KZ1000 seat brackets

Hey folks, new guy to the forum and to the KZ's in general. I've been wanting to do a project bike for the past few years, and after a recent recommendation of the KZ line, I picked up a builder off craigs for a good price.

Before I start tearing things apart and rebuilding, I want to have a solid foundation to start with. And the first thing I've noticed is that somebody has made certain that the seat will not be re-attached. There appears to be a lot of missing brackets, including the keylock bar that latches the back of the seat.

What I know so far... The previous owner had no clue what he had. The bike was listed as an '83, but he had a manual for the older '73 to '80 models. At this point I'm not trusting anything, so I entered the actual VIN into kawasaki.com and found that I have a 1981 KZ1000-J1 standard with a 998 engine.

Next I went to the parts diagrams, and this is where things start getting sticky. According to the diagram, underneath the back of the seat (above the brackets that the rear shocks mount to), there is supposed to be a bracket that rises up and goes across the frame. Mine does not have that bracket, and it looks like someone actually cut it off. At the front of the seat, I have two flat pins facing forward, that appear they should go into slots. There is also no mounting point for the rear of the gas tank, so I'm thinking there is supposed to be a bracket on the frame here that the seat and tank mount to? However nothing like that appears in the parts diagrams.

Here's a shot of what I'm working with. So what are my options? Can I buy that rear bracket somewhere and weld it back on the frame? Is there a missing front bracket, and if so does anyone have a picture of what I'm looking for? I like the style of the stock seat and would like to retain at least some of the original look to the bike.



By the way, I love the weight distribution of this thing already! My current bike is a Yamaha 650 special, which is incredibly top-heavy. I'm hoping to get the KZ running and get a feel for it before doing a full tear-down this Winter -- can't wait to see how she purrs!

I don't know much about your bike. The missing cross bracket was part of the frame, so I don't think you'll be able to get a replacement anywhere.

From the photo, I could be wrong, but that doesn't appear to be the stock tank. The rear attachment looks more like an Ltd or CSR. From the diagrams, the ELR tank has a tab & rubber damper at the rear. I think the damper fits into a frame cross-brace -->> surely someone didn't cut that off as well?

To figure out what's what, you're probably going to need to find some good photos of an unhacked frame. And measurements too.

Actually there IS a cross piece underneath the tank, but it doesn't line up with the mounting hole at the back of the tank. So what you're saying is someone threw a bunch of random parts together, and couldn't figure out how to actually make it work? Checking google images, I think you're right -- the tank and seat look exactly like a CSR. Since those are the style I really wanted, I may end up having to get another frame just to fit up the parts I have.

Hello, Shdwdrgn, and WELCOME tp KZr!

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.
Clickh > kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&...w&catid=13&id=376734

For example, these diagrams are shown for J model, LTD and CSR:


J model


LTD


CSR






Each of the three frames has a different part number.

On the bike at hand, is interesting to notice the existing front brackets remaining attached for mounting a Vetter fairing.


Good Fortune!

Patton - Thanks for the link, but the J model is exactly what I was looking at from kawasaki.com. The only difference I see is that in the diagram, there is a raised bracket across the back end (just behind the upper shock mounts), which mine doesn't have.

Yeah I yanked that bracket for the fairing as soon as I finished taking the pictures. I wanted a record of what shape the bike was in when I brought it home, but I never liked fairings.

I'm also still trying to figure out the nomenclature between models. Going by VIN, mine is listed as a 'standard', but I can't seem to pull up any info on that. Is a 'standard' the same thing as a CSR? I'm pretty sure its not an LTD. Or is it just simply referred to as a 'J' model?

The J model is also known as the standard model.

Good Fortune!

I think your bike is referred to as the J model, which is a standard model w the standard type of styling.
The Ltd & CSRs have the Ltd type of styling which usually equates to higher handlebars, more chrome, a stepped seat & a fat rear tire etc. The J model probably came stock w a black plastic chain guard & painted fenders. Your forks are probably from an Ltd-CSR (leading axle type). The J model came stock w center-axle forks.

Note: your bike has a J model engine which is different from the earlier KZs. APE Raceparts Kawasaki KZ1000 engines

Say, regarding a fatter rear tire (which is actually one of my goals), will the swing arm from the LTD fit directly to the standard frame? I'm not looking for anything crazy, but that rear tire just looks so narrow, and there doesn't appear to be any much clearance with the current swing arm. If I could just go about an inch wider on the tire, I think it would really fill it out.

Of course then I also need to know just how wide a tire I can fit on the stock rim. The current tire is a 130/90-16.

So many bits and pieces to tweak, and I'm not sure when I'll even have a chance to get started.

From your info, it appears that someone already installed the rear wheel from an Ltd... maybe the swing arm as well? Checking the diagrams, the J model has the same swing arm pivot bolt.

Note: the CSR has 48-spoked aluminum wheels, so your rear wheel is from an Ltd.

Excerpt from the listing of 1981 models at kawasaki.com:




Good Fortune!

It looks like both the standard and the LTD came with the aluminum wheels, and the CSR came with the spoked wheels. However the LTD and CSR have a swing arm part# 33001-1077, where the standard had part# 33001-1071. So maybe the 1071 is a narrower version? Guess I'll have to take some measurements and see what I can find at the local yards.

Can anyone help me identify what model/year this seat may have come off of? The hardware on the bottom doesn't seem to match up with anything I can find from the KZ series. The style looks like something from a CSR, although again the pattern doesn't match what I've found.

Here's the top side (note there was a bungee-cord across the back for at least the past year)


And here is the underside (front is to the left). There are a pair of bolts sticking through on either side at the middle of the seat, and there is a tongue at the front that must have originally gone into a slot behind the fuel tank.


If I can figure out how this seat was supposed to be mounted, then I can decide if it is worthwhile to try and find the correct hardware, or just find a whole new seat. Either way I'm going to have to fabricate something on the frame to mount a seat, so I might as well start out with something that will be easy to work with.