Thought I'd say 'hi' before looking for advice

New to the forum and new to the world of KZ bikes. I've been riding bikes since I was 7. Grew up on the pegs of a 72 Yamaha ET250 enduro bike that I rode all over the pasture. Gratuated from that to sportbikes in about 2000, owned a number of them, then a big-bore muscle cruiser type thing most recently, which got sold in May '16 leaving me bike-less for the first time since I was 7 (now 32). I've have always been a fan of the cafe bikes since before this latest revival of the craze and thought the first one I'd try build would be from a Japanese bike so that I didn't have to deal with the temperament of the Euro bikes until I've earned my first stripe as a bike builder.

I picked up an '82 KZ750 M1 - yes that bastard CSR model. As I understand it though, the motor and frame are effectively the same as every other KZ750 twin ever built (correct me if I'm wrong here). It was a barn find in immaculate shape cosmetically, engine kicked over freely, and it rolled and shifted with little effort....and the guy took a $100 bill for it. I figured I could double my money in part it out alone, but wanted to build a cafe bike out of it. Anyway, check out the picture, say hi, and look for my other posts in the technical and project sections for newb questions that I can't answer in the search bar.

BTW - The bars, seat (one substantial seam rip at the rise to the passenger seat), side covers, rear fender, luggage rack w/ sissy bar, indicator lights, airbox, and perhaps other parts are going to be up for grabs for low prices. PM me if you want something for something like a restoration to factory.

Welcome,

I'm not a big fan of the LTD and CSR. I would be curious on how that would turn out. BUT.....

You are going to hear an earful from many that are going to mourn the loss of such a well preserved original bike. I'm going to have to agree to some degree.

You might want to consider flipping that and buying a less well preserved candidate.

:laugh:
Thanks for the reply!

I figured that might be the case, but I can take the heat. Ultimately, if a purist wants to offer me a reasonable price for what it would take to find a less well preserved plateform with a well running motor, I'm open to offers. Otherwise, this style of bike isn't for me at all, so I want to make it my own....a cafe.

Make it into a flat tracker

Like I said, I don't like them either. The LTD and CSR were probably the most common bike sold here so you aren't taking apart the most collectable bike either.

Nothing says classic cafe like a parallel twin. It would look great with those spoked rims too.

If you want to do it right you will have to either straighten or replace the rear of the frame to get rid of the cruiser sway-back look. Some have been done that don't and they look terrible.

Imo, cafés should have a rear cowl or tail piece and not the flat ironing board looking tracker type seat.

We'll see what strikes me. My understanding of the difference between a flat tracker and a cafe bike are really just the handle bars and a the fuel tank on a tracker is typically smaller. Just about everything else is interchangeable from a design perspective.

GPzMOD750 - I'm with you all the way on the parallel twin (huge appeal to me), design, and I think I'm definitely going with those spoked wheels.

Only issue with the seat is that my wife likes to ride with me every once in a while and so I want the ability to go two-up every so often. Sacrilege in the cafe world but rules were made to be broken :evil: Perhaps I'll go with two different seats to swap out if needed???

You can build a removable cowl that covers up the 2 up portion when you're solo.

I'm going the 2 seat route for my build. The solo seat is going to have a small rack it on the back of the seat pan.

tv_cafewannabe wrote: GPzMOD750 - I'm with you all the way on the parallel twin (huge appeal to me), design, and I think I'm definitely going with those spoked wheels.

Only issue with the seat is that my wife likes to ride with me every once in a while and so I want the ability to go two-up every so often. Sacrilege in the cafe world but rules were made to be broken :evil: Perhaps I'll go with two different seats to swap out if needed???

it's your bike. Go nuts.

I just started working on mine this spring. To clean up the back end I pulled off 30lb of fender and turn signals, made a quick fender eliminator kit, and replaced the lights with modern equivalents. The seat has a new cover but otherwise is going to stay the way it is because it's reasonably comfortable. I don't want to sit on .5" of foam.

This winter the carbs and exhaust will be replaced, clip-ons will replace the clubmans, etc. However, I am cleaning up the original parts and putting them away. Ya never know - the KZ400 might achieve Vincent Black Shadow desirability someday! (Then again, it might not.)

GPzMOD750 - so how are you planning to mount the electronics and battery? I had though most go with a pan under the seat with the battery under the hump. I want the completely open subframe look with no side covers. I'll need to get creative and truly appreciate any feedback and ideas.

Nerdy - whats your verdict on those RFY shocks you have on the back end? Acceptable or not? I love piggyback reservoir shocks but don't want to spring the $$$ for real performance ones.