HELP with Extended Swing Arm

oh wow! i have no where near that on either side!

tell me something, if you brought the stock swing arm up to the level of the mounts would they hit? or is the stock arm narrow enough to pass between the mounts?

bmannon wrote:

oh wow! i have no where near that on either side!

tell me something, if you brought the stock swing arm up to the level of the mounts would they hit? or is the stock arm narrow enough to pass between the mounts?

The right side might barely squeak past with an empty mount hole (meaning no damper and no bolt head or nut protruding under the swing arm).

The left side with an empty mount hole would hit the swing arm enough to stop it and not squeak past.

As known, full extension of rear shocks affords the minimum vertical clearance, and reason for guessing they might be too long. In other words, with fully extended shocks, the parts are as close as they're going to get.

It remains puzzling though why your swing arm appears to afford clearance on the left side but not on the right side.

Here's the left side with oem swing arm and stock length shocks.

Good Fortune!

[Click on image to enlarge the view.]

thanks for the info and pics.

with the info i have received it seems most likely to me that the rh mount got tweaked at some point.

would there be any harm in cutting the back side of the mounts off?

bmannon wrote:

...with the info i have received it seems most likely to me that the rh mount got tweaked at some point.

would there be any harm in cutting the back side of the mounts off?

Seems like it would have taken one hellacious whack to tweak the mount vertically.

My 2¢ would be not to cut the mount:
As it's handy to attach muffler;
May be needed to accurately measure vertical distance from ground, and other measuring incident to efforts toward resolving the clearance issue and difference between the left and right sides;
And most importantly, won't resolve the underlying problem, (just band aids the symptom).

As others have already suggested, might help diagnose the issue by having the rear tire slightly suspended off the floor. Which would seem to allow more exact measurements.

If a center stand isn't available, here's a link that includes my alternative redneck method of using a length of standard biker pipe and jack stands.

Click > kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&...ew&catid=5&id=236039

Good Fortune!

Patton wrote:

bmannon wrote:

...with the info i have received it seems most likely to me that the rh mount got tweaked at some point.

would there be any harm in cutting the back side of the mounts off?

Seems like it would have taken one hellacious whack to tweak the mount vertically.

My 2¢ would be not to cut the mount:
As it's handy to attach muffler;
May be needed to accurately measure vertical distance from ground, and other measuring incident to efforts toward resolving the clearance issue and difference between the left and right sides;
And most importantly, won't resolve the underlying problem, (just band aids the symptom).

As others have already suggested, might help diagnose the issue by having the rear tire slightly suspended off the floor. Which would seem to allow more exact measurements.

If a center stand isn't available, here's a link that includes my alternative redneck method of using a length of standard biker pipe and jack stands.

Click > kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&...ew&catid=5&id=236039

Good Fortune!

that's how i used to lift the rear of my zx7 except i would put the pipe thru the pivot bolt on the swingarm, i didn't think about putting it thru the frame on the kz.

if i put a level on the pipe and then use a scissor jack on one side instead of another stand i could adjust until level. then i could measure from the floor to the mounting points. if this distance is not identical on each side then the RH mount was been bent. if they are the same distance to the floor then i will be lost :S

bmannon wrote:

...if i put a level on the pipe and then use a scissor jack on one side instead of another stand i could adjust until level. then i could measure from the floor to the mounting points. if this distance is not identical on each side then the RH mount was been bent. if they are the same distance to the floor then i will be lost :S

While frame is up and level, would also measure at several points the distance from floor to underside of swing arm on both sides. Which could be significant, provided both sides of the swing arm are basically identical, to show both swing arm sides are parallel and equal distance from the floor.

If frame is level, with the swing arm being simultaneously level -- am thinking that's the most important condition, as the rear wheel should then be perfectly perpendicular to the floor.

Btw, are the shocks close to stock length?
With the oem frame and swing arm, even 1/2 inch longer than stock looks like it would reduce by almost half the normal vertical clearance between the muffler mounts and stock swing arm.
On side stand, the stock clearance looks to be about 1â…›" on each side.
The clearance might be slightly less on a center stand, because the clearance increases with weight applied to the shocks.

Good Fortune!

no clue about the shocks, i bought this thing a week ago just the way it sits and i know very little about KZs in general.

Call the PO and ask him if there were clearance issues.bj

well after getting the bike level and taking measurements from the ground up to different parts of the swing arm and frame I have found that the only place that doesn't match from side to side is the exhaust mount. There is about 3/4" +/- between sides, the same as on top.

I got up underneath for a better look and the paint has been knocked off the RH mount, telling me it's taken a hit there, don't know what or how but it was enough to move it.