Hey, I'm Steve. I just picked up my first bike a week ago (80 KZ440A LTD) to take on as a bobber project - something I've wanted to do for ages now, but being in Canada, a car is a bit of a priority since there's snow on the ground for 5-6 months out fo the year.

I bought the bike last week from a guy who was building it in the garage of his girlfriend's house, but due to a breakup, he was forced to sell. The bike was in overall good shape and ran pretty well when he started the project. Before winter hit he was able to get the back end stance sitting about right, picked up a Sportster-style tank and was getting ready to weld up the swing arm for a budget hardtail conversion.

Anyway, here's my progress on the project up to this point. If you're on Facebook, hit the link in my sig for more pics.

When he bought it last year


Chopped rear end with Harley springs, Sportster tank and front fender in place to get an idea


Mon, April 16: Delivered to my garage


Tues, April 17: Electrical and handlebars stripped. Straight bar set in place... I'm still trying to figure out what bars I want to use, but this does look good and beefy.


Tues, April 17: How he left the back end. He had the flatbars in place in preparation for frame mods to weld up the swingarm... I'm toying with a real hardtail conversion with the universail kit from TC Bros. (need to talk to my uncle who's a tradesman welder and see if he'll be willing to work for beer... he just retired this winter, so hopefully he needs a weekend project )


Wed, April 18: Engine out. That wall-mounted folding bench I made last fall is damn handy for the project.


Thurs, April 19: De-greasing and cleanup central


Fri, April 20: My regular work bench is relocated for a great bike lift. I started to knock off tabs for the plastics, reflectors, etc. over the weekend, but I need to borrow the old man's air compressor because my little 3 gallon tank doesn't have the balls to run my mini die grinder for more than 10 seconds at a time, making cleanup ridiculously slow and just painful.

There is no real "bolt on" swingarm. The closest would be the GS1100 at least with this one there is no fitting required just a few small washers.

frame is from 1993 kz1000 police ,wheels are from kz1000 police too , wider rear rim, both are straight
parts are from one of my 1982 kz1000j and 1993 kz1000 police and also gpz1100 , and a ltd
I am getting rid of my kz parts because of selling my bike
www.use.com/editset.pl?set=7192f2052d1f27932233
i have one set of carbs from kz1000j , stand, battery holder, front rear calipers, kz1000j ignition cover w housing , center stand, clutch cover, sprocket cover, more and more also kz450 650 750 turn signals,kz650 kz1000j manifolds, kz needles
please check links what i have . Are you ready for 190 55 tire ( the rim can handle ) , OR you can even replace honda civic rear rim on that arm, same spacing . it is up yo you can put wider and wider tires ,depends on your NEW rim choose.




Note : you can enlarge every single picture for more details
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contact me w the same title'''''kz1000 parts plus vfr swingarm and gsxr front'''
yzg72 a t y a h o o
thank you

OK, I've done a lot of searching on this, but I don't see anything definitive.

First, I love the look of the factory Enkei 7 spoke wheels, so I'd want to go with a Kz1000P rear wheel (like Mark Wing did).

Second, I want to stay with a dual-shock setup, as I really like that look.

I've seen where people have done the Zephyr swingarm upgrade, although I'm unclear as to whether the 550 or the 750 is preferred, and I've found a lot of old posts both here and on kz650.info about the GS1100 swingarm, but it's not discussed much anymore. Is there a reason it's fallen out of favor?

Are there other options?

Which choice is best?

Thanks

it has clean clear CA title , never been in any accident , i do have auto check record, not carfax. auto check is more detailed...interested ones contact me w title kz1000 frame , i also have complete rear and front wheel for sale, i do have more parts belonged to kz1000 , including carbs, and more yzg72 at yahoo thank you
pictures will be added later ,thank you

Glad to here u r up and running.
Congrats.

the 15 wieght oil will not cause this, but not enough oil , or un-equal amounts, could. did u have to push the springs down a bit to get the bolts into the fork tops? just wondering if there is any play in the springs?
def check the rim runout. Swingarm bushings too.also check the tire psi.

where do u think this squeal is? if its the wheel bearing, that may have something to do with the wobble.

Another way to ensure the steering stem bearings are properly tightened is to use a modified spanner and torque wrench (folks know I’m a big believer in torque wrenches). I attached my spanner to a metal bar and then cut a 3/8” square hole in the bar centered 7” from the centerline of the spanner lug. I can now attach this to my torque wrench. Keeping the spanner bar in the same line as the torque wrench, I can now adjust the torque of the steering stem bearings to the spec recommended in the service manual. Of course, you absolutely must take into account the extra leverage that results from the 7” spanner bar length or you will greatly over-tighten the bearings. Fortunately, the formula and instructions for calculating the correct, adjusted torque setting is clearly described on the CDI (Snap-On) website. If anyone has an interest in more details, just ask. I used the modified tool below when I installed my tapered roller bearings and it worked like a charm. The forks have zero excess play but still will swing lock to lock with no binding. Ed

Flyndrive wrote: So are all those things really good like the rake and swingarm? Or is there so much that is not original it takes a lot of worth away?

So if I got it running would it be worth much more? Is it worth fixing up to sell?

If it is raked the value will decrease as far as being original. Frame mods are hard to reverse if looking for a true original. On the other hand it may be worth it for someone looking to run a drag bike. Look it over good it very well could have been a drag bike one time ago. Could be someone made a bad ass street motor and added some goodies, the reflector is still on the frame so it probably was not a track only bike. Either way tell him about the flaws and talk him down as was mentioned earlier. I would love to run across one for the right price. $500 to $750 not running. It will be interesting to see what he thinks it is worth.

It will be worth more running than not, so if you can get it cheap not running and get it running you could possibly make some money if it is just carbs and gas tank gummed up from sitting.. If the motor is blown then it will be a money pit as far as selling for a profit.

So are all those things really good like the rake and swingarm? Or is there so much that is not original it takes a lot of worth away?

So if I got it running would it be worth much more? Is it worth fixing up to sell?