You are welcome anytime Lakshan. And appreciate your compliment on my 650. We have the same year, so hopefully we can exchange some ideas as you progress through your new bike.

One other item that may have been covered but worth mentioning again; Did you get the Owners Manual with your bike? And, you may want to get a Service Manual on this specific model. They are out there. If you need one I will check to see if I have a spare.

One item I did not mention would be:
Suspension - The front fork fluid likely needs replacing. There are various weights/thickness of fork oil. There is likely a thread around here somewhere or post your questions here. My bike was prone to tank slapping at high speed before the fork springs were replace with stiffer Race Tech units for my weight. The rear shocks were barely adequate for the day when new. I replaced mine with a pair of Works Performance and love them. The stock rear shocks made the bike weave and even wag when running fast in sweeping curves. The new shocks eliminated this. It is now on rails when up to speed. What I am saying some of the first upgrades worth doing are for the chassis. BTW, I worked with the Works Performance engineer to make the correct length shock for the 1977 KZ650. It's swing arm is a different length than later models. The result were shocks that truly fit the bike. If you order be sure to let them know they have produced another.

As you can see, there are a lot to items to consider for something that appears quite simple. Best advise is get it refreshed and think about what you might want to do with your bike. You can customize from there and make it yours.

z1kzonly wrote: You should have plenty of resources over in the UK.
Find a custom, fab, cool (TV show style) shop to help you out.
Dime City, Legends, Ace. Even ask The Harley Guys! Business is money.

Go with the GS 1100, Or GSXR your cheapest alternatives. I have a picture with dimensions in inches of a GS 1100 Suzuki swinger here.
Give you the basic idea size.

Thank you for posting this image, it does answers most of my questions.

While waiting for the frame to get back I scrounged up a 1982 Suzuki GS1100E swingarm. Cleaned it up and found out the finish was in really bad shape so I sent it to the powder coaters for an aluminum finish.

You Need new swing arm brass bearings!!! (upgrade to needle bearings). What bike do you talk about?

I got all the bugs worked out on my 80 kz1000 so I bought a zx7 cheap and I'm collecting parts for the build.
Swapping in the front end and rear swingarm with the mono shock.
Glad there is so much information on what I need on here.

almost there on my full restore of my 650, which I have owned since new in '83 ....once over pistons & rings, GPz 750 cams, APE valve guides & springs, Barnett extra plate clutch, Earls cooler / steel braid / ANs, steering damper (adjustable), ATK fork brace, Supertrapp, Sproket Specialists front & rear, rear turn signals chopped & tucked in tight, front turn signals mounted on headlight sides, Spectre tail light, rear fender chopped 6.5 inches, chromed: side cases / crankcase breather cover / rear foot peg mounts / starter cover / oil fill cap / bars brackets, racing bars, DID Pro Street 530 chain; all new swing arm & steering head bearings, new fork seals & oil, Dyna coils & hi-per wires, all new spokes & show polish on the factory DID cast aluminum wheels, CR smoothbores, Japan after market shocks, all new igniter / rectifier / ignition / relays / fuses / battery ......know I am leaving some things out !!! (note level of lay-down ability via foot peg grind downs, it loves mountain & back roads) .....color: Ferrari Fast Red ....will post finished pics & vid in the not too distant

I’ve seen where ppl change the front forks and swingarm to mono , it looks good but I’d rather put my money in the engine and get it healthy.

After a pretty extensive rebuild of a '78 KZ1000 LTD last winter, I have been able to get it out and riding it a fair bit. Really pleased with it (it is essentially standard) so far. As a bonus, we have found that my wife enjoys it on the back as well (she hasn't always said this about other bikes I've had, so this is a good thing!).
During the rebuild, I stripped, flushed, and rebuilt the forks (well, cleaned them inside and out in the wash tank, and replaced the seals/wipers and fork oil. As a start. Taper rollers in the neck, renewed all 4 needle bearings in the swingarm, new tires/tubes, etc.
Yesterday found me on a short section of dirt road. I am not afraid of them at all. Actually kinda look for hem as they can be interesting. But the potholes really upset the 40 year old Boge Muhlholland shocks, so I am thinking of replacing them.

My question is : what are other members using for a GOOD quality shock? I see links for Progressive and IKON (have had them both). Never tried Hagons but can't seem to find a dealer. Ohlins and Race Tech & some others may be more $$ and probably more than I need.

I can see myself going to cartridge emulators at some point, but the back end really posted me a couple times on a couple of kind of minor potholes.

Suggestions?

On mine it's a R/H thread. I have the tool against the foot pegs. Looks like it can slip off the swing arm pivot bolt. Best to use a 1/2" ratchet and a cheater bar or torque wrench. Impacts can be dangerous.
Steve

TexasKZ wrote: You need to use the axle that fits the swingarm, and fit everything else to that. Likely that means custom spacers and different bearings.

I got the bearings but I cannot find the right grease seal and spacers . As you can see on the picture the spacers are longer on the 1980 KZ compared to the original spacers .