TOPIC:

Would it be possible to put the 16 valve head from one of the water cooled engines on a KZ750 block?

with enough time and money, anything is possible, but it would probably be a lot easier and cheaper to put the whole water cooled 16 valve engine in the 750 frame.
if you found something with the correct cylinder spacing, that would make it a lot easier, if not, you would have to cut up the head, and weld it back together with the right spacing. then you would need to do the same for the cams. next, the cam chain setup would most likely have to be a one off. oiling would need to be custom plumbed, and so would the water/coolant. squeeze a rad and water pump somewhere, hook it up to a fan that monitors water temp. and once its ready to go on, the pistons may need to be machined to work with 4 valves vs 2, that or get some 4 valve motor pistons to fit the kz750 block/con rods.
it might be simpler to make a custom head from scratch to fit your demands/dream
good luck if you try it, and give us step by step pics!!!!
Scott

Hahaha, in other words, you don't know any more than I do! It's cool man, don't sweat it.

What about grafting on a 16 valve air cooled head from an early 80s Suzuki GSX750? Anybody familiar with them?

guitargeek wrote:

Hahaha, in other words, you don't know any more than I do! It's cool man, don't sweat it.
I just know enough to think its remotely possible
What about grafting on a 16 valve air cooled head from an early 80s Suzuki GSX750? Anybody familiar with them?

the air cooled version would probly be easier, did they run the cam chain in the middle or on the side? what about cylinder spacing? combustion chamber volume?

All I know is that they ran the cam chain down the middle, and that it was a bicycle chain, but hyvo sprockets could conceivably be grafted on. Oil passages look to be in the same places, too...

i think the valve notches in the pistons would be another problem,how about just porting the head and a decent set of cams?

won't work on a suzuki, i allreadt asked that on thegsresources board. almost posative you can,t do it on a kz. would'nt the head overheat?

wireman wrote:

how about just porting the head and a decent set of cams?

Yeah, that's what I'm planning on, I was just kind of wondering out loud. Any time I have what seems like a good idea I have to wonder why nobody else has done it before...

Have not seen a water cooled head with center drive camshafts.
If you find one, it will be a PITA unless: cylinder center spacing is the same, head cooling water is NOT plumbed through the block, and the holes for the studs can be relocated without interfering with the water channels. IMO not worth messing with.

If you want a water cooled head, why not find some copper tubing and press fit it between the fins and up against the kz750 head. Pump water (or oil) through this for additional cooling. The heat will still have to traverse the distance to the part of the head that has the copper fitted. Maybe a better approach would be an oil cooler and if that's not enough, a bigger oil pump and some hogging of the channels. Or go whole hog ad use both. Another alternative would be a dam around the head with holes to isolate the spark plugs. Add water as it boils down. It's a total loss but 'old school' way to cool.

Don't know the gs750 16V but have been looking for some info on the gs1100/1150 16v to see if it will fit a kz as far as cylinder centers goes. If the studs line up, the other 'extra' holes don't look like they would be a problem. The driven sprockets are at the center.

There's still the problem of pistons. IIRC wrist pin is larger in the gs than the kz. Mixing parts from similar age old bikes seems reasonable to me, if the benefit is there. Water cooled bikes are a different generation.

I've dismissed the idea of grafting on a water cooled head as dumb.

Grafting on a 16v air cooled head is still in crazy status.

no way, not dumb, not crazy, just not normal, and very difficult;) I like to think of ideas like this as above average, and if I had the money, I would try a few:laugh: Think of ideas like this as eccentric:laugh:

Well, eccentric certainly fits me...

Say I could find a 16v water cooled head that had the same cylinder spacing and comparable combustion chamber volume and would work with my pistons and had the cam chain up the middle and fit the same bolt pattern... If all these criteria were met, I'd convert the thing to oil cooled and run a big ass oil cooler on the front.

That's a lot of ifs...