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ok, you and Leon lost me...are you doing something special with these mounts I'm not seeing? Damn you machinists!!

porchev914 wrote: ok, you and Leon lost me...are you doing something special with these mounts I'm not seeing? Damn you machinists!!

Not really. Leon will pitch ideas my way periodically, and I decided to copy some passenger peg mounts that he emailed me pictures of. I know what he is really doing. Trying to get the guy with the CNC machines to get off his ass and start cranking out Kustom KZ parts. I have toyed with the idea of limited runs, but I'm still trying to gauge interest if I decide to do anything. Basically, I would have my own company set up that would order parts to be made by the machine shop that I now manage. Only thing is that I would pay for the machine work up front on my own dime, and then have to actually sell parts to re-coup my money. I look at it this way, there are already some well established players in that business, and I would be trying to carve out a chunk of a fairly limited market. Notice that I was watching Irishwill's progress with the triples and bearing supports with a keen eye.

I never really got into this hobby with the intention of turning it into a business, and I'm still leaning that way. However, if I do discover my own niche then I may decide to risk a little money. I finally found a local group dedicated to vintage bikes of all makes and I was able to attend one of their bike nights toward the end of last year. They should get going again at the end of February, and I plan on getting more stuck-in with the local vintage bike fans to see just how many customs are being built here. We'll see...

If you ever build some triple trees , I'd be interested. I hope you can still get some time off now and then. I can hardly ever get my friends that are managers to take a day off. When and where is the local bike night there? Thanks, Scott

Trust me keep it as a hobby, make what cash you can on the side.This is one of the most cut throat games there is, people will tell you , ya ya make those I can sell 100 a week, or can you make me a custom whatever and you never see them again.If I had a dollar for every low budget baller I have ever had dealings with I wouldnt need to work ever again. Thank god I have injection molds to fall back on.

How's it going Scott? My company is pretty fair about their time requirements. Obviously, the transition period has required a little more of my time. It all happened pretty fast for me. I basically got Thanksgiving weekend to decide if I wanted the job or not, and then I had four days to work with my outgoing boss to learn his job. No problem, right? Well needless to say, we couldn't cover it all in four days so I have been learning my new job day by day. They don't really expect more than about 50 hours per week out of me, so that's a lot better than the last manangement job I had. I am already up to 4 weeks of vacation with this company plus about 10 holidays every year, so it will be interesting to see if I can use it all or not.

The date and location of the bike nights are TBA, but here's the link to their website: www.bikesnob.com/home.html You can join their group for free, and you will get emails periodically about upcoming meets and events. That would be awesome if you can come to one of their meets some time. We can meet at my place and ride over together. From the one meet that I attended, I can tell that there are still some old Kawasaki fans here in town.

rslingshot wrote: Trust me keep it as a hobby, make what cash you can on the side.This is one of the most cut throat games there is, people will tell you , ya ya make those I can sell 100 a week, or can you make me a custom whatever and you never see them again.If I had a dollar for every low budget baller I have ever had dealings with I wouldnt need to work ever again. Thank god I have injection molds to fall back on.

Yep, I have seen too many guys say I want one, make 'em until they find out the real price. Most folks just don't appreciate how much machine work costs. I know you probably make a little cash selling to the dragrace crowd because those guys are more serious about their equipment. I have an uncle who races a Blown Fuel Altered and that bunch doesn't mind spending. Back when this shop I'm in now used to be privately owned, we would make some billet car parts and that buisness went belly up a long time ago. For the most part we will stick to making spectrometer parts, centerfuge parts, microscope parts and little bits that go up to the ISS.

Everything is going great in the Hill country. I'll definately get ahold of you to see when we can make it to a bike night this spring. That will be fun. Thank you, Scott

testarossa wrote: Ok Adam, got your specs on those passenger pegs. The first generation mounts are 5 1/2" from the centerline of the mounting holes to the center of the footpeg, and they are offset from the sub-frame by 3 1/4". The second gen mounts are 7" long and 4" offset. Also, the second gen mounts are attached to tabs that are vertical and the first gen are angled tabs coming off the sub-frame. These pics should help explain what I mean. First gen is the one attached to the bike and second gen is the one I'm holding.

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ZX10Rs? 06-07? That's what I'm going with, too. Nice selection.
-KR

Yep, in that bottom picture, the one I'm holding is from a 06-07 zx-10r. That's the one going on the KZ. The straighter one on the right is attached to my 04 zx-10r and it's staying right there.

testarossa wrote: Yep, in that bottom picture, the one I'm holding is from a 06-07 zx-10r. That's the one going on the KZ. The straighter one on the right is attached to my 04 zx-10r and it's staying right there.

An 04 10R too....... That's a hell of a bike

LarryC wrote: An 04 10R too....... That's a hell of a bike

Yeah, It makes the old KZ seem like a pussycat. That thing comes on strong at 8000 rpm. You better have a hold of it or it'll try and ride right out from under you.

Well,

That only took an entire day to get through a 90 page build story. More if you count chasing down the endless links, side stories, peeking at other builds and general random things that come up as you follow and amazing story, and consequently begin to get thoughts in your own head and just have to rush off to CL and ebay to looking for parts.

For what it's worth; what an amazing bike. I never had plans to aquire one of the litre KZ bikes, but this has certainly got me thinking that perhaps someday down the road, it may be a possibility. If I were forced to describe some kind of non-stock KZ 'dream bike', it would look an aweful lot like this, from the mods down to paint. Congratulations, beautiful bike, a truly unique creation. Wow. I could go on.

At the same time, this has been a joy to read through in another non-technical sense. It has been a reminder to me of how great this site is, and how good it is that all of us with varying degrees of KZ insanity have a support group out here. We're pretty lucky in that regard. As you mentioned, its just not the same kind of people who seem to be on some of the 'other' brands forums.

Aside from feeling being completely out of this league of restoration and creative work; this entire thing has been one hell of an inspiration to get on with my own work, and to learn whatever I have to, to make that happen. Dunno what made my choose to become a chemist, I suppose I just wasn't that into bikes at the time, and thus had no way to know that what I SHOULD be doing was learning to weld, and taking machinists courses! Ah well, one of the many side tracks I must pursue is looking to the local college and where I might be able to take some welding courses. Of course, that means I will have to probably buy a house, build a garage.... oh, maybe get a job.

Anyway, thanks so much Testarossa for taking the time to keep this build thread going, providing photo evidence of everything along the way, good bad and ugly. If I ever get around to doing the street fighter 650 I hope to do one day, I am sure I will look to you, and many of the others who have participated in this discussion.

I hope that bike provides you with thrills and a feeling of pride for years to come. I make it down to Austin every couple of years to catch up with an old University friend, and although they charge an outlandish amount, there IS a place in Austin where you can rent bike. (No Kawis, but they do have BMW 1200's ) Might just have to take a little day trip down to try any see some of these Texas KZs.

Cheers,

Jon

Hey Johnny you were not near the eaton centre Saturday were you?
I know chemists, in Buffalo they cook crank in boats in lake erie

Jonny
Thanks for the kind words. Reminds me why I took the time to document everything in the first place. As you have noticed what started as a build thread morphed into a bit of a blog with my bike as a centerpiece.

I had hoped to be documenting my 1075 kit install by now but once again life has happened. We bought a bigger house back in March and I only got my new garage cleared of moving debris this past weekend. I also changed jobs at the end of April, so my free time has been very limited due to the move and the travel associated with the new job. I have a couple of side projects to complete before I get back on the KZ, so I have just been riding it and enjoying the fruits of a year long build.

Don't worry about not being able to machine or weld. There are some good guys here who can help you with those tasks if you need. Personally, I would take the welding classes. That's a skill that you can always find a use for. Machining courses, I don't know. Unless you own the machine tools or plan to work as a machinist then it might not be worth the time and money.

Stay tuned as there will be more updates in the future, but I'm not sure how distant.

Yes, many kudos to Josh for his excellent documentation and perseverance throughout his project. His thread has and will continue to inspire and inform many others endeavouring to do something similar. My hat has been, and continues to be off to yo sir

Hi Josh, How's the new house and job working out? I hope life is good for you! Scott

z1kzonly wrote: Hey Johnny you were not near the eaton centre Saturday were you?
I know chemists, in Buffalo they cook crank in boats in lake erie

Hmmmm... Not THAT kind of chemist, although in a different world that kind of quick money would be a temptation.

I am a trained biochemist, but after some years of travelling different parts of the world, and working in a lot of non-industry jobs (I've mainly beer bartending for the last few years), finishing up my third University degree and generally being a rather worldy bum, I sort of stumbled into fermentation biochemistry. In short, I'm a winemaker. Love the job, but it doesn't pay, and certainly doesn't help you to fabricate parts.

Welding courses are a go in the near future, learning machining, probably not. I will do what so many others here have done, and do the best I can with what I've got.

Jon

Machine shop: 1 vise, 1 angle grinder, 1 drill, 1 die grinder, 1 oxy-acetylene torch, a few hammers. Those of us who really live it up also have a small drill press and bench grinder inherited from Dad.

I just wanted to add a couple of pics from a recent ride. My kids are finally getting old enough to be left alone for an hour or two without supervision. That opens a new door for us. We can actually go for a ride together without getting a sitter.

So we took off for one of the local parks for a short ride. Brandy started off on the Ninja with me following on the KZ. On the return leg she wanted to try the KZ. I was surprised that she was riding faster than on the Ninja. I guess the lack of a functioning speedometer will do that.

We got about half the way home when she started having problems with the bike stalling. I took over and initially had the same issue. Once I finally gave it enough gas to get past the bog, I noticed that I only got two upshifts. Apparently she had stopped at the light in third gear, and I didn't catch it until I started shifting. At least nothing was really wrong.

Well done! I've just recently got the little woman to ride with me, she hadn't been on a bike since she was around 4 yrs. old and was extremely reluctant!

Les