Spoke wheels for '81 Z650 D4

Hey there,

Im looking into replacing the mags on my '81 Z650 D4 with a set of spoke wheels, Keeping in mind that i have a 16" mag rear with single disc, and 19" Front dual disc, and apparently the '81 Z650 D4 shares the same forks and a Z750E. I would like the swap to finish up as single disc rear, dual front. Would anyone please be able to tell me which model of Z650 disc brake spoke wheel hubs will be a direct swap and fit up to the bike and if there will be extra parts i will need for the swap? Please also consider that i want to use the swing arm, current disc brake calipers and the axles if possible for the conversion. Once I figure out what works I would like to use the hubs and lace aluminium 19" rims front and rear. Has anyone had experience with particular rim and spoke kits, as in part numbers or suppliers that they have actually found to work,

Thanks so much for the guidance, this forum is a wealth of knowledge!

Baron.

Probably the best fit would be the 81-82 KZ1000-M1/M2 CSR. 48-spoke w aluminum rims. 19" Fr. 16" Rr. triple disks. the 81-82 650-csr Fr wheel could be used as it has provisions for adding a second disk. All of those bikes had 4-bolt-hole Fr disks & I think they are unique to those models, so getting good replacements might be problematic.

The Partzilla diagrams are the easiest to use. or Kawasaki.com or powersportswarehouse.
The D4 wasn't sold in the USA, so it won't be listed in the diagrams.

TheBaron wrote: Hey there,

............. Once I figure out what works I would like to use the hubs and lace aluminum 19" rims front and rear.....

19" REAR rim? That will certainly reduce the choices for a decent tire. Ed

Thanks for the info gents,

I have called just about every wreckers in Australia looking for the KZ1000 wheels to no luck as yet. Will keep looking, even if I can find a 650 CSR wheel for the front, I still need to find a read hub with a disc. If anyone knows where I might find these hubs, or happen to have a set collecting dust and wishes to sell them, please let me know.

My intentions with the 19" rear rim may have been a bit off, just looking for a wheel that will suit the stance of the bike. Is an 18" wheel a far better option as in fitting the rim/tyre combo to the rear swing arm?

With using partzilla, is it just a case of trolling though it and trying to match part numbers with the parts I'm after? Or are the part numbers between the years and different?

Cheers.

Baron.

Yes; an 18" rear wheel will be better. You'll find a wide selection of tires are available. Ed

An 18" tire might be a tad larger in diameter than a 16", but it probably won't rub the fender. My 81 650-CSR rear wheel is 25" dia. From doing the math a Dunlop 110/90-18 is about 25.75" dia.

Baron, I'm a bit curious about your location,... anyway I own a D4, afaik there is no direct replacement with any spoked zed bikes, however you can change the rear wheel with a 18" one -always talking about 7 bolts mag wheels-. I replaced mine with a rear wheel from a z550 from the '81, direct swap, everything was ok. Below is a link with some .PDF files that might help you looking for parts numbers. Cheers. Charlie

KZ650D4 Parts Catalog

Hey,

I have found a set of wire spoke wheels from an Australian 1978 Z1000. The front wheel is a twin disc 19" a4 wheel, and the rear is a disc with an 18" rim., standard fit to that model bike. Seems like the ones I'm looking for, if anyone can tell me from their experiences whether these will work out.

Conghos, I'm in Australia, I thought that was the only place the Z650D4 was delivered. When you say there is " no direct replacement with any zed bikes" what exactly do you mean? Will this never work with spoke rims with this D4 swing arm and forks or does this setup just need minimal modification and spacers made up. What about the standard D4 brake calipers, would that possibly work.I don't mind the mags, just want to do a wire wheel bike and a full fairing.

Cheers.

By the way Conghos, your bike is beautiful!

TheBaron wrote: Hey,

I have found a set of wire spoke wheels from an Australian 1978 Z1000. The front wheel is a twin disc 19" a4 wheel, and the rear is a disc with an 18" rim., standard fit to that model bike. Seems like the ones I'm looking for, if anyone can tell me from their experiences whether these will work out.

Conghos, I'm in Australia, I thought that was the only place the Z650D4 was delivered. When you say there is " no direct replacement with any zed bikes" what exactly do you mean? Will this never work with spoke rims with this D4 swing arm and forks or does this setup just need minimal modification and spacers made up. What about the standard D4 brake calipers, would that possibly work.I don't mind the mags, just want to do a wire wheel bike and a full fairing.

Cheers.

Baron, thanks for the compliment. Loads of D4 bikes here in Argentina but we lack spare parts. What I meant with direct swap was that you take the mags and place the spoked one, "plug and play". Ie: the GS425 cames with mags -EN versión- or spokes wheels -N versión-, Either if you like mags or spoked wheels you can just take out them and place the others, you use the same calipers, rotors, axle, etc. With the D4 is more complicated, not imposible, but worth the effort? In my case I was looking for a 18" front wheel and there is a z police that use it but it's a 4 bolt mag wheel, then I have a lot of parts to change.

I guessed that you were in Australia, someday I will visit your country...!

Let me know if I can help you with something else. Cheers.

Assuming the D4 axle is the same diameter as the 650-CSR & using the 650-csr for comparison.

The 1000-CSR has a larger rear axle, so the caliper, swing arm adjusters & the various wheel spacers etc will have a larger ID, and they may be larger overall, so using the D4 stuff may not be feasible. The 1000-csr shares some rear wheel stuff with a few other 1000 models. I would get a couple of spacers from a 1000 to see how they compare to the D4, such as the 42036-1039 sleeve & 92027-1287 collar.

The 1000-csr has the same spokes & rims & the same large sprocket carrier bearing as the 650-csr, so the sprocket carrier & hub are probably sized basically the same as the 650. The sprocket carrier side has some other stuff that's the same. There may be bearings that will mate the 1000-csr stuff to a 650-csr or D4 axle. again, assuming the D4 stuff is the same size as the 650-csr.

Hey,

I have done some serious research for the D4 part numbers and the wheels I think I'm looking at on partzilla, I'll keep you guys posted when I know if it's working, but basically the axles of the D4 will fit the z1000 1976 rims I'm looking at, just sent some measurements to the guy that has them, we will see.

Cheers.