Doctorot's '78 KZ1000 build

Thanks guys. I'd be nowhere without my friend Eric, who is a kickass welder. We have a good tag team going, i fit the pieces and prep for welding. he welds. i finish them. Seeing it fully mocked up for the first time since i tore the bike apart almost 4 years ago has really put a fire under my ass. My brother bet me that i won't have it finished by july 1st or i have to go jump in Lake Washington anytime he wants, which likely will be in the dead of winter. Gotta get it done now! :woohoo:

Project is looking great. Have enjoyed following your build. Love the workmanship on the gauges, stays and headlight. Keep up the good work you are just about there. Not crazy abut white frame. Not that it looks bad, but I would be too worried about road grime and up keep. Any road chips, etc., would stand out. But hey, your'e building this for you and not anyone else, so go for it. Keep up the excellent work.

wow :ohmy: !

everything goes together so well,
very tasteful.

it kinda belies all the work that has been done.

leon

Great work - it's a class act! not overstated but totally cool - love the attention to detail especially the seat pan and front end!

Just a quick update. I was over at my buddies place using his sheet brake, its a cheapo but gets good results for small stuff. I made a couple of small aluminum brackets to hold various electrical components. I also thought i'd share a pic of a titanium kickstand he has been fiddling with for weeks. Think its for an Aprilla race bike.

it's not a kickstand,it's a trickstand!


badass bracket btw

leon

My late birthday present came 1.75" over stock to even out the geometry and gain ride height. They are much nicer than the Works shocks I previously was planning on using. They are beefier everywhere and 6oz lighter per shock.



Because of the over length shocks I need a chain slider on the swingarm. Eric turned up this chunk of derelin and I fish-mouthed it so It uses no fasteners, as it is entrapped when the swingarm is mounted. I may need more sliders, but that can be addressed later if need be.




All the remaining tabs needed are welded on. The bungs for the exhaust hanger are welded in. A couple nasty welds have been cleaned up. The kickstand has been moved up to the bottom engine mount, the detent spring peg had to be relocated so the engine bolt could fit. The kickstand was shorted because it is now farther out from the center. I have plans for something trick to replace the stock solid one.



I then turned my attention to the rear sets. These Tarrozis were meant to be bolt-ons so they had to compromise a bit, like using the huge stock brake pivot. I also wanted to retain the use of my kickstart and the brake pedal was solidly blocking it.



I saw on a XS650 forum where people had cut a channel in the pivot to allow the pedal to be brought back out of the way temporarily. To do this you had to leave everything a bit loose to allow the pedal and pivot not to bind. I didn't want any slop in my footpegs so Eric and I came up with a solution i am very proud of. I cut a piece of 1"tube with .065" wall thickness and it made a perfect bushing for the footpeg and pivot. As a safety feature a spring loaded pin was added on the pedal so that the brake lever cannot be accidentally kicked up when riding. You simply compress the spring and pull the pedal up. Eric turned most of the parts, while grumbling about his "clapped out" lathe, and did the amazing welding as usual. I'm nearly done finishing the parts, I just need to clean up some if the holes I drilled. I also cut the threads off the footpeg mounting studs and drilled and tapped them to use some stainless countersunk washers. I also had to file down the Tarrozi bracket mounts to remove the counter sunk flange on the casting. I also took the opportunity to remove the casting marks. I have ordered folding footpegs from Fast from the Past, so I should have plenty of clearance for the kicker.

Sweet fabrications... Now that's what I'm talking about....

The frame has been sandblasted. Im going to paint it tomorrow or sunday. The caliper brackets for the front brake are finished. I will be picking them up from the machinist on monday.

I finally started on the engine build which i have been procrastinating on. While i was back there I had the main bearing cap machined down for this APE support plate while I was at it. I have a sneaky suspicion i will want to do something crazy with the top end in a couple years.

I have the engine pretty much assembled to the point I was at before. I also detailed the engine covers a bit and polished some stuff.

I took the time to carefully debur the clutch basket with a whet stone so the clutch plates slide easily. However, the hub has seen better days, and there are indentations from the plates, i'm worried about the clutch plates snagging on them and causing chatter. should I clean this one up or get a better one off ebay?

This thing is a masterpiece of learning and ingenuity. Keep it up!

if it is any consolation i've seen em much worse.i think i would just dress it up and run it.

thats my .02 fwiw,

leon

If you're selling any of the "78 parts that you don't now need I'll be getting into my "78 A2 before to long...