I know this subject has been beaten to death already, I just have a few questions. I have a 1976 KZ900 and I just got a fleabay gs1100 swingarm to do the swap. The KZ900 factory drum brake works fine, but I also have a KZ1000 rear end- hub with disc brake, all brake parts etc. I am leaning towards keeping the drum brake simply because I like the look. I'm not swapping the front end so I want to keep it all looking old school. Is there any reason I should swap to disc brake? I can't imagine it's really that much better in regular street riding. I'm also looking at lacing up a 17'' rim for bettertire options. Will a 5 or 5.5 inch wide 17 fit? I'd like to get a 180 if possible. Or should I find something in 18''?If so what's the largest that fits?Also that brings me to the problem of tires- anybody run a tubeless conversion? or tubes inside modern radial (tubeless) tires? I'm keeping the 19'' front so I guess I would have to find tires that came in the sizes I need... I know I'm asking a bunch of different stuff. I've tried searching for answers in other posts there just didn't seem to be one that covered everything. If anyone has experimented with different stuff I would love to hear about it.

The Irwin bit worked. Took my time, cut, oiled, removed over and over. In about 4". Plenty of depth. I'll able to adjust the nominal width of the bushings tomorrow. The bearings were all crusted up. Flushed with diesel and worked them until free. Have it filled with my chain saw gas to sit overnight then flush and work them again. Getting closer.
Steve

Could you make a sponsor for my drag race program so I ain't gotta pay for it ? :lol: :lol: :lol:
Oh and a boss that'll let me off work more to go race.

kidding aside the things I'd want would be drag related for my little bike and that isn't a huge market
very few folk's are racing the old 650/750 bike's though I've seen on some F/B page's guy's asking about
longer swing arm's and monoshock kit's.

I have been thinking about a new arm I want a cromo arm that would go from 8" to 12"
set up to hold air.

Gotcha. I can't find a cobalt bit in 5/8. I picked up a irwin high speed bit and will try it. The other side has plenty of length, it's the side with the large end that runs the seal I'm fighting. The small side I'll weld on a washer then drill it and grind it smooth. It's plenty deep. The big side I will cut off the nut part and sweat solder the threads or maybe weld. That way I won't need a spacer.In any event a piece of EMT would work for that.
I do like your bushings though.
Steve

those things can be a bear.
if it gave me much trouble i would cut off each end that the bearings ride on and square em up.
then i would figure out how much of a spacer i needed to make to keep them out where they needed to be and just have a 3 piece center bushing.
it will be a little tricky to get installed but if you feed a tapered punch etc through the one side to keep em lined up, you could stick the pivot bolt through the other side and once it was all in situ and tight you have it captured and it can't go anywhere.

hope this makes sense.

leon

Yesterday it was pushing 90. Today i'ts in the 50's and windy. The wind started just as we were finishing up. I didn't get clips of the lathe. You can hear and see when you are getting meat. Seems Kawasaki hardened certain areas of the pivot shaft. Start to get some shavings then the bit would start squealing. Lots of cutting oil but still ruined both bits. Not surprised. 16mm bits from CHINA.
I'll buy a cobalt bit, cut my bushings and go in from the back side. Gonna shape the shock mounts and strip off the paint. I'll have to mount it once it's done, use some old chain I have laying around to get an accurate count on the links I need. I'll buy a complete set. Sprockets and O ring chain.
I'll be working up my bushings and post pics when they're done.




:ohmy: What the F did you do?


Getting better. :laugh:
Steve

Dissasembly.
My KZ750 swing arm bearings were bad. Two of the bearing were bad, the other two were destroyed. Damage was done to the sleeve also.
Water went through past the seals.

Well,Its a funny old world.Miricales do happen.Ive got a place.5minutes from the house.Fully ventilated.Plenty of space.Some big machines to play with.Ive also got a 2 month deadline!
Bike is moved.Crates of parts are moved,Unctions are moved and most of my tools and other odds and sods are moved and today I made a start.With nobody breathing down my neck,Im free to make as much noise and as noxious smells as I want. Its fantastic!




First job of the day was the exhaust hanger.I wasnt happy with the one I made so I though I would play with that. The 2 mystery bolt holes under the frame turned out to be very handy.I drilled out some steel strip and bolted it on these points,bent it over and made a alu strap to go round the pipe and bolt onto the steel strip







Very simple and looks good.Happy with that.
I also had a look at the chain guard. The one that came with the GSXR swing arm.Theres no way Im going to get it to fit.With the twin shock set up,Id have to hack too much out of it ,there would be nothing left,so Ill have to figure out something else. Maybe some alu plate again.
Anyway thats it for now. Like I said. 2 Months!!!!

RonKZ650 wrote: You guys are all talking of other motorcycles which use either a sleeve and bushings or a sleeve with little needle bearings. Yes these need lube quite often, and even then aren't heavy duty. The shaft used real roller bearings. Not to say they don't need lube, but chances of them being in bad shape is definitely less than on other Kawasakis.
They built everything on the shaft heavy to last, then in 1981 went to the KZ1100 shaft and all heavy duty was replaced with regular duty parts.

Opps looked closer at the PO's sig.The shalft drive would make a huge difference obviously..The way it's set up on the chain drive is stupid without a grease fitting.Getting 4 bearings for the GPz and thinking I'm going to use all 4,yes they'll all fit.

larriken wrote:

Irish-Kawi wrote: Very nice Larriken, keep up the good work

- Brett

EDIT: Larriken, on the first page I read that you said the 1100 foot pegs fit the 750 and vice versa, can I just confirm with you that's true? Any modifying needed at all etc? I've started to compile a list of parts that swap to the 83'-85' GPz's and wanted to confirm. Is that the passenger pegs or the rider's pegs or both do you know?

I have used the pegs front and rear from an 84 750 on the 1100 so no worries on the fitment their. Not a lot else swaps over though. The 750 is a lot smaller than the 1100. I have used the ignition barrel and gas cap and the headlight which all fit too. Top fairing and the screen swap over as well but the top fairing is a little different in the shape. Tail light and tail are the same too. Swingarm is the same by the looks too. Will keep you posted as I find out more.

Thanks a ton Larriken really really helpful!

Brett