Bob, the welds look killer! Have you riden any bikes after the kosman brace/bolt kits have been intstalled? I know you like others have said it makes a big differance is that speculative or conclusive, just wondering what the feel is afterwards? I have purchased both for my 75 Z1 turbo project that I have fitted a 99 busa front end and working on the 03 GSX-R swing arm and mono shock. I am hoping to end up with something that can actually be rode quickly through the twisties am I dreaming?

Peace&Love:silly: , Darren

Post edited by: kyradawg, at: 2006/12/08 17:26

Thanks Guys, bottom shock mounts are the a bugger, both GSX and ZRX mounts are the same so I had a bit of a mission fitting themand I had to move them a bit further out and mount tehm next to the original mounts, will see how it goes if I am not happy with it I will cut off the swingarm mounts and weld on others when I rebuild the bike the next time.I will take a close up and post it.

kyradawg wrote:

Mike, good eye brother! Both sides of the stamped steel bracing behind the neck of my Z1 are cracked. In addition to the kosman kit I want to duplicate this as well as get rid of the sheet metal bracing and replace them with some tubelar gussets.

Peace&Love:blink: , Darren<br><br>Post edited by: kyradawg, at: 2006/12/03 12:43

thats a 79-80 kz frame in that picture not a z1 but the bracing should be about same.the big sheetmetal gusset under steering head is actually a pretty good idea it just needs some beefing up it basically makes the steering head one big triangle that would be really hard to match strengthwise with tubing alone.the backbone can definately benefit from being tied together.me amd solomrus are working on getting a to motor mount kit from paper to actual reality which will really help tie things together(more to follow :evil: )the swingarm pivot area is another spot that needs help once you put a good stiff swingarm on back of one of these bikes it puts more stress on the swingarm pivot area shock mount area is another bad area that needs help.while you are at it id personally reccomend grinding down every weld on any z1 frame or kz frame made in japan and rewelding them all,they really suck from the factory a trained monkey could weld better(sorry gris,kawasaki bob!:whistle: )than that bird crap especially on the z1 frames!the few pounds of weight you add are nothing compared to the improvement in handling you get by stiffening one of these bikes up!

Hey Everyone:

Looking at building an AHRMA Vintage Superbike Heavyweight roadracer for next season. I've roadraced for about a dozen years, and currently race a Ducati 749R with AMA Pro (Formula Extreme), AHRMA, CCS, and WERA. I've had a "hankerin'" to try Vintage Superbike for a while, and decided to start getting serious about building one. Jeff Hinds (AHRMA 120 on this list) is a buddy and a sponsor, but he also races in the class so naturally he's going to tell me to start with a KZ1300 or some other nonsense.

For a quick recap, AHRMA's rules allow: front end swaps, as long as the forks are from the same brand of bike; wheel swaps, with a max width of 3.5" front/4.5" rear; front brakes must be 2-piston or less; bodywork must be stock and remain in place; frame can braced; must retain dual shocks; handlebars must remain mounted in stock location (ie: no clip-ons); frame and engine cases must be from the same bike; no aftermarket blocks allowed; two-valve fours are allowed up to 931cc with unrestricted intakes; four-valve fours are allowed up to 825cc with unrestricted intakes; two and four-valve fours up to 1025 are restricted to 29mm carbs (no flatslides allowed in the class.)

So, the bikes I'm considering are: Kawasaki GPz750, Kawasaki GPz1100, Honda CB750F, Honda CB900F, Suzuki GS750, Suzuki GS1100.

Right now, the Kaws and the Hondas are on my short list, and I'm leaning towards the Kaws -- if I race a Honda Jeff will never speak to me again. :whistle:

On the Kaw side, it would appear to me that starting with the 750 would be the way to go. Shorter wheelbase and better geometry (although that can be juggled with different forks/triples/swingarm/shocks) I can take the motor out to 931 and am not restricted on the intake/carbs. Starting with the GPz 1100 means a longer wheelbase, switching to a 1000 block to get to the 1025 max ccs, and I'd be restricted to 29mm carbs.

To me, it seems like the GPz 750 makes sense. However, I'd like to hear feedback from anyone else out there, particularly anyone who has roadraced any of these bikes.

Thanks!

Mark Hatten
www.woundedduc.net
AHRMA #52 (#1 for 2007)
AMA Pro #521
WERA #521
CCS #521

Thanks for the input. Last night I got out the torch and heated up the swingarm OD in the area of the bearings, then took my drfit punch and started hitting with a 20oz hammer. The bearings on one side came out immediately(and the bearings still turned!) the other side was not as easy. It took about 30 hits with the punch and two heating cycles, but they came out (one still turned and the other was destroyed)

I plan on building a swingarm that bolts on just like the stock one so it could be changed back to a bike in a short time, it will use the stock type shocks and be 23in long, stock is 19in, the tires will be 26in diameter,probably a 205x14 on alum mags, a stock type disc and more than likley a front caliper will be modded to fit and mated to a stock rear brake master so the brakes will work as normal, so far the frame is an 84 KZ700, the engine is an 81 650CSR.....damn I just can't leave things alone, give me a pile of parts I'll do some thing with them, cars trucks cycles I'll take them all apart and put them back my way, I had the hardest time when I restored my H1E500 puting back like factory made it(well almost couldn't resist the chambers)...YES I have been to chopper web

Post edited by: agawam, at: 2006/11/28 23:22

how about a swingarm swap that way you know the brakes will work with swingarm and wheel ?so you dont end up like me trying to run a heavily modified gsxr arm and a kz1000 rear hub and modified rotor to fit a gsxr upside down caliper and having to make it all clear a 5.5" wire wheel and a 190 tire :S :whistle:

77KZ650 wrote:

Thats awesome! Details plz!

yeah his bike has all the tricks that mine dont hahaha. it is a 1979kz1000 LTD. it has a complete 2000 Suzuki Bandit1200 front end, a Bandit1200 swingarm that has been extended eight inches and has been polished out, the front and rear wheels are 2000 Bandit1200 aslo with polished lips. the rear wheel is a 17x5.5 and has a 190 tire on it.

the frame has been raked seven degrees and has been braced. it has a tank that is hiden under the seat and plastic. it is sunk in the inner wheel well(the part uyou see when you flip up the seat)used for a air shifter that is soon to be put on. the tank is the small peanut style tank. the rear chrome fender has been push back a couple of inches. has the same custom chain gard as my bike. the seat has been customized with a bar welded in, it runs across the inside of the steped part to keep you from sliding back. the crash bars have been cut down in size some and rechromed.

he is runing the pipe i would give my right nut for by the way... it ia a older murry 4-1 racing header. it attached to a 1979 kz1000ltd that has a 1200 piston kit, .429 cams,over sized valves, heavey duty racing springs,big port job on the head, all the stock internals have been repaced with racing application parts such as cam chain gears, sprockets, roolers ect... the crank has been balanced and welded. the trans has been backcut and has new gears. the clutch is a mre slider clutch. there is a set of Mukuni 40mm RS carbs feeding the motor. the oil pan has been gated. a older oil cooler is install at the moment. most of the engine cover are chrome.

as for the electronics like most of us he is runing dyna coils. it also has a Dyna4000 Pro ignition with a built in two step. a dyna shift light is right above the gauges. all of the controls and brake set up is from the Bandit1200. on boad compresser and tank is all there waiting for the rest of the airshifter parts to be put on.

well that about all that i can think of for the moment.....

Post edited by: rattler, at: 2006/11/28 01:54

Welcome to KZr, and congrats on your "new to you" bike!

If you check the LINKS section here you'll find quite a few very good online parts sources and references.
Z1 Enterprises being probably about the best in all around parts availability, pricing and outstanding service before, during and after your purchase. The owner of Z1 Ent is a longtime member of KZr (Jeff Saunders), and knows just about anything there is to know about our old KZ's.

As far as things to look for, that can be quite a detailed list.
But in a nutshell, check/lube/adjust all cables and drive chain, replace tires if they appear aged or weathered, check and lube all bearings (wheel, steering, swingarm), examine all wiring for signs of damage or future potential problems (worn insulation or pinched wires, etc.) and lube all connectors with dielectric grease, make sure all switches (turn signal, horn, etc) function properly.
I'll let you digest that for now, and I'm sure some other members will chime in shortly with other suggestions of things to check.

Take a stroll through the entire site here, ask questions, and by all means enjoy!

Oh ya, and don't forget to post some pictures (regardless of it's condition) of your "new to you" bike.

I hope you are getting this beast together, I will cut and paste the suzuki-guru's last email to me.

The diameter of the shock-bolts on my katana (GS, not GSXF) is indeed 10mm - and I'm 99% sure that the later GS-1100 was the same - but I would not bet
my life on it.

...for an idea about how to locate the holes for his shocks - he needs to fit the swingarm into his KZ frame and then locate the mounts on the swingarm to work with the top-mounts on his existing frame... reason being that the shocks are going to be mounted to the KZ frame at the top-mount and the optimum location of the lower-mounts will probably differ from the OEM location on the GS swingarm anyway.

I am curious though - is this gonna be a streetbike that sees dragstrip duty? If it's gonna be a dedicated dragbike, why not just use struts and a
wheelie-bar with a slick?

I had the same question but was too polite to ask!