Goodbye LTD, Hello MKII !

this is going to be a cool build to follow along with.

keep them pics coming,

leon

My Mk.II runs a 180 section rear (GSXR s/arm & wheel) - fitted a 5/8" off-set front sprox and had 5mm shaved off the rear sprox carrier......





Keep up the good work

I'm The Comfort Tx guy and I'd love to go for a ride. The project forum is my favorite part of KZRIDERS and Testarossa's build thread was a huge inspiration to me as well. Let me know when you want to ride. Thanks' Scott

Pigford wrote: My Mk.II runs a 180 section rear (GSXR s/arm & wheel) - fitted a 5/8" off-set front sprox and had 5mm shaved off the rear sprox carrier......


Keep up the good work

Thanks Pigford, that's good info to have. Are you running a 530 chain? Your bike is awesome, someone needs to make taillights like that for everyone . Where did you get your seat? It looks like there's a lot more room than on the stock one.

So we're big Dr. Who fans here in my household, and I've been wanting to take a vacation to the UK for a while now. Maybe I need to ship the KZ across the pond for a riding vacation :lol:

fitscott wrote: I'm The Comfort Tx guy and I'd love to go for a ride. The project forum is my favorite part of KZRIDERS and Testarossa's build thread was a huge inspiration to me as well. Let me know when you want to ride. Thanks' Scott

Howdy Scott. I agree, this is my favorite section of this site too. I'm constantly amazed by the imagination and creativity shown here. I'm very mechanical, but not as good at fabrication. I'm planning on getting a welder soon and getting that skillset going. There are times when drilling holes and bolting stuff together just won't do

I think that there might be a Hill Country ride planned in the Spring with my DFW riding crew, and I'm sure that anyone that wants to go with us would be more than welcome. We're pretty hillbilly when we go, tent camping in state parks and such. This will be a shakedown ride for us before we head out to Colorado/Utah/Arizona/New Mexico in June. When I know more, I'll pass it along.

Hey Scootjockey, I like your story, sounds like you have a love affair with this bike.
Wish I would have met you years ago when you got rid of the Z1-R tank. I can always use a spare.
The front end you used looks a lot like a ZX6 front, which is a lot like the ZRX front end.
I had plans for using a ZRX front on mine.
Looking forward to the rest of your build.

Good info Pigford and great work Scootjockey. I'm looking to do this swap on my KZ750. Anyone use a swingarm from an '81 GS1100? Is it any different than a stock KZ1000 because it looks veeery similar lol.

Julian@MotoCARR wrote: Good info Pigford and great work Scootjockey. I'm looking to do this swap on my KZ750. Anyone use a swingarm from an '81 GS1100? Is it any different than a stock KZ1000 because it looks veeery similar lol.

Are you talking about a steel GS swingarm, or the aluminum one like I'm using? I don't remember what year the bike was that mine came from, but it was early 80s. Here are some measurements that I took today (approximate to within an eighth inch or so) :

Swingarm pivot point- 8 7/8 inches
Pivot bolt center line to forward-most rear axle point in swingarm- 19 1/2 inches
Inner swingarm width at rearaxle- 10 1/4 inches

The GS swingarm also uses a clevis type mounting point for the lower shock mount instead of the eye type that the Kawasakis use, so you'll have to replace your shocks too.

Hope this info helps, anyone else with info feel free to chime in, I've probably missed something.

BlackZ1R wrote: Hey Scootjockey, I like your story, sounds like you have a love affair with this bike.
Wish I would have met you years ago when you got rid of the Z1-R tank. I can always use a spare.
The front end you used looks a lot like a ZX6 front, which is a lot like the ZRX front end.
I had plans for using a ZRX front on mine.
Looking forward to the rest of your build.

Thanks, I guess that I kind of do have a little love for this old bike. I've definitely had some good times with it.

I picked this front end specifically because it is supposed to pretty much be a bolt-in with the right bearings. I'm preparing a new post right now with some info and pictures, stay tuned.........

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configuration

Scootjockey wrote:

Julian@MotoCARR wrote: Good info Pigford and great work Scootjockey. I'm looking to do this swap on my KZ750. Anyone use a swingarm from an '81 GS1100? Is it any different than a stock KZ1000 because it looks veeery similar lol.

Are you talking about a steel GS swingarm, or the aluminum one like I'm using? I don't remember what year the bike was that mine came from, but it was early 80s. Here are some measurements that I took today (approximate to within an eighth inch or so) :

Swingarm pivot point- 8 7/8 inches
Pivot bolt center line to forward-most rear axle point in swingarm- 19 1/2 inches
Inner swingarm width at rearaxle- 10 1/4 inches

The GS swingarm also uses a clevis type mounting point for the lower shock mount instead of the eye type that the Kawasakis use, so you'll have to replace your shocks too.

Hope this info helps, anyone else with info feel free to chime in, I've probably missed something.

Yes it definitely helped because I was not aware that there were two variations of the swingarm besides shaft/non shaft drive. This is the link to the arm I was assuming was being used until I read your thread. This one will not work if I'm trying to stuff a 170-180 tire in the back like you are right lol?

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configuration

Julian@MotoCARR wrote: Yes it definitely helped because I was not aware that there were two variations of the swingarm besides shaft/non shaft drive. This is the link to the arm I was assuming was being used until I read your thread. This one will not work if I'm trying to stuff a 170-180 tire in the back like you are right lol?

I've never looked at swapping the steel Suzuki swingarm, only the aluminum one, so I don't have any info on it.

As far as the 170/180 rear tire, I'm not even sure that I'M going to be able to get it to work It's all trial and error at this point. I hope to have some concrete info soon, just need to get some machine work done. Keep watching........

Happy President’s Day!

Well, I got absolutely NOTHING done on the KZ last week. I’m still trying to track down a machine shop to work on the sprocket carrier.

I did spend some time in the garage yesterday afternoon, taking pictures and measurements of my front end (the bike’s, not my own . I’m going to put the pics in here, then blah blah blah below.

I’m using the complete forks-triple-wheel-brakes from either a 1989 or 1990 ZX-7H (they’re the same). It’s supposed to be a bolt-in using the correct upper and lower steering stem bearings.

It looks like the forks are adjustable for rebound and compression damping.

The stem length is about the same as the KZ.

The fork length is about 29 ½ inches from the top to the axle centerline. I don’t know how low that’s going to make the front of the bike. I put two inch lowering blocks in my stock KZ forks and it didn’t seem to make the front too low. Once it’s all together I can see if I need to make any changes.

Here’s a better shot of my temporary mount for the instruments and headlight, and the ugly hacksaw job I did on the ignition key mount on the upper triple tree. I’m planning on drilling the upper triple for bolt-on handlebar risers. I think a flat sheet of steel or aluminum cut and bent to shape will work to cover the hack-job and provide a place to mount the instruments. I’m still thinking about that.

I need the steering stem nut and hardware, and the upper triple clamp nut, I didn’t get them with the front end when I bought it. The same pieces from a Voyager XII or Concours will work too. Anyone have some laying around?

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