1983 KZ550-M Front End

Your advice/thoughts please...

I need to work on the front end of my KZ550: forks and upper triple clamp are bent.
I'm not comfortable with having them machined backed into alignment. The front end wouldn't seem as structurally sound? Thoughts?

So that leads me to finding replacements. I have my eye on the front ends of these bikes:

- 1981 KZ550 LTD
- 1980 KZ 550

Does anyone have experience replacing front end of a KZ550?
If so, do you know/can you guess/can you help me to verify that the front ends of the bikes listed above are adequate replacements.

Also, I do have the option of seeing the 1981 front end. It's located near where I work. But the 1980 front end is a fair distance away. BUT, the pictures of the 1980 front end show the overall state of the parts looking better.

The Internet is great. But nothing, IMHO replaces the hands-on experience.

Help. I need more info to make a decision. Thanks in advance. -NG

Hey patton, do you have a link to a "How-to" on looking up parts on the Kawasaki site?

You can check the part numbers on kawasaki's site to see if the parts are swappable.

The fork tubes on the LTD might be a closer match than a standard KZ. But Kawasaki started playing with the fork diameters on a couple of the 550's starting in 1982.

You'll want to check part numbers for the seals and bushings, to see if the OD is the same on the fork tubes. Hopefully the parts number for the entire fork tube is the same. Check wheel and disc brake numbers too to make sure there won't be anything mismatched.

This might help...

Go to Kawasaki.com. On left side put cursor over "Owner Information" then on drop down menu click on "Parts Diagrams." The click "Continue" next to "Motorcycles" and click on model/year/etc. on drop down. Once you get the list of parts for your bike you can click on the category of parts - such as "Air Cleaner" and you will see a diagram of all the parts for that category. Then when you click on an actual part number on the list under the diagram it will say if the Item Status is "Active." If it is Kawasaki still sells the part through dealers. Also, at that little page you can click on the yellow highlighted question mark for a cross reference of which bikes share that part or click on the red highlighted S to see earlier part numbers for the same part. Ed

Lots of good info on kawasaki.com, including parts diagrams, part names, part numbers, models sharing same part, availability, etc. Here's a link for help with navigating the site and finding information.
kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&...w&catid=13&id=376734

Good Fortune!

After checking the front fork, headlight, & meter diagrams, I would try to find an upper triple from a matching 550 shaft drive model - the 83 Spectre or 83-84 Ltd-Shaft. Who knows, maybe there's a NOS part on ebbaayy. I really don't know, but the meters & headlights might be a pain to adapt to a different steering head.

44039-1061 HOLDER-FORK UPPER (using Partzilla)
1983 KZ550-F1 Spectre FRONT FORK
1983 KZ550-M1 LTD Shaft FRONT FORK
1984 KZ550-F2 LTD Shaft FRONT FORK

Hello 650ed,

Thanks for the mini-tour of kawasaki.com.
It reinforced the usefulness of the website. I was using it to find compatible parts. If you remember, I started a thread on it yesterday (Thread = Parts for a KZ550-M). After looking at the website, I already knew that the part numbers of the parts I have access to don't match.

One of your suggestions in that thread was that I see if anyone else has successfully swapped the part in question - the reason why I posted this question.

Even that being said/that question asked - I planned on verifying any match with measurements. But, fortunately (and sometimes unfortunately) doing business using the Internet presents a unique set of circumstances. Obviously, before the Internet I would have a chance to examine the part before making any investment of $$$. With the Internet you either have to buy the part OR travel a distance to have it in hand. Travel also represents an investment of time and money . The flipside/great part - as we all know - is that we can electronically go to the ends of the earth in search of just that right thing.

So - anyhow - again, thanks for the info.
Also, please keep an eye (ear) out for any knowledge about swapping kz550-M front end parts.
It's appreciated. -NG