'80 & '82 KZ440 Frames

Hey all...

I recently got a '82 KZ440LTD as a restoration project and have been poking around here for a month or two getting tips on how to fix things, etc. I've spent about $400 restoring the bike, but now the guy I got the bike from now says he can't find the title and apparently never even transfered it into his name (it was never his). Now I'm trying to get the real owner info from the state, and probably looking at another $300-$400 just to get a clean title (in inspections, apprasials, bonds, and application fees).

Anyway, I have a chance to buy a fairly cheap (hardly repairable) '80 KZ440 B with a clean title. My thought was to swap out the frame with mine (which now runs great) and use the clean title to register the bike with. Then I could sell the remaining operative parts here or on eBay from the '80, and make back my money from buying the second bike.

The question is does anybody know if the frames are the same on an '80 KZ440 B and an '82 KZ440LTD A2? Anybody have any experience with this? Thanks!

Any 440 A or D frame should work, maybe even a '79 400 LTD frame, but I don't think the 440 B frame will. The motor will swap over no problem, but the seat probably won't. Bodywork, etc., might also be a problem. Looking at the parts diagrams, the frames look a little different & have different part numbers.

HTH,
-Kit