Kz 750 B turned into lighter street tracker versio

Hi,
Before I start the project, I have a question... Can anyone tell me why the kz is so heavy ? 228kg compared to a Yamaha xs 650 on 198kg and only 2 bhp less than the kawasaki.

I'm planning to remove the seat for a flatter (thinner) version, have lightweight fenders, a lighter battery, small headlights etc etc but I think I will only save around 20kg at the very most.

Is the frame the heavy part, or the engine particularly heavier than other motorcycles... ? Even a BMW R80 is lighter than the KZ'

Many thanks for your answers, this will help me focus on the fat places

They are heavy, but it will drag that Yamaha's ASS .....

Hope you're right, my best mate's got one and already lightened it to the bare minimum... and frankly the power to weight ratio is more in his favour at the moment ! :sick: :blush:

any idea what makes it so heavy?

As one who has built a few cafe bikes over the past few years, one area that the KZs are going to lose the weight wars is in the frame. The bigger zs are VERY stout in comparison to other makes of the same era. Seems to have more and heavier bracing components. I have torn an xj apart, and to the best of my recollection, it was not nearly as heavy a frame. I don't know where the other weight differences could be, but the frame appears to be an area I noted a big difference.

Thanks... This confirmed my worry, the frame does look big and heavy so I guess I will have to get rid of every bit of everything else (unless someone has a KZ 750 B carbon frame they want to get rid of )

My KZ650's a little over 400 lbs.

Looks good minus the hard tail.