1995 Zx600f Fork swap onto 78 kz650

I just wanted to share some new found knowledge that i couldnt find anywhere. I searched for a while to find information on zx600 fork swaps for the kz and i seriously couldnt find anything. a couple people had done the newer zx6's but none that i could find had tried the zx600's that rand for a few years in the mid 90s. I had a friend that sold me a 1995 zx600F with a blown motor for only 200 bucks. So i decided to do what it takes to get the forks and the swingarm onto my kz. After a bit of work i finally have the forks fully assembled on the bike and i am pretty happy with the outcome. The purpose of this post is mostly so that in the future when people google "zx600 fork swap kz" some info is available on the work required to make em work.

alright so ill try and make this as coherent as possible, but keep in mind i am basically pulling all this from recall in my brain from the last month.

In my opinion, which doesnt carry a whole lot of weight, this might be the easiest and most straightforward swap kz's can do. i researched a couple other options (the 636 or the gsx swap) and i think the zx600 swap is the most straightforward, requiring the least amount of machine work, option available.

As opposed to what i read about the other steering stems, the zx600 stem is the same diameter at the lower triple as the stock kz stem, AND it is not tapered. This means that the stock kz stem can be pressed into the zx600 lower (from the top i might add). Just pressing the stem in alone probably would have been enough to ensure the stem stays put but as an added level of security i welded a 1/2" nut into the bottom of the steering stem so that i could put a bolt with some locktite through the bottom to ensure the lower triple isnt going anywhere. heres a poicture to show what i mean:



Steering stem length is close enough to the original length that you dont need to do any shaving on the lower triple. If you look at the lower triple in the bottom picture youll see a shoulder that will end up butting up against the lower steering bearing. At first i was concerned that this would cause issues with mounting the upper triple but in the end, there was still enough threads at the top for the adjustment fasteners.

another added bonus to this is you can use the same bearings that you would use for the stock kz. (If you havent already tho you should probably upgrade to some all balls bearings)

Alright so there is only one item that needs to be machined to work and that is the upper triple clamp. The zx600 steering stem is a bit smaller in diameter at the top compared to the stock kz stem. so to get the stock kz stem to fit into the upper triple you have to get the upper triple machined (you may be able to drill it out yourself but to me it wasnt worth the trouble). My local machine shop only charged me 35 bucks to have it done, the only downside is i live in an AG area so machine shops are swamped right now so it took them close to a month to get to it.

after you get the upper triple back from the machine shop the only thing left to do is assemble the clamps and forks onto the bike. here is what you are left with...
It really changed the stance of the bike altogether. It is kinda raked forward a bit almost like a faux drag bike and you do lose a little bit of ground clearance but nothing substantial. I chose to use the stock zx600 clip ons which required to be mounted above the upper triple so if i were to get aftermarket clip ons and mount them under the upper triple then i would gain another inch and a half of fork length at the wheel.





The only issue i have left to sort out is the mounting of my ignition switch. this was my temporary solution:


if anyone has any better ideas for mounting this switch thatd be great. I may just fab up a quick plate that goes on top of the triple and serves as a retainer for the switch but i think that may look too out of place.

thanks yall let me know if you have any questions about the process or advice going forward. I plan to do the swingarm swap soon this winter.

Thanks for the report. Does the ZX600 ignition switch normally fit into that hole? If so, you could get a zx ign switch. Also, there are ignition switches that have a long neck, so you might be able to mount one of those from the underside. You'd have to come up with a mounting plate & maybe a round damper for a clean look. I'm assuming the ZX600 upper triple has bolt holes on the underside for a meter bracket.

just an example. there are others.