Here's a set on EBAY. $149 for the pair. One year later, but should work. I don't know why people are fixing these bikes. I hope yours isn't a belt drive.

1982 Kawasaki KZ440 LTD 440 Carbs | eBay

This part is sold as is. We always have motorcycles coming in. Live close to Watertown, Wisconsin?. We work hard to solve all issues. This does not apply to This is aUSED item. Be aware of any modifications that prior owners may have made to your motorcycle.

www.ebay.com

 

Should i not be trying to fix this bike up? lol are they a pain to work on? sorry im just confused lol

 

There are die-hard fans of the 440 and then there are those of us who are less fond of them.

If you have an emotional attachment to the 440 and if money is not tight, then have at 'er but bear in mind many parts are NLA or very hard to find. Drive belts are impossible to source. If am wrong, then anyone who has a source PLEASE post it here, the die-hard fans will love you for it.

Also if anyone knows of a source for starter motors, or rebuild kits for starter motors, PLEASE post here.

 

I had experience with this bike, as an ex-girlfriend owned one, and I rode it a lot. At the time it was a reliable, started all the time motorcycle. As time went one, I noticed with other people who had these bikes, they were getting ride of them. When the belts disappeared, they disappeared.

If you are wiling to go through a chain conversion, and aren't worrying about keeping the bike "original", you could bring it back to a daily driver. $149 for a set of carbs (the ebay ones I posted) is cheap, in my opinion. If you don't have much money into it, you could put it together, and have a very economical bike to ride, they sip gasoline. I don't know how much you paid for it, so it's hard to give a suggestion on whether you should keep going or part it out. How many miles are on it?

 

Partzilla shows that in 1981 there were 3 versions of the KZ440 LTD. Two of them had belts and one did not.
The OP has not yet advised us if his has the belt or chain drive. Maybe he got lucky and found one with chain drive.

 

Morning all!!! Sorry for the late response! It is the chain drive model and it has 19k miles on it. I paid 100$ since my grandmas neighbor had it but didnt want it any longer since he upgraded to a new bike. Mine is the ZD-440A version and from my research WFO-KZ is correct and there was a few different versions. Like i said previously i have next to no experience working on bikes but im super eager to learn. From what i read the stock carbs are OK but not amazing. If there would be a better option i would love to know which to pursue. Anyone know of a good alternative other than the stock ones? Thanks for the info all! I really appreciate it!

 

"mine is the KZ-440A" sorry for the typo

 

That's a decent price for sure. If nothing else, you can get that back by parting it, out so your "investment" is protected.

I don't think any third parties targeted this bike for any new carb upgrades and I have not heard of anyone swapping carbs. Theoretically possible, but carb adaptation and carb tuning is an art, a science and a bit of black magic. Just because a carb fits or can be made to fit, in no way guarantees it will work properly.

At this stage I would opt for the cheapest set of OEM carbs you can find. Bear in mind when you get it running, what happens if you find the engine is in need of a complete rebuild and needs parts that are NLA?

Keep your repair budget low and take things one step at a time. Get it running and see what else it needs. From that you can develop a repair budget and see if it makes sense to spend the time and money it might need.

Those are my thoughts.

 

Thank you so much for the info! I really do appreciate it! As far as the carbs go I think ill take your advice and get the ebay ones you linked (again thank you). As far as the engine and having issues finding parts, i hope to all hell i get lucky lol. I hope this will be a great tool to learn some basics of motorcycles in general. I have heard from a few friends that this bike is a great starter bike, but youll get bored with it quickly and want to jump to something else.

So far my investment on this has been 100$ for it, 60$ for new battery, and maybe 5$ for new spark plugs. As long as i can pace my spending and work here and there i hope it doesnt nickle and dime me to death. Not that i (or the wife) would allow me to do that.

Thanks a ton for the info, and ill update when possible.

Tonight were gonna throw the new battery in and hope to get a good reading on a pressure test. Then its on to the carbs and seeing if this old girl will start for me!

Heres a few pics of it.

 

Thanks but kudos also to Kawasakian who found the carbs on Ebay for you.

A word of advice, if you have not already turned the engine over by hand then first remove the plugs and pour about a quarter of a cup of oil (Marvel Mystery Oil is recommended) into both cylinders and let it sit preferably overnight.

Then with a wrench on the crankshaft gently try to turn it over. If it moves, then spin it over a bunch of times before you ever try the electric start. This will hopefully prevent engine damage.

 

Whoops! sorry, Kudos to both of you!

And i got it to roll down a hill in 3rd gear, heard a little Put-put-put sounds when it was moving. I assume that was a good thing?

I will absolutely do that tonight, as i dont want to do more damage then what possibly was already done. Thank you for more info on this all, ill report back with how it goes. Hopefully it doesnt end in sadness and more questions!

 

Once the oil has moved around a bit, a compression test will tell you if the motor is holding compressions. I'd probably adjust the valves first, to make sure they aren't too tight (open) and you get a true compression reading.

 

Sounds like a plan! How does one do that lol is it a simple process to adjust them?
Did some tinkering yesterday, i got the battery hooked up , all lights work, horn works too. I know it needs new spark plugs as well since after i took them out they were a little beat up looking. As well as the spark plug cables since i got no reading

 

Get the Factory Service Manual. You can find them online in .pdf format. It's not allowed to post the links though, but extremely easy to find, for free. That will tell you how to do what you need to learn and do. We can happily help you fill in the blanks.