suspension options for a KZ550

Hey guys, I just bought my first KZ. 1981 KZ 550 A... thing is an awesome little bike and I'm psyched to work on it... I know my way around a shop real well, but don't really know the tricks to these old KZ's... I want to put this thing down as low as I reasonably can... so a couple questions...

1) Best way to put the ass down... can I use 10" sportster shocks? Or I've heard mini bike shocks? or do you guys prefer hard struts and a spring seat?

2) How to drop the front... it's an air shock fork... 90lb psi I believe? Can you drop them down, or do you need to just change the front forks...?

Any info would be great, just trying to bypass the whole trial and error type testing!

I'd love to see what others have done to their KZ 550s as well! POST EM UP!

This is my vision... what I'd like it to look like with a couple more mods, different bars, mini speedos, chop and wrap the pipes... etc. Let me know what you guys think!

suckerpunchjohnny wrote:

Hey guys, I just bought my first KZ. 1981 KZ 550 A... thing is an awesome little bike and I'm psyched to work on it... I know my way around a shop real well, but don't really know the tricks to these old KZ's... I want to put this thing down as low as I reasonably can... so a couple questions...

1) Best way to put the ass down... can I use 10" sportster shocks? Or I've heard mini bike shocks? or do you guys prefer hard struts and a spring seat?

2) How to drop the front... it's an air shock fork... 90lb psi I believe? Can you drop them down, or do you need to just change the front forks...?

Any info would be great, just trying to bypass the whole trial and error type testing!

I'd love to see what others have done to their KZ 550s as well! POST EM UP!

What are you trying to do?

Are you vertically challenged?

90 psi?

:X hardley shocks?

Get a manual.
raise the forks
progressive make an 11.5 shock

According to someone here on KZR, Vulcan 500 shocks are a direct bolt-on & are ~11.5" eye-to-eye. I believe he put them on a 550 or maybe a 650 (Andy-the-gringo).

Sportster shocks can be used. You'll have to swap out the bushings. The bottom eye on them is too wide for the Kaw mount, so you'll either have to spread the mount open a tad or grind down the Sportys by ~4mm. Also, the coil spring on the shock may interfer very slightly with the chain guard, assuming you don't remove it.

I like low stance... just looks better to me... I'm no midget but I am only 5'8"!

Got the shop manual, been slowly reading up on it, no idea about the 90psi statement, guy that had it previously gave me that number...

LOL sorry... didnt mean to say the H word... I just know you can get them to sit low and still have shocks instead of a hardtail...

Thanks for the info, I'll check those out...

90 psi air in the forks??? First chance you get you need to buy a Kawasaki factory service manual. They're usually available on eBay. Just be sure to get the one for your exact year/model. Ed

thanks guys... I will check on that when I get home tonight... I took the previous owner's word for it, but then again he did some rather dumb things to it to begin with...

I like the chopped look, but there is a much easier way to do it.

Why not trade for a KZ550C LTD. They are already setup with a smaller diameter, but fatter rear tire and cruiser style frame. That will have a way lower seat than the 550A will ever have without cutting the frame.

The 550C can be found much cheaper than 550A's usually, and people with 550C's often want to make them more like the 550A's, so it shouldn't be difficult to find someone who wants to trade their 550C. The engines and carbs are virtually identical (except the last year 550A). So you could just trade frames with someone if they want to keep their engine.

The airboxes are different shape and the gas tanks on the 550C are more teardrop shaped.

Also, you want more like 9 psi.
Download the manual I have in my signature.

dont know about the 550 but kz1000s only run 7-8 psi in the forks.please get a manual and verify.bj

hey guys, I got my manual and looked it up... it's 9... I must have just heard 90... DUH... like I said I'm probably gonna say some stupid sh$t being my first KZ build...
I got my bike for super cheap, so I'm gonna have fun with it... and it will by no means be my only or last KZ! I'm hooked already...

has anyone mounted a peanut tank of their 550 without mods? and what brands would you recommend for pod type air filters and jet changes? and for mini gauges that have the correct ratios....

THANKS! If I can figure out all the logistics this week, I can order it all up and try to get this thing built before the winter hits us up here in New England!

hey loudhvx... I heard you are very knowledgeable with wiring... what is your recommendation for a bare bones wiring system? Build my own or order and ebay stock harness and scrap what I don't need?

suckerpunchjohnny wrote:

... what is your recommendation for a bare bones wiring system? Build my own or order and ebay stock harness and scrap what I don't need?

Well, I only wire from scratch. Every old harness I've taken off of a bike had many spots that were weakened or even broken, but still making contact.

It really depends on how minimalistic you want to go, and how much wiring experience you have. There are so many little things that make all the difference. The wire needs to be supported and bundled wherever possible. There should be no dangling wires, and very minimal solder. A good crimp connection will outlast solder connections. No strands should be nicked or cut during stripping. Etc.etc. Get a good ratcheting crimper and a good automatic stripper. Those two will save hours and headaches.

If you only want starter/ignition/charging/headlight/tail light/brake light, then it's not real hard to do from scratch. Basically you keep the little subharnesses that go to the handlebar controls, light switches etc, and make up your own main harness.

I can draw up a schematic pretty quickly if you know what you want.

A new harness would be the easiest way, but that won't be cheap if you can even find one. Most used harnesses have problems in the same places, so they are usually not going to save much time or work than your old harness.

The 1980 A1 is slightly different from the 81/82 A2/A3, so you want to make sure the harness is from 81 or 82.