TOPIC:

Swapping the engine in my 81 kz550 with an 84 gpz550. Does any one have a picture of how the oil cooler is mounted. Does it have a removal bracket to mount it or is it part of the frame. This swap is turning out to be more involved then I expected. Little differences make a big deal

This thread has photos of the 81 gpz550 cooler mounts, but there are some things you need to know.
www.kzrider.com/forum/11-projects/221140...ng-the-fat?start=100

In the photo of the frame you will see six holes in the brace used to hold the oil cooler. Only two of those visible holes are threaded. Those two are the two original upper mounting holes. They aren't actually threaded, they are a nut welded onto the back side of the brace. Also, in the photo of the frame, you will see that two tabs have been cut and ground off. Those two tabs each would have also had a welded nut.

The two upper welded nuts hold a horizontal cooler bracket. The top of the cooler then bolts to that upper bracket and the bottom of the cooler bolts to the frame brace directly without using a separate bracket. You can see the bracket in the photos, but I'm not using the original holes in the bracket. Notice the bracket has large holes. Those should have rubber-bushed standoffs to attach the bracket to the frame brace. The lower mounting holes on the cooler also use rubber-bushed standoffs.

In order to use a steering damper, I lowered the oil cooler. I did that by drilling four new holes into the frame brace, and mounted the cooler bracket using steel spacers. I kept the rubber mounts for the lower bracket, but used nuts and bolts to attach it. I attached the cooler to the upper bracket with rubber bushings, so the cooler is hopefully not getting full engine vibration.

I had to shorten the cooler hoses to lower the cooler.

Thanks that was a big help. That made it easier to figure out how to mount it.

I should also mention, if you mount the cooler in the same location I moved it to, you will have to stiffen up the front suspension and preferably limit the movement upward or the front fender will collide with the cooler on really hard stops with bumps. If you are not going to use a steering damper, then you can mount it higher like the original location on the 81 frame, but you will have to add tabs or a bracket for the lower cooler mounts.

I lowered it for use with a steering damper, and that build thread page has more details on what else is needed for installing a steering damper. You may want to consider it since the gpz motor will have a stronger top end rush and the front end can get pretty light.