1977 KZ1000 Restomod

Thanks TexasKZ. I figured there would be no right answer Also figured that I'd find out pretty quickly if they were a bad fit for this build.

I wrote to the engine guy as soon as I saw the cams but I wanted to see what people said here as well. I would have bought the Web cams from my engine guy and was trying to make sure I was getting a straight up answer (not just 'buy the web's from me, they'll be better'). He got back to me today and told me to buy the Yoshimura cams before they were gone. They used to use them in their builds and he said they have a strong mid-range but still have enough pull upwards of 7000rpm.

I bought the cams - I'll trust the guys doing the engine work (incl. porting). I do tend to think that top-end power won't be all it could be but I'm hoping that the mid-range will make up for it - that's where I spend most of my time

If I'm lucky I can find a good set of web 110's before the project is finished and can compare the two directly.

You are absolutely right to focus on how you will actually ride the bike. It is too easy to get sucked into the horsepower black hole, and end up with a bike you hate to ride.

Here is LarryC on that very topic.

www.kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/606200-is...40hp?start=24#764725

"IT MAKES NO FINANCIAL SENSE WHAT SOEVER...YOU DO IT BECAUSE THAT IS THE BIKE YOU WANT AND YOU HAVE THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO DO IT CORRECTLY"

Yup, that's about the size of it

Larry was a great resource because was such a straight shooter. Wen i initially contacted him about head porting he talked me out of going big valve long duration craziness and sold me on a much milder engine package. 1075, port and polish, web 118 cams. I've had other much more powerful bikes but this is such a grunty engine and so different than my newer bikes that its truely fun to ride despite not having the big HP numbers behind it.

That setup sounds pretty close to what I'll have with the Yosh cams. Did you open up the valves at all or are they still stock?

stock valves

DoctoRot wrote: Larry was a great resource because was such a straight shooter.

His death is such a huge loss.

www.kz-1000.net/post/130285291257/faq-ab...kz1000-engines/embed

DOHC wrote:

DoctoRot wrote: Larry was a great resource because was such a straight shooter.

His death is such a huge loss.

www.kz-1000.net/post/130285291257/faq-ab...kz1000-engines/embed

From all I've read it sounds like he will be sorely missed by those building KZ engines.

Thanks for the link.

"You can make a great 1197cc street motor with a KZ head using GPz11 Intake Valves with the correct cams to create a motor that makes great torque, idles well and behaves very well in stop and go traffic."
That was nice to hear. At 1075cc I may not need to go with 38mm intake valves, but it would mean I could swap out the block later down the road and would just need to drop in some different cams.

Finally started unpacking some of my shiny new parts today. Just trying to get the front end together to make sure everything fits. Will do the same at the back when the swingarm gets here. Then I will decide what work needs to be done on the frame and which parts will be polished and which will be painted.
Very limited space in the garage at the moment (as you can see in the photos). Between the 750, the Mini, the Zephyr and the KZ1000 parts and original frame it's hard to find somewhere to work.

Here's the second frame I have. Back end has been butchered a bit (which is why I got it cheap). Doesn't look like it's been crashed though (steering stop and the plate behind it are still straight). Will get it checked out anyway - worth the cash to know everything is straight.






Assembled the triple clamp, forks, headlight and clip-ons :










The brackets for the clip-ons hit the bottom of the top yoke. Have some different brackets on the way.




Got the levers, switch blocks and throttle on. Might be a bit tight with the cables but I should be able to get it to work. Left 12mm at the end of the bars for the mirrors (will be using motogadget blaze indicators so I can't use mirrors that go into the end of the bars). May need that 12mm though, so might get some bar extensions for the mirrors.
Was getting pretty dark, will take some more photos next time.

Those triples are badd ass! :evil:

Got the clocks out today to see how they fit. Took the bars off so I can send the brackets back so there's a lot of empty space. Tried to hold one of the bars in place and take a photo but t was a bit awkward. Would appreciate any opinions - it's really a matter of taste but please chime in anyway
Not sure if I want the clocks in line with the top yoke (as in the picture) or tilted up slightly. Also not sure on the headlight, will have to see how it looks with the bars on but I think it might need to go back an inch or so.
Did some calculations and with the height and offset of the triples and the shorter forks the front end drops down 17.5mm. That's assuming rake stays at 26°. Will wait for the swingarm to get here then I can see how the back end looks. I'll be keeping the 18" wheels so losing 17.5mm at both ends should be fine.

The bars before I took them off:






The clocks - maybe need to get them a bit further out from the clamps? not sure. Just used the brackets that came with them. May mock up a couple of options next week

My take would be to have the face of them pointing directly at your face while in the rider position, to avoid any glare while riding. Having them parallel to the upper triple could allow reflection to prevent you from reading them.