83 KZ750 LTD Cafe Project

Did the same thing on my 550, but used superbike bars from z1enterprises. The MC fit on the 550, but I ended up breaking it. (don't ask....) I bought a cheap knock off one on ebay (take a look at the recent posts about a 550 mc, you'll find the link to the ebay seller there). I can definitely say I got what I paid for... It works, but compared to my 93 shadow, it does a poor job.

You'll definitely like the new bars, but I ran into issues with all my cables being too long too. With some creative routing they work, but when I replace them I'll have to get something shorter.


Just wondering, with all this comestic work you are doing, you are sure the bike runs and those wonderful cv34 carbs are in good shape (the diaphragms?). When I had my 750, it ran like ass until I got those things sparkling clean, then it was smooth as butter, but alot of cleaning. I mean epic amount

I will look into the MC you have, thanks for the tip. Anyone know if you can swap them out with any other bike MC's? Without running all new lines? There is a motorcycle shop in town that has a junkyard and TONS of used parts, so I was thinking of checking them out, just want sure if the MC bolt (the one that connects the brake line, I don't know if it has a specific name) is typical or specific to each model/manufacturer

I rode the bike all last summer before getting into my build, once she's warm I haven't had any problems, went on some short and some mid range rides. I do have a little trouble starting it right off the bat after a few days, but I think I need to adjust the idle.

Sounds good then. Don't get the same one I did, it was a 12.7 mm piston, for single caliper setup. Not sure what the 750 has, but I'm guessing a 14 mm. Maybe you can find one off a standard or gpz model, because they had bars similar to yours. Heck, a 650 (if it had dual caliper) would probably work too. The 750 and 650 have a lot of interchangeable parts. I was told it's basically the same motor, just hair bigger bore.

So after all that this is where I am at, did some more bondo, mounted a new headlight bracket, made a license plate holder, and primed the tank and seat so I can find all my imperfections. It still needs some bondo work but it's closer





Last night I moved her to my brothers garage, and mounted my new brake light, turned out pretty decent I think

I think it looks great! I don't think my plan is gonna work with making a square cowl to replace my passenger section of the seat and still keep the seat pan. It will end up being so wide where my butt is that it will look dumb. I'd have to basically do what you did, and I really don't want to cut my frame. I never realized how much the frame angles up on the LTDs.

yeah, it has some crazy bend in it, i used steel square tube to build a seat mount to lift it off the bend, and like i said earlier i cut a good 5 or 6 inches off the tail, so i can see why you'd have a huge cowl to try and cover it. What if you tried cutting down the seat pan and making a seat that sits on top of the frame?

like this



with a lot more bend in it?

maybe something like this?

yeah, that might work. Maybe I could actually let the frame alone, but allow the cowl to overhang a bit. So, in your drawing the frame woudn't be in like with the gray, but actually recessed up into the blue area. The reason why I'm looking at this is because the seat pan I have is in rough shape, along with the seat. Instead of spending the money to recover the seat and have the pan crap out 2 years from now, I just waited for a nice one on ebay to pop up. In reality, it wouldn't be much more work to make a whole new pan out of fiberglass...really the seat portion only makes up a sliver of the work, since the seat will cover the majority of it.

BTW, what tool did you use to shave the pink foam so nicely? I was thinking that anything I have would end up gouging or tearing it more than shaving/grating it.

Welcome ColoPirate, I like the direction you are going with your LTD.
Similar to this



If you have not already checked the stearing lock to lock, this is what you are going to find




Remedy is to block the stops, dent tank for clearance or change tripple tree to non LTD standard with more fork offset. I will be changing the tree.

Also the LTD brake MC works if using clubman bars (tight but workable).

Good luck,
Jim

apbling - I used this mostly

www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardware-Hand-To...gId=-1&storeId=10051

it worked good to get it to the shape i wanted, then i used a 80grit sandpaper for a smooth finish. one of my pictures shows me using the tool i think. If i make another, which might be next winter, i will use florist foam, it seems to carve easier, the pink foam took a little more work. I also used high strength spray glue for gluing the layers together, which melted the foam a bit, so if you try it get some of the lower strength stuff.

Rainman - very similar! I think with the drag bars my controls are hitting the tank before my triple tree, but when i switch to clip-ons (when i feel like spending another $150) i will have to look for that. what did you use to block it? im having trouble figuring out the picture.

Hey Rainman, did you make that cowl or get it from a different bike? Also, is your frame an LTD or standard?

ColoPirate, No blocking yet, I will be swapping the tree for one from a standard (78 KZ650C2) with more forward fork offset.

apbling, the tail is a chopped up tailpiece from a 79 KZ750B4 twin. Yes it started life as a LTD (80 KZ750H1), with slight frame tail chop.