1980 KZ200 Street Tracker/Scrambler

Just finished my first project bike at 61, only got back into bikes 10 months ago after a break of 40 years. I picked up this Z200 by chance, ii had only covered 3440 miles with 1 owner and had been in storage since December 1980. I was originally going to restore it to stock but when I worked out how much it was going to cost I decided to do something a bit different with it.

Here are some before during and after pictures.

Sweet little thumper. Welcome to the madness!

Very nice. How does it run? Is there enough clearance between the rear tire and its fender for full suspension travel?

Looks great. Nicely done.

TexasKZ wrote: Very nice. How does it run? Is there enough clearance between the rear tire and its fender for full suspension travel?

Had some trouble getting the jetting right but it's running well now. There's plenty of suspension travel clearance for me but I'm pretty light. There's not much clearance at the front edge of the swing arm, had to go down 1 tooth on the front sprocket and fit a longer chain to get the wheel as far back in the chain adjusters as possible.

wow that thing came out awesome! love the seat and the color scheme. Great job

Lol.
Different strokes for different folks.
I would have made it stock and kept it a pretty bike.
Instead its .... well, iI'll be the one to take the hit.
Yuk, it does nothing for me.
Ha ha.

Very cool bike you have made there. Love the knobblies!

BrianF wrote:

TexasKZ wrote: Very nice. How does it run? Is there enough clearance between the rear tire and its fender for full suspension travel?

Had some trouble getting the jetting right but it's running well now. There's plenty of suspension travel clearance for me but I'm pretty light. There's not much clearance at the front edge of the swing arm, had to go down 1 tooth on the front sprocket and fit a longer chain to get the wheel as far back in the chain adjusters as possible.

What was the issue with the chain? Having been around/modified some vintage MX bikes whenever you add more rear suspension travel you usually need to add slack to the chain and fab up some sort of chain guide/roller system. Here's one I made up for a 76 KX125 after adding 1" of travel. With the bike on a stand and the shocks removed you need to operate the swingarm to find the point where the chain is tightest. Hold the wheel at that position and adjust the chain so there's a little slack. Reinstall the shocks and see where you're at. You may get away with just a roller or two or need a guide and slider as well.

This is cool as hell! Love the scrambler look.

Kidkawie wrote:

BrianF wrote:

TexasKZ wrote: Very nice. How does it run? Is there enough clearance between the rear tire and its fender for full suspension travel?

Had some trouble getting the jetting right but it's running well now. There's plenty of suspension travel clearance for me but I'm pretty light. There's not much clearance at the front edge of the swing arm, had to go down 1 tooth on the front sprocket and fit a longer chain to get the wheel as far back in the chain adjusters as possible.

What was the issue with the chain? Having been around/modified some vintage MX bikes whenever you add more rear suspension travel you usually need to add slack to the chain and fab up some sort of chain guide/roller system. Here's one I made up for a 76 KX125 after adding 1" of travel. With the bike on a stand and the shocks removed you need to operate the swingarm to find the point where the chain is tightest. Hold the wheel at that position and adjust the chain so there's a little slack. Reinstall the shocks and see where you're at. You may get away with just a roller or two or need a guide and slider as well.

I just needed to get the rear wheel as far back as possible to allow the oversize tyre to clear the swingarm. I also shaved a bit off the side of the rear tyre by putting the bike in first gear at fast idle on a paddock stand then held a surform wood rasp on the edge of the tyre.