General 440 Inquiry

Apologize if this might be in the wrong area, if so please feel free to flame me and move it.

That being said....

I realize I am just starting out and this would be a ways down the road but trying to decide a direction to go. I have my KZ440 and love riding it, sense of freedom I can't get anywhere else as well as a peace and calm to the mind every time I ride it. But, I'm already wishing there was more get up and go, not wanting or trying to do anything ridiculous but not sure if the 440 is really going to have the hp and torque to keep me interested long term. So my question is this, in stock trim its about 30 hp, Pops' SR650 is roughly 60hp and the GPZ 80hp. Is it at all feasible to get a 440cc into the 60+ hp range without going with forced induction/power adder, or do I need to look into a 650-750cc KZ to be getting those figures? Like I said this is a ways off and I am going to get much more seat time and skill before going that route so I don't needlessly put myself into a bad situation.

Thanks for the time,
Irish

The 400/440 is a tough, well made little engine. The 400 is around 30hp and the 440 is something like 40 I think, For a well mannered reliable commuter bike you can find few better. It was never meant to be a performance machine. I owned a later model 440, that had a 6 speed and belt drive, that was a great little machine to get work on and gave me very little trouble.

My point is enjoy your bike for what it is, instead of fighting to make it something its not. I would suggest you put your efforts to another project fills your new found need for speed

A 650/750 is a great place to start, lots of project ready bikes out there and good parts support to make them go. The bigger 4's will always be easiest to make go fast, but they cost a little more...

Tyler wrote: The 400/440 is a tough, well made little engine. The 400 is around 30hp and the 440 is something like 40 I think, For a well mannered reliable commuter bike you can find few better. It was never meant to be a performance machine. I owned a later model 440, that had a 6 speed and belt drive, that was a great little machine to get work on and gave me very little trouble.

My point is enjoy your bike for what it is, instead of fighting to make it something its not. I would suggest you put your efforts to another project fills your new found need for speed

A 650/750 is a great place to start, lots of project ready bikes out there and good parts support to make them go. The bigger 4's will always be easiest to make go fast, but they cost a little more...

Hey Tyler,

Thanks for the reply and really appreciate it! My little bike is terrific and it's actually a 6 speed chain drive, wonderful commuter and cruiser like you said and perfect bike to learn on and get seat time in.

I kinda figured a 60+ hp build was a pipe dream but thought it worth asking about. I can find a good project 650 with some luck and patience for $500 or so and think that's likely the route I will go. Will play more with the aesthetic stuff on the 440 until I can afford a project bike (single income family and special needs kiddo makes the budget painfully tight). Really looking to swap out the handlebars and grips, not a fan of the buckhorns honestly and grips aren't great for my smaller hands on the stockers. Plus I can switch the replacements over to the project bike when that comes along and move the original buckhorns back on.

- Irish

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I put a set of Euro style handle bars on mine, handled much better than with the LTD bars.

Tyler wrote: I put a set of Euro style handle bars on mine, handled much better than with the LTD bars.

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Gorgeous 440, Tyler thank you for sharing! And yeah that is pretty much exactly what I am going for, would do mine black though most likely to match my scheme a bit closer. I posted a "wanted" for some super bike bars, see if I get any hits. Ride safe and thanks again Tyler

- Irish

Some 440's are not in as nice condition as the one you've shared here man . I love these bikes. I've made mine a project because I get more thrill out of the puttering around than distance. For distance and highway, I'll be thinking similarly and looking the 650/750 route. There's some sweet ideas for 750's on this site! In the meantime, enjoy your 440! There's just something about these 2 cylinder kawis. I see in the pic that you have a belt drive cover on. Did you do a conversion to chain? As a guy with the belt still on, I am curious if you did as to how you did it . Welcome btw!

Jbosh wrote: Some 440's are not in as nice condition as the one you've shared here man . I love these bikes. I've made mine a project because I get more thrill out of the puttering around than distance. For distance and highway, I'll be thinking similarly and looking the 650/750 route. There's some sweet ideas for 750's on this site! In the meantime, enjoy your 440! There's just something about these 2 cylinder kawis. I see in the pic that you have a belt drive cover on. Did you do a conversion to chain? As a guy with the belt still on, I am curious if you did as to how you did it . Welcome btw!

Hey JBosh,

Thanks for the welcome and the kind words always appreciated! I am pretty much set on letting this thing by 98% stock and just riding and enjoying it but I do want to change a couple things up, putting on a set of super bike bars, changing the cables and hoses over to shorten them up (thanks to the awesome brothers that pointed that out to me in another thread!), and then I want to put some different grips and some bar end mirrors on it to clean it up for how I like it, then ride the piss out of it for a year or so until I can afford my own bike and project.

To answer your question I am not sure, I know very little about the bike. Truth be told here is the story behind it (WARNING: long winded rambling coming up.....)

Several months back after Pops had already started buying and rebuilding old KZ bikes (Ajsfirehawk on here, just stumbled across the fact he is a member here today ), I started to take notice and want to be able to ride with my Dad. I had a bit of a control issue when I was younger and was constantly doing anything I could think of to push the limits in cars, fighting etc and just completely irresponsible and immature mindset. Fast forward several years and I am married coming up on 4 years in September, have a 2.5 year old son with unique needs and a job that supports the entire family, grew up a lot and matured a lot and felt I was at a place where I could safely get on a bike and not push something stupid and kill myself. My wife planted the seed in my head to do what is necessary to ride with Pops (god I love that woman, supportive through everything) and as a Father's Day present got me a class to get my certification and endorsement through Abate of Colorado. When Pops heard he agreed the time was right and that I was at a place I wouldn't try to kill myself on two wheels and started looking for a bike for me to ride with him. Father's Day of this year he located a bike and wanted to do a road trip with me to go pick it up. We get packed up in his 02' WS6 Trans Am and drive out to Scottsbluff, NE which takes us about 2.5hrs doing a 90mph charge down the interstates. Show up and locate this 440, seller is a nice older gentleman who just doesn't ride anymore, he had been given it by a friend a few years back since the friend was moving away, started up first time and was a dream to ride or so Pops said (didn't have my license or any bike experience by this point), $850 and she is ours! Pops gears up, I put the WS6 in gear and we charge back taking us around 4 hrs this time due to the lower speeds since the 440 can't cruise at 90mph Got back, took some pics and had a cigar to celebrate with a bit of my fav poison Elmer T. Lee single barrel bourbon and call it a day. Took a few weeks to bring it up to full time riding status getting everything changed and checked etc. As we picked it up, it already had the chain drive and 6 speed tranny in it, so not sure exactly how that happened but from the outside looking in does not appear to be any modification and no evidence that there has been a conversion.... In fact just got off the phone with Pops as I type this, he confirmed that it is stock, 6 speed chain drive. He went on to say that in the Kawi service manual that it has examples of 6 speed chain AND belt drive in there so not sure if that helps or answers your questions for ya.

So long story short(er), my Kz is technically Pops' bike, but mine to ride when I want and lives at his place since our townhome doesn't have any carport or garage. Couple pics from the trip..... bike alone, 3 generations of my son, myself and Pops and then just my son and me.

Thanks for reading,
- Irish