TOPIC:

Hi, My name is Tom and I am new to this site. Sorry if you are reading this twice. I tried to post but I might have done some thing wrong. So, I will make this shorter. I am brand new to the site. I tried a search for a vendor that might sell me a stainless allen head cap screw set for the engine and carbs on a 1979 Kz 750 B which I am trying to bring back to life. Can anyone suggest someone. I have looked on ebay and craigslist and google with little luck. Thanks in advance for your help.

www.z1enterprises.com/ItemDetails.aspx?i...+76-79&item=NGSS-211

Dude, there is a Guy in Florida, a boat guy. But He sells the best and cheapest stuff.
This forum condones non- payer for profit so search around. Ebay of course.

The bolt depot.com

A word of advice when removing (or installing) the stock KZ screws -

Do not even try to use Phillips screwdrivers on the Kawasaki cross head screws. Despite their appearance they are not Phillips screws. They are Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) screws. The tips of Phillips screwdrivers are too long & pointed to allow the 4 blades of the screwdriver to properly engage the screws, so when you apply force the screw head slots will deform and look like crap. The fact is that Phillips screws were deliberately designed to have the screwdriver bit "cam out." This was done to prevent production line assembly from over-tightening, stripping, or breaking the screws. JIS screws do not have this problem. A proper fitting JIS bit can tighten a JIS screw to and beyond the torque spec without camming out. Here's the good news - you can easily modify standard Phillips screwdriver tips to fit the JIS screws. One other thing; if a screw is really stubborn soak it with Kroil for a couple days and it will come out. Otherwise you may end up breaking the screw or the part it is threaded into. This is especially true of the carb holder and tach guide screws since they sometimes bond to the cylinder head.

I have ground down the tips of DeWalt #2 and DeWalt #3 Phillips to make them fit JIS screws. The large crosshead screws on the cases take modified #3 bits (or genuine #3 JIS bits). To modify the DeWalt bits you need to grind the very tip a little, then test fit, then grind a little more and test fit, etc. until the bit no longer "rocks" back and forth in the screwhead. Picture 1 below shows how a DeWalt #3 bit fits the case screws of my KZ650 after being ground properly. The #2 DeWalt bits can be modified the same way to fit smaller JIS screws. Pictures 2 and 3 below shows DeWalt #2 and #3 modified bits.

I did find a place that sells authentic JIS bits. They don't list the #3 bit, but if you contact them they can provide the #3 JIS bits even though they are not listed on the website. These folks were very easy to work with, and the authentic bits do work great. Here's their site:

www.rjrcooltools.com/shop_item_detail.cfm?subcat_ID=89

Pictures 4 & 5 below show a comparison between my home made modified bits with the authentic JIS bits.

PICTURE 1

PICTURE 2

PICTURE 3

PICTURE 4

PICTURE 5

z1kzonly wrote: Dude, there is a Guy in Florida, a boat guy. But He sells the best and cheapest stuff.
This forum condones non- payer for profit so search around. Ebay of course.

I'm not sure what you meant.

They have a marine boat business in Florida. "searay340" << e bay I.D. or polarroler1 at aol dot com
I bought a KZ900 set a few years ago, he just filled a bag with about 100 pieces. Washers, acorns They even had the 4 long bolts for the sprocket cover that are hard to get.
Figure ocean salt water, they need stainless fasteners.

Hows this for ya??
www.ebay.com/sch/searay340/m.html?_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1

I think this guy works there and is into motorcycles also, so he does this on the side too.

Several years ago, I bought a carburetor bolt set from seary340. Good quality A2 Polished.
His ebbaay item location is Wisconsin.
The set listed for the 750-Twin doesn't seem that great & has a crummy pic.
So >>> Z1Enterprises.com. ??? maybe ???

LVTom wrote: Hi, My name is Tom and I am new to this site. Sorry if you are reading this twice. I tried to post but I might have done some thing wrong. So, I will make this shorter. I am brand new to the site. I tried a search for a vendor that might sell me a stainless allen head cap screw set for the engine and carbs on a 1979 Kz 750 B which I am trying to bring back to life. Can anyone suggest someone. I have looked on ebay and craigslist and google with little luck. Thanks in advance for your help.

Most hardware stores sell Hilllman Hardware. For example Ace Hardware. If you take your cap screw down to Ace Hardware and try to find a Hillman equivalent here is what you will likely experience. Somewhere by all the little plastic pull out drawers of fasteners there will be a board with various threaded metal posts on it. This lets you discover the root diameter and thread count for your cap screw shaft. With this info you can then find screws, nuts, bolts, etc which match your cap screw example. They will have both stainless and non-stainless examples. When you find the stainless cap screws, you will likely find a cap screw match for your part except the head has a different diameter and a different allen wrench size than your fastener. Most often both are larger then the one you are trying to replace. Same goes for bolts and the heads on Philips head screws. Mechanically this only presents a problem when the fastener head has to fit in a hole in the part you are trying to fasten. For example the picture 650ed is showing previously. Then perhaps there is aesthetics. When it comes to aesthetics I'm a follower of wabi-sabi where imperfection is considered beautiful. Become a fellow follower and your life will have less frustration. Scratches, dents, fastener head sizes all become character marks of past experience. Also, I just care if my bikes work and right now.

With regard to the larger head size on Hillman hardware not fitting your part, You can often turn the heads down to smaller diameter. When you buy the part also buy a nut that fits the thread. Put the fastener threaded shaft in a drill chuck. Use a file to reduce the diameter. A drill press is easier than a hand drill but both will work. Use the nut to clean up the threads on your fastener if slightly damaged.

Hillman hardware must use the head sizes it does for a reason. They must believe they are the most common sizes used. So why is it that Japanese bike manufactures used uncommon head sizes?

z1kzonly wrote: Hows this for ya??
www.ebay.com/sch/searay340/m.html?_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1

I think this guy works there and is into motorcycles also, so he does this on the side too.

Jeez? Thanks Martin. What was I thinking? I know it was years ago? But WTF? and I gave up weed 20 years ago

Bolt depot.com