Testarossa's 78 KZ1000 Fighter Build

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. :evil:

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. :laugh:

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! :lol: 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. :pinch:

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 :woohoo: ) 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 :evil:

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 :evil:

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. :lol:

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. :lol:

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