wireman wrote:

650ed wrote: I have no personal experience with a Z1 or KZ900, but the KZ650 and KZ1000 didn't have any wobble at any speed when new. Ed

Note: I can say with 100% confidence that the KZ650-C1 did not have any inherent speed wobble when new. Please understand my comment is not based on theory, hearsay, or myth. It is based on my buying a new KZ650-C1 off the showroom floor in April 1977 and riding it for more than 35 years (and I still ride it). For the first 32 years there was absolutely no wobble of any sort at any speed. The shocks on the KZ650 wore out after only 2 years at about 12,000 miles and were replaced with better units. The worn out original shocks made handling in the turns inadequate, but did not generate speed wobble. Three years ago, at approximately 47,000 miles, I experienced a consistent 90+ mph speed wobble because of a bad tire(s). That was the first time the bike ever had a wobble. After replacing the tires the wobble is totally gone. Along with the tires I replaced the steering stem bearings (which had dimpled) with tapered roller bearings and installed new swing arm bushings, but the cause of the problem was the tires.

The year after I bought my bike a good friend bought a new (1978) KZ1000-A2. I rode that bike up to speed and experienced no wobble. My friend and I logged many many miles together, often taking forays into triple digit speeds, and he never experienced wobble. He did not keep his bike as long as I kept mine, but suffice it to say the bike had no wobble when new.

Folks can express different opinions on the internet, and some may have experienced wobble due to bad tires or other components, or even manufacturing defects, and I certainly cannot speak to every model made. However, I can say without a doubt that the 2 models I mentioned had no design related speed wobble issues. If they did, the bikes my friend and I rode would have experienced that problem because I don't believe a manufacturing fluke would prevent a design problem from showing up. Ed

Ya should of tried riding a brand new 77 kz1000,they had lots of issues with pretty much every part on them! :sick: :woohoo:
78 gave them another year to work the bugs out,but between those junk dont-grip tires and the factory shocks and flexing swingarms they were still a dressed up pig on stilts with a big motor in stock form! :laugh:
Good aftermarket rubber and shocks made a night/day differance though

I heard KZs had their share of problems. Guessing its all true? hahaha thinking they were the boats of the motorcycle world

I have the scooter! It is safe...... Now get on that KZ and get your butt up here so WE can RIDE!

Try a Fatbob. Soft as!!!

Very observant !! Yes I believe this to be a polaris harley type thing with two wheels and large mass.

I had fun at the actual Harley dealer, sat on a street Bob. I kept asking the sales guy which bike was which.. you know the Dyna and the willie and the wideglide street Bob 45 sportser XR 1200 and all that stuff. I will say the Street Bob was like sitting in an easy chair, no wonder they are always cruising under the speed limit, why go any faster?

All the cruisers look the same when your ride is a Ducati. HHEEEEeeee hee. :laugh:

Hi, I just bought a 2006 zzx 600cc? Rear wheel and swing arm. It is 2 inch longer than a KZ or Z1
Pretty tight fit between the KZ frame and has a 20mm pivot axle.
But Man this looks like a nice conversion swingarm. I have to weld some shock or strut brackets on the top of it and drill out the frame openings to 20mm.
I did not take any pictures yet. But I think this will work nice.
Rim is 5.5" x 17 Nice for a M/T drag slick. I am going to change the drag chassis I have to this rear wheel.
Now I need to find a matching front wheel.
I don't know anything about these new crotch sewing machines.
But I do know that $50 bucks with the brake caliper is a good deal.
I'll post a picture later at 11:00pm east coast.
Any one know or opinions on this swap?
Thanks

There are several ways to make a project bike, from very low cost to very high cost. If you want to keep cost low, consider using as much stock parts as possible and modify where needed.

You may be lucky and find wheel rims at a breaker that are wider than you stock ones for cheap - just remember to count the number of spokes! Or you can pay for spankers, complete wheels which will be lighter and cost plenty more.

You can reduce the thickness of your stock front disc by one mm very safely and then proceed to drill lots and lots of tiny holes in it. Will make it lighter, less prone to scoring and also trick looking. Costly alternative is to buy a high-priced disc which will be lighter.

The stock caliper will do and will proved acceptable stopping power together with new pads and a braided hose. A 6-pot will be lighter and offer more power, but will add cost plus you'll need an adapter for the fork and whatever disc you're running - and the disc must be thin.

The stock fork can be made better by drilling out the compression damper holes to 1/4in (6mm) and use from 20W (comfort) to 30W (for high speed charging) fork oil. The level will vary the spring rate; if you upp the level by 10 mm it will dive less under braking, 20 mm even less and so on until it is solid and of no use Otherwise, buy something like an USD fork or whatever you can afford. Will be more rigid, but then you must upgrade your frame plus custom-make a triple tree to fit it to your steering stem.

You can live with the stock swingarm or you can easily fit an alloy one from a 1980-81 Suzuki GSX1100E. It is lighter, stiffer and looks more racy. Neither is very costly. Coverting to a modern mono-shock and big swingarm will again increase loads on chassis and require strengtening plus plenty of machine and weld work to fit.

A pair of locally made Ikon shock absorbers will enhance handling in a cost effective manner. Ohlins are just a little bit better for a lot less money, but do look butch. Or go monoshock as above for even more elaborate results.

Not having seen the bike, this is what I'd likely do:

Determine when it last ran reliably. If carbs hold fuel and it's not been running for the past year, expect to remove and clean carbs. But you could try to run some Seafoam through them first, although I'd strip them.

Remove spark plugs and kick engine over. There should be no mechanical sounds and resistance should be low as there is no compression to overcome. If fluid comes out the plug holes, determine what it is (oil/fuel/water). If it is water, definitely open engine. Chances are it's toast, though.

Do a compression test - less than 7 kg is really bad, but if the engine has sat for a long period piston rings can be mildly stuck. This may rectify itself with some use. Compression may raise as a result. More than 12 kg and you should find out why.

Do not omit checking valve clearances (as I did) - you want the valves to have sufficient clearance.

Check how the spark plugs look. You can find plenty of sites with explanations and pictures to guide you if needed. Smell them if moist. Replace if worn.

Set timing statically after gapping the points to 0.35mm and checking that their surfaces are not burned or pitted. Slight pitting can be sandes smooth, just make sure the points are sitting square against each other. If badly pitted, replace points and condencers.

Cam chain tensioner should be automatic on your '78, so no maintenance should be needed there.

Drain the old oil cold. If engine has sat for years with dirty old oil in it, I would fill it with 2 litres of the cheapest oil you can find plus one litre of ATF (automatic transmission oil) and run it warm with about 2000-3500 rpm. 10 minutes should do. Drain oil and now remove oil filter. Fit a new filter and fill up with 3.5 litres of fresh motorcycle oil.

I'd also fit new tyres AND tubes if they are more than a couple of years old. Check the rear brake linings and drum.

The front brake, if you plant to keep it, should have its caliper checked for free movement (along pins plus piston) and flushed with fresh fluid as a minimum.

Check the fork for leaks and replace the oil with fresh 10W or 15W fork oil.

Check steering stem bearings for freeplay (none) and smooth action with nigh on zero friction.

Check the swingarm for freeplay (should be none) and smooth operation.

Check that all cables and levers etc. are lubed and move smoothly.

Check chain and sprockets for wear and make sure the rear wheel is tracking straight.

There are probably more that should be done, but this should keep you occupied for a couple of hours :lol:

I ended buying this bike off of craigslist about halfway threw last sumer, as normal, it had its share of problems, like the rings had snapped from somebody trying to get the engine unstuck, not a huge deal, i just replaced that plug alot. lol. Fast forward to this winter, i was going to pull the engine out and rebuild it, well i did that no problems. Then i got to looking at the frame, i sandblasted it, and painted it, etc. WEll i get a call from my friend who just bought the same bike, and his frame had been de-tabbed and hacked in the back. Well we traded frames, and i cut the whole back off, from the hoop back, extended the swing arm 5 inches, tacked in some down tubes and came up with this.

tk11b40 wrote:

The Bike has been in protective custody for a while, I was ready to burn it.

I talked with the shop owner, he is ready to get it on the dyno, and has a baseline jetting scheme.

In a week or two I should have something to report. I also found a set of jets from my old ELR (Lawson replica), I could start with those, but the dyno guy is all set.

Meantime I went to see how the "other side" enjoys the weekends, you know NOT on a racetrack... See photo.

mmmmm funny lookin harley

The Bike has been in protective custody for a while, I was ready to burn it.

I talked with the shop owner, he is ready to get it on the dyno, and has a baseline jetting scheme.

In a week or two I should have something to report. I also found a set of jets from my old ELR (Lawson replica), I could start with those, but the dyno guy is all set.

Meantime I went to see how the "other side" enjoys the weekends, you know NOT on a racetrack... See photo.