ELR clone, what parts do I need to find?

The ELR is number one on my WANT list. Unfortunately, my bank account will never support one. I love the total look of the bike. Its timeless. I bought a basket case 78 KZ1000 A2A and about the only body part I got with it was a gas tank. I've been thinking of making it look cosmetically like an ELR. It does not need to be 100% accurate down to the screws but the LOOK has to be good. I'm new to this site but have a real passion for old Kawasaki's, especially KZs and GPZs. Can someone steer me in the right direction for a gas tank, side panels, rear fender, etc? I don't know if the ELR tank is specific but maybe there's ones that "look" like it??? I seen a Maier Fairing that looks like it but hows the size comparison?

Your best bet would be to get yourself an 81 or 82 kz1000j which, minus paint and seat are VERY close to an elr

The tank from a j wont fit that 78 the motor is different and the tail of the frame is different and the tailpiece wouldnt mount up

That a2a is a limited edition and may become worth decent money soon.. Fix it up so its sellable and buy a J model instead

Limited edition? I don't want to screw up something rare but the tail section of the frame has been cut off already and NOT by me. I'm wanting to build a custom bike and metal fab is my specialty.

If you really want to make it look the part as mentioned earlier you are better off to use the KZ1000J. The look is very similar to the ELR. If you just want it to look like an ELR you can get the stock parts for the 78 KZ1000 and piant them green, get a Kerker and Mairs fairing. At a glance it will look like one. But if you are still missing a lot of the parts for the 78 then I would not bother.
I too wanted an ELR and realized I would never be able to get one, I ended up building a clone. I used a 1982 GPz750 frame with all it's body work and swapped in a 1982 GPz1100 engine. It looks the part and performs better than a true ELR.

That looks awesome Baldy! I would love to be able to buy another bike but I'd like to use the one I got. I only gave $400 and it came with a brand new Kawasaki wiring harness. What gas tanks should I look for? I'll redo the upper frame bars to fit whatever tank I need. I'm actually thinking of skinning over my existing tank but it sure is wide already. Whats the width on your tank?

Thanks, I don't know the width of the tank, it is a stock 82 GPz750 tank. If you are interested here is a link to my build thread. There were lots of problems I had to deal with, took me about 2 full years to get it all right. very happy with it now. Good luck.

www.kzrider.com/forum/11-projects/480871-elr-clone#480871

I wanted a z1 and couldnt find one, settled on a 1000j for a while i tried to clone the z1, gave up and just put her together and put an ad on craigslist and got a trade for an 78 1000 and some cash.

And i dont know for sure if the j tank wont fit (z1 tank wont fit a j model) but i can say for certain the seat wont fit the dash is different and wont fit etc etc. not to mention the J is faster handles better and is already lighter

All up to what you wanna do