kz440 : 14

Got the head back together and the bike running again. Threw a cheap megaphone on to help add some back pressure. Unfortunately I killed the battery, so until the new one shows up tuning will have to wait a bit longer.

Derrick

kz440 : 13

Head gasket leak ended up being more involved than originally thought. Some galling on one of the the cam bearings and cap. Found a new head and cam for less than $60 shipped that are in great condition, but best of all they came from the same bike.

Good.



Bad.







The left bore looks perfect, but the right has some flaws. No gouges or anything, but some water marks. At this point I am going to let it be. The bike barely wisps any smoke, and 440 rings/pistons are really pricey and fairly rare. There are big bore options using gs850 pistons, but that requires reaming the little end of the rods and huge weight reduction to match close enough to stock weight. I'm not ready to tackle that yet.



For the time being, I am soaking the gas tank in vinegar to get rid of sediment and rust. Hell, I may even start painting parts.

Derrick

kz440 : 12

Took a 150 or so mile trip Saturday with some Ozark Mountain Scramble alumni to do a shake down run. I've got a few things to tinker with as far as jetting is concerned. The primary main needs leaned out a bit, and the secondary needs to be richened. Exhaust is in dire need of some back pressure which will probably help the jetting conundrum. On top of that, a slight head gasket leak popped up, so I am going to re-torque and see if that clears things up. If not I have a full gasket set at the ready to swap out.

As far as suspension goes, the rear shocks might as well be blocks of wood. Actually I think blocks of wood would be an improvement. The rear feels unstable and wants to wash out under any acceleration. All bumps are transferred directly to my ass and spine. I have ridden hard tails that are more forgiving. I have a feeling the kz1000 police shocks are just set up way too stiff, so I am going to sell these off and get some from a 750 or the like. The good news is that the Progressive fork springs are spot on, so just the rear needs improvement.

All in all, not a bad first trip, just needs some refinement.

Derrick

kz440 : 11

I've been dicking around with the seat pan for way too long. I ditched my horrible attempt at fiberglass, and decided to work with what I know best. After some head scratching I got it all finished, and some foam carved up for some beta testing. After a few miles yesterday, I'm pretty confident I'm headed down the right track. The bike is running great so far, and seems to require very little tuning. I think it's safe to say the bike is Ozark Mountain Scramble ready.

Derrick

kz440 : 10

Need to up the secondary mains a bit, figure out a seat, and some other gibberish. Just about road legal to start raping the streets.

Derrick

kz440 : 09

Got a lot done in the past month or so. I really wasn't digging the bottom mount Bates style headlight on this bike. It looked out of place, and the bracket I made was just janky. I really liked the stock unit, so I chopped down some old universal brackets to weld onto the fork covers I previously made. Super tight fit, but it looks much better. Added some fork gaiters that still need some trimming, but we are inching closer. Also got in a new master cylinder since the stocker was shot. I saved some much needed cash on the budget by keeping the stock headlight, caliper, and brake line.







Things weren't progressing quick enough for me, so I took a full vacation day off work to get out in the garage and get the 440 going. I did the following:

carb diaphragms
set float height
blow out jets and openings in carbs
install all new carb o-rings
make new pilot screw washers(missing)
install petcock
fuel lines trimmed and quick disconnect on tank for fuel crossover
oil uni-filters
handlebars trimmed
handlebar grips trimmed
front brake bled
throttle assembly setup/adjusting
throttle cable routing/adjusting
clutch cable routing/adjusting
wire/install new coil/plug caps
install new regulator rectifier
install chain/adjust tension
adjust and clearance rear brake pedal/linkage
finish wiring everything but the lights
adjust points/timing
fork fluid
tighten up exhaust





I didn't think to have a battery fully charged and ready to go, so instead of hearing a beautiful roar, I got to hear the starter chug a couple times and that was it. After some trickle charging, I finally got to hear it run. Shitty. I spent about a week chasing down little issues here and there. Once I got it to idle, mid throttle it would just cackle an cut out instead of rev. Found out the points/condenser were trashed, and now it revs to the moon with ease. I have a slight, and I do mean slight, hesitation at idle. Here's a video of one of the first rides when the points were bad.



Still tuning for the most part, but now I can focus on making a seat pan, inner rear fender, chain guard, front fender, and sealing some oil leaks on the side covers.

Derrick

kz440 : 08

Got some work done on the electrics. Battery brackets are done. Not pretty or remotely straight, but holds just fine.







The battery stays pretty well hidden under the tail, and has plenty of tire clearance with the kz1000 police shocks.



The starter solenoid and regulator/rectifier tuck nicely under the cb350 tank with plenty of air to stay cool. The zip tie is temporary until I get the new reg/rec in and can confirm bolt hole spacing to make the bracket.





I welded a cb350 ignition bracket to the coil bracket. Once again, it's not pretty, but no one will see this anyways. I am using a marine grade Pollak 33-105 ignition switch with the built in starter circuit. I've used them a few times now, and haven't had one fail me yet. Super easy to wire, and relatively small.



Everything hides real nice with the tank on.





An overall shot with the Unifilters.



I whipped up a new wiring diagram.



The plan is to have it fully wired by the weekend with the help of my new vintage wire connections kit and crimper tool from Cycle Terminal. The initial investment is a hit to the wallet, but should speed up the process considerably and function more like a stock wire harness.



Derrick

kz440 : 07

Got my tank mounts finish welded and gusseted.





I found a standard factory 2-1 exhaust on ebay. The muffler has been gutted due to rust. The baffling practically just fell out. I need to shorten the body of the muffler, add a baffle, and make a megaphone style cap from a cocktail shaker cap to call it done.

The rear wheel axle spacers have been cut to get the 550 wheel and chain lined up. Rear brake pedal and linkage are now working properly after making a new brake arm stop about 2" longer than the stock LTD to get a good usable range.

I also scored a pair of z1000 police shocks that are about 1 1/4" longer than stock. With those installed, I need to slide the fork tubes back flush with the trees.

Derrick

kz440 : 06

Made some upper fork covers, to hide the pitted rusty spots. I had some leftover exhaust tubing that worked great.

One down, one to go.





Finished the other cover as well as started on the headlight bracket. I'm not happy with this version. It needs to be tucked in a bit more.







Got distracted and started finishing the rear tail mount loop and fitting the tail light. The broken lens makes it look a bit crooked. Need to order one soon.







Just about finished with the tank mounts. They need some gussets added for strength.







The to do list is fading, but still pretty long. With a baby due any day now I am trying to get a huge head start to make sure this bike makes the ride with some proven test miles.

Derrick

kz440 : 05

Just about got the front forks finished. The cap on one of them was rusted up pretty solid, and just didn't want to pop out after removing the wire clip.

Clean on one side.



Not so much here.



Luckily the caps have air dampening valves, so I found a bolt with the same thread pitch and an oversize washer did the trick. It's not magic, and it took me a few days to think of it.





Nice and crusty.



Everything pulled apart and internals cleaned.



Drilled out the dampening rod holes to 1/4". Before and after.



Cleaned up the fork lowers real nice. Before and after.



I found a damn good price on some Progressive fork springs, so if budget allows that's all I lack to call the forks done. If not, I need to shorten these springs 1 1/2" since the LTD forks are longer than standard.

Derrick