kz750e Resto-Mod

That's an oversized tank right? I've thought of having my tank modified to get a couple extra gallons or a fuel cell in my top box. 100-130 miles just isn't far enough for me.
Steve

It may be an oversized tank compared to the kz1000a3-4 mkII tank. I'm still not sure.
The kz1000e shaft drive has a 18L or 4.75 gallon fuel capacity, but I still have no idea what the mkII tank size is. I just read somewhere that the shaftdrive tank has more capacity (when comparing pictures of the bottoms of both tanks, it does look like it has more space.) and that is is shorter than the mkII tank. This is all to be verified by someone with more knowledge.

The whole electrical system on the kz750 was in kinda poor shape when I got it. The brake light blew a fuse every other time it was used and every electrical component near the battery box was corroded.
I knew I wanted to use the zr550 gauges and possibly the switch gear, so I eventually came to realize it might be easier to make the entire zr550 wiring harness fit the bike than trying to adapt the kz750 wiring to the zr550 components.

First I test fit the one-piece plastic battery box and electrical panel in the kz750 frame and it almost fit. I had to do some creative trimming of the plastic around the shock mounts and where it met the kz750 rear fender but it fit in really well. The battery box portion wasn’t braced at all, so I cut up the rusted stock battery box and used them as a cradle to support the weight of the battery

Once that was done I installed the zr550 ECU, fusebox, headlight bucket and other bits and plugged in the wiring harness to see if it was going to work.
It fit perfectly, except the front of the harness was about 6 inches to short. Fudge!
So I had a spare zr550 wiring harness that was in almost unusable condition, so I decided to cut the “good” harness in half and splice it together with a section from the “bad” one. Also the zr550 kick stand switch needed to be deleted and the oil pressure wiring needed to be moved from the “bottom” of the harness to the “top” (550 motors have the oil switch in the oil pan and the 750’s is next to the ignition pickup.)







I cut a 8” section of out of the middle of the bad harness, and then labeled the wires as to their function. I could have used generic wire, but I wanted visual continuity so there would be little risk of me splicing the wrong wires together. I then proceeded to solder and heat shrink each connection together. I rerouted the oil pressure lines through the harness, bypassed the kickstand switch and then wrapped it all back up.
I also discovered I had to change the connector on the rear brake light to match the one on the zr550 harness and that I had to use the extra long Positive battery lead from a 2001 zr-7 because the zr550 one was to short to go around my ghetto battery box support.











Once I had the entire wiring harness attached to the components on the bike, I hooked up a battery and crossed my fingers……
And it worked! The turn signals flashed, the horn honked, the brake and running lights worked, the gauge lights and idiot lights worked. The starter relay clicked when I hit the button (engine was not in the bike so no starter to test.) the only thing I couldn’t verify was the head light, as I can’t figure out how to get it to turn on without the engine running. Normally the head light remains off until the engine starts and then the headlight comes on. There is probably a way to trick the headlight into coming on, but I’m afraid of damaging something if I do it wrong.

Awesome project! I have a lot of that same stuff laying around (750E carcass, and ZR parts bike and extra running gear), and have thought of doing something similar. Maybe someday, after the other 3 or 4 projects, I'll get to it. I'm currently sorting a Z750fx that I bought last fall. If you're interested in an 18" front wheel, you may consider the one from a later ZG1000, that wheel is a 5 spoke that isn't too far off the design of the ZR rear, and I think the rotors will bolt up. I bought one, but never tried it. They seem to be reasonable on Ebay.

What's the plan for paint?

mjg15- I never noticed how the zg1000 wheels are almost identical to the Zephyr zr1100. For some reason the 17" front never bothered me, but what I really wanted was a Kawasaki KR-1 18x4.00 rear wheel. I needed the 18" wheel to make my final 6-speed gearing come out right, but I wanted a wider rim for wider tire choices. (And it almost matches the front zr550 wheel. ) But the KR-1 wheels cost a fortune to have shipped over from the UK, and I already had two complete sets of zr550 wheels in the basement. Next project maybe???
I really love the stock Luminous Navy Blue and pinstripes from the mkII. I have zero bodywork painting skills nor the proper tools to even try my own paint. So I will have to save up to have someone else paint the bodywork for me. And until I can confirm or disprove it, the mkII tank pinstripe kits wont fit a shaft drive tank, as they are supposed to be different sizes. So its going to be a pain.

Not my bike, but someones from here. (sorry I couldn't find out who)
It has the KR-1 rear wheel with a zr550 swingarm and front wheel. And I even like the paint job.

I have a pic of that same MKII on my computer somewhere too. I think it may be a bike in Germany. I may have access to a KR1 wheel if you are still looking. I had a complete KR1 rolling chassis that I sold to a friend a year or so ago. I don't think he did anything with it yet. Although I'm not sure if he'd split it up, the 18" rear wheel may not interest him.

Luminous Blue seems to be hard to figure out. I started a thread a while ago to find out what paint works, but really didn't get a definitive answer. I need to repaint my 750fx soon, and I want to go back to original with it.

Wow! As long as the price is right, I would love to get a hold a kr-1 rear wheel and hub. I could make a extra set of wheels for the kz750 in gold. I really like the gold wheels on the vintage KZ's .

I found a the same 49- n.a 15 -2159 A8 Luminous Navy Blue Met. paint code on a couple of different websites, but from what I understand that having the paint code isn't all that is needed to get the color right. So If you sort out the color Navy Blue color, please please post it.

Daftrusty,

This is a great thread/build. Super work man! Wish I had a motorcycle boneyard to go wander through!
I dunno if this will help but the company I've been using for paints for KZombie have a quite a few selections of darker blues here:
[ Look at the "Lapis Blue" tones mid page ]

I was able to find a blue which is close to what the stock blue for my '79 KZ650-C3 came with and so far I've been very pleased with the results of so called "rattle can paint"...
Maybe it will help you guys find something.

Super Build!
I love it!
Will keep an eye out for future posts!
Take care.
Ed

Thanks for the positive comments!
I am essentially building this bike in a vacuum of sorts. Literally none of my friends or family are interested in motorcycles in the slightest, so every modification I have made was devised by me and to purely to please myself. It's nice to know that at least a couple of people don't think that it is complete crap.

The motorcycle salvage yard is one of my favorite places to go to just wander around and look for "treasures". Unfortunately the internet is slowly killing the local scrap yards as everybody can find used parts delivered to their door while sitting on the couch in their PJ's. The one near me is going to only open on weekends as they cant afford to be open all week anymore. I'm terrified that they go out of business altogether, as there is hundreds of things I may want to get from there for "future projects".

wrenchmonkey- Thanks for the link. I'm dreading the color choosing/matching decisions. I change my mind almost monthly on what color I want and what shade it should be.

My connecting rod bearings continue to be updated "soon to be in stock" from Partzilla. They have done this two times so far, so I am no closer to assembling my engine cases.
My newest issue is my engine machinist just upgraded all his machines to brand new CNC types and can no longer do the cylinder bores. He would have to buy a $3000 honing bar just to do my 810 cylinder bores and I am the only person he does motorcycle engine work for so he can't condone spending the $$. (He specializes in automotive racing engines.)
So, I need to find someone in the Minneapolis area who specializes in motorcycle engine machining. Until that happens and my bearings arrive, I am in a holding pattern.

For sale in Japan, about $30k. Nice paint!

yahoo.aleado.com/lot?auctionID=x402853466

The paint and quite a few things about that bike is absolutely perfect.
I need to copy the upsweep of that Kerker exactly. The one I have is designed to follow the rear passenger foot peg support and because I won't have that, it looks strange. Not to mention I have nothing to bolt the exhaust to for support.
Man I love those gold wheels with the dark blue paint.