Testarossa's 78 KZ1000 Fighter Build

Well it only took me two weeks to get my new rearsets mounted. Half of that was waiting for parts to come in. I had to make a new link arm from a piece of 3/8" aluminum, and I ordered new 6mm heim joints. I also had to get a M6x1 LH tap to make the link arm a proper turnbuckle. Not that you could twist it without disconnecting one end. It has to have two bends to clear everything in there. I just made up some adapter plates from 1/2" aluminum to make these fit my existing mount points. Happily the shifter is quite a bit smoother than the one that I had fabricated. I think most of that is due to the fact that it has brand new heim joints and the shift arm isn't as flexible as mine was. I cut mine too thin and it was possible to bend it slightly with a good stomp.

Pay no attention to the fasteners used at the moment. They were just what I had in the garage. That's one of my next goals to get new or re-plated fasteners throughout the bike. It's all about incremental improvements now that the bike is running.

I'm pleased to say that the Smoothbores are right at home in there. The bike is running much more smoothly at lower rpms. Particularly the transition from no throttle to part throttle is much better. I think that I was underestimating the influence of the needle jet and jet needle in that whole equation. I left the old ones in my 26's because they "seemed" to look pretty good and they cleaned up just fine. On the 29's I replaced all of jets, including the needle jet and jet needle. I figure those carbs are worth spending on proper jets. I actually found a website that gives the actual dimensions on Mikuni jet needles. It might be worth it to pull those from the 26's and measure them to see if there has been any wear. That's def. a rainy day project. Weather is too nice to be jacking around in the garage more than necessary right now.

Here's a few cell phone pics of the bike with the new rear sets. Matching passenger pegs will follow in the near future.








BTW I plan to customize the heel guards as well. The left side one in particular is HUGE.

testarossa wrote: Well it only took me two weeks to get my new rearsets mounted. Half of that was waiting for parts to come in. I had to make a new link arm from a piece of 3/8" aluminum, and I ordered new 6mm heim joints. I also had to get a M6x1 LH tap to make the link arm a proper turnbuckle. Not that you could twist it without disconnecting one end. It has to have two bends to clear everything in there. I just made up some adapter plates from 1/2" aluminum to make these fit my existing mount points. Happily the shifter is quite a bit smoother than the one that I had fabricated. I think most of that is due to the fact that it has brand new heim joints and the shift arm isn't as flexible as mine was. I cut mine too thin and it was possible to bend it slightly with a good stomp.

Pay no attention to the fasteners used at the moment. They were just what I had in the garage. That's one of my next goals to get new or re-plated fasteners throughout the bike. It's all about incremental improvements now that the bike is running.

I'm pleased to say that the Smoothbores are right at home in there. The bike is running much more smoothly at lower rpms. Particularly the transition from no throttle to part throttle is much better. I think that I was underestimating the influence of the needle jet and jet needle in that whole equation. I left the old ones in my 26's because they "seemed" to look pretty good and they cleaned up just fine. On the 29's I replaced all of jets, including the needle jet and jet needle. I figure those carbs are worth spending on proper jets. I actually found a website that gives the actual dimensions on Mikuni jet needles. It might be worth it to pull those from the 26's and measure them to see if there has been any wear. That's def. a rainy day project. Weather is too nice to be jacking around in the garage more than necessary right now.

Here's a few cell phone pics of the bike with the new rear sets. Matching passenger pegs will follow in the near future.

Attachment a0513011857.jpg not found

Attachment a0513011858.jpg not found

Attachment a0513011858a.jpg not found

BTW I plan to customize the heel guards as well. The left side one in particular is HUGE.

i like it

Looking good, have you done any afr data logging with the new 29's yet???

Sexy sexy.

Nice job If anyone can make me a set of adapter plates or knows of somewhere to buy some pm me please

looks good. did u have to grind the kickstand mount, for clearance?

[attachment=36264]a0513011858a.jpg[/attachmen

Bike looks trick.
How do you find the front end.
On mine it seems a bit heavy with the later model forks
and swingarm, it puts the wheel base about 1 1/2" to 2"
further back and makes the front end heavy.
Wondering if longer forks could relieve some of it.
They do look a little low at the front.

With the rear sets I used s/s countersunk screws so
they were flush with the plate.

JakeB wrote: Looking good, have you done any afr data logging with the new 29's yet???

Wow, I didn't even know that you were following that. Actually not much. As usual, I used the wideband to tune my idle air screws and get the pilot jets right by just watching the AFR while riding around the subdivision. I haven't installed the TPS on these carbs because I didn't want to modify the throttle bellcrank. I took a small log this morning and I'll try and go for a ride tomorrow if time allows. I'm close to removing the setup from this bike because I want to tune the PCIII on my zx-10r now.

Nice job If anyone can make me a set of adapter plates or knows of somewhere to buy some pm me please

Unfortunately I don't have my original peg mounts any more. I removed them and filled the holes in when I mounted my original rearsets. I actually just made cardboard templates and then cut the basic shape into the aluminum with the bandsaw at work. I clamped the two together and filed them down to the same size by hand. I'll probably remove them and machine out some excess material in the near future on a mill, but these can totally be made with hand tools if you have the patience.

looks good. did u have to grind the kickstand mount, for clearance?

No grinding so far. I will need to grind off the little spur that originally is used to put the stand down. It hits the shift arm on the way up/down.

How do you find the front end.
On mine it seems a bit heavy with the later model forks
and swingarm, it puts the wheel base about 1 1/2" to 2"
further back and makes the front end heavy.

Actually, I find that the handling is totally predictable and confidence inspiring. I never got to ride the bike in stock configuration, but I do have a 1980 GS 750 that is all stock suspension. The GS does turn in a little more easily at low speed and is more nimble in parking lot speed maneuvers, but then the GS does have the reputation of handling better than the KZ. At highway speed I notice no heaviness, and thankfully no death wobble, headshake etc. Yes it sits lower than stock, but the only issue related to that is that I can drag the header at the outside of the collector if I try and get down on a sharp right hand turn. This could be resolved with a header that runs under the middle of the oil pan. This one is supposed to clear the oil filter. One thing that I did was when I was measuring for suspension pick-up points, I had the original GSXR 750 sitting right beside the KZ1000. I tried to replicate the GSXR suspension geometry as much as possible. I also rebuilt the fork and shock with correct weight springs for the KZ1000's weight.

Have u given any thought to cutting an inch of foam from the front of the seat and adding a seat strap ?
I allways thought the stock seats looked cool and racey that way.
Nice job.

Your bike looks very thought out and clean.has that afr drove you crazy with constantly tuning trying to get it just a little better?

mark1122 wrote: Have u given any thought to cutting an inch of foam from the front of the seat and adding a seat strap ?
I allways thought the stock seats looked cool and racey that way.
Nice job.

Mark, the seat will get some attention in the coming winter. I would like to find another pan that is straight so that I can experiment. Like everything else, I want to make my own seat cover. I always thought that the bike would look good with a shallow step in the seat. About 1/3 the step in an LTD or Corbin seat. More like a ZRX stock seat, you are familiar with that aren't you?

Camaroguy, it would if I could see it while I ride. That's why I didn't buy a gauge. I stuff the computer thing under the seat when I'm riding. You have to accept that carburetors are not going to be perfect at all times. If you want perfect fueling on a street bike, you need fuel injection. Carbs can be made perfect under specific conditions, like drag racing, but street bikes see too many variable conditions.

Yes i have a zrx seat on mine. Maybe look at a zepher seat too. i think they have a similar look but unlike the zrx, they are flat on the bottom , like a kz.
i just googled these for u.