First post- finally got myself a K8 after years of lurking

[kball]

Now that i've found a good starter bike, my first question is do the fuel tanks from the older models go onto this bike without a problem? I think they look much better than the big barn door fuel door the 78 has. Same goes for the side cover from the older bikes with the chrome cap as opposed to the style I have. I don't want to go buy one from ebay or wherever without having a clue if it will work or not.

Thanks in advance, i've been lurking in this forum for months now.

[Re-run]

The tanks fit but they will look funny as the seats are also different, you will want to replace both BUT the 77/78 seats hinge on the left and the earlier ones hinge on the right. So you will need to work that out too.
As for the side covers, the chrome cap one are very early years, be prepared to pay dearly for them AND an oil tank as I am not sure if they will fit over the k8 tank.

Next you will be saying you want to replace the carbs when the k8 carbs are much better and much more flexible to changes.

[kball]

Thanks for the warning. So about the carbs, you're saying the 78 carbs are good carbs and I should stick with them? I wasn't planning to swap them out, just go through them and make sure everything is set properly and clean.

[Re-run]

I LOVE my k8 carbs. I would never swap them out for older carbs. Many people that have the k8 can bore their engines or put on pods without having to rejet at all. They are very flexible and once you learn them, very easy to tune. The accel pump is a nice thing to have too. Much better throttle response.
I know some will not believe it but the K8 in stock trim is quite a bit heavier than the old 69 that was considered a hot rod. The K8 is only a couple hundredths of a second slower in the quarter and that is with the added weight, a MUCH bigger chain AND an oring chain to boot. The F3 is faster than the 69 and uses the same carbs as the K8 does. People have a hard time accepting this cause they just view the k8 as bulky and overweight and really dont have any factual basis.
If I had an earlier K, I would probably make it look like the 77/78!