New Member, first project bike.
- MartyrMachine
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So far iv'e pulled off the handlebars, seat and a few other odds and ends. The wiring harness is garbage and the throttle unit is pretty janky. So I've decided to run the starter to a push button that i'll hide on the frame somewhere and completely remove the ignition switch. The headlight was a 10 dollar aftermarket piece o crap and so was the brake light. So i'm mounting a new headlight and wiring it to a toggle switch. The brake light assembly works but i'll have to replace the actual light once I put a fender on the rear tire.
I have a blog where I post about cars, bikes and my build. It's called martyr-machine on Tumblr.
I have a little experience working on cars and bikes, but not too much, so this will be a learning experience for me. I've helped my friend rebuild a 76 El Camino, rewire some of the stuff in his E150 van and i've installed plenty of car stereos. But this is my first time really working on a bike outside of basic maintenance.
I'll probably be posting on here quite a bit once I gather the parts I need for the bike. Nice to meet you all.
Heres a picture of the bike when I first got it and where it's at currently... I also painted the tank because I wasn't a fan of the orange.
1981 KZ440-b
"Martyr Machine"
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- punisher11b
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- good luck
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- SWest
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- 10 22 2014
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Steve
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- MartyrMachine
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Thanks!punisher11b wrote: :woohoo: looks like it will be a fun bike. I have to say that those CV carbs and pod filters are going to be fun to tune if your looking for more power. I personally prefer minuki VM carbs for pods. But that is my preference. . good luck and post plenty of pictures, I know im interested to see what you do.
I was talking to a guy at a local shop. he recommended Sudco carbs. Any experience with those?
1981 KZ440-b
"Martyr Machine"
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- 650ed
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1977 KZ650-C1 Original Owner - Stock (with additional invisible FIAMM horn)
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- dom2570
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Or you can do a two to one conversion with a vm34.
Whip it like a mule!
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- punisher11b
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- good luck
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- MartyrMachine
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1981 KZ440-b
"Martyr Machine"
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- dom2570
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The mikuni carb has parts easily available. I was able to get all the jets, needle jets and needles I needed cheap at a local shop.
My bike does great at the low end but struggles to get over 85.
Whip it like a mule!
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- dom2570
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The carbs from the factory are lean. The pods are going to make the bike run even more lean and the straight pipes are going to make things worse.MartyrMachine wrote: Will changing the pipes to straight pipes make the carbs more difficult to tune? The current exhaust setup is a 2-1 but it looks like the previous owner had no clue how to weld... Seriously, I've never welded before in my life but I guarantee I could do a better job than that with an afternoon of training and practice. I'm considering getting a stock setup and just leaving the mufflers off in favor of a shorter setup. Or cutting the ones on there before the welds and just redoing the 2-1.
Straight pipes are also going to make you lose a lot of back pressure and can easily lead to trashing your valves.
Whip it like a mule!
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- dom2570
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kz400.com/WorkshopManFrameset-5.html
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- 650ed
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MartyrMachine wrote: Will changing the pipes to straight pipes make the carbs more difficult to tune? ......
Yes. Also, they will reduce power regardless of tuning. If all you are trying to do is make the bike loud they will work great. :laugh: Ed
1977 KZ650-C1 Original Owner - Stock (with additional invisible FIAMM horn)
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