Complete make over of the old KZ- going show quality I hope!

Gonna start this thread now, and will have more pics as the next three weeks go by- going with a whole different scheme now.

Here is the bike the summer before last- I took it to girdwood on a group ride. Good memories,




Here it is on it's third before last run. Top of hatchers pass=



Then it broke a piston on another ride to Hatchers pass:




All tore apart:



Okay- here is what it looked like on it's last mod performed on it before tear down- it will look pretty different when it is done!

Okay- wanted to do an all text box of what is planned- I have built a swing arm jig to build a chrome moly swing arm, I am bracing the frame today, police forks with race tech emulsifiers, some good shocks, 120mm front, 160mm rear tire, cross drilled rotors all around, KZ1000 motor with 10.25 to 1 pistons, mildly ported heads- I mean, basically- port matched with the rubber manifolds, same with the exhaust side, and 4 into 1 header. Also- I have already sandblasted the new motor for it, and have gone through the first stages of pretty-ing it up- I am powder coating the jug a candy apple red or anodized red with the ends of the fins still aluminum. The frame is going to be silver now, a chrome-ish that looks like satin aluminum, and the swing arm, triple tree yokes the same, and the lower forks polished. The rims and hub will be the same red as the motor will be done, and the tank, fenders, bodywork will be the same red as well. Same with the rear wheel, red rim and hub, with stainless spokes.

New bar end mirrors, an undertail fender delete thing, and I have bought an integrated tail light for a Gixxer, so no rear turn signals.

The red headlight bucket and gauge buckets will be the new red as well. Same handlebars, controls.

But you have the main scheme this time- red and silver.

I will post some more pics tomorow!

Your bike looks cool as hec now !!! Should be super after your re-do !!!

keep us posted with lots of pics Rammer. i'll try to post a pic of my gussets for u latter.Good luck.

Thanks alot fellas- thanks to Dutch on another site, I have scienced out my bracing- that is starting to happen today, I will try and take pictures with my craptacular camera, and have a friend coming over late this afternoon with a good camera, but I wanted some more "before and after" pics for you guys- I will work on it though!

Right this minute, I am going through e-bay integrated tail light, turn signal stuff, trying to get this thing going LOL

Hey Ram, I agree, it already looks real nice! Looking forward to future pics. Regards Doug

A friend dropped over with a camera- last week, I am much farther than this along, but it is the only pics I got so far- the frame is 99% braced. It is nearly ready for powder coating already!

Where I started:



Frame only before:


Frame cleaned, neck braced, part of rear frame braced, paint gone:



KZ1000 motor that I will run this summer:

bracing is all done- put it on the jig, square, plum, straight and true- ready to rock and roll on the next stage!

if you cap the area between the gussets in the swingarm pivot area they will be stronger.also a piece welded along your steering head/backbone gusset to make it resemble a letter L for lack of an easier way to explain it will help stiffen it from to differant planesB)

The swing arm gusset is one I still plan to do- got tired the day I was working on this and took pics-

Are you talking, on the backbone, of welding a L braket to the neck and backbone? Not directly in the center of either though?

I have been considering the "torsional" bracing in the swing arm area, I am not sure if I need to go that far after what I got here though- I ride pretty hard, and plan on some serious tire and motor in it- so I do go back and forth between what I want want to finanlize the deal with before powder coating-

I still haven't been able to decide what to do with rear sets- pic up a e-bay set off a modern sport bike or go with the torozi or whatever they call them. Seems like a cheap price for good ol' bolt on- but I don't know if I should go ahead and cut off the rear brake post.

www.thefont.info/gussets.htm

are we talking about the same thing in gussetting?

the gussets directly behind steering head tied into backbone on each side you added.if you add a piece of metal going across the tube welded to the piece you already added it will make it stronger.think of it by comparing a flat piece of metal strap with a piece of angle iron.the metal strap is strong when you lay it on its edge and try and compress it but it has no support if a load is applied from the side but when you add the extra piece of metal to it you cant twist it either direction.make sense?i dont have any pictures of how i gusseted my steering head area,as soon as i find my camera ill pull my z1 frame out and post some shots of it.

PLUMMEN wrote:

the gussets directly behind steering head tied into backbone on each side you added.if you add a piece of metal going across the tube welded to the piece you already added it will make it stronger.think of it by comparing a flat piece of metal strap with a piece of angle iron.the metal strap is strong when you lay it on its edge and try and compress it but it has no support if a load is applied from the side but when you add the extra piece of metal to it you cant twist it either direction.make sense?i dont have any pictures of how i gusseted my steering head area,as soon as i find my camera ill pull my z1 frame out and post some shots of it.

I am closing in the top at the same place there as you have in the pic- are you saying close it off up on the neck too?