had to edit my previous post since i 17t instead of 16t for the front sprocket. I ordered my new fork seals and dust boost today so those are on the way also. I noticed in your calculator (crazy yz builders... ) that you could choose a 18t drive sprocket. I have looked at a few sites and the biggest i can find is 17t.....you know anyone who has a 18t? I'm trying to get as close to the stock ratio as i can.

I think I threw in the 18 as a "just in case", but I don't think I know of anyone using one.

I'll go onto the GPZ550 forum, the racers there will know if 18 is available or not, They are always playing with the gearing.

i finished the wiring, brake pedal, and kick stand. I started on the exhaust and the way i had planed to route the center two cylinders to help give the wheel clearance is not going to work so the good news is the exhaust is done......the bad news is now i need to rake out the front end a few degrees to give me some room. Hope to have that done by the 8th......this is going to test my welding skillz

For the first season i probably wont let anyone ride it. For my safety my welding skillz are fine but, when i comes to other people's safety i don't trust my self yet.

I added 3-4 degrees of rake and moved the head tube forward about 1.25". This up coming weekend i am taking a trip to "tail of the dragon" with some buddies. I'm going to borrow my uncle's honda sabre 700 for the weekend. Depending on when i get back sunday i may try to rebuild my forks. I found a 41 tooth rear sprocket so i will be able to get close to the stock sprocket ratio of the kz. I know i have said that i will try to start it but, i want to wait so when it does start i can ride it down the street at least. So i need to get part of the head welded so i can drill and tap a new hole for the exhaust stud that got broke off. Here are a few pics i snapped during this past weekend.


^pic of a couple of the pipes bolted up (pre-raking the front end)

^stock head tube

^took a little bit of time with the cutting wheel

^mocked up checking the rake angel

^little paint

Just curious how you managed to get the sprockets to line up without offsetting the motor considering how much wider the KZ motor is? Also, what kind of wheels are you considering?

blind luck is the reasoning for the sprockets lining up so well. I figured i would have to offset it as well but, when i started to line stuff up the i go lucky and the engine is only off by about a 1/2" from center line of the frame. I'm going to be using the stock wheels......for now. Maybe one day i'll get some street bike wheels machined to fit. When my buddy had his XL650 SM he had cbr wheels machined to fit.

Here are a few pics from my trip to "tail of the dragon" i took over the weekend. I rode a 1985 Honda Sabre 700........i couldn't keep up with my buddies that were all on 06' and new crouch rockets. Even so, i still had a great time riding. Any one who rides needs to make it there at least once. Stay humble though and leave your ego at the base of the mountain......some guy was killed Saturday on the mountain.
















^tree of shame....bike parts from wrecks

P.S.
I plan on rebuilding the forks this weekend on the SM project.

Cool pics! Yeah, that place is on the list for me. Hopefully in the next season or two, i'll have time to get there.

I rebuilt the front forks last weekend.....right now i'm waiting on some parts. Also picked up some alum wire for my mig to see if i can fix a few things my self instead of paying to have it done. Now that all the big stuff is out of the way i'm having trouble getting motivated to go into the garage to finish it.....

Things left to do:

Throttle cable bracket
Install front and rear sprockets (when they get here)
Run clutch cable
Repair where an exhaust stud was broken when the bike was dropped
Finish gas tank.....

Not a whole lot left but, i dont seem to have the drive right now since school started and i picked up an xbox 360 so i'll be ready when forza 3 comes out

p.s.

Going to the Indy GP today....

Yeah, it's always the details that really suck up the time and effort on a project. I think I spent twice as much time on the details of my last project (which is still not 100% done), than the actual build. I'd say about 1/3 of the work is to get it ridable, then 2/3 is to get all the details and tuning worked out.

I haven't touched the 360 since last winter. My halo skills are probably so rusty I'll be nube hell for weeks.

What mig are you using? I've been using flux core on a Hobart. It's ok, but messy. I haven't tried Aluminum yet. Let me know how it goes.

Maybe this will get you motivated!

I saw this on a local classified.

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-HONDA-1986...trksid=p4506.c0.m245

I'm actually using a HF 220v welder right now ....it gets the job done. I'll let you know how the alum welding goes but, right now my tank has c25 gas in it and iirc you should use straight argon when welding alum since it is very picky about being kept clean.

That bike is pretty sweet with a newer 650 engine on it. I am starting to want to work on her again after going to the GP yesterday......seeing all the bikes was cool.....here are a couple pics a buddy took while he was there.

Tiny pic is being gay so you'll have to click on each pic to see the actual pic i uploaded

Very cool pix!

I like the carbon fibre on the duck.

roy-b-boy-b wrote:
Maybe this will get you motivated!

I saw this on a local classified.

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-HONDA-1986...trksid=p4506.c0.m245

Sad thing about that Honda/Kawasaki is that that 650 kaw twin motor probably has less horsepower than the original Honda 600 single, and it weighs more to boot. lol

TerryK wrote:
roy-b-boy-b wrote:
Maybe this will get you motivated!

I saw this on a local classified.

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-HONDA-1986...trksid=p4506.c0.m245

Sad thing about that Honda/Kawasaki is that that 650 kaw twin motor probably has less horsepower than the original Honda 600 single, and it weighs more to boot. lol

Yeah, in many ways, I think it's more impressive/outrageous to stuff the inline-4 KZ550 motor in the dual sport!

I think the original honda motor was a 650 as well.

Getting closer and closer.....I need to repair where the exhaust stud threads into since it was damaged when the bike was dropped but, other than that its ready to be started.

To do list to ride:

Fix exhaust stud
Get pod filters
Jet kit
Sync carbs
Send gas tank to get finished

To do list for the street:

Head light
Tail light
Turn signals
Street tires
Insure
Plate

Have to click on the pic to see what i actually uploaded



^ straight pipe exhaust

^just enough room for pod fitlers....need to pick up some wire loom also


^ What do those two lower ports go to? There is one vacuum port hiding on the right side that you cant really see in the pic but, what does she go to as well?

Thanks,
-Nelson

nelson8708 wrote:


^ What do those two lower ports go to? There is one vacuum port hiding on the right side that you cant really see in the pic but, what does she go to as well?


Those two are just bowl vents. Stick a vac hose on each one and route them with their open ends up and out of the way in case the bike tips over. Originally on the kz550's they went up under the tank/seat area and just open ended there. A tiny bit of air will flow back and forth into those ports, but not really any steady flow. Make sure there is no restriction in the hoses so the bowl don't get de-pressurized. I would not even put a filter on them.

The single vac port on the far right carb (#4) is for the vacuum petcock on the kz550's. Just plug it if you have a standard petcock.

The bike is definitely more sick than the zx650 twin motor honda.

When the time comes to finally tune the carbs, hopefully I'll have a site posted on those tk22 carbs you have. I'm still collecting data right now.

Tuning carbs is defintally something new to me. I might get to start her this weekend. If i do i will get a vid for you guys. Once i know that she runs i'm going to make one of those home made sync tools and order some jets. Since i'm putting pods on it and just running straight pipes how many steps larger jets should i get. I read that rule of thumb is 2 for pods and 1 for a 4-1 header but, since straight pipes isn't going to help with power i was thinking jumping up 2 steps larger.

What do you think?

-Nelson