KZ1000 front fork help to stiffen up front end?

I purchased a KZ1000 at the end of summer and am trying to put the finishing touches on the chassis before I do a tear down and repaint/powder coat the frame and such, I was wondering how to stiffen up the front end a little? it seems bouncy/squishy...would a fork oil change solve this issue or should i look into getting air forks instead? any help is much appreciated

Definitely change the fork oil before trying other stuff. Be sure to follow the instructions in the Kawasaki Service Manual especially for measuring new fork oil from top of tubes to make sure you have put in the correct amount. Do one side at a time so you don't collapse the forks. I have always used 15W Bel Ray fork oil and it works great! Ed

You could get new Progressive springs, if a fork oil change doesn't help - Z1Enterprises lists them.
Some guys install an extra spacer to add some preload to the springs... usually a piece of 1" pvc pipe.
New springs would be preferable, though.

To stiffen my KZ1000 Police bike I had a couple aluminium plugs made that fit in the fork tube on top of the springs. Same I.D. as the tube and one inch long. Made a real difference.

Try 10/30 or 10/40 synthetic motor oil

thank you all very much. I dont have a manual for my bike so I will have to locate the correct amount of fork oil online any in particular places I should check?

Maybe someone with the manual for your bike can give the proper fluid level. I want to mention that Bel Ray fork oil is available in a wide variety of viscosity ranging from 2.5W through 30W. They can be mixed by the bike owner to form any viscosity between 2.5W-30W so you have a very wide range to work with to find the stiffness you desire. Again, 15W works well for me, so that might be a good starting point. Ed

www.belray.com/bel-ray-high-performance-fork-oil

What year and specific model KZ1000?
And if not stock forks, what year, make and model are the forks from?

Fork oil capacities differ among various KZ1000 models.

Good Fortune!

it's a 1980 kz1000 shaft i will use bel ray 15w thats what i have read for weight on a few sites but the amount is what is needed for me. as far as i have read its 6.2oz or 180cc i just wish i knew for sure

I found this in the archives:

[*] posted on 20-9-2003 at 07:30


Hi Pablo
....... This is out of my manual for a 1980 kz 1000 e2. It calls for 10w fork oil, but I changed to 15w and I like the ride alot better. Others here have said they use 20w, fork oil is cheap so you can experiment and see which weight works for you. As far as the level, my manual says about 310cc when changing oil - 336cc to 344cc when completely dry..... level should be 480mm from the top of the fork tube without the springs, 470mm for european model.
Keep in mind this is for my bike. maybe someone else will know if your forks are the same.
Good Luck
sp

Race tech after all the other things posted here are done. Great springs and emulators etc. With a fork brace, this will give you modern sport bike near-handling.

did the fork oil change and refilled them back with 15w fork oil at 310 as suggested by the manual, still squishy...add more fork oil another 30-50cc? or look into new forks all together? the seals are great and the oil change went easy as heck so im not sure whats next.