1980 kz1000 ltd... Need your input and suggestions

hello there! so i have slowly been building my 1980 KZ1000LTD to my liking. i had a certain idea in my head of the direction i wanted to go before i even bought the bike. i recently became a member of kzrider.com and that screwed up all my plans! haha... i have seen soo many beautiful kz's on here that have inspired me to do the same/simliar to mine. i am starting this thread to show my bike where it came from... where it is now... and where its going... id like any/all input, suggestions, and advice your willing to give!

so... where id like to go with my bike... i am IN LOVE with the modern suspension/brake swaps i have seen some of you members do on your bikes. i just bought a gs1100 swingarm in order to fit a wider back tire, stretch the rear end out a bit, and enhance the look of my bike. i like the dual shock look and ease-ability of installation. i have already added clip-on's and lowered the front end about 2 inches to give better handling and a more aggressive stance. there is something that has been bothering me more and more lately... that old school 19inch rim up front with a 16inch rim in the rear. what are your suggestions to solve this problem without spending an excessive amount of money. i am considering a front fork swap with a more modern street bike. any suggestions? i am open to hear any ideas and input! and please feel free to share any pictures to show of your accomplishments on your beautiful machines...

thank you for all your help and advice!



















[attachment:10]swingarm1.jpg[/attachment]

[attachment:11]swingarm.jpg[/attachment]

A few options:

Replace the rear mag with an 18" version and keep front wheel as is.

Replace front and rear with mags off a Z1R which are both 18" (might be hard to find and no idea on cost)

Do a Wireman improvement-replace both wheels with nice wire wheels in size to suit your purpose

Switch over to modern mag wheels but this will take some work to mount front wheel in your forks...but it can be done

Switch to older modern style mags from bike with conventional front forks (like a 1990 ZX7, etc.)

Go all in and install a new USD fork set-up on front and use matching rear wheel on back in an aftermarket swingarm

Sure there are other option and these will have various costs to complete and definitely different difficulties getting it done...but anything is possible with some time, help, experience and sometimes lots of money. Just depends on how big your bank account is and what "look" you are going for.

any chance you would know how wide of a back tire you can fit on an 18/2.15 rim?

how about gpz front 17in wheel fitting on my stock forks/axle?

is that your bike in your avatar? is that a turbo i see? feel free to share pics of your bike! looks sweet....

the second to the last picture...with the silver 350 camaro ...shows... to me at least...why lowering the front is not such a good move forward for this bike...it is offsetting the whole design and function of the 19//16 rim combowhich when set up correct with superbike bars and good springs and tires front and back...can rock hard......i have a 19/16 combo on my 900..whole different bike and wheels ...but close enough once rolling to use as an example....My bike boogies with little effort around bumps and dips and corners...everything is set up right and i have some really top shelf fork springs and rear shocks....as well as some brand new avon roadriders...and air assist fork caps....and bars that balance and assist if things do try and steer the thing aside

you may have ended up seeking fashion before function imo and have taken a well balanced bike and cantered it off it's intended set ups...looks is in the eye of the beholder so i wont even go there...it is your bike and yours to mod as you want it to be right???...but before you put too much thought into fixing a problem,that you yourself have created,maybe take a step back and decide if the wheels and tires and bars could be fixed without changing rims, but the balances and suspension parts

for me this is an ideal set up...but i may ride different than you and am old and grumpy and not concerned with modern stuff on this old bike....i love the modern suspensions and tires and rims and brakes....just not on my bike...it was made when there where bell bottom jeans.....and it does not make sense to me to have bell bottom jeans and a tribal tattoo at the same time on a 30+ year old bike....if it was a cbr600 then by all means ...but these were camaros...not miattas......

wireman wrote:

tease! haha... re-post!

ive got a whole bunch of pictures of the blue turbo of racers but cant get them to post on this old geriatric computer of mine! :sick: :laugh:

well now that my 1327 is gone maybe i can get focused back on the 1385 turbo project of my own design

trianglelaguna wrote: the second to the last picture...with the silver 350 camaro ...shows... to me at least...why lowering the front is not such a good move forward for this bike...it is offsetting the whole design and function of the 19//16 rim combowhich when set up correct with superbike bars and good springs and tires front and back...can rock hard......i have a 19/16 combo on my 900..whole different bike and wheels ...but close enough once rolling to use as an example....My bike boogies with little effort around bumps and dips and corners...everything is set up right and i have some really top shelf fork springs and rear shocks....as well as some brand new avon roadriders...and air assist fork caps....and bars that balance and assist if things do try and steer the thing aside

you may have ended up seeking fashion before function imo and have taken a well balanced bike and cantered it off it's intended set ups...looks is in the eye of the beholder so i wont even go there...it is your bike and yours to mod as you want it to be right???...but before you put too much thought into fixing a problem,that you yourself have created,maybe take a step back and decide if the wheels and tires and bars could be fixed without changing rims, but the balances and suspension parts

for me this is an ideal set up...but i may ride different than you and am old and grumpy and not concerned with modern stuff on this old bike....i love the modern suspensions and tires and rims and brakes....just not on my bike...it was made when there where bell bottom jeans.....and it does not make sense to me to have bell bottom jeans and a tribal tattoo at the same time on a 30+ year old bike....if it was a cbr600 then by all means ...but these were camaros...not miattas......

i completely agree with you about beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that it is my bike to do with as i wish. and THANK YOU for your input and objective view! i did lower the front forks 2inches and added the clip-on's in order to enhance the stance and handling of my bike. lowing the front end got rid of the high speed wobble that is common among the Z's and lowered the center of gravity giving better handling around corners (at least to me it did?) when the bike was stock it didnt look like what i picture a sort bike to look like. the front end was high up in the air like a Harley or cruiser bike. I am only 26 and have owned a 2006 ZZR600 sport bike with several mods so i am partial to that style. i know my 1980 ltd1000 is not a modern sportbike. but back in the day it was the king of bikes. im just trying to give my old girl a little new life the way i see best.




my 2006 ZZR600




what id like my KZ1000 to look similar to...

I completely agree with Tri. Your bike looks great now, and while the new stuff is cool, a KZ1000 is a legendary motorcycle.

You could keep the vintage coolness and still go smaller in front and wider in back. There are Z1R 18" fronts on Fleabay right now. Also, oinkjohnson has a sweet Kosman modified 18" x 4.25" rear for sale on there. That with a 160 tire should work with your GS swingarm. Remember that this setup may not handle as well as the stock setup. Form vs Function. Also, though Kawasaki did put an 18" front on the 1978 Z1R, they switched to a 19" for the 1979 and 1980 Z1R's.

Also, lowering the front end without lowering the back will reduce the rake angle. This will make the bike steer quicker, but will theoretically make it less stable. The vintage triple trees have a specific rake and trail combination that worked with the original bike setup. The modern bike front ends have a completely different rake and trail combination, which allows for that nose forward look.

that ltd looks perfect just the way it is,other than needing a steel rear fender! :laugh:

i'm not knocking that cool looking bike you posted a pic of...but i can promise you it creates more problems than it solves and would be bag full of bobcats to get down hard on in real world canyon fight...there is a reason the bikes that they ran around the AMA in those days were set up the way they were...if a smaller front tire would have helped them slide these tanks...they would have had one for sure...

Honda had one...and they lost most of the time unless they were on 200,000 dollar bikes and even then it was an old boy in a machine shop in cali that kept freddy in 1st and not the funky factory stuff