1977 KZ 1000 "Brat Style" Project

Well, this is my 1977 Kz1000 I picked up for a steal of a deal. Runs great and is in very good condition all around. Looks pretty much stock to me except for the Kerker exhaust. I'm going to "Brat Style" it, as I like the long and low look, yet still want it to handle nice. So that being said, any productive suggestions are appreciated. Also I'm doing this as cheap as possible so I'm going to be doing as much fabrication as possible at home. I will up date as I go along, and I'm sure I will have a ton of questions.

I'm no purist by any sense of the word, and I dont know what a Brat style is but I too loke the long and low look.

Man thats looks like a nice rider! a cheap chop would be a shame!

With that said good luck and keep the pics coming. cant wait to see what unfolds

I don't know what a "brat" is either but please tell me you're not going to make another Bobber POS out of that nice bike.

Sorry, when I said cheap I meant as economical as possible to get the highest end result. As for "Brat Style" it's just very minimalist and geared towards performace still. I'll post a couple of pics. that are somewhat along the lines of what I'm thinking.

having something nice to start with is always less expensive in the long run.

there are only so many of these bikes left that are near original. I always get squeemish
whent i hear someone talking about bobbing one. I still have undurlying guilt for cutting on my
frame and mine was a non running franken parts bike when i got it.

everyone has there own taste and even though there is a limited supply of antique motorcycles
its not like we are converting 73 Z1's into the latest fad. My bike is an extension of my taste and
could not have acheived as much as I have without the help of the guys on this board

really lookin forward to your build if I can help let me know
post lots of pic's cause she is already a cutie

I was thinking of starting with the rear end, any suggestions on what you guys have used for swingarm conversions? I would like to get the wider tire in there, I'm wanting to keep the twin shocks on the back so I'm not to worried about mods for a mono shock.

how big a tire you want to go?

that will determine the most economical quality swingarm swap

back in the day allot of guys used the GS swingarm but a 130 easily fits no no mod 160-180
is what the 130 of the 70's was :laugh: that requires a little more work.
brake changes wheels chain offset front sprocket etc..

bratbiker wrote: Sorry, when I said cheap I meant as economical as possible to get the highest end result. As for "Brat Style" it's just very minimalist and geared towards performace still. I'll post a couple of pics. that are somewhat along the lines of what I'm thinking.

Oh I like the 1st one,other than the headlight is a little too high

That bike in the second picture looks like a 7th grade kid built it. The front end is a pure mess of cables etc. that looks really sloppy, and I don't understand the appeal of missing side covers and that home-made looking seat. :blink: Sorry I sound pessimistic, but I suspect this will be yet another nice KZ1000 that bites the dust. This seems to often happen when a person buys a nice bike at a bargain price and so doesn't appreciate it for what it is. Ed

I'm thinking around the 160-180 range, I like the look of the swingarm that you have on yours. I'm wanting to keep the spoke wheel look though, so I'm imagining that is going to be my biggest problem to solve.

ramtough_63 wrote: how big a tire you want to go?

that will determine the most economical quality swingarm swap

back in the day allot of guys used the GS swingarm but a 130 easily fits no no mod 160-180
is what the 130 of the 70's was :laugh: that requires a little more work.
brake changes wheels chain offset front sprocket etc..

I've been following the built on that second bike for a while now, it's come along a bit further than shown in that picture. thebikeshed.cc/2012/06/20/zeds-not-dead-baby/ Still not a look that your into but an interesting build all the same. If we all kept our bikes stock and the same, then thats all they would be....the same. I like seeing what other people come up with, and it's nice being able to take ideas from all those different builds.

650ed wrote: That bike in the second picture looks like a 7th grade kid built it. The front end is a pure mess of cables etc. that looks really sloppy, and I don't understand the appeal of missing side covers and that home-made looking seat. :blink: Sorry I sound pessimistic, but I suspect this will be yet another nice KZ1000 that bites the dust. This seems to often happen when a person buys a nice bike at a bargain price and so doesn't appreciate it for what it is. Ed

Yeah, I thought that about the headlight to. that bike is actually the one that started me on this adventure. I was looking at buying it but I was a day to late....O.k. though now I get to build it the way I exactly want it.

wireman wrote:

bratbiker wrote: Sorry, when I said cheap I meant as economical as possible to get the highest end result. As for "Brat Style" it's just very minimalist and geared towards performace still. I'll post a couple of pics. that are somewhat along the lines of what I'm thinking.

Oh I like the 1st one,other than the headlight is a little too high