Thinking about a cafe racer project, need some advice....

gazzz wrote: However, as already noted, people tend to try to change the design of their motorcycles. And here I have to confess that I took a part in modification of scores of Kawasaki motorcycles all over the world. My only excuse is that cafe-racer kits I provide is reversible: in fact it take 10 minutes to install and no cutting involved:)

Norway:

Switzerland:

New Zealand:

France:

Where can I see your kits?

Warner

Really? Show me how you change the paint back to the original stock Kawasaki paint in 10 minutes! I don't think so. :blink: Ed

gazzz wrote: As for the base for custom, I completely agree with baldy110. There is no need to hack good motorcycle when one is about to change wheels, suspension, brakes and to overhaul engine.

Although when these old KZ bikes can easily be had for $300 - $500 in nice shape, why start with a bucket of rust? The whole Café thing is in the eye of the beholder. In my case it just meant take a cheap bike that had a good base engine and braking system and visually pull it out of the 80's a bit. While mine isn't anywhere as nice as the ones that Gazz is picturing, it is similar in that nothing has been hacked up - just unbolted some stuff and bolted on some other stuff.

Oldjeep wrote:
........Although when these old KZ bikes can easily be had for $300 - $500 in nice shape, why start with a bucket of rust? ..........

I didn't see anyone suggest starting with a "bucket of rust." Ed

650ed wrote:

Oldjeep wrote:
........Although when these old KZ bikes can easily be had for $300 - $500 in nice shape, why start with a bucket of rust? ..........

I didn't see anyone suggest starting with a "bucket of rust." Ed

Ok, then what qualifies as a bike that is not nice enough to mod? Around here there are 2 kinds of 80's bikes for sale. Original in nice condition and original and rusted/rotted from sitting outside.

Here is an example of what you find around here. You get both a KZ750 and a KZ650 for $650 - nice enough looking bikes and he has been trying to sell them for 2 months with no bites
minneapolis.craigslist.org/ram/mcy/d/sai...sell/6870397414.html

The seller probably needs to put them on eBay. I suspect he would have a better chance of selling them there since it has a much broader audience rather than relying on a local Craigslist. Ed

Bucket of rust will probably cost more to get going in the long run. But I occasionally see incomplete bikes that are not rusty. They usually have already been hacked poorly, and ran at some point before the modifications started. That is usually a good starting point because they have almost no street value.

650ed wrote: Really? Show me how you change the paint back to the original stock Kawasaki paint in 10 minutes! I don't think so. :blink: Ed

I might ask where did you find a word about painting in my phrase on 10 minutes kit installation, however here is solution specially for you. Even more, two solutions.

Solution # 1. Here is Zephyr 750 painted in racing green and white.






This is Zephyr of mine. To turn it from "original stock" Kawasaki Candy Atlantic Blue paint to project' green color I used spare set of tank and side covers. Thus, this very day my Zephyr still wears its "original stock" painting.





After around 90K km of my ownership, no matter how accurate I was, original parts became shabby and scratched. Paint on sides of tank rubbed mostly to primer by my knees and front part of tank chipped to the primer and somewhere to the very metal by small pebbles from the road. And so on and so forth, including some quite memorable dents. If I ever have some spare time, I'll paint it in Z2 colors (deep blue with black, golden and white strips). I even plan to do those strips not with help of decals, but with paint. However, for this purpose I already have another set of spare tank, tail and side covers. I'll keep original set of parts for mere sentimental purpose.

Solution # 2. Do you see yonder Zephyrs on photos number two and five from my previous post? Their owners preferred to keep "original stock" painting and to paint new tail to fit it.

I assumed the word "kit" meant all the changes between the two versions of the bike shown in your photos (see VERSION A and VERSION B below). That would include the painted parts, the wheels, the seat, the shocks, the fork gaiters, the handlebars, the fenders, and the other changes made between the two versions of the bike shown. Consequently, according to my understanding of the word "kit" 10 minutes to make all those changes seemed unrealistic. It appears that we each have a different definition of the word "kit." In any case I'm glad you were able to keep a set of stock painted parts. Which parts do you consider part of the "kit"? Ed

VERSION A


VERSION B

I paid $900 for the 1979 LTD 1000 that I posted originally. I thought that was a good price. I set the price. I felt like the engine was worth more than that, without the carbs. Didn't see how I could go wrong at that price.

Warner

I assumed the word "kit" meant all the changes between the two versions of the bike shown in your photos (see VERSION A and VERSION B below). That would include the painted parts, the wheels, the seat, the shocks, the fork gaiters, the handlebars, the fenders, and the other changes made between the two versions of the bike shown. Consequently, according to my understanding of the word "kit" 10 minutes to make all those changes seemed unrealistic. It appears that we each have a different definition of the word "kit." In any case I'm glad you were able to keep a set of stock painted parts. Which parts do you consider part of the "kit"? Ed

You might also have seen four other Zephyrs from same post with different handlebars, exhausts, gauges, front fenders and etc. Why just don't ask what the kit is instead of guessing?

The kit is a set of parts:



The kit includes:

• Fiberglass tail (primed)
• Seat (fiberglass base, with locking hooks included, ready to use)
• Tail light (hi-power LED lights, ECE-approved)
• License plate holder (powder coated in black color with license plate lights)
• Set of stainless steel hardware for kit mounting.

I designed kit for Kawasaki Zephyr 750 of all years of manufacturing. This kit is “bolt-on” so you have no need to cut the frame or do any modification of your Zephyr to install it. The seat is completely compatible with original seat locking system.

I assumed the word "kit" meant all the changes between the two versions of the bike shown in your photos (see VERSION A and VERSION B below). That would include the painted parts, the wheels, the seat, the shocks, the fork gaiters, the handlebars, the fenders, and the other changes made between the two versions of the bike shown. Consequently, according to my understanding of the word "kit" 10 minutes to make all those changes seemed unrealistic. It appears that we each have a different definition of the word "kit." In any case I'm glad you were able to keep a set of stock painted parts. Which parts do you consider part of the "kit"? Ed

gazzz wrote:
..........Why just don't ask what the kit is instead of guessing? ...............


Isn't that what I did? Thank you for showing the kit. Ed