'78 KZ1000A2A (now a hardtail bobber)

i use bi-metal hole saws for tube notching.




not that great of a pic :whistle: ,but you get the idea.

i bored a hole through a piece of scrap aluminum to use to clamp the tube with,hardwood could work just as well.

a small drillpress and vise will work to notch some tubing.

looks like you got along just fine on the tube notching.

that dog knot on your swingarm is killing me tho :sick: .

as much work as you are putting in to the frame mods,that needs to go.

purely my opinion sir :huh: .

you can tell me to get stuffed :laugh: ,

it's your bike so you get to do it just like you want.

keep us posted,

leon

Yeah, Leon, I am agreeing with the ugliness of that modified swingarm. I was thinking of how to just remove it altogether but that would mean fabbing up the frame from the center, under the final drive back to the axle mount. I hate the whole swing arm back there and honestly, the chain slack adjusters are crap too.

I love your clamp idea. Gonna make something like that for my drill press.


Give me some suggestions of how to go about doing this without the swingarm. I would need some stock adjusters and pieces from a stock swingarm to use as the mount for the rear tire.

I guess this would be an answer. I feel like I could build something like this rear frame section if I take my time...

what size is the rear axle?

maybe a set of these,
www.lowbrowcustoms.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=90

in kinda this sorta fashion,



perhaps :whistle: ,

leon

i see we are on the same page :lol: .

a few custom made frame slugs,some axle pates or cut up an old swingarm and grab the axle plates..

leon

Yes. That low rail running back to the rear wheel is a good look. I don't have a really good way of making nice bends except for torch heat. Any suggestions on a cheap way to do nice bends on 1" tube?

Now I gotta find an old swingarm for the plates and some stock adjusters.

I will keep my 'stretch' as all it amounts to, at this point, is some extra links in my chain. But I am 6'3" and want the extra room and want the bike to look 'bigger' under me.

Can you say 'rabbit hole"? What the he** am I doing?!! Lol! This project keeps morphing.

i understand wanting the stretch,why go to all this trouble to build something that doesn't fit you.

i could bend the tube for you,with the shipping involved it might not be worth it tho.

i could machine the slugs for you,or open up an axle plate if needed.

those bends could be done with heat and a piece of the right diameter pipe welded to steel table.

cycle one has a decent price for some pre-fabbed hardtails.

www.cycleonemanufacturing.com/id227.html
may not be enough stretch tho.

www.bitterendchoppers.com/FramePartsPg2.html

has some nice fab parts to.

leon

Thanks for the offer, leon. Very gracious of you.

Looking on Fleabay, I think I will find a stock swing arm, axle, adjusters, spacers, etc and cut off the parts I need and add on my new tubes.

I just emailed Brian(kz10006) to see if he can hook me up. If not, there are lots of them on Ebay. And it looks like I can get all the pieces for the same price as a pair of new plates from that first site you referenced.

I will try the pipe on the bench for bends. I guess I need to get about a 1 foot section of tube red hot to get a nice smooth bend? Has anyone tried filling the tube with sand before bending to keep it from collapsing on the outside of the bend? I think I need to find some scraps and practice.

i have never tried the sand.

but i have heard that you need to make sure the sand is completely dry.like put on a cookie sheet and put in the oven for a while,kinda deal.

leon

have never done it but my uncle made me a roll bar for a drag car years ago thats how he did it and it look store bought lol

I found time to work on the bike a little. I am still awaiting a stock swingarm to arrive and be a donor for axle plates and adjusters.

I did one bend using the sand method. It takes significanly more heat to get the tubing hot because of the sand in there. The bend came out looking good but not a lot better than just doing it without the sand.

Meanwhile I figured what the heck and practiced my tubing cutting, fitting and welding techniques on this old swing arm. I am getting better at welding without burn throughs but I still won't post any pictures here. You would point fingers and laugh.

I found yet another bike. Someone help me! I can't stop!!

I found a '78 Honda 750 Four. I offered a lowball price and the seller accepted, what else could I do? It is in running condition sans mufflers and airbox and it needs a starter solenoid. It is a very tall bike so it will definitely get chopped to the ground so the 'little' lady can sit flat footed on it. Definitely not pristine but should be a great project bike as soon a I get the kz done.

cool score on the sohc.

keep us posted on what you do with it.

leon