NEW 1981 KZ305 owner!!

Wow that thing does look nice! A little cleaning makes for a whole new bike. :woohoo:

I recommend making a copy of the maintenance chart in the fsm or the owner manual. Tape it on the wall of your garage near where you work on the bike. Do every single thing on the list, assuming that none of it was ever done. This will eliminate many potential problems and may help you see any other problems lurking in the dark recesses.
As Martin has often posted, it is a good idea to replace the rear brake shoes, even if they look good. The glue that holds the friction material on the metal shoes deteriorates with time. The material can suddenly come off,mresulting in a locked up wheel. Not much fun at highway speed in heavy traffic....

TexasKZ wrote: I recommend making a copy of the maintenance chart in the fsm or the owner manual. Tape it on the wall of your garage near where you work on the bike. Do every single thing on the list, assuming that none of it was ever done. This will eliminate many potential problems and may help you see any other problems lurking in the dark recesses.
As Martin has often posted, it is a good idea to replace the rear brake shoes, even if they look good. The glue that holds the friction material on the metal shoes deteriorates with time. The material can suddenly come off,mresulting in a locked up wheel. Not much fun at highway speed in heavy traffic....

Excellent advice! Keep in mind that even if the previous owner actually performed all the maintenance tasks he did so at least 10 years ago! So, as an example, 10 year old brake fluid in the brake fluid reservoir has absorbed moisture for 10 years and is no longer the same fluid that it was when new; it MUST be changed. That's just one example, and that assumes the previous owner performed all maintenance task the day he stopped riding - which for sure he did not do. Ed

And light lubricants, like throttle and clutch lube, will have evaporated. Too many owners skip checking the valve adjustment because it seems rather intimidating. It is really important, and not that hard to do.

Thanks for all the advice!
The front brakes did not work at all, the reservoir was in pretty bad shape, so I replaced it with a 2016 CRF250L reservoir. I am installing Tracker style bars, so I need a different reservoir anyways so it worked out. I plan on completely flushing the brake system and starting with all new fluid.
I also picked up carb kits today, so I will tear them down tomorrow. I plan on flushing the tank also. So that should take care of the fuel system.
I will also do a oil change tomorrow.
Best place to find a how to on the Valves? I have done them on other bikes, so not to scared to tackle the job!

Thanks Again everyone!

Here is a picture of the new handlebars, much better than the ape hangers that were on it! Needed to mount the new bars so I could mount the new reservoir.

Cleaned out the carbs and gas tank over the weekend. Got it to start up! Also cleaned up the motor and frame.

Frontend is coming together. Went with a larger tire than what it came with stock, 100/90/18, really like the look of the fatter tire. Big difference from when I got it. My new turn signals should be in tomorrow and still trying to figure out mirrors.

Looking good. Should be on the road soon.

Hopefully I can get it running soon, I picked up a new project bike and the KZ will be put on the back burner for a week or two!

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationRan across this and thought you may be interested

If you need a Service Manual i can offer DL link for you.