KZ750B Twin Snow Bike Sidecar

**LAB3** · 02-15-2024, 02:43 PM

Went by a sign earlier this afternoon that said 81 but I don't think it was much more than 75. Although I do love being up north in the summer the novelty of riding through snow wore off decades ago.

**DEEBS11** · 02-16-2024, 03:47 AM

I hear ya LAB3. It's not for everybody. I just could not stand the depression of not riding over the winter months so I corrected my situation. It's also pretty cool to be virtually the only bike on the road for almost 5 months a year for the last 11 seasons. I am living the dream.

**LAB3** · 02-16-2024, 08:01 AM

Here's a pic from April 19th 2019, already had 1k miles under my belt before a late snow blew in, my last northern winter. Two weeks later I was in Arkansas. I've ridden from northern Michigan to Daytona for bike week before and up until I was about 50 rode whenever there wasn't ice or snow on the road on an old beater 920 Virago.

**oldyam80sg** · 02-17-2024, 05:41 PM

DEEBS11 -still amazed that you ride the bike even when it snows. My Jeep currently needs repairs that I have been putting off due to lack of funds. Do you own a car? Never have seen someone ride in the snow-here in NJ I have seen people ride after it stops snowing and we get a warmer day. The salt/brine mix they put on the roads would certainly start to rust everything quick. Also lots of inexperienced car drivers doesn't help.

**DEEBS11** · 02-18-2024, 03:26 AM

I do own an old F150 2 wheel drive that I use for work only. Don't drive it much. Two wheels to many. My secret to keeping salt corrosion down to a minimum is lots of Corrosion Block grease on every nut & bolt and a product called Salt Away to wash the bike with a sprayer/mixer. It works great for winter riding.

**DEEBS11** · 02-18-2024, 03:42 AM

You can see in the wash picture one of my other winter bikes a 98 Guzzi California 1100. Just turned 225,000 miles (no motor work ever, just oil changes every 3K miles). BTW, my wife rides with me all winter.

**DEEBS11** · 02-18-2024, 04:08 AM

My third winter bike is an 80 KZ1000 MKII which I don't think you will see many these days in the snow.

**DEEBS11** · 02-19-2024, 05:24 AM

On the road yesterday 6:30AM riding through Windsor.

**gtem** · 02-19-2024, 12:19 PM

Absolutely inspirational. I always had a soft spot for those KZ750 twins and on several occasions have come close to buying one. One of these days! Cool that Delkevic has really stepped up offering good quality stainless steel replacement exhausts for a whole bunch of different UJMs. Thanks for posting this up.

**DEEBS11** · 02-19-2024, 03:19 PM

I like the twin. It's torquey. I geared it real high to pull the sidecar. Top speed is about 70 but it can climb hills with a payload. I have the carbs dialed in perfectly. The main jet on these bikes is actually a pilot jet for another type carb. The pilot jet is very specific and has to have the correct number of bleed holes or the bike will run like crap. The carbs are Mikuni and are very similar to the XS650 twin carb. The ignition is points and condensor but I eliminated the condensor and went with a IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor or Gate) type of electronic ignition. The points are now only used as a low current switch closure which means they will last forever (or whenever the pivot wears out. Perhaps 75K miles?). It also has a black Dyna 5 ohm coil (always use 5 ohm coils with points). The 3 ohm units don't last as long because they run hotter and develop cracks after about 20 years. The Delkavic exhaust is nice but a little too loud for me. I modified the baffle to quiet it down. The bike really rips for a 750.

And as I mentioned before. I eliminated the weak old 2 wire (single phase) stator charging system and converted it to a KZ1000J Police bike 3 phase system. Plenty of power for lights or heated grips. BTW, I don't run heated grips on this bike because the Hippo Hands from Craig Vetter are plenty warm.

**DEEBS11** · 02-23-2024, 09:56 AM

This has been a dream of mine for several years. Perhaps someone here has attended. There is not one "Ride to Live - Live to Ride" badge to be found. I have found that the owners of bikes that display badges such as this actually do neither. They are coined Credit Card Bikers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXj6ABPoZbY

**LAB3** · 02-23-2024, 10:48 AM

I'll never forget one of those "credit card" bikers asking about tips on becoming "the real deal" one time. He said "What do real bikers think about heated grips?" So I said to him "As long as there's open flames involved I don't see a problem with it"