Rear Wheel Upgrade...

I have a 1981 KZ650 H1.

I recently aquired the front fork assembly and mag wheel from a 1980 KZ750, dual disks. The system slid right in with a Brembo lever and master. I have a drum brake style spoked rear now and want to know what model mags can fit my bike for the aft end. I would like to also upgrade the system to disk brake in the rear. Any help is apreciated.

Thanks

would the back wheel and swingarm off a 650 work,or a 1000 ltd ?i know you can mount a 1000 swingarm on a 650 for a longer swingarm,but ive never had any experience with the 750.goodluck,happy wrenching!oops i thought we were dealing with a 750!you can use the swingarm and wheel off a diskbrake 650,or if you want a litle stretch go with a 1000 swingarm it will give you about 2 extra inches but youll need a longer chain to go with it.

Post edited by: wireguy, at: 2005/12/10 23:27

wireguy wrote:

if you want a litle stretch go with a 1000 swingarm it will give you about 2 extra inches

Reallllllly...! Interesting! Does the same hold true for my 750? What with all these guys around here putting GS1100 swingarms on their KZ1000s, perhaps I could score one for cheap, hmmm?

(strokes chin thoughtfully)

According to buykawasaki.com the 81 KZ650 and the 80 KZ750 (Four) use the same swingarm pivot bolt and sleeve, so the disk brake swingarm off a 750 shoul just be a bolt on. You are still going to have to figure out how you are going to mount the master cylinder though.

KZ750/KZ1000 swap I'm looking up now.

Ok, looks like the 80 KZ750 and the 77-80 KZ1000 use the same needle bearings in the swingarm, but different sleeves and pivot bolts, my guess is the 1000 swingarm is a little wider at the pivot.

Post edited by: steell, at: 2005/12/11 09:19

i know the older 650s,70s will take a 1000 swingarm ive done it before but im not sure about 750s

I put the swingarm and rear disc brake wheel from a 1980 750 LTD (H model) onto my 77 650B without a problem. I did have to do some (umm looking for PC term here) shadetree engineering to get the master cylinder and fluid resevior (mine were 2 seperate parts, some arent though) set up. I ended up bolting the cylinder to an extra motor mount, getting some threaded rod to work between the pedal and the master cylinder. Then the resevior is mounted on a peice of aluminum that hangs right behind the battery.

Thanks for the info...

I figured I'd have to create a braket for the master cylinder. Just having trouble locating that rear rim...

For those helping me out I say many thanks, some think I'm working on a 750 but alas it's a 650...I posted my naked machine in the 650 gallery.

Ride hard!

Brian

I have the rear Mag wheel off of a '79 650C3, but have sold the Cush/Crush ? drive as well as the 2 spacers on either side. Also the swing arm from the C3 if you need, or other parts ie: rear master cylinder, caliper (would need rebuilding).

For what little stopping is actually done with the rear wheel/brake system, I wouldn't bother changing from drum to disc. And there are plenty of KZ650/750 mag rears out there that have the additional bonus of downsixing from the stock 18 inches down to 16 inches, which not only lowers the sky-high ass end, it lets you use shorter shocks, too--which lowers the bike even more!

Personally I like the sky-high ass end on my 77650 Custom, but then again I have alwalys been a rear end man:)
If you can get your hands on a set of factory mags for the 650 with the rear disk brake, that would be my recommendation for the best looks/braking combination. Not ony are they the best looking wheel style ever made (in my opinion) you will appreciate the beefy disk if you ever run into a panic stop.
Cheer-Colin Firth-Ontario Canada

1977 Kz650 Custom-Rebuilt every nut and bolt with nearly 1000 hours of TLC. Wiseco 700 kit. Runs like a scared rabbitt.

Thanks...

I'll stick with the drum brakes for ease of installation. If anyone comes across a mag wheel, 16 inch...gimme a shout.

Brian

most 16" wheels are just as tall if not taller than 18" because the sidewalls are so tall.a 18"with a lower profile normally handle better than a 16" and will fill up the fender better!