new to me 1978 KZ 1000

Lots of thoughts on the fork. A cursory look it seams “ok”, not sure I’d be comfortable with “ok” there, the additional steel frame under and along with the fender is what stabilizes the front forks, AKA “fork brace”. If you added a fork brace you would be good. You could try any of the epoxy “weld” stuff to build it back up. Get a machine shop locally that repairs aluminum heads and blocks, they could build up the missing aluminum and you tap and reshape. Or the obvious, get a set, rebuild them, install and you’re good for years. My thoughts!

I would fix that broken off fork thread boss, like Mikaw said there are a lot of twisting forces going thru those bolts and you may end up with some sloppy handing.

That is a $40-50 weld repair job (for one boss) in Canada (I am from Ontario) if your doing the post weld clean up and drill/tap. Not sure how much it would run if you had somebody do the machining.

Thanks guys.
Mikaw.   I guess I never thought of the fender acting as a fork brace. But it makes sense!
Would something like JB Weld work in this instance?  Will it stick to aluminum!? I've used it on steel, with good results. 
I guess just build it up, and drill and tap like welding!

Injected.    Ya sloppy handling or worse, the fender drops and has a meeting with a rotating tire!!
I got a pretty decent machine shop here in town. I'm in the frozen north as well. ( Alberta)
The drill/tap thingy I can handle. Welding aluminum, I'm better off using Gum.
 

I just thought I would mention what I thought it would cost to repair that issue in case you don't have a local motorcycle salvage yard that would have replacement legs.
I am not sure if it would cause you any issue to leave it but why take a chance on it if you identified the problem.
I am always more afraid of stuff I can't see that needs fixing before it bites me in the ass

Injected wrote:

I just thought I would mention what I thought it would cost to repair that issue in case you don't have a local motorcycle salvage yard that would have replacement legs.
I am not sure if it would cause you any issue to leave it but why take a chance on it if you identified the problem.
I am always more afraid of stuff I can't see that needs fixing before it bites me in the ass

Yup I totally agree. If I don't do something with it, I'll be looking down at the front wheel/fender for the first 1000 miles.
I could have answered my own question, take the bolt out and measure the depth! But it was easier to ask I guess lol.
I've got a salvage yard about 2 hrs. away. I haven't wondered their yard yet.
 

Mikaw wrote:

Back pressure? Do you have a solid hard peddle? If not it’s more likely a bleed/balance return port that is blocked. It a very,very,very tiny hole dead center under the large side bolt. Aslo need the holes in the end of the piston clear.

 

Pretty sure the tiny hole in the MC  was open. I sprayed some brake cleaner through it to be sure.
But 2 of 3 holes in the piston were plugged.  That's one thing I never checked while cleaning!
Thanks
 

Treetall wrote:

Thanks guys.
Mikaw.   I guess I never thought of the fender acting as a fork brace. But it makes sense!
Would something like JB Weld work in this instance?  Will it stick to aluminum!? I've used it on steel, with good results. 
I guess just build it up, and drill and tap like welding!

Injected.    Ya sloppy handling or worse, the fender drops and has a meeting with a rotating tire!!
I got a pretty decent machine shop here in town. I'm in the frozen north as well. ( Alberta)
The drill/tap thingy I can handle. Welding aluminum, I'm better off using Gum.

 

I’m sorry I can’t advise on these statements. I have never touched JBWeld. I think a fork brace might be your easiest fix. As an example  www.fastfromthepast.com/fork-braces/kawasaki . A deeper search might reveal more options.

On the fork bosses - do it right and get the aluminum welded and then drill + tap new holes, it's a safety issue.  But I'm also wondering what made that damage ?  If it was some kind of impact, are the forks still straight ?

Hey! glad I looked at this post! 
Thanks Matt Mikaw! I am in middle of the master cyl. rebuild. 1st time for the 77-80 style rear! I never knew about that tiny hole. I just looked at mine! Fresh glass beaded, washed in hot soapy water! Getting ready for the CERAKOTE! And mine was plugged!!!  Well I'll be! This old guy is always learning! 
Great tip!
Thanks!
And for that fork leg! they are all over eBay, Don't forget to look up KZ650's even KZ750 2 cylinders. Those legs are all the same. Most of them.
Over the years! I must have scrapped 12-15 of those legs with broken lugs.

sf4t7 wrote:

On the fork bosses - do it right and get the aluminum welded and then drill + tap new holes, it's a safety issue.  But I'm also wondering what made that damage ?  If it was some kind of impact, are the forks still straight ?

On the JB Weld thingy, I know better!  My Cheap B%$ch  side was showing through.
The forks are straight and show no damage. What I want to say. The friend I got the bike from was a heavy duty mechanic, He may have made it "Mechanic tight"!
But then again, you'd think it would tear out the threads first!?
I need to do seals and polishing. So I'll round it to the Machine shop down the street, and see how much it'll cost. Or I'll do as z1kzonly suggested and find a replacement.

z1kzonly wrote:

And for that fork leg! they are all over eBay, Don't forget to look up KZ650's even KZ750 2 cylinders. Those legs are all the same. Most of them.
Over the years! I must have scrapped 12-15 of those legs with broken lugs.

Any idea why the lugs were broken out!?
Or is it one of those " we'll give another 1/4 turn,  don't want that coming loose" sorta things!?

Well, I got the brakes working perfectly ( Thanks for the tip Mikaw).
Had some nice weather, so I took er for a rip around the block a couple times.
She idled fine. But as soon as gave er a little gas, she'd bog. Had to keep feathering the gas to get the rpms up.
I know the main jet was up sized from stock for the air pods. But I can't remember if the pilot jet was increased. I thought I wrote it down but......
I didn't have it running long enough, to get it to operating temp. So pulling the plugs didn't tell me much.
Am I right in my thinking? I started with 1 1/4 turns on the pilot screws, and went up to 2 turns. But that didn't fix it.
The carbs were taken apart and thoroughly cleaned. There shouldn't be anything clogged.