TOPIC:

Hey guys, it looks like my bike (1981 KZ440 LTD - chain) is burning a pretty good amount of oil. It doesn't smoke at all, but it has a hard time starting, bogs under any kind of throttle, full choke kills it, and also if you start it and let it run for 5 minutes without doing any thing and check the oil after killing the engine and letting the oil settle for about 30 minutes it'll go from halfway between full and low to about 1/4 above low (don't know what the rate in quarts would be)

To the meat of the matter: what special tools and parts should I obtain in order to replace the piston rings and valve stem seals?

I haven't compression tested yet (buddy has my tester), but from what I hear those are about the two things that cause oil burning and you may as well replace both while you're in there, right? I've had the head off of a GS750 before so I'm familiar with the process, but at the moment I'm away from all my elbow-deep-in-an-engine tools b/c I'm at school, and I was wondering if anyone had a quick list of tools/parts I should have/replace while I'm doing this.

Thanks! I didn't see anyone else post about this exact topic, so sorry if this is a repeat.

Okay, so far this is what I have for a list:

Parts
-Head Gasket
-Valve Cover Gasket
-Valve Stem Seals
-Piston Rings

Tools
-Valve Spring Compressor
-Piston Ring Compressor
-Service Manual
-Rubber Mallet

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Anything else I should add, other than basic tools (socket set, screw drivers, wrenches, etc.)? Thanks again for the help guys.

Cylinder base gasket.
Cylinder measuring tools and honing equipment, unless you plan to have a machine shop do this step.

Torque wrench

Thanks! So, semi final list:

Parts
-Head Gasket
-Valve Cover Gasket
-Valve Stem Seals
-Piston Rings (Hard to find, but try eBay for NOS rings)
-Cylinder Base Gasket

Tools
-Valve Spring Compressor
-Piston Ring Compressor
-Service Manual
-Rubber Mallet
-Bore Gauge (Harbor Freight has some cheap sets which I consistently hear are "good enough for this purpose")
-Micrometer
-Torque Wrench
-Honing Equipment (if planning on honing on your own; I am not)

I'm listing this stuff halfway for my own good, halfway so that if anyone else searches what I searched they can find this quick and easy. Sorry for any redundancy, again.

NOS and OEM can be the same.

OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer. Kawasaki or one of its suppliers.
NOS = New Old Stock -- can be OEM parts that are 20, 30, 40 years old or more that are still unused, usually still in original packaging.

Oops haha, figured NOS was an aftermarket company. I've never heard that term before. I'll make an edit to the list.