Testarossa's 78 KZ1000 Fighter Build

it looks pretty good Josh, but real men use hand tools.







:woohoo: :kiss:

woohoo machine work pics !!!!!!!!!! :woohoo:

i think i know where this going, :whistle: :lol: .

keep us posted josh.

leon

531blackbanshee wrote: woohoo machine work pics !!!!!!!!!! :woohoo:

i think i know where this going, :whistle: :lol: .

keep us posted josh.

leon

Yep, you should know.

Nice, can't wait to see it mounted up!! I just tore off my rear set mounts (again) maybe third times a charm.

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

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

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