1976 Kawasaki kz400 Top Speed?

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Shawnk7706

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Hi. I just recently bought a 1976 Kawasaki kz400. For it being as old as it is, the bike runs very well. I know that the kz400's were not built for performance. However i cannot seem to get this bike over 55-60 mph. Once it hits 60, it usually slows down to 55. My question is, does anyone know if this is normal? The bike is registered for 120, although i know its highly unlikely that it would ever do that. Maybe its me? I'm 200 pounds plus. It's an older bike, so im sure there are things that need to be looked over a little better. Does anyone know if cleaning the carbs, and correctly lubing the chain would yeild any performance gains? Or can anyone give me some insight on what to do, to add some top speed?

Thanks,

Shawn
 
Its not you, although a 120 pounder would probably get a little more speed out of the bike. Those old 400's were town bikes, I never saw one that would do freeway speeds. The speedo might read 120, but unless you're being towed by a high performance truck, you won't ever get it to that speed.

Cleaning the carbs, changing points and coils, giving it a good lube job, all will make it run better, but you still won't see better than 70 mph. You could play with sprocket sizes to get a little more top end.
 
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