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

DoctoRot wrote: The kz750M is different in many ways from the 76-79 "B" The head-stock rake on the M is 28.5 degrees while on the B it is 26.5 degrees. The M has more fork offset, and has leading axle forks while the B has standard forks. all of this will make it handle "slower" than the B models, but be more steady at higher speed.

The offset fork reduces trail, which makes the bike steer faster. That's why such forks are used in conjunction with a more kicked out head angle, which slows the steering. Swapping the 16" rear rim for an 18" will raise the back end of the bike up and steepen the steering a little. I'd put that mod on the "to do list" for sure.

650ed wrote:

tv_cafewannabe wrote: . 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.

:woohoo: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

HOLY CRAP!!!! Are you kidding?? If not, you really need to do a LOT more study on the subject because you are VERY confused. Except for the fact than both machines have two wheels there is very little remotely similar between the two. You may want to attend a flattrack race or two so you can start to appreciate the level of effort that goes into building a flattracker. Below is a good example of each. Ed

Lesson #1:

FLATTRACKER

Attachment harley-davidson-xr750-racer-2-4441-2.jpg not found

CAFE RACER

I think he's confusing flat tracker with street or brat tracker.

GPzMOD750 wrote:

tv_cafewannabe wrote: . 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.

I think he's confusing flat tracker with street or brat tracker.

I believe you are correct. I know for sure in Maryland you couldn't and wouldn't want to license a flattracker for street use. Ed

Nerdy wrote:

tv_cafewannabe wrote: 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.

Yes, they're quite acceptable. I don't have many miles on them, but will say that they are a vast improvement over stock. Of course that's not saying too much.

There is someone out there who will rebuild them to a really decent spec. I'm drawing a blank on the name but if you search the forum you're sure to find it. I'm happy enough with them as they are and not planning to do anything like that right now.

Chris livengood - chrislivengood.net/wp/product-category/shock-kit/

I bought my RFY shocks from him and have them on my kz900. They works great

650ed wrote:

GPzMOD750 wrote:

tv_cafewannabe wrote: . 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.

I think he's confusing flat tracker with street or brat tracker.

I believe you are correct. I know for sure in Maryland you couldn't and wouldn't want to license a flattracker for street use. Ed

So glad I live in the land of the free, the UK

You can register pretty much anything here for daytime use, and it doesn't need a huge amount of lights for a full registration.

Nessism wrote: The offset fork reduces trail, which makes the bike steer faster. That's why such forks are used in conjunction with a more kicked out head angle, which slows the steering. Swapping the 16" rear rim for an 18" will raise the back end of the bike up and steepen the steering a little. I'd put that mod on the "to do list" for sure.

You are correct, but I should have specified that even with the leading axle forks the M still ends up with 112mm of trail while the B has 105mm. so the M in theory should be slower to turn. And yes get rid of the 16" wheel. that's what i did on my kz750G

Julian_Boolean wrote:

650ed wrote:

GPzMOD750 wrote:

tv_cafewannabe wrote: . 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.

I think he's confusing flat tracker with street or brat tracker.

I believe you are correct. I know for sure in Maryland you couldn't and wouldn't want to license a flattracker for street use. Ed

So glad I live in the land of the free, the UK

You can register pretty much anything here for daytime use, and it doesn't need a huge amount of lights for a full registration.

A flattracker has ZERO lights, no charging system, no front brake, painfully loud open exhaust, no fenders, etc., etc. Could that actually be licensed, and if so would you want to use it on the street? :blink: Ed

650ed wrote:

Julian_Boolean wrote:

650ed wrote:

GPzMOD750 wrote:

tv_cafewannabe wrote: . 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.

I think he's confusing flat tracker with street or brat tracker.

I believe you are correct. I know for sure in Maryland you couldn't and wouldn't want to license a flattracker for street use. Ed

So glad I live in the land of the free, the UK

You can register pretty much anything here for daytime use, and it doesn't need a huge amount of lights for a full registration.

A flattracker has ZERO lights, no charging system, no front brake, painfully loud open exhaust, no fenders, etc., etc. Could that actually be licensed, and if so would you want to use it on the street? :blink: Ed

The lack of front brake and loud exhaust.would mean you couldn't get it registered in the UK, weirdly you can have no lights.

No, I wouldn't want to ride it on the road, I've got old and like my bikes civilised now, nice comfy seat and sensible riding position.

Hi and welcome. I've done a cafe racer out of a CSR - the little brother of yours, the 305. I agree with a few other posters on here re the shape of the frame. They drop down in the middle then kick back up towards the rear - not conducive to the straight 'bone line' traditionally associated with the cafe racer style. I used side covers to cover it but if I was able to weld (and with the benefit of hindsight) I probably would have cut off and replaced the frame rails with straight ones. You do then have an issue with rear wheel clearance. Mine looks ok still with the 16" rear wheel, maybe because it's a smaller bike. I also shortened the forks on mine which makes it steel quicker which suits me for round town. As some others have said that bike is no treasure so chop it but please don't butcher it! It's still a KZ!

You can see my build thread in my signature below... also I have a few threads on here with my current Hamasaki 2.0 work.

Julian_Boolean wrote:

650ed wrote:

Julian_Boolean wrote:

650ed wrote:

GPzMOD750 wrote:

tv_cafewannabe wrote: . 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.

I think he's confusing flat tracker with street or brat tracker.

I believe you are correct. I know for sure in Maryland you couldn't and wouldn't want to license a flattracker for street use. Ed

So glad I live in the land of the free, the UK

You can register pretty much anything here for daytime use, and it doesn't need a huge amount of lights for a full registration.

A flattracker has ZERO lights, no charging system, no front brake, painfully loud open exhaust, no fenders, etc., etc. Could that actually be licensed, and if so would you want to use it on the street? :blink: Ed

The lack of front brake and loud exhaust.would mean you couldn't get it registered in the UK, weirdly you can have no lights.

No, I wouldn't want to ride it on the road, I've got old and like my bikes civilised now, nice comfy seat and sensible riding position.

Good luck riding a XR 750 on the street. If you look at the picture both the gear shifter and the rear brake are on the right side so that when shredding a left dirt track corner you can access both controls. :side: Takes a bit of getting used to. :S
That Harley is exactly what my brother raced here in Michigan.

Dave

Rustyhama wrote: Hi and welcome. I've done a cafe racer out of a CSR - the little brother of yours, the 305. I agree with a few other posters on here re the shape of the frame. They drop down in the middle then kick back up towards the rear - not conducive to the straight 'bone line' traditionally associated with the cafe racer style. I used side covers to cover it but if I was able to weld (and with the benefit of hindsight) I probably would have cut off and replaced the frame rails with straight ones. You do then have an issue with rear wheel clearance. Mine looks ok still with the 16" rear wheel, maybe because it's a smaller bike. I also shortened the forks on mine which makes it steel quicker which suits me for round town. As some others have said that bike is no treasure so chop it but please don't butcher it! It's still a KZ!

You can see my build thread in my signature below... also I have a few threads on here with my current Hamasaki 2.0 work.

Thanks for the feedback. I just read your whole build thread and all I can say is "wow!" You did a brilliant job with that build. Thanks for the inspiration.

Regarding the frame, I am planning to modify the rails I think. I'm a metal working hobbyist and my cousin is a licensed welder. Between the two of us (mostly him), I think we can do it up right. That said, I really really like those side panels you made for the electrics box. I will almost certainly be hitting you up for feedback as I get into my build.

Step 1 though is getting the old girl running. 20+ years of sitting idle is no good for a motor of any kind.

Cheers!

Pretty stoked right now. :woohoo: Spent a few hours tonight cleaning carbs and changing oil and low and behold, with new plugs, a battery, and a fuel tank made from an oil bottle, the $100 82 KZ750 fired up after 20+ years of being forgotten.

Held a steady idle on full choke only and died immediately if I moved the choke or tried to rev the motor at all. I'm thinking this is due to the fact that I was running with no airbox at all and to me it seemed like the carbs could do with a rebuild. Sound close to right? :huh: