Doctorot's '78 KZ1000 build

GOt all the bracing on the frame finished up this weekend and the other shock mount on I had to cut into the rear master cylinder caliper to get the brace to fit under the air box but it came out pretty nice.


I have been working on the top triple clamp as well. I got the pinch bolts in, and the pocketing done. I went with two 6 mm bolts on the forks and one on the stem.

Most of the triple clamps I have seen the pinch slot originates from the center of the fork tube, but i have seen a couple that it is offset. i thought that looked a bit nicer. anyone think think this will be an issue? I still have to figure out how i want to mount my gauges.

I don't see it being a problem being offset but you might want to run the slot at a right angle to the bolt holes.

Les

les holt wrote: I don't see it being a problem being offset but you might want to run the slot at a right angle to the bolt holes.

Les

yeah i was wondering about that too. ill make the changes. Also do you know the depth and bore of the KZ stem? i dont really want to grind and press it out quite yet.

which year stem are you wanting to know about?

leon

78 KZ1000 LTD stem. i figured i would just press it out and use it for the triples im designing.

I also redesigned the top clamp from scratch, i simplified it a bit, and made the pinch bolts perpendicular to the pinch slots. I also added some height and counter sunk the top so that the stem washer will sit flush with the top of the clamp. Now that i'm more familiar with the program I did a much cleaner job designing it, especially in the pockets, not excessive facets like before. it also took me about a 1/4 of the time this time.

I have watched your project for a while...it's one of my favorites! Can't wait to see more.

DoctoRot wrote: had some time to mess around in alibre tonight. here is my attempt at a top clamp, i havent added the pinch points yet. i tried to copy the KZ and ZRX clamps as close as possible while giving it some of my own flavor. The ZRX forks are 5 mm shorter than stock so i added that to the drop to maintain ride height. Im gonna post up the numbers in case anyone sees a mistake.
the geometery is as follows;
fork center to center: 206mm (stock ZRX)
offset: 60mm
drop: 23.5 (stock is about 18.5mm)
i have found this to be very entertaining, not as hard as i would have expected either. Sshould i take the time pocket the bottom? is it worth it? it will probably add cost to the machining of the part. both the KZ and ZRX clamps are pocketed.
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keep in mind that u will lose 1 1'2" going from the kz 19" wheel to a 17" with a 70 profile.
so dont be afraid to add more drop to the top tree if u can.

nice job.

mark1122 wrote: keep in mind that u will lose 1 1'2" going from the kz 19" wheel to a 17" with a 70 profile.
so dont be afraid to add more drop to the top tree if u can.

nice job.

Thanks for pointing that out Mark. I actually have a 18" wheel on there with a 110/80 tire. I decided to do this before i had even contemplated a fork swap, because many people on here have swapped to an 18" front and have reported quicker handling with out being unstable. Then, once i decided to go with a fork swap i figured I should keep the geometry the same because i do want it to steer a bit quicker, however still have the same geometry to what other people have been doing with their 18" wheel swap, because it has been tested by them.

thanks Primer. Unfortunately this project gets the back seat a lot, so progress has been slow. I have been preparing to travel outside the US, and that has been keeping me busy. However i do have some free time in the next two weeks before i leave, so hopefully I'll get something done. Then it will be another 6 months till anything happens. but the traveling will be awesome! ill just have to live vicariously through this forum for a while.

I did pull the bike out and mock up the engine and seat and gave it the long stare. I also looked at a crap load of bike photos to compare them, and try to see what it is im not liking about the seat. I realized that if a bike has side covers the tail section almost never comes under the seat. when the tail comes under the seat there are no side covers. So i Photoshopped up a quick sketch of the direction i want to tail and side covers to go. I think its much more inline with my original vision for a slimmer, leaner KZ. Im gonna start on the tail tonight.

Hope your travels go well! (It will be a long wait to see what else happens to the project though...

I know what you mean about the design issues surrounding the tail section...I have been looking around for a street tracker-type solution rather than the very rounded cafe-style tails. Have you ever checked out Oberdan Bezzi's designs? I will try to attach his design work up for a Kawasaki cafe. It uses a partial side cover that integrates the tail, seat, and tank quite well (imho). Something like that gives a cool see-through effect with cleaned up electrics. (if the pic doesn't make it, check "designer's cut" with "Bezzi".

(it's not working from my sketchy tablet...I will try tomorrow :pinch: )

it looks pretty good. i like that u r using 18" spoked wheels too.

Here is attempt number two on the Bezzi Kawasaki.

Sweet bike Primer. Thanks