KZ1000 rear shocks on KZ550

will KZ1000 rear shocks fit on a KZ550?
seems to me that the length should be fine(about 1/2” longer) ,higher ride height should be an mprovement since i’m tall and the exhaust is pretty scraped up on the bottom .
but will the bushings match width and diameter?
i’d like to avoid having to spread the bottom mounts.

I put some aftermarket shocks for a Kz1000 on a gpz 550, and they bolted right on, but they were way too stiff.

loudhvx wrote: I put some aftermarket shocks for a Kz1000 on a gpz 550, and they bolted right on, but they were way too stiff.

Would you say that at their softest setting, the KZ1000 shocks were more firm, or less firm than KZ550 shocks at their hardest setting?
any other shocks that would fit the KZ550 and maybe give a higher ride height?

These were aftermarket Works Performance shocks. At their softest, they were way harder than the stock 550 shocks at their hardest... and way harder than Works Performance shocks for 550's at their hardest. The springs were stiffer and the shock dampening was harder.

I really like the Progressive shocks I bought. They come about 1/4" shorter or 1/2" longer than stock. I did not try the longer one at full length. I bought the longer one then cut and welded it about 1/8" longer than stock, if I recall correctly. I'll have to look through my notes. They were the 412 series. I used the stock springs, but since the shocks themselves were stiffer, the overall combination was stiffer than stock. I had to modify the stock spring a tiny bit to fit the 412 shock.

By the way, just to make sure, we are talking about the Standard A model, which is about the same as the Gpz D model. The LTD models are different.

The standard length, eyelet to eyelet on the A and D models was about 13.75" long. (Some variance for top-out bushings etc.)

The Progressive 412 models, if I recall, come in 13.5" and 14.25" Z1 Enterprises carry them. I thought they also carried Hagon shocks that my buddy put on his 550A model. But I can't seem to find them on their site.

I edited my post a bit after checking Z1.

loudhvx wrote: I put some aftermarket shocks for a Kz1000 on a gpz 550, and they bolted right on, but they were way too stiff.

what style of coil did those shocks have?
i’ve noticed that the older kz1000’s have a much shorter coil while the early 80’s have longer coils and are wound tighter at one end.
seems like that would give a different amount of resistance depending on load and amount of compression applied?
i guess(based on good and bad illustrations from google search) that’s a progressively wound spring(i’m on a learning curve, no pun intended)?
maybe at light load it’s comparable to the kz550 shock?

The Works Performance shocks had dual-rate.springs.
There is a main spring and short spring. Then there is a spacer so that when the shock compresses a certain amount, the short spring stops compressing and only the main spring is in effect.

loudhvx wrote: The Works Performance shocks had dual-rate.springs.
There is a main spring and short spring. Then there is a spacer so that when the shock compresses a certain amount, the short spring stops compressing and only the main spring is in effect.

Those are pretty fancy! I might just go for them at some point.
However, being that this was an abandoned moss covered bike, that I resurrected just about a week ago, and am still waiting for tittle/registration paperwork to clear, I am aiming to do as much as possible without spending much money. Once the bike begins to prove itself I will be more inclined to up the investment.
So used shocks are my market for now.
Right now it has Kawasaki brand shocks(maybe original) with the cast aluminum gas reservoirs. I doubt that there is any gas left in them because nothing seems to change about the shock travel as I turn the little plastic adjustment knob. Also I find those reservoirs to clutter the appearance of the bike. I'm trying to clean it up and don't plan on achieving high speeds or going long distances, so a basic shock with a bit more length that's hopefully not too firm is the search criteria.