Swapping tanks?

Hi,

I'm currently an owner of a kz550 f1 spectre 1983. I would like to know what would be the challenge of fitting a bigger fuel tank (from kz750 or kz1000) i think its possible (i have pods so i have plenty of place now:) ). I want to make long trip without refueling.The 3.5G /13L tank is good for city driving but for long trip it's ridiculous.

Best Regards,
Laurent

Hello Laurent...the challenge is to modify both the frame of the motorcycle and possibly the new fuel tank. There are many KZR members who have replaced their OEM tanks with those from other models and they generally stayed within the same cc range...for example, KZ1000A owners put KZ1000B (LTD) tanks on their bikes and vice versa. It is a painless mod and does not effect the seat. Your suggested mod will (by virtue of using a larger -- and longer -- tank) will probably not allow you to use the existing seat ...which means you have to rethink that also.

Laurent,
I put a KZ750 tank on my KZ1000, but it did require mods to the frame and tank. I had to weld a new front mount to the top bar of the frame by the steering neck. On the tank there is a sheetmetal boss near the back on the underside. This was making contact with the top of the frame, so I ground it off.

Unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with the KZ550 frame, so I don't know what you would need to change. I'm sure it can be done, but you can bet that you will need some welding at least. If you could post a closeup picture of the top of your frame where the original tank mounts are, then I might be able to help more. Oh yeah, please give the length of your stock tank. Probably, the length from the bottom of the "U" that straddles the steering neck to the farthest back point. At least with the length measurments I can give you comparisons to a KZ750 and KZ1000 tank. BTW I think that my 1000 tank wouldn't help your range as it's 3.5gal. (1978 KZ1000 A2)

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