KV75 Throttle grip and cable needed

[MpJeeper]

I have my old KV75 from when I was a kid and want to rehab it for my 14yo son.
When I was young, one leg of the split cable broke. My father tried to fix it and disassembled it. He has since passed and when I retrieved the bike, the grip is missing and of course all of the cables and boots.
What do I need and where can I get it?

Thanks!

 

[sparkwizard]

Your local Kawasaki dealer might be able to sell you replacement parts, or at least give you dimensions. Good luck and have fun!

 

[ZR9B]

Cool bikes...kid down the street had one. His dad let know one ride it. good luck with it.

 

[Bonanza MX]

I have my old KV75 from when I was a kid and want to rehab it for my 14yo son.
When I was young, one leg of the split cable broke. My father tried to fix it and disassembled it. He has since passed and when I retrieved the bike, the grip is missing and of course all of the cables and boots.
What do I need and where can I get it?

Thanks!

Neat little machine! I have had a few of these over the years. They are known to have 2nd gear go out of them.
I restored one 10 years and cables were hard to find then. I had the brake cables made at a local cycle repair shop. You can buy your own build t yourself cable kit too. Quick check on eBay shows you can get all 3 cables for about $65 each
The throttle itself is the same throttle assembly used on the Kawi enduros back then and should be easy to find.
most of all, enjoy bringing this one back. be sure to have your boy do a lot of the work, it will pay dividends for him later in life to have the experience

 

[MpJeeper]

Your local Kawasaki dealer might be able to sell you replacement parts, or at least give you dimensions. Good luck and have fun!

Thanks. I will try that if all else fails....I figure that will be the most expensive route, but may be necessary if all else fails. I have to start getting into it to see what all is missing.

 

[sparkwizard]

Did you look at post #3, above. @Havasu Dave posted a link to all 3 cables and the connector. Is that what you neeed?
If so, get it before it's gone.

 

[Gatecrasher]

Your Kawasaki dealership isn't going to have anything for these old bikes. Fortunately everything you are needing can be found on eBay or through Vintage Kawasaki.

The chances are you will need to rebuild your carb if it has been sitting for a long time.

 

[Gatecrasher]

Your bike is either a 1972 or 1973. Both were orange.

I have two of them. Here's one...

 

[Gatecrasher]

I'd have to look through my stuff but probably have a throttle assembly somewhere I could sell if you can't find one. I also manufacture reproduction sprockets and sell sprocket & chain kits along with some carburetor stuff for MT1/KV75 too.

 

[Bonanza MX]

Cables aren't that big of a deal. Plenty out there who can make them up from scratch. $70 for cables for that bike don't seem excessive.

I agree, $200 to replace all the cables seems ok. Years ago you could not get them. I bought nos cables and sold my used ones in an eBay auction for almost what I paid for the nos. Glad to see you can get new cables now. I have bought several Japanese bikes carb kits from that place, good quality stuff
I never looked this engine over when I had it apart. I always wanted to map the porting, do the math, and port it out a little. Maybe get it to accelerate a little quicker. Possibly the engine was tamed by Kawasaki to prevent injury lawsuits

 

[MpJeeper]

Your bike is either a 1972 or 1973. Both were orange.

I have two of them. Here's one...

View attachment 328350

Mine is exactly like that....so, is it an MT1 or KV75?

Your bike is either a 1972 or 1973. Both were orange.

I have two of them. Here's one...

View attachment 328350

Mine is exactly like that....so, is it an MT1 or KV75? Aren't the cable setups different between the two? Do you have any pictures of the top of the carb?

Thanks!

 

[Gatecrasher]

If it is orange, it is a MT1A.

1971-1975 were all MT1
1976-1980 were KV75

The designation goes as follows:

• 1971 - MT1 "Dynamite" Parnelli Jones
• 1972 - MT1A
• 1973 - MT1A
• 1974 - MT1B
• 1975 - MT1C
• 1976 - KV75 A5
• 1977 - KN75 A6
• 1978 - KV75 A7
• 1979 - KV75 A8
• 1980 - KV75 A9

Differences between the MT1 & KV75:

• Each year had it's own color except 1972-1973 were both orange
• 1971 was the only year with exterior coil spring forks (two variations)
• 1971 was the only year without a spark arrestor in the exhaust
• 1971-1975 the shift pattern was 3-down
• 1975-1980 the shift pattern was 1-down, 2-up
• 1971-1975 the seats are bolt-on
• 1976-1980 the seats have spring loaded latches for tool-free removal
• 1971-1975 the throttle cables simply slide into carburetor
• 1975-1980 the throttle cables have retainer C-clips to prevent cable from coming out accidentally
• 1971 has a slightly curved kick start lever
• 1972-1980 have a straight kick start lever
• 1971-1975 have the classic Kawasaki semi-smooth hand grips
• 1975-1980 have ribbed hand grips
• 1971-1977 have polished aluminum hand controls
• 1978-1980 have black coated aluminum hand controls
• 1971-1973 have the stubby plastic front and rear fenders
• 1974-1980 have full size plastic front and rear fenders
• 1971-1975 have fenders the same color as the gas tanks
• 1976-1980 have black fenders
• 1971-1975 have oval shaped oil tanks
• 1976-1980 have more rectangular/trapazodial oil tanks

There are some other rminor differences but those are the main ones.

 

[Bonanza MX]

If it is orange, it is a MT1A.

1971-1975 were all MT1
1976-1980 were KV75

The designation goes as follows:

• 1971 - MT1 "Dynamite" Parnelli Jones
• 1972 - MT1A
• 1973 - MT1A
• 1974 - MT1B
• 1975 - MT1C
• 1976 - KV75 A5
• 1977 - KN75 A6
• 1978 - KV75 A7
• 1979 - KV75 A8
• 1980 - KV75 A9

Differences between the MT1 & KV75:

• Each year had it's own color except 1972-1973 were both orange
• 1971 was the only year with exterior coil spring forks (two variations)
• 1971 was the only year without a spark arrestor in the exhaust
• 1971-1975 the shift pattern was 3-down
• 1975-1980 the shift pattern was 1-down, 2-up
• 1971-1975 the seats are bolt-on
• 1976-1980 the seats have spring loaded latches for tool-free removal
• 1971-1975 the throttle cables simply slide into carburetor
• 1975-1980 the throttle cables have retainer C-clips to prevent cable from coming out accidentally
• 1971 has a slightly curved kick start lever
• 1972-1980 have a straight kick start lever
• 1971-1975 have the classic Kawasaki semi-smooth hand grips
• 1975-1980 have ribbed hand grips
• 1971-1977 have polished aluminum hand controls
• 1978-1980 have black coated aluminum hand controls
• 1971-1973 have the stubby plastic front and rear fenders
• 1974-1980 have full size plastic front and rear fenders
• 1971-1975 have fenders the same color as the gas tanks
• 1976-1980 have black fenders
• 1971-1975 have oval shaped oil tanks
• 1976-1980 have more rectangular/trapazodial oil tanks

There are some other rminor differences but those are the main ones.

Thank you for the education! I love these little bikes. Ride lots of wheelies in these

 

[Mark Brooks]

Wow! Very impressed with that knowledge! Kinda spells it right out!

Aren't these little guys like the Honda 50's of the same era, Look at similar?

 

[Gatecrasher]

I've had a lot of them over the years. Still have 6 and enough parts to build at least two more.

I know another guy who has more than I do though.