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Furious D
XS650 Addict
Looks pretty good for a rattle can job. I have painted my last 3 beater bikes with rattle can Lacquer. I bought a case of black and a case of silver for 50 cents a can on close-out a few years ago and still have not used it all.
Nice thing about Lacquer is you can sand out the imperfections and make it nice and glossy if you want to sand and buff it. Bad thing is that it wont hold up against the sun too well.
Looks pretty good. Just not a fan of the red stripes. 
OakBehringer
XS650 Guru
Do people like their KZ440s?
what was your process for prep and painting? looks pretty darn spiffy for a rattle can job!
Thanks
I sanded with 400 grit
2 coats of Rustoleum grey automotive primer
5 coats of Krylon gloss black
3 coats of Spray Max clear
It went ok, but I had a reaction of some kind after I put the clear on so I had to compound it a lot, and that made it a little dull. I'd say a wax job would bring it back.
Looks pretty good. Just not a fan of the red stripes.
Thanks
I am, I think they're great, I like black and red, and I did them myself. One of my friends said they look like LTD stripes.
There's a lot to like actually. They handle great, they'll do a 100, it weighs 358 lbs, they're about the same size as a xs650, automatic timing chain tensioner on the 440, it has counterbalancers, single points and CDI from 1981 on, needle bearing swingarm pivot, and from the 1978 kz400 on they have a 6 speed trans with positive stops.
The only real problems they have are the carb diaphragms on 1977+, but you can get new ones for ~ $100 a pair.
And the heads are bad to leak oil on 1974-'77 kz400s.
I had a 1980 Z400G as my first big bike back in 1983. Great bike, ragged it everywhere and never let me down. Used to run it with just downpipes - big flames out of the pipes on the overrun and sounded great but took about 10 mph off the top speed.
Few years later I picked up a 1975 Z400D as cheap transport for £50 which vibrated like a b'stard. Had to stop every 20 miles to get feeling back in my extremities - it was that bad. When I eventually stripped it the crank sprocket which drives the balance chain had its teeth stripped and the PO had ripped the chain and balancer out completely!
Tip: The Z250 Scorpion twin front end fits straight on and has much better brakes and suspension. All the Z250s have blown up (mine did twice) so there must be plenty spares around
Few years later I picked up a 1975 Z400D as cheap transport for £50 which vibrated like a b'stard. Had to stop every 20 miles to get feeling back in my extremities - it was that bad. When I eventually stripped it the crank sprocket which drives the balance chain had its teeth stripped and the PO had ripped the chain and balancer out completely!
Tip: The Z250 Scorpion twin front end fits straight on and has much better brakes and suspension. All the Z250s have blown up (mine did twice) so there must be plenty spares around
pumps
XS650 Junkie
Good looking spray jobs. I had a KZ650 and if the right KZ 400 or 440 came along and I had room I would buy one. They were lots of fun back in the day. They had a belt drive on some models way back then. I remember when HD put a belt drive on their bike and everybody said that it would never last. LOL
