My 75 Z1 street fighter project

OK, a couple of my friends said I should detail and post this on the forum, here and R1 forum.

History, I got the Z1 last summer rode it for a couple months. I got a smokin deal on a R1, road it untill mid November when the cold made me drive the car again.

R1 Fall of 08.



I spent the winter building the R1, I replaced, modified, changed everything except the frame and engine, untill it looked like this.

R1 Spring 09






I rode the R1 in all it's shiny perfection, for less than 3 weeks. An early morning misfortune on the way to work left it looking like this.

R1 11 June 09.





I hit the highway at around 80 MPH, got a broken collar bone and 1 small patch of rash, I always wear good gear, I would rather sweat than bleed. Blue jeans and a biker leather jacker are just not good enough!!!

And so the story begins, I am going to put all the high dollar suspension and a few other choice goodies from the R1 onto my 75 Z1.

More soon, ride safe.

Bummer about the collarbone and the road rash, but at least you're vertical!

Sounds like an interesting project, keep us posted.

Some of the details.

I am going to install the rear swing arm and (Ohlins upgraded) mono shock, 06 R1 wheel with 200mm tire. The swing arm will give me a 2 1/2" extension, the swap will remove 15 to 20 pounds of weight.

I am going to use the 06 R1 (Ohlins internals) front forks, radial mounted 4 piston calipers, 310mm disks, front wheel and the radial style Brembo master cylinder.

I plan to use as much from the newer bike as I can, adjustable rear sets, pegs, shifter/ linkage, brake pedal, rear master cylinder, braided brake lines, integrated LED tail light, wiring, handlebar oontrols, you name it, if I can modify it or bolt it on.

I have a 1075cc big bore kit, should have an MSD ignition, APE .410 lift cams, springs, Ti retainers and Mikuni flat slides by early next week. Come on UPS man!!!!

Welcome to KZR, sorry about the R1 but it should make a great donner for the Z1. Keep us posted with PICTURES as you go.

Mark

keep us posted this is my kinda buildup,and welcome.you came in right,with pictures and a plan.i used a 2000 r1 rear wheel and brake system to convert the rear of my 1980 z1r.i had to build the swingarm because i did not want to modify the frame.here is a pic


leon holmes

Mark Wing wrote:

Welcome to KZR, sorry about the R1 but it should make a great donner for the Z1. Keep us posted with PICTURES as you go.

Thanks, I really liked that machine, but now i am back to the Kawi, I have had 7 of these bikes in different forms, from the Z1 to the GPZ 1100. These motors are the small block Chevy of rice bikes, power is affordable and easy!!

[B}531blackbanshee Wrote:

keep us posted this is my kinda buildup,and welcome.you came in right,with pictures and a plan.i used a 2000 r1 rear wheel and brake system to convert the rear of my 1980 z1r.i had to build the swingarm because i did not want to modify the frame.here is a pic

Nice, that is the same wheel I took off my R1 and replaced with the 04+ style. Not my first custom project just more fab work than the R1, it was all bolt on and paint. Gotta go work on the bike some more and I'll post more pics in a bit.

So the first thing after removal of the stock swing arm assembly, was to remove everything I have no plans to use from the frame. I used a combination of cut off wheels in a 4 1/2" grinder, plasma cutter and "flap" style grinding wheels to cut off the brackets and smooth the welds.

Looks like this. This picture was taken a couple steps ahead.


The bolt for the swing arm was a larger diameter than the stock Z1.


So I reamed the stock bolt bushings with a 3/4 reamer, not quite large enough so I hand finished the holes with a large rat tail file, that took some time but the bolt fits very well.

The length of the bolt was the limiting factor for being able to spread the frame enough for the new swing arm to fit. I had to grind the bolt bushings all the way down to the weld to gain as much room as possible. It took some time to be sure they were flat for the bolt head and nut to have a good surface to ride against.

Finished swing arm bolt bushing.


After loosening the two rear most engine mount bolts, I cut the lower tube in between the engine mounting tabs.


I then used a porta poweer to spread the frame untill I ran out of swing arm bolt length. I cut a length of tube and put it in between the frame tubes, just below the top line of the engine case. I need to leave room for the turbo!!


With the tube installed I released the porta power. The frame stayed a little over 1/2" wider and the swing arm bolt holes lined up perfectly.

I had to remove 1/8" of aluminum from each side of the swing arm and the steel carrier that the bearings ride on. The swing arm bushing holes were bored extra deep so all I did was press them back the required amount. All that was left was to trial fit the swing arm.



Look a real tire. This is the first KZ style bike I have ever had with a decent sized back tire!!!





Next time, mono shock mounts

Some comparison shots of the GPZ 1100 swing arm and wheel I upgraded to, with the new upgrade R1 swing arm and tire.

looks sweet. i really like those 5 spoke rear wheels. keep us posted for sure.

this looks kickass, i cant wait to see how this comes together.

looks great so far! now your making me have new dreams for my kz750! haha:P

The rear mono shock is now mounted, making the swing arm install part complete.

Lower mount for the dog bone.



Upper mount for the top of the mono shock.




Finally all together.



For those who noticed the tack welds and unfinished parts, I will finsh it all after the front end is done and the engine is out of the frame, at which point i will finish and smooth all the welds, install aditional frame bracing and prep for a chrome finish for the frame, forks and swing arm.