My son's '84 Gpz build

I'm building an '84 Gpz750 with my 15yo that will be his when he's a Senior in H.S. The deal is he has to keep a 3.0 or better at all times and play a sport. He currently has a 3.4 gpa and plays water polo, so we've started work on it.

Here's what we started with.


It was free and it came with a title... can't beat that. A friend made off with the stock Gpz suspension so I was left with just a frame. We shortened the tail to make a solo section out of it.. (so I won't have to worry about all the girls wanting rides.. LOL)

I picked up a set of '00 ZX7 forks and clamps for very cheap, and had a stem made to adapt the Gpz stem to the ZX7 clamps.


The rear suspension was a freebie, '99 GSXR 1000 swing arm, wheel, axle, caliper and brake arm. All I need is one spacer and the rotor.
The shock that will be used is still unknown at this point, once a tire is on the rear wheel I cant set the ride height and figure the length of the shock and start looking around.

The engine is an '82 Gpz750... supposedly it has a holed piston but I'm in no hurry to make it run, but it will eventually end up with an 810cc kit. So once the shock is sorted he will learn how to tear down an engine, bag parts and take notes on what he's doing.. The bottom end will go in the frame so we can figure the off set of the sprockets to sort that out. Good thing I produce custom sprockets eh?

Here is what we have so far...










We got a 180/55 tire mounted on the rear and the rear end assembled. I initially thought I'd be having a friend build me a franken shock but after getting the tire on and it sitting on its own, the stock upper shock mount is not out far enough, the spring hits the swing arm if I use the stock mount.


So I made a new bracket ad tacked it in place well enough to keep it in place, and no you cant see my crap-tastic welding till some one can finish the welding up properly..

Either way here are some new pics from Saturday's work...

Looking good, that has got to be a great father / son project.

Please swear you will replace those tires before the 1st test ride! I can't even imagine why the previous owner would have ridden a bike until the tires were that shot; they are both worn way beyond what any sane person would have ridden on. Ed

Really Ed the tires are just to help set up the bike. It looks like a great start to the project.

david1050 wrote: Really Ed...

Ya know Ed I gotta agree with David... I didn't think anyone would actually comment on the tires.

and thanks David, it's off to a good start so far.

That is truly a cool build and project Thats what I call bonding with your son

KzJim wrote:

david1050 wrote: Really Ed...

Ya know Ed I gotta agree with David... I didn't think anyone would actually comment on the tires.

and thanks David, it's off to a good start so far.

Really Jim,

When you wrote "We got a 180/55 tire mounted on the rear and the rear end assembled" it appeared to me that you were planning to use the tires. Everyone takes a little different approach to things. When I go through the trouble to mount a tire it's a tire I'm going to use; others may be perfectly content to mount tires that they plan to remove and trash. I guess I'm just too lazy to do that. No offense intended. Ed

Never mind Ed. He likes everything stock, so he's not used to having mock-up tires. The guy is so bad about it that he once bought a Ford truck and returned it when he found out that the engine was a 400 Modified. Just kidding around here. Sorry, I saw the door open and had to walk through.

Anyway, it looks like a cool project. It's good that you are building it with your son for him to ride. He will have a real appreciation for what he's got. Thumbsup!

If I mounted a good set of tires at the start of a build, I'd need to replace them before the first ride anyway...they'd be old and hard by the time I got it finished lol.

Great father son project, good solid bonding time, and a great base to start off with too Cant wait to do this with my boys ( 11 and 5 )

M357.5 wrote: If I mounted a good set of tires at the start of a build, I'd need to replace them before the first ride anyway...they'd be old and hard by the time I got it finished lol.

Great father son project, good solid bonding time, and a great base to start off with too Cant wait to do this with my boys ( 11 and 5 )

True, but when those tires are replaced the bike will sit 1" higher. :laugh: BTW, Testarossa's correct. I still have the stock Japanese air that was pumped into the original Dunlop tiress on my bike at the Kawasaki factory. I carefully vented it into a jar and preserved it in my freezer along with the original gasoline and motor oil. I’ll put it all back in the bike when I sell it as 100% original. :woohoo: All kidding aside, the bike build will be great for bonding Dad & Son.

way cool project.your son will have a very unique bike.wont be as fast as a newer bike but will definitely look cooler.

Man I wish I could get a swingarm,wheel, triples all for free