81 kz650 CSR

Dood! That was 7 months ago!

slater_kz550 wrote:

I see this is an older post, but I came across it searching for a CSR with spoke wheels. I've got a KZ550 with mag wheels that I want to replace with spokes. From one of my posts I found out that the wheels on the 550 and 650 CSR will swap out no problem. Interested in an even trade?

Post edited by: slater_kz550, at: 2008/02/15 11:55<br><br>Post edited by: slater_kz550, at: 2008/02/15 11:56

A couple of things you need to keep in mind if you intend to do this swap on your bike. Number one is the 650 CSR has a rear spoke rim but it is only 16" in diameter, your current setup is an 18" rear wheel. The front rim from a CSR will swap to your bike but the disc rotor is unique to that bike so if you do a swap with someone make sure you get the rotor with the wheel because your's will not swap over.

From the picture of your bike I see you are looking to go the Cafe route, all I can say is good luck. To my knowledge there is not another bike that Kawasaki made with which you can do a direct swap and wind up with what you are trying to achieve.

Dood, I know.

Gringo, thanks for the info. I knew about the rear wheel size but not the front disc. Thanks.

If the 16" rear wheel isn't an issue and you want a set of CSR wheels check out this ebay listing # 110224702825 the seller is also listing the rear wheel as well. Both are from a low mileage bike, the downside, as with all wheels is the shipping costs.

It's been awhile since I chimed in on this project (or anything else really, been swamped with chasing my second bachelor's degree and getting out into the wonderful world of teaching...)
BUT, this build is finally almost done, and on the super cheap too! Here's a list of things I've done since bringing her home for $75...

Bar end mirrors (because I replaced the shot master cylinder with an EX500 MC I picked up on ebay for cheap) $12
Grips $5
Carb kits $50
Intake boots $20 (got a smokin deal on a really nice used set)
Caliper rebuild kit $20
Petcock rebuild kit $15
New seat cover (still waiting for delivery ) $78.

All in all I've sunk less than $350 in the bike and we've now got it running like a top on the lift (haven't ridden it yet because I still need to finish rebuilding the front caliper and don't want to ride on raw seat foam so maybe next week...)

I started calling her the Ugly Sister, because she's not nearly as sexy as my 77, just kind of plain looking, but you know it's going to be a crazy fun ride once you start twisting that throttle!!!

Here's the only pic I was able to snap (it's in my buddies garage and I didn't have my digital so I had to work to line up a good angle for my camera phone).

try that pic thing again....

Post edited by: anarki650, at: 2008/03/04 15:37

Mark this one as DONE! Finally got the seat cover and reskinned the seat, bolted up the front caliper and bled the brakes, got her fired up (it was about 39 degrees and she really didn't want to run, but we warmed the motor with a turbine heater and she popped right off!) and I cruised around the neighborhood a little.
Here's a pic of her all said and done.