Hello from Montana

Hello everyone,

I just picked up a 1980 KZ440A LTD this past weekend as my first bike and found this forum when I was doing research for it. The bike I got (see attached) isn’t in the best shape, so I have it at a local backyard mechanic for carb work and tires (the set on it was from 2005 ). On the bright side, it did come with the stock airbox in good shape and was mostly unmolested. 

 

I come from the car modding scene, so I’ve been spending a lot of time looking up what mods to do it and what repairs to plan for. So far my list is as follows:

• Rebuild the carbs to stop it from dumping gas whenever the peacock is on (This is being done by the mechanic).
• New tires and tubes (Mechanic is doing this)
• New rear drum shoes (Mechanic)
• Clean rust put the fuel tank (The mechanic is giving me the tank when he removes it and I’ll try evaporust)
• Check the valve clearance
• Replace the brake fluid
• Grease the timing advance
• Rebuild the front forks
• Replace the rear shocks with some old-stock Hagons I found on eBay.
• Reinstall the turn signals which were removed by the previous owner. I think I’ll have to find some fork mounted ones for the front because the previous owner swapped off the stock handlebars where they originally mounted. My bike doesn’t have holes on the headlight bracket for the turn signals like I think later models did. 
• Reinstall the horn that someone removed
• Reupholster the seat 

These fixes/additions are probably more overall than the bike is worth, but still so much cheaper than modifying my car  . Anyway, I’m sure I’ll be posting some random questions on this forum as soon as I get the bike back from my mechanic. I'll be doing all of the work after this first batch myself maybe with the exception of rebuilding the front forks. I really just didn't want to deal with the carbs.

Thanks for reading and nice to meet all of y’all.

Welcome to our madness!
The original turn signals clamped on the handlebar, so you can probably just find some used ones maybe on Ebay or Facebook.  If you're lucky they'll come with the plugs still on the wires, and you might be able to just plug them into your harness.

Welcome from the UK, be careful who you trust to work on your bike - thee are endless horror story's on here

I would also plan on replacing the flexible brake hoses and rebuilding the master cylinder and caliper.  Those ancient rubber parts are not what you want to bet your life on.

sf4t7 wrote:

Welcome to our madness!
The original turn signals clamped on the handlebar, so you can probably just find some used ones maybe on Ebay or Facebook.  If you're lucky they'll come with the plugs still on the wires, and you might be able to just plug them into your harness.
 

Ah okay perfect. I couldn’t find an up-close video or photo of the handlebar mounted turn signals so I couldn’t tell if it was screwed into a hole or just a clamp. The previous owner (thankfully) swapped the handlebars from stock already, so I’m not sure how well oems will fit either way. 

On a related note, what exactly are the plugs called? My bike has some connectors exposed where stuff was removed like the horn, but I’ve never seen an electrical connector like that.

(Also sorry for the double reply here, but I’m not immediately figuring out how to properly do multiple quotes in one reply on mobile)

TexasKZ wrote:

I would also plan on replacing the flexible brake hoses and rebuilding the master cylinder and caliper.  Those ancient rubber parts are not what you want to bet your life on.
 

That’s a good point. Caliper & master cylinder rebuilds and new brake lines will go on my list. 

Replaced handlebar is most likely same diameter as stock, signals should fit (or you may have to shim, but no worry).  Get a factory service manual (FSM) for your model or you can access one in the KZR files.  The FSM will have wiring diagrams, between that, wire color, and the connectors on the signals it should make sense. Plugs are probably what are called "bullet connectors"
You should read Nessism's excellent thread "new owner things to know" for some good advice that can save some headaches.  

I'm not a wizard on those but have worked on a few. Valves are easy to check/set at least, use a nice fitting 6-point socket Not 12 point on those cover caps or you stand the chance of rounding them off. Being unfamiliar, is Your's belt drive?

   First bike, eh?  And it 'just happens' to be a Z-bike?  Hmmm...

   Suspect we have a new member recently exposed to The Dreaded Z-bug.

  Those so inflicted attempt to self-medicate by applying greater & greater quantities of Z-bike stuff.  Become a denizen of fleaBay.  Wear the paint off the 'Z' key (who even does that?).  Even invest in a JIS screwdriver set (highly recommended!).

   Z-manuals & Z-parts & even whole Z-bikes may begin gravitating your way; it's a symbiotic thing  that inanimate Z-stuff has mysteriously developed as a survival mechanism.  It needs us & makes us want it.  One might even find oneself talking in terms of Kawasaki this & Mama Kaw that, proof positive of likely a lifelong carrier of The Dreaded Z-bug.  It's harmless except to one's finances.  It seems to be infectious to a certain segment of the population too, and one may begin meeting others so inflicted more & more often & talking in the same arcane terms.

 You're among friends now.  Everyone here understands.

  There's no known cure.

  The Lovely Z1BEBE sez that's enuff goofy now,  and she's trying to roll slmjim away from the keyboard, so I gotta go.

  Welcome to our little interwebs corner of Motorcycle Madnezz.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

sf4t7 wrote:

Replaced handlebar is most likely same diameter as stock, signals should fit (or you may have to shim, but no worry).  Get a factory service manual (FSM) for your model or you can access one in the KZR files.  The FSM will have wiring diagrams, between that, wire color, and the connectors on the signals it should make sense. Plugs are probably what are called "bullet connectors"
You should read Nessism's excellent thread "new owner things to know" for some good advice that can save some headaches.  

Ah, I missed the entire faq subforum. That's some good stuff in there. I already have the wiring diagram from the service manual printed out and ready to go for whenever I get to the electrical niceties. 

asphalt900 wrote:

 I'm not a wizard on those but have worked on a few. Valves are easy to check/set at least, use a nice fitting 6-point socket Not 12 point on those cover caps or you stand the chance of rounding them off. Being unfamiliar, is Your's belt drive?

Mine is a chain drive. I'm glad I don't have to convert it or try to source a new belt.

slmjim+Z1BEBE wrote:

First bike, eh?  And it 'just happens' to be a Z-bike?  Hmmm...

  Suspect we have a new member recently exposed to The Dreaded Z-bug.

 I actually wanted to find a Ninja 250 as my first bike, but Montana doesn't get a lot of sports bikes for sale and, when they are for sale, they cost more than they're worth.

The KZ440 was the first bike I saw listed that was beginner appropriate, ran correctly (it did/does not), and has enough power to keep up on the 70 mph backroads we have here. If I knew this one also had carb issues before I saw it in person, I would gotten a '78 KZ650 SR with advertised carb issues instead. 

I definitely prefer the standards over the CSRs and LTDs, but either way I like the look well enough (without the factory handlebars anyway on the cruiser submodels).  That's okay though; I'm sure this will be plenty for me ride around on for some time, and I'm happy to get an old bike back on the road for myself and future owners.