9)US
1996 Kawasaki NINJA ZX-6R(ZX600C9L)CA
1997 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C10)US
1997 Kawasaki NINJA 600R(ZX600C10L)CA

I can offer something in trade, or moneys if it's not too much.

Enjoy my friend. The small parts can go into labelled freezer bags for future reference. Check out the Craig Vetter website for the Charles Bugni Kawasaki 250 taking part in the Highway 101 windy economy run.

Check the local auto store for truck cab marker lights that are streamlined. They might work for turn signal lights and are inexpensive.

hey christ, have you checked bikebandit.com for the parts? they usually have hard to get parts.

Yep, checked out BB and Old Bike Barn for them, too.

I found a trio of oil filters for $15, so they're in my truck now.

I find that it's difficult to allot time to doing work on anything else when you work 12-14 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I did find the sprocket and hub assembly, though. A friend on Customfighters.com had them and sent them straight away for the cost of shipping.

I also picked up an exhaust midpipe and can from a '99 CBR F4 to do the under belly (or undertail, not sure yet) exhaust.