'81 kz440 brat tracker

been lurking around here for a little over a year, figured i'd post up what i've been working on. i have a 1981 kz440 that's gone through quite a few phases: bobber, cafe, and finally more of a tracker, which is how it will stay.

this is how i bought it, as a "cool idea but pretty ugly" bobber...



i had a set of gsxr forks and kawi zx6r wheel waiting to be used, so i threw them on...



got some beefier tires, ditched the dirt bars and went with clip ons, scored a front brake setup on ebay, and a set of progressive shocks, which were desperately needed. the PO had cut the original rear springs, so not only was there ZERO travel in them, but the springs were working their way up over the upper bump stop. this is what i ended up with after all that went on...



as you can see from that pic, the front tire looks HUGE compared to the rear. that's because the zx6 wheel was wider than the original kz wheel in the back, so even though both tires were a 120 width with the same size sidewall, the wider wheel up front allowed it to expand more. also, the rear wheel was an 18", while the zx6 wheel was 17", so something had to be done. ebay to the rescue. $100 later got me the rear wheel off a 2010 ex250. 17" like the front, slightly wider, and the spoke pattern matched haha.

the stock swingarm wasn't wide enough to accept the new rear wheel, so my wife got me an ex250 rear swinger to match the wheel for Christmas. i then started entertaining the idea of monoshocking it. last summer, with the help of a friend and his welder, that idea became a reality.



the exhaust was still up in the air. i knew what i wanted, but was having a hard time executing it. i wanted a mid height, 2-1 exhaust, but my first attempt didn't turn out too hot...



second attempt, bingo...





then i converted the rear to disc brake, welded up a tray under my seat for the electronics, threw on an old tank off a 76 xl350, and a set of supermoto bars. this is before the bars and tray, but you get the idea...



now she's ready to roll, only i'm having an electrical problem, which i started another thread for, but i'll copy and paste it here, too:

so i'm hoping someone here might be able to help me out, as i'm about at the end of my rope.

i have an '81 kz440, and i thought it had a bad starter solenoid. i thought this because, out of nowhere, my starter button stopped turning the starter motor over. however, i could get it to turn over by gapping the posts on the solenoid. so i figured bad solenoid. got a brand new one, put it in, and same problem. i'm picking up a multimeter from a friend today or tomorrow, so we'll see where that gets me, but any other help would be appreciated.

That's a pretty slick looking little bike you got there!
You might want some heat shields on the exhaust to save your legs! :laugh:

i like that a lot. really nice style, is it me or do you not have a gear lever i would love to have that sitting in my shed waiting for a spin through town, well cool machine.

Id t install a remote push button starter someplace

haha, man you guys don't miss a beat! yeah, heat shields have been in the back of my mind as a necessary accessory, but i'm sure they'll make their way to the top of the priority list once i get a ride on her, haha. gotta make a couple of those for sure.

and no, there is no gear lever. i have one, just forgot to put it back on when i reinstalled the engine after painting it. another piece i will immediately remember when i go to ride it out of the driveway!

:woohoo:

Clean the contacts in the switch

so it turns out that although the fuses looked fine, they needed to be replaced. got 3 new ones in there, and the bike's turning over as it should again! now on to trying to get her started. hope to be riding her by next week! here's a video of the last time i got her started, just after i finished the new exhaust. unfortunately there was still a lot of work to do at that point, so i couldn't get a ride, but now everything else is buttoned up. it was a lot warmer out when the video was shot, though, but hopefully that won't be too big a problem.

cool

got the bike running again the other day, so that's a good sign. made up a fender and mounted it yesterday.

so i was on the fence about the front fender. i like the idea of it, but maybe not this execution per say. plus, it was originally intended to be a rear fender. so i mocked it up on the rear today. gonna make another one for the front, but i'm not sure what to do with it. run it high, dirt bike style? closer to the wheel? idk, i'm still up in the air about it. but here's some pics with my ideas to finish up the back.