Newbie from So. Cal.

gd,man that looks killer.
i only see one flaw,fork tubes should be black too.

Welcome Crash. Glad you got her going.

Next time have some Hot Dogs or Sausages ready to cook up!

So yesterday I sat eyeing the exhaust... It's a 4 into 2 all welded up so I can't (easily) pull it off, nor preform a bafflectomy without doing some cutting.


Let's see what I've got laying around before I cut anything off.

(Background: 5 years ago I started a motorcycle club in So. Cal. and Saturdays used to be "Bike day at the CRASH! pad" where I invited people to come over and help them work on bikes. From there me and two friends opened up a motorcycle shop. I recently left the partnership when I moved out of the area. All the while I'd keep misc parts that may come in handy some time down the line. So I've got boxes and boxes of brake calipers and lines, levers, handledbars & clip ons, headlights, footpegs, misc brackets,and about 20 exhaust cans. My names CRASH! and I'm a packrat.)

So in rummaging around I had alot of stock and aftermarket cans... But I needed a matching pair for each side of the LTD. Then I found the stock exhaust of a Ninja 250 (Tha. Mrs' first bike, now long gone)Two cans, black... Hmm. I took some measurements and the head pipes are the same diameter as the LTD's and I can drill out the rivets and remove the baffle. PERFECT!

So I cut off the stock exhaust, cut down the headpipes on the Ninja exhaust and welded them up. The stock brackets nearly lined up with the hole for the rear footpeg. ALMOST. So I made small brackets to hang the cans. The stock heat shield worked perfect to hide my ugly welds.

All said and done I sat back to admire my handywork.



I don't like it.

Well I don't, don't like it... But I'm not awed by it's amazing presence either. It did give the bike a bit more growl, but it kind'a sounds like a Ninja 250. I'm also not sure about the black end cans on the chrome exhaust. I could sand and polish them to make it look a bit better. But I'm not sure if I should bother.

In the end it still looks like a stock exhaust.

So if you're looking to do something with your exhaust and have a Ninja 250 set laying around, it can be made to fit with ease.

I may try and track down a 4 into 1 an throw on one of the aftermarket cans I have. Or make my own.


OH, and "mykznme"... DANG you! Now I think I need to paint the fork legs. LOL But it may be too much black. A fork rebuild is on the list so I may do it will they're off.

rstnick: You comin over for a barbecue? heh heh





Ride'on,

~CRASH!~

Real sharp, CRASH!

A belated welcome to KZr, CRASH!

I loved the story and follow-up accounts. My sides still hurt I laughed so hard (because I've...um..."ignited" a few vehicles over the years). ::laugh:

High desert, eh? Hesperia? Apple Valley? Victorville?

So far your FREE bike story sure is turning out better than mine started out.
I was given an '84 ZN700 LTD by a friend of my brothers, who in some odd coincidence, happens to live in Hesperia. Anyway, the bike had been sitting for well over 10 years (rain, blistering sun, occasional snow, 24/7 wind, you get the picture), and EVERYTHING in the way of fluids was nasty (varnished fuel, gelled up brake fluid, ect).
Four years later (and who knows how many greenbacks), and it's almost complete.

Good luck on your cafe' project. And please be sure to post progress pics and details as you go.

RetroRiceRocketRider wrote:

High desert, eh? Hesperia? Apple Valley? Victorville?

A.V. in tha house! LOL

I moved up here just over a year ago from the OC.

Here's a pic with the seat (Still not quite finished) but pre-exhaust.





Ride'on,

~CRASH!~

I like the white stripe in the middle of the tank. Very nice.

Love it. Thats what I call a chopper.

Hi I am from the LA area getting a 78 KZ1000 I will get pics later hope to meet up with all the So Cal guys soon.
The bike looks neet hope to call on all you guys for the help I will be needing.
And Crash this is my secend KZ1000 my first was back in 1994 untill July 31 of 1996 when a 1995 Kenworth with a 40' trailer decided to make an illeagle U turn in front of me doing 70 mph but that is not stopping me on getting another one..

Hey I have had my LTD for about a 3 years now, but I only had it out for 1 summer before I joined the air force. I just had it shipped to me and it ended up falling off the trailer, not too bad but i need a new guage cluster, ign and headlight. I like what you did and if i can scrounge up some parts I would like to do something similar (with the idea that it will fix my broken bike, and be cheaper than getting stock parts). I cant get it to start and it looked like i was getting no spark today so i guess that's where i should start. At least get it running ya'know... I think the starter switch may have a bad contact so i took off the tank and was just jumping the 2 middle wires (brown and something) on the red connector. the starter cranks great but are there separate wires for ign? Also I believe my friend took off the vacuum and fuel lines when it was back home and I'm not sure if he put them back on correctly. Can you send me any pictures or diagrams of your bike so i can see if I might have a chance at getting this bike back on the road? Thanks a LOT in advance for any advice anyone has to offer!!!

CRASH! wrote:

When we last left CRASH! he was standing in the smoke and chalk filled confines of his shop, staring at the smoldering LTD550.....

Ride'on,

~CRASH!~

Now that's just plain *funny*.

And very well written. Enjoyed the visuals.