Just bought an '87 KZ1000 Police bike (PROJECT!)

Hi Everyone; short time stalker, first time poster.

I just bought a used 1987 kz1000 Police bike with ~50k miles on it and I want to strip it down and make a cafe racer style bike out of it. I'm an engineer and have owned two other Kawasakis before, but I need lots of pointers and suggestions.

1. Headlight: I took the front faring off thinking it would be straightforward where to attach a light bucket on the front, but it's not really. Should I look for a bracket kit or find something that will mount on the existing bolt holes on the front of the bike?

2. Seat: This has a single seat and I want to replace it with a two-person seat. I don't know where to start with this one.

3. Gauges: Existing gauges are in good shape, however the tachometer bounces around alot. I'd like to remove the gauges and replace them with something a little more streamlined any suggestions?

4. Exhaust: I'd like to remove the stock mufflers and install a low profile set of pipes. This is my first carbureted bike and I know that changing the back pressure will affect compression, is there a good option for a swap out?

I'll post pics when I get off work.

Thanks!

hi and welcome! my names chris and im fairly new here also, as for your headlight your gonna wanna buy or fabricate brackets that are called fork ears, they clamp onto the fork legs and allow you to use sidemount buckets of different diameters. just beware that the factory bucket houses alot of wiring that will need redone if you change it out. for the seat use metal or fiberglass to mold something to your specs. or you can buy a corbin gunfighter that has a cafe' profile but is kinda in between, i have two seats for sale soon if you just want a factory style, one is oem and the other is mustang. plenty of options here but get creative. third you have tons of room to play on instrumentation, from switching around what ya got to an aftermarket. two companies that come to mind for affordable and good looking and well functioning options is koso and acewell, i have used both along with veypor,mychron,and a few others. check out motogadget also they make a guage called the scope thats the size of a money clip. super slick although pricy. and exhaust is gonna call for a change of jetting and your main options are really kirker, vance and hines, maybe a few more unless you want to get custom. im sure someone else can chime in. also theres a member intro thread, introduce yourself there and post some pics of your new ride. have fun and i hope this helps, chris

Awesome advice, thanks!

Question about replacing the gauge cluster. What should I do about the odometer? Buying a new set of gauges would mean I'd be starting back at zero? It looks like some of the after market ones are adjustable up until a certain distance (30 km for some of Acewell's products).

Also, should I go with clip-on handlebars or clubman handle bars? I'm leaning toward clip-on unless there is a reason not to.

Some guages allow that adjustment others do not and bars are preferance, if you use clipons youll have that unused clamp on the triple tree, drag bars work well and clubmans will put you farther forward

ETRANGER508 wrote: I want to strip it down
Thanks!

I'd like to buy the floor boards and mounting hardware to help finance the butc....er...I mean modification!
Assuming they aren't mangled etc. Post a pic.
Someone here I think just posted a "looking for single seat" too.
Those parts, heck, the whole bike is quite collectable if we cant talk you into restoring it, you can pay for the project by selling off those parts you're bobbing.

www.kzrider.com/forum/11-projects/518663...n-to-cruiser-project

Here is a topic where I converted my 92 KZ1000p into a cafe cruiser. If you want to know where I got any of the parts or help with wiring, I have a little better grasp on it after rewiring mine one wire at a time.

Look here for a wiring diagram: www.cyclepsycho.com/kz1000p/kz1000p.html

That looks awesome! I just got my headlight and stuck it on there (I know I promised pics...) I stuck mine as low as I could on the forks, is there a reason why you put yours up so high?

Electrical Question: What should I do about the wiring harness? There are several plastic connections that were inside the front faring but are now exposed. Should I rewrap them? is there a way to keep all the electronics from getting wet? Since this is an old bike the plastic cover is cracking and falling apart. Any suggestions?

Exhaust Compatibility Question: I wasn't able to find exhaust systems specific to the 1987 KZ1000P, but I found several for the surrounding years. Does this bike have similar engines and exhaust mounts to other year KZ1000's? I checked the OEM part numbers for exhaust pipes and mufflers and they are the same part numbers from 1982 to 2000. Does anyone have any experience with aftermarket exhaust?

Controls Question: Are there aftermarket controls that are any good? How about other years/models that are compatible? I like the simplicity of the Ninja controls and I'd be interested in seeing if anyone has had any experience using these parts or splicing in said parts.

-Austin

I'll give you some websites for electrical connectors, but if you find unused or unneeded circuits,wrap them with tape if possible, keeping moisture out is very important, as there may be energized wires. If they get wet, unknown problems may happen.

Electrical Connectors, Wire, And supplies
www.easternbeaver.com
www.qualitycycleparts.com/
www.delcity.net
www.vintageconnections.com
www.z1enterprises.com/catalog.aspx?pid=KPEL1
www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu
www.electricalconnection.com
www.electricalconnection.com/electrical-components/hitachi.htm
www.hvccycle.com/electrical-connectors.html
www.terminalsupplyco.com
www.pbase.com/mainecruising/wire_termination&page=1
www.crowbarelectricalparts.com/butt_connectors.htm
www.terminaltown.com
www.electerm.com
www.wiringproducts.com
www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk
www.painlessperformance.com
www.rallylights.com
www.ironbutt.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1759&PN=1
www.ratwell.com/technical/Terminals.html
www.economycycle.com/servlet/the-Bullet-...lectrical/Categories
www.surplussales.com/SolderlessTerminals/WireTerminals-3.html
www.repairconnector.com/index.cfm/fa/cat...main/parentcat/22545
www.cwswiring.com/ (Creative Wiring Solutions, makers of new wiring harness)


www.aperaceparts.com/tech/techkz1000.html (engine differences between Kz1000's)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki_police_motorcycles

hello, I'm trying to do the same project, I have removed the fairings and i have a plug and i want to convert to the standard kz1000 headlight, can you tell me what did you do / tap into for the 3 wires to make the headlight work? pics would help ! thanks!