Long-term rear brake issue -- possibly resolved?

I went back and looked to see what year your bike was. It wasn't listed but I found it in your profile. That changed everything being a 81. 
Steve

Oh sorry about that.  It's in the sig line too.  Basically I started with a 1981 J1 frame that the PO had hacked up (cut off all the mounting brackets, even those for the seat, for no apparent reason).  I found another scrapper for a 1981 LTD where they had chopped off the front of the frame, so I made my own cuts and welded the two together to make one completely intact frame again.  And since I had a ton of LTD parts now, I decided to upgrade the bike.  Sorting out the wiring harness was the worst, both of them had multiple splices but somehow I got lucky and was able to piece together a complete LTD harness.  There was a small difference in the steering angle because I have a J1 frame with LTD forks, but with the help of folks here we worked out that it should actually make it more stable on the highway although it increase my turning radius in the parking lot.  So yeah, it's a frankenstein.  I'm still considering turning it into a single-seater though, my legs feel cramped up but I'm not sure I have the energy to do a custom job like that.

Shdwdrgn wrote:

Oh sorry about that.  It's in the sig line too.  Basically I started with a 1981 J1 frame that the PO had hacked up (cut off all the mounting brackets, even those for the seat, for no apparent reason).  I found another scrapper for a 1981 LTD where they had chopped off the front of the frame, so I made my own cuts and welded the two together to make one completely intact frame again.  And since I had a ton of LTD parts now, I decided to upgrade the bike.  Sorting out the wiring harness was the worst, both of them had multiple splices but somehow I got lucky and was able to piece together a complete LTD harness.  There was a small difference in the steering angle because I have a J1 frame with LTD forks, but with the help of folks here we worked out that it should actually make it more stable on the highway although it increase my turning radius in the parking lot.  So yeah, it's a frankenstein.  I'm still considering turning it into a single-seater though, my legs feel cramped up but I'm not sure I have the energy to do a custom job like that.

 Didn't see that. 

 From one Mad Scientist to another with a Franken bike yours looks pretty good. After the wreck I gave up the thought of restoring the bike to a original 1975 Z1b and decided to make it my own. Having a salvage title was the game changer. 

 In the 80's they weren't as valued as they are now and I was happy to have it back on the street again. Parts here parts there the bike became what I always wanted it to be. The biggest improvement was the longer KZP swing arm. Only 1 1/2" but it became more stable at a ton and still handles like it use to despite the larger turning radius. 
It will never be like it was but it's all mine. 

BTW she can still go where most HD's wont. 

Steve


 

Very cool!  Yeah fully stock is nice but eventually with the scarcity of replacements you have to start making concessions.

Oh hey, it looks like you have the same seat as mine... Do you happen to know anyone who sells replacement covers?  Mine is starting to crack and I'm guessing one of these days the vinyl will just start falling apart.  Figured I would try to get it fixed before the foam gets exposed to the sun and starts breaking down (I had that happen on my previous bike).

I got some canvas saddlebags this year and was able to ditch the sissy bar, sure is a lot easier to just throw my leg over the back.  I do need to strip and repaint the tank again though, wind blew the bike over one day and the gas melted the clearcoat (which was supposed to be rated for gas and oil) but the paint itself held up just fine.  Next time I'll just paint and wax it.  There's some shots here from when I painted it, was real happy with the scales so I plan to do that again next time.

sourpuss.net/projects/vehicles/kz1000/2018-04-29/

I got mine here. 
z1parts.net/seat-cover-1976-1980-kz900-kz1000-ltd/

Nice, thanks!  It is indeed a different model from mine but I'll check to see if they have one for my year as well.  Price is certainly decent enough.  I sewed a custom-fit cover for the seat on my last bike and I'd pay a hundred bucks to NOT have to do that again!

You might have a earlier model seat.
 

My seat came off of an '82, the one you linked fits up to 1980.

The original came off a later model and the seat pan was stepped. I cut the foam down to fit my flat seat pan. It was used so I bought this one and it fit well. Is your pan flat or stepped? 
Steve

Ah gotcha...  I pretty sure my pan is stepped?  I can't find a pic of the bottom but it pops up so high in the rear that I can't imagine it's not stepped...

Whoops I spoke too soon... here's the bottom: