Thinking about a cafe racer project, need some advice....

you scored an awesome bike.
while some of our members get a lil fiesty about modding kz's they mean well.and we do need people to temper both sides of the argument.
i have modded my 1980 kawasaki Z1R with a nod to putting it back together in stock form(someday)and move all of the mods over to one of my not so complete 78 z1r's .every mod i have made is reversible.i have kept every stock part i removed and carefully stored. r1 front end(my own custom drop triple clamp) and wheels,brakes etc.custom built(by me) chromoly swingarm.
i love my bike and from the conversations and reactions i get from people alot of other folks do to. i recently acquired a 1980 kz1000 ltd that has sat out and has a roached paint job and amazing looking( inside)tank.it is mostly complete and will make the perfect base for the stock black and silver LTD of my dreams since 1983 when i was 13 drooling over one my dad owned.now while my long term dream is for this bike to be restored,some of the original parts are so bad they have to be replaced. finding them first and paying for them second is going to take time and money. prolly alot of each.but i have a zx12 front end and a zx14 rear wheel so a zx14 front wheel and rotors,some custom machined triples, custom swingarm and i can have the old bike on the road pretty quickly and affordably as a kz custom mod.that way i can take my time and source the right stock parts to put it back stock.but in the meantime i am going to be enjoying a cool custom kz.that is going to look awesome next to my modded z1r! then once all the parts are ready i wll restore the ltd and move the custom/modded parts over to one of my kz900's and have a another cool bike in the stable. that's my long term plan,chess not checkers lol!


leon

gazzz wrote:

The kit includes:

• Fiberglass tail (primed)
• Seat (fiberglass base, with locking hooks included, ready to use)
• Tail light (hi-power LED lights, ECE-approved)
• License plate holder (powder coated in black color with license plate lights)
• Set of stainless steel hardware for kit mounting.

I designed kit for Kawasaki Zephyr 750 of all years of manufacturing. This kit is “bolt-on” so you have no need to cut the frame or do any modification of your Zephyr to install it. The seat is completely compatible with original seat locking system.

That's a very nice looking kit. Very clean and simple.

Another no cut seat option is seats from texavina.com/
I bought one of their seats, which uses a stock seat pan and accepts all the stock seat hardware. (Note -rear fender on my bike had been modified before I bought it)

If you guys are done arguing, I mean discussing... :laugh: JK, that's why we're here.


I know the OP said he has decided to keep the bike stock, which is great.

I've been working on changing a KZ440 LTD into a cafe bike. It was $200 and came with a clear title. No one is going to miss a 440 LTD.

I have clip-ons, VM30s, exhaust, etc. left over from a previous bike, and the idea of a belt-drive cafe Frankenbike amuses me. A spare tank from a KZ550 will fit right on there (and not interfere with the steering) so the horrible and dented teardrop tank can go away. I also picked up a standard KZ440 basket case to use for parts.

The original seat pan is still in place, and I used a coping saw to trim the foam from the stock king-and-queen seat into the bum-stop style. That particular project is stalled at making the custom seat cover, mostly because I don't really know how to sew - lots of trial and error. Adding the frame tabs for the rearsets will actually be easier than sewing, I think.

Anyway, it should be at least slightly faster than stock and with modern tires - and a more reasonable riding position - it should handle better.

Oldjeep wrote: Another no cut seat option is seats from texavina.com/
I bought one of their seats, which uses a stock seat pan and accepts all the stock seat hardware. (Note -rear fender on my bike had been modified before I bought it)

You have a great looking bike that is still functional , ride-able and safe. What ticks me off about the the whole "cafe racer" thing, is when some clueless yahoo picks up a old scooter, then all of a sudden thinks that cutting up the frame and putting a hard tail on it somehow makes the bike "cool". Nope, it makes it a POS, IMO. lol

The members of KzR have some very nice modded bikes, that put my old kaw to shame. The thing / argument against butchering an old kaw into a undependable, non-runing basket case hits a nerve with me. Obviously the OP is not clueless, and had a very nice Buell 1200 in the past.. I guess you can consider it a "cafe racer", whatever that really means. As moveover said, highlight the positives, and make real improvements that count, rather than chopping up a nice old survivor. Some of the bikes posted in this thread are really impressive.. Gazz has it dialed in with his bikes and "kit". I like.