78 Z1R upgrades

Hey guys, having my recently acquired Z1R restored, and while I want to keep it very close to stock, it definitely won't be a trailer queen so I plan on some upgrades. Forks will have Racetech springs and emulators, bronze bushings in the swinger, tapered roller bearings up front, and some aftermarket shocks as well. This is my first KZ so any other advice or thoughts would be awsome.

Like I said I want to keep the bike as close to stock as possible, with the ability to put any visual differences back to stock (ie rear shocks).


Cheers


Also, can somone shed some light on brake upgrades, my H1E has the single ex500 caliper mod which requires an adapter mount ....I read that the ex500 works well for the kz's as well? What's involved to make the switch? Or am I offI? Is there another hot setup?

Ex500 on the H1E

The ex500 bracket (moo's bracket) doesn't work on the kz fork leg spacing.

I doubt there would be space for the bracket and the twin discs, it is TIGHT on my bike with the calipers and modified stock brackets. (I used one top mount bolt and welded a second piece to the back after lining the pad to the outside of the rotor)

Mst folks round here tend to errr. Ditch the stock front ends for a brake upgrade, I didn't want a USD front so I did twin ex500 brakes

curious as to why you would put bronze pivot bushing in place of the needle bearings ????

leon

531blackbanshee wrote: curious as to why you would put bronze pivot bushing in place of the needle bearings ????

leon

I plan on riding it somewhat aggressive but not right to the edge....so I was thinking based on riding style, ease of maintenance, and with everything else I'm doing to it the bushings would be suitable?
I'm not that informed on the needles though, and would welcome your opinion.

Cheers

floivanus wrote: The ex500 bracket (moo's bracket) doesn't work on the kz fork leg spacing.

I doubt there would be space for the bracket and the twin discs, it is TIGHT on my bike with the calipers and modified stock brackets. (I used one top mount bolt and welded a second piece to the back after lining the pad to the outside of the rotor)

Mst folks round here tend to errr. Ditch the stock front ends for a brake upgrade, I didn't want a USD front so I did twin ex500 brakes

Wow....change the front end to get better brakes...really don't want to do that due to rarity of the bike....are there any aftermarket brake kits that use the stock front end?

I don't know if you have already done this, but you may want to ride the bike and see how well the brakes work before going through too much trouble changing them. If you flush the brake system and replace the brake fluid you may find that they are pretty well matched for the size of the tires. I know that is the case on my KZ650-C1. If the brakes seem a little wonky you may need new brake lines and/or pads. Braided steel lines encased in a black sheath would not hurt the stock look much at all.

Take a look at the 1978 Z1R road test at www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/kawasaki/kawasaki_Z1R.htm

Notice under BRAKING it states:

"The Z l-R has the best brakes ever installed as standard equipment on a stock Kawasaki street bike. The dual front discs are very powerful, yet progressive, and- give the rider a superb "feel" at the lever. You can haul the big, heavy R down to a screeching halt in short order, under full control and in a straight line. Fade doesn't appear to he a problem under hard usage, and the cable-operated remote master cylinder causes no mushiness in the lever or erratic operation.

The rear brake is powerful and progressive enough to do a good job, although an over-zealous right foot will lock the rear wheel much more easily than an eager right hand can lock the front. The rear wheel is also liable to hop and skip if locked up under certain conditions, although it's no worse in this respect than most other contemporary street bikes."

Nola wrote:

floivanus wrote: The ex500 bracket (moo's bracket) doesn't work on the kz fork leg spacing.

I doubt there would be space for the bracket and the twin discs, it is TIGHT on my bike with the calipers and modified stock brackets. (I used one top mount bolt and welded a second piece to the back after lining the pad to the outside of the rotor)

Mst folks round here tend to errr. Ditch the stock front ends for a brake upgrade, I didn't want a USD front so I did twin ex500 brakes

Wow....change the front end to get better brakes...really don't want to do that due to rarity of the bike....are there any aftermarket brake kits that use the stock front end?

Like I said, most folk round here tend to just toss on the standard rotors, calipers, stainless brake lines and call it good. There was a member on here "Fish" I believe who did big brake upgrade kits, years back. I believe the setups were around $1,000 or so. There were some vintage racing setups out there, I've never seen one on a bike and they seemed pricey when I seen them.
I opted to adapt a set of ex600 dual calipers from ebay ($40) but had to remake the brackets, too tight for a plate adapter, and the spacing on the kz forks is different from the z1, h1, H2 setups

Edit; theres also the gpz setups that are basically the same single piston setup just with a beefier caliper body

www.kzrider.com/forum/5-chassis/563958-kz1000-brake-upgrades

Here's a thread with a couple other ideas

Nola wrote:

531blackbanshee wrote: curious as to why you would put bronze pivot bushing in place of the needle bearings ????

leon

I plan on riding it somewhat aggressive but not right to the edge....so I was thinking based on riding style, ease of maintenance, and with everything else I'm doing to it the bushings would be suitable?
I'm not that informed on the needles though, and would welcome your opinion.

Cheers

the early 900's had bushings,the later bikes got needle bearings.
sooo,did kawasaki consider it an upgrade??? i don't know...
but no other later kawasaki's returned to bushings,they all have needles or a combination of ball bearing and needles depending on the model.

if you plan on "spirited" riding i would consider a stiffer swingarm to be the first handling upgrade.
as the seamed tubing used in the swingarms is slightly stiffer than a noodle.
and, when pushed hard is the biggest cause of instability imho.
i have 3 78 z1r's and one 80 z1r and have never felt that they didn't stop well enough.
so you may want to get the stock brakes up in working order and decide then if you want to upgrade or not.

here is a pic of my 80 z1r which i custom built a braced chromoly arm to deal with my "spirited"riding.


i have a little too much tire(190mm wide)but i like the look and love the stability of the braced arm and large contact patch.

as you can see i upgrade my rear brake to the blue spot r1 rear brake and can't tell any advantage over the stock rear brake.

leon

p.s. i do plan to convert my front end to a usd and matching r1 front wheel and brakes.
the way it sits now is the best handling kz i have ever ridden,my hope is that it handles and stops at least as good as it does now when i convert the front end.hth

I remember seeing some caliper adapters on japan.webike that used newer calipers on older Kz fork legs. I'm at work but can try to get you the links later.

Later, Doug

floivanus wrote:

Nola wrote:

floivanus wrote: The ex500 bracket (moo's bracket) doesn't work on the kz fork leg spacing.

I doubt there would be space for the bracket and the twin discs, it is TIGHT on my bike with the calipers and modified stock brackets. (I used one top mount bolt and welded a second piece to the back after lining the pad to the outside of the rotor)

Mst folks round here tend to errr. Ditch the stock front ends for a brake upgrade, I didn't want a USD front so I did twin ex500 brakes

Wow....change the front end to get better brakes...really don't want to do that due to rarity of the bike....are there any aftermarket brake kits that use the stock front end?

Like I said, most folk round here tend to just toss on the standard rotors, calipers, stainless brake lines and call it good. There was a member on here "Fish" I believe who did big brake upgrade kits, years back. I believe the setups were around $1,000 or so. There were some vintage racing setups out there, I've never seen one on a bike and they seemed pricey when I seen them.
I opted to adapt a set of ex600 dual calipers from ebay ($40) but had to remake the brackets, too tight for a plate adapter, and the spacing on the kz forks is different from the z1, h1, H2 setups

Edit; theres also the gpz setups that are basically the same single piston setup just with a beefier caliper body

Thanks so much for the info