Ok so it looks like i neglected this post for a while but here's what i've been up too. I couldn't stand the rust and faded frame paint. The engine was clean but tarnished.



Refinished the wheels




Redid the header/exhaust, painted the swing arm




Rebuilt the forks, Progressive brand fork springs and paint.



Painted the engine and triple tree.




Reassembly begins. New Progressive rear shocks mounted and battery tray cleaned up big time. Don't mind that rusty screw, it's gone now.




Here's how it sat after the winter, seat was temporary but it looked great,



With seat done



With new muffler




Complete list of modifications.

Superbike Bars / Oury Grips
Rebuilt forks with new Progressive fork springs, lowered internally 2-3"
Progressive Rear Shocks
Front Master Cylinder from a 96 ZX7
Ballistics 8cell Lithium Ion Battery
New Carb Holder, UNI Pod filter / Crank case Breather
Shinko 712 Front and Rear tire
RK 530 Chain, New Front and Rear Sprocket
Dyna Solid Core Spark Plug Wires/ New plugs
Dynojet Stage 3 Jet Kit
Detab/Smooth the frame, rear hoop, fresh paint on everything.
Cleaned or Replaced Front wheel bearing
Smaller blinkers from Dime City Cycles
Modified MAC 4-1 Exhaust
MOSFET Regulator/Rectifier from a 2008 CBR600RR
SS Bolt kit from Z1
Rebuilt Petcock
Rebuilt Starter clutch

I agree with Mcdroid. My KZ650-C1 has bushings, and they work perfectly fine. HOWEVER, if I had a bike with bearings I wouldn't retrofit bushings.

One thing I noticed in looking at the '82 GPz750 swing arm diagram is that the swing arm has no grease fitting. With bushings a grease fitting is an absolute must. In looking at the horrible condition of your pivot sleeve I wonder what happened. There are oil seals on each end that are suppose to protect the needle bearings, but judging by the wear and pitting on the sleeve it looks like any grease that was originally in there was long gone. Were the bearings dry when you took it apart? Maybe a previous owner got carried away using a pressure washer? Ed

If it was me, I'd replace the sleeve and axle and still use needle bearings, instead of retrofitting with bushings. As long as you don't treat the GPz as poorly as the previous owner, the needle bearings in that swing arm should last years without needing to be replaced.

:huh: Let's start at the beginning. Back in '96, I was given the remains of an '81 KZ650H. The CSR model. It was missing a piston and rod. I never did anything with it. Acquired a second KZ650, A "B" model with the famous 'duckbill' and rear drum brake, but a non runner as well and again was giving it a home. Some where along the way bought a KZ750 engine. Well, about 2-3 yrs ago made a trip to Phoenix to trade a GS 1000 for a '77 KZ650 with a rear disc brake which is what I wanted all along. Well the "B" had a title so I was going to swap swing arms and make some plate to mount the rear master cylinder for the brake (I don't have a welder) and make it all work. Interest waned, life got in the way or other priorities came about, what ever it's called the project stopped a few years. I broke down and and did what it took to get title for the rear disc brake frame. Swapped the swing arm back in and installed the original 650 engine in.
Well, as many of you know, looking in Craigslist can be evil. There was this '81 KZ750 engine listed. I've wanted a later case to build my idea of the ultimate KZ650 engine. You know, Hyvo cam chain, electronic ignition and 750 carbs and head. I went to see this engine and it had the factory oil cooler on it. The price was right so I got it. After a couple days thinking about it, I decided to just install this engine as is. Sure I got to make brackets for the oil cooler. That's part of making the bike "mine". I just finished a XS650 SG project a couple months back so I'm primed for this one. That and having these frames/engines kicking around here the last 20 yrs, it's about time I did something with them!
The bike sits now with the 750 engine with it's oil cooler hanging limp in it, Rear disc brake swing arm and wheel back in. I need to rebuild the carbs, install the starter, alternator and electronic ignition system to make the engine whole. More story and picture to follow later.

Does anyone have experience with a Honda pro link unit type rear suspension? I saw a picture of this when I was searching for upper shock mount ideas. I am intrigued with the possibilities. It would be less intrusive to the frame and it would be easy to get a good solid mount for the top of the shock. Please let me know your thoughts. I have a 2006 gsxr swingarm that I believe could have an upper shock mount fabbed on to it relatively easily.

Your input is requested.

www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Honda_Pro-Link

Unlike some of the large KZ's the frames on the KZ650s are excellent and do not contribute to wobble. If your bike has wobble there is something wrong with a component, because the KZ650 doesn't wobble at all unless something is wrong.

I bought my KZ650-C1 new in April 1977. After break-in I often took the bike up to full speed - 120mph. Once, riding next to a friend (who had a faster bike) I rode at that speed for 10 minutes straight - 20 miles worth! I didn't experience even the slightest wobble at any speed.

Several years ago my KZ650 developed a high speed (above 90 mph) wobble. It was a scarey bad wobble at that speed and trying to go faster made it worse! I'm sure you can relate! There was no wobble at normal highway speeds, but I knew something wasn't right. I already had very high quality shocks (the originals were always marginal at best and were replaced early on). I tested my swing arm bushings and found they had a little play. There should be none, so I replaced them. Your newer KZ650 will have bearings rather than bushings, but you should check them by unhooking the rear shocks and with the back of the bike off the ground grab the top and bottom of the tire and try to twist the tire left and right There should be no play. After replacing my bushings the wobble was dampened a little, but mostly still there. I replaced the steering stem bearings with tapered roller bearings and that helped a little, but the wobble was still there. I replaced wheel bearings - no improvement. I balanced the tires - no improvement. I changed the fork oil (you should do this if you haven't), but that didn't change my wobble.

In desperation I changed tires. The ones on the bike were Michelin Macadams that had low miles and still looked great. Plenty of tread and very even wear. I put on Pirelli Sport Demons along with new tubes. To my surprise the wobble was totally gone. I couldn't believe that tires which looked like they were fine were causing the wobble, but they were. Now there is absolutely no hint of a wobble from 0 mph up to the top speed of my bike - just around 120 mph.

I would highly recommend that you check everything on the bike until you find the source of the wobble. It can be a frustrating task, but until you find and correct it a fork brace, steering damper, etc. will not correct the root cause of the wobble. Ed

The MKII uses a 18" rear wheel as well. The Z1R was the only model (besides KZP) to come with a 18 front wheel. The easiest way to adapt the 18" police front wheel would probably be swap the whole front end. Plus you get beefier forks and triples.

Tavo is correct, that the swingarms are the same. if it is a 1980 or earlier 18 rear wheel it uses the same sprocket carrier as other 18" mags. check kawasaki.com parts diagrams. you can look up brakes, spacers what ever and see what other models they were used on. not sure how to identify the difference between the KZP wheel and the Z1R and MKII wheels. maybe someone else can chime in here.

When i swapped to wire wheels on my LTD i ended up getting the whole rear hub, spacers, sprocket carrier, and brake setup to get it to jive. but once i had everything it was a direct swap.

The pivot shaft on GSXR 600 Swingarm that I have is 22 mm. The pivot axle on my 1982 GPZ1100 is 16 mm. I have found flanged bronze bushings on McMaster.com. They are only 20 (little more than 3/4") while the highhats that came with the swingarm are 42 mm long ~1-1/2". First, will the bronze oilite bushings work? Second, will the shortened length be adequate. I plan on keeping the existing high hats in the swingarm and I have space for the flanged bushing as the GSXR swingarm is narrower than the gap between in the GPZ frame. Any input is welcome. I imagine the bushing is rated for shears commensurate with the shear strength of the shaft that it is sized for.

www.mcmaster.com/#6659k35/=rw4vl1

Awesome project! looks great will ride nice!
I have been working on mine for 3 yrs. been togehter and apart about 4 times. always find something else that i don't like or want to change.
Heres a couple pics ofhte last time it was together.
Have the same ZRX1100 rear swing & tire set up.
Used a 2004 636 front end. THat was a PROJECT!! cut out old steer tube that was damaged, fabbed my own and installed. Alignement tooks months of measurements!! ARGH!
I am sure I will have many questions for you on your wiring as that is NOT my strong point!!
great looking ride you have created! Thanks for sharing!

I have too much time at work to think about these things and not enough time at home right now to actually do the work..

I am preparing for putting a monoshock mount, as part of a swapping in a new swing arm, on my 1982 GPZ1100 and the new shock and mount will be displacing the battery which is located below the 3 section airbox. To gain real estate for the battery, I am contemplating removing the air filter element section and the intermediate section and putting in an appropriately sized 22 degree bend to connect the stilling box to a rectangular K&N type Universal Air Filter.

I am not looking specifically for performance gains as much as I am looking for space to put a small battery between back of the air filter and the subframe where the existing filter is. Unless I want to change over to a microsquirt so that I can scrap the existing ECU, I don't have any real estate in the tail section. I do plan to put in an Eastern Beaver PC-8 Fuse box to replace the existing main fuse box and I plan to not discard the air temp sensor that is mounted in the middle section. I like the look of he existing airbox at this time, so, for that reason, I am not looking to discard it and put in pods. I just want to know if you all think this will work or not.