Saving a '81 KZ750-E

Blood, sweat and tears mate, she will have all of them

At least the new motor mount plate looks good. Those are not the right bolts, just holding the plate in position.

I finally received my replacement clutch bolts from Partzilla. It took over two weeks this time, when it used to be 3 or 4 days. Now I am waiting for new Viton clutch hub dampers to arrive so I can rebuild the clutch hub. As soon as I separate the clutch hub I will post some more pictures of the progress. Even though the friction plates are within the service limits, I am contemplating replacing them with new ones while I am at it.

I am still on the hunt for some piston ring compressors that will work - I returned the ones I bought rather than try to install the pistons from the top down. I have found some that seem to be a low enough profile, but they are on the pricey side. Since I need four of them, I was hoping not to spend a large amount.

I’m going to give this a try.

What type of material is under the hose clamp?

My initial inspection of the clutch hub didn't find the play. Probably due to it being stuck in place. Once freed up, I realized this fix was necessary because of the amount of play there really was. I marked a gear tooth, and the hub to illustrate the free play.



There was almost a full tooth of free play (rotated the gear clockwise). The OG bushings were hardened from age.



There are cracks in the material backing the outer steel plate. It is in several pieces, just stuck to the plate with a film of oil. I have no idea what type of material this is. Anyone have any idea? I am assuming this part can't be purchased precut and I will need to make my own replacement...

Here's everything you'll need to know about the clutch hub rebuild..

kzrider.com/forum/11-projects/602462-kz750e-resto-mod?start=48

Skidmark wrote: What type of material is under the hose clamp?

Plastic. I’ll see if I can find the post. It was from a member here

EDIT. Daveo was the member that posted that design. Here is the post. kzrider.com/forum/21-tools/591927-kawasa...g-compressor?start=0

No matter what you do, you will only be able to do two pistons and rings at a time unless you have the fancy Kawasaki ring compressor tool. 2/3 then 1/4 if you are using hose clamps or the Suzuki ring tool pictured below.

Like I said before I used two of the Suzuki piston tools and their bands to get my Kz1000 73mm pistons and rings into their bores. The two holders and the two bands cost me right around 110 dollars for the pair. I believe Kawasaki now uses basically the same type of tool on their newer bikes. I don't have a late model shop manual to check if they do or not. Kawasaki special tools were always cheaper than the similar tool from Suzuki. The hose clamps are a real pain in the ass to work with if you ask me!!!

Appears they are not Suzuki only. This is a screen shot of tools for a Kz400 1974-1977. Found them on Amazon for $67.00 each.

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationA set just sold . Interesting look at the second picture and how they spell Kawasaki. (Kowaseiki)

I've never used ring compressors with a motorcycle engine. I prop up the cylinder using wood blocks and then rotate up the pistons into the cylinders while pinching in the rings using a plastic stick. As long as you take your time it works fine.