Kawasaki Z650 - 1978 Z650-B2/B2A

1978 Z650-B2/B2A

Very few differences were made to the B2. The front brake caliper was reversed to the back of the fork leg and the front master cylinder was changed from a round item to a trapezoidal one. The charging system was changed from a three-phase system to a two phase and the regulator and rectifier was now a combined unit. The cam chain tensioner was changed to an automatic unit and a hazard switch was added to the left-hand switchgear. Needle roller bearings were now used in the swingarm instead of the previous model's plain bushings and slight modifications were made to the carbs to improve low speed operation. The manual operation fuel tap was replaced with an "automatic" diaphragm type unit. There were also some slight detail changes to the outer engine cases to incorporate the new lower case Kawasaki logo. The front footrests were now rubber mounted to combat vibration and the front forks were slightly modified. The B2A was a US-only model with 22mm carburators, as opposed to the 24mm items fitted to units sold elsewhere. Power output was reduced to 60 hp (SAE net at the crankshaft) at 8,000 . This change was probably due to emission requirements in the US market. All other aspects and equipment of the B2A construction were identical to the B2 models sold outside the US.

Both the B2 and B2A received the four way hazard flashers that had been previously installed only on the C1.