Z800 Cafe Fighter Chopper thing GEOMETRY SPECS

You say that but the KA140 is also listed as the shock for some of the 750s...?

Z1/Z900 is 245KG Vs Z650 211KG. Not much in it?

At what point does weight difference require a sprint change?

Success.

Have ordered a set of these - aluminium bodied S36P but with a 10mm ride height adjuster and uncompressed length of 336mm. Slightly more than the standard version but still less than half the fully adjustable ones.



No clue how they are set for damping or sprung rate but the supplier knows what bike they're for and suggested them so hopefully it will be useable. All this effort is a little overkill for what is essentially a summer garage queen but doesn't mean it shouldn't all work properly.

hopefully your modified 650 will weight quite a bit less than 211... say 180? at that point 900/1000 rates will be quite stiff

plenty of people (me included) race with much lower spec shocks: old koni, ikons, gazzi, etc. but sure hard to beat ohlins for bling factor.

the most imprtant thing is that the rates of front to rear will be matched if you dont want to rocked around at bumps, etc.

springs are relatively cheap to change though and your damping should be adjustable.
after all your effort, take it to someone who understand suspension setup.

Yeh it will for sure go to a set up place I've used who transformed my Triumph.

The forks were obviously also for amuck lighter bike so I'm pretty sure there will be a lot of dialling in needed.

Good calling the matched spring rates!

Hi all.

Been busy and and will show a nice update on what's been happening shortly.

Quick question tho - up until now I've not been into the idea of putting a front mudguard on at all. I like the raw clean 'chopperish' look.

But what are the real world implications? Bad idea? It will only ever be out on dry sunny days.

The other question is - I quite like the modern fenders, maybe trimmed down to be a bit shorter - but I know this is seen as not cool for a retro build. However, older fenders on USD modern front ends also don't look right.

Here's a mock up.

I rode my old BSA for a while with no front fender, but I put it back on. Even if you don't get caught in the rain, if you ride over any water at all running across a road the spray makes a mess because the tire slings it up. Even riding on dry roads your front tire can sling road grit, etc. up onto the engine and other bits. Of course, how bad this is depends on the condition of the roads in your area. One other thing you may want to consider is that some fenders, like the stock ones on my KZ650, have a fork brace built in and without it or some other brace the forks can be a bit wonky. This probably is not an issue on your bike though since your forks look pretty robust. Also, check the laws in your area. While on my BSA I got pulled over by the Police and was told a front fender was required by law (this was years ago in Maryland). I don't know if anyplace else has such laws, or if so whether or not they are enforced. I suspect the cop that pulled me over simply didn't like motorcyclists. :laugh: Ed

well Ed, you are a bit of an old timer no? (in a good sense ) USD forks never have bracing, just cant be done in them, but they are way more rigid than RWU forks even without it....

I do agree that running fenderless is a bad idea, unless you like the taste of grit in your mouth

Have a look at some of the ducati sport classic models, they have USDs but classic fenders and it looks fine

royalratch wrote: Hi all.

Been busy and and will show a nice update on what's been happening shortly.

Quick question tho - up until now I've not been into the idea of putting a front mudguard on at all. I like the raw clean 'chopperish' look.

But what are the real world implications? Bad idea? It will only ever be out on dry sunny days.

The other question is - I quite like the modern fenders, maybe trimmed down to be a bit shorter - but I know this is seen as not cool for a retro build. However, older fenders on USD modern front ends also don't look right.

Here's a mock up.

I like it it. It's looking good.

Well it seems everything is trying to stop me from finishing this thing for an August 1 MOT. I'm halfway through making the loom, fitting throttle cables and generally getting it to a stage where carbs can be flitted and tuned.

But!

I have always been annoyed at the quality of the swingarm mods and that the pivot bolt is exceptionally tight. So taking it all apart has revealed that the ape who set it up for me has in fact just fitted some massive brass reducer sleeves to run directly on the pivot bolt - no bearings AT ALL.

It's with a top notch machinist now who is quoting £400 min to bore and fit a new sleeve with a proper set of bearings and a titanium pivot bolt - apparently the whole pivot area has been gorilla'ed and needs some serious reworking.

So I'm now 99% certain I'm going for a custom swingarm. Have pretty much settled on a metmachex - metmachex.net/swingarms/ a clean chunky box section, unbraced and with twin shock mounts obviously.

What should I consider in terms of mods regarding length and shock placement etc.

Thanks for hanging in there peeps - I know this must be getting boring...!

Have you thought about finding a used swingarm off a newer (98-02) Ninja 600? They've got roughly the same look as your current swingarm and are fairly cheap when bought from a wrecker. I believe I got mine for $40 US. They're also fairly easy to massage into the frame- shave the sides of the swinger to narrow it down, presto.

Just my 2 cents as it'll be far cheaper than a custom swingarm

royalratch wrote: Well it seems everything is trying to stop me from finishing this thing for an August 1 MOT. I'm halfway through making the loom, fitting throttle cables and generally getting it to a stage where carbs can be flitted and tuned.

But!

I have always been annoyed at the quality of the swingarm mods and that the pivot bolt is exceptionally tight. So taking it all apart has revealed that the ape who set it up for me has in fact just fitted some massive brass reducer sleeves to run directly on the pivot bolt - no bearings AT ALL.

It's with a top notch machinist now who is quoting £400 min to bore and fit a new sleeve with a proper set of bearings and a titanium pivot bolt - apparently the whole pivot area has been gorilla'ed and needs some serious reworking.

So I'm now 99% certain I'm going for a custom swingarm. Have pretty much settled on a metmachex - metmachex.net/swingarms/ a clean chunky box section, unbraced and with twin shock mounts obviously.

What should I consider in terms of mods regarding length and shock placement etc.

Thanks for hanging in there peeps - I know this must be getting boring...!

sounds like the same machinist that did that hideous first rear brake caliper hanger, or not?

in both cases: what a twat.

i agree that there are plenty of stock kawasaki arms that look a million dollar... the 1100/1220 ZRX comes to mind, is twin shock ready and has the trademark kawi eccentric chain adjuster. easy to attach shock mounts to a 83-85 gpz750 arm too. dont ask me why, but those arms have "the kawasaki look" for some reason, metmachex always looked to me a bit tacky and overdone.
would stick with stockish lengths for arm and shock mounts positions.

but make sure someone who knows what he's doing adapts it to your frame and wheel. centering the wheel on a new arm requires with bushes some knowledge.

Quick update just to show the build is alive albeit a lot more lackadaisical.

Battery box is finished. Needed a custom one to mount all the willy wonka electronics bits. Threaded rods will be trimmed down after loom is sorted at the right length and box will go back for powdercoating.



Motodadget + Keyless Ignition Reciever




Reg/Rec




Rear view - Main Fuse




Starter Relay, Earth Bar and 12v-5v to power the Bluetooth Relay (for remote iPhone starting).




Also decided the calipers needed refresh which turned into a mini-project. Was originally just going to sort the pistons out and new washers ended up machining the logo off, complete refurb and built back up with all Stainless hardware. Looks more custom now and less parts bin.










Also on the hardware theme had to sort some of the main nuts and bolts across the bike.

The swing arm pivot bolt I had been using was too short. It was manky anyway so had one made in Stainless, finished off with the Titanium nut.






More Ti fasteners and nuts. If you want gold AND strength its gotta be Ti.



Headlamp built up and fitted.




Also decided to go with some brand new Ohlins as the used ones, though very tidy were letting the side down lol.




As it stands now…



Just got to attack the loom now, which I have all the parts for, some nice braided HT leads etc - over the Xmas break.