New old KZ550 to be made roadworthy

Good day from coastal MA

My son (Member toast) recently acquired a KZ550 Ltd, C3 series. I'm helping him get it back on the road. It's been a while - my first bike was a 50s-era BSA Bantam, and my last was a Honda CB250 in the 70s. I'm a long-time tech writer doing manuals for computer and engineering/mobile robotics so somewhat familiar with mechanical stuff.

The bike seems pretty sound mechanically and runs well although reluctant to start. Takes a bit of coaxing. Found that water had leaked into the ignition because a stud is broken, the turn flashers were not DOT-compliant (replaced) and there is a lot of over-chrome paint that is flaking off.

We just replaced the front fork seals and they are leaking again, and now the front brake is kaput so I'm looking forward to learning how to put this stuff right and get the old bugger back on the road. The bike, not me.

welcome. plenty of help here to get her sorted out .

Found a lot of aftermarket fork seals leak. if the tubes are rust free and straight then get genuine OEM seals. Also stick with std or lower air pressure and do not overfill the forks with oil.

Regards and welcome
Ro b b

Thanks Linuxrob

(I also wrote Linux supercompute cluster manuals. This forum is a good "load sharing facility".)

We got the good seals from Z1, so I suspect we effed something up. The oil volume/level has different specs in several places.

Cwal wrote: I'm looking forward to learning how to put this stuff right and get the old bugger back on the road. The bike, not me.

Well, why not you?

I really like the KZ550. The photo below is my wife's 1980 version. Mostly original except for the colour and a slightly modified seat.
The rear signals were moved to accommodate some small saddle bags. We picked it up a few years ago and rebuilt it over a winter. She has since purchased a DR 650 so this one doesn't get ridden very often. It's a bit too small for my 6 ft 3 in frame. I hope yours eventually returns to its former glory.

Not trying to create work but a good idea to check the charging system health too. KZ550 & UJMs charging systems in general are not robust. Dirty connections, loose grounds, overheated connections etc . often result in charging problems.