Deciding what to do to the bike?

Hi folks,

I was just wondering how you decide which path you want to follow when you take on a new project? I've just got my first road bike (kz440ltd) and being my first project, I have a load of ideas but can't decide on which ideas to pick. Ideally I'd have several bikes so I could use all the ideas, but that's not possible.

Do you decide for definite what you want and stick to the plan regardless of if the parts don't quite work?
Do you buy 1 part at a time to see how if it progresses as you want?
With careful planning could I perhaps design the bike as 2 bikes in 1 - be able to swap certain parts to alter the look if I want a change every now and again?

Thanks,
Kyle.

If you are not sure which direction to go with a bike, the best thing is to just start fixing it up and make it rideable, and keep it stock where possible. If the tank is rusted through or the bars are bent, then it may benefit you to try different ones since you are going to replace them anyway. Until you've owned and ridden a bike for awhile you might not immediately appreciate some of the good qualities you want to keep.

Sticking with stock parts makes for much faster work since decision making takes up the most time on a custom project. Keeping to stock parts eliminates decision time and work-arounds for parts that don't fit right.

The advice loudhvx gave is excellent!

Keep in mind that when you make one change to the bike it very easily can snowball into a situation that requires numerous changes. For example - if you install handlebars that are different than the stock ones you may quickly learn the the master cylinder no longer fits without hitting the gauges or that it now sits at a bad angle. You may also find that the original clutch cable is now too long or short and that the brake fluid line from the master cylinder to the front brakes is too long or short. Also, you may find that the throttle cables and control wires are now too long or short. So in this scenario simply changing the handlebars may require numerous, expensive changes for the bike to operate properly. The same is true for other modifications you may make.

If you start by getting the bike running properly in stock trim you may find things you really like and things you do not like. You will then be better able to decide what you wish to change. At that point I believe you should very carefully consider each change and ensure you understand all the issues that may result from that change before you buy any parts so you can buy all the parts you need to accomplish the change at the same time.

One other point - if you are not absolutely positive about the ramifications of any change ASK on this site BEFORE making the change. Making modifications to alter the appearance of the bike without first considering how those modifications will affect the bike's performance is a big mistake. I have seen many instances where folks ruin a bike and then ask questions when they easily could have avoided the problems by asking questions first. Ed

Also dont bite off more than you can chew both finacially or mechanically. Thats the quickest route to despondency. Theres un finished projects in sheds everywhere due one of the above.

If it were me, I would spend some time with the bike- give it a full detail job- "get to know it" so to speak. This will give you thoughts like- "I need to fix that, this needs replaced, those tires don't look so good" etc. Make a list of parts needed to make it roadworthy and safe first. You can always order parts, but wasted money is a drag on the wallet and the mind. Look around at other bikes like yours and get ideas there. After seeing a huge percentage of kz440's all chopped up, turned into scramblers brats etc- I decided to keep mine in stock form just to be different. Bobber kz's are a dime a dozen and modding these bikes into something far from stock is a nasty fad that I think a lot of people will end up regretting in the end.

davido wrote:

Haha! I'm afraid to say this is probably my train of thought!

I love this forum! You lot are so helpful!!

I'll give some ideas of what I'm aiming to achieve - which I am basing around making the bike lighter.

GSXR front end with ?17inch? spoke wheel
KZ400 rear spoke wheel with 17inch rim.
GT550 or KZ750 shaped fuel tank (won't be a stock tank though)
Remove subframe and make something flatter (like kz400). It wouldn't be a 'normal' subframe however.
Can't decide on clip ons or mx style bars.
Single gauge - just a speedo.
Custom rear brake & indicator lights.
Custom exhaust headers but unsure of silencer/muffler. I have 3 ideas there.

What's your level of mechanical ability?
How long have you been riding?

A lot of the things you want to do fall into the high-effort/low-reward category. I mean that by saying they will either keep the bike off the road for an extended period of time while you figure out how to make them happen, OR they will make the bike more uncomfortable to ride or ride worse than stock.

Don't worry about how it looks, on a motorcycle, form generally follows function.

My recommendations would be as follows:
-Perform a complete service on the bike and ride the crap out of it.
-Figure out what riding aspect you want to improve... braking, suspension, etc

Things I always consider doing that will make a tired bike perform far better:
-The best tires you can afford
-New wheel bearings
-New stem bearings
-Braided brake lines
-Refresh calipers and master cylinder
-Fork brace
-Performance fork springs with custom pre-load
-Fresh fork oil
-Hagon or Progressive rear shocks
-Dyna coils and ignition

The above list should all be relatively easy, low effort high payoff jobs that will take about a day each to complete but completely transform the bike.

My mechanical ability might be described as brave but naive? Lol. I used to ride motocross and have done maintenance on those bikes.
I'm not afraid to get stuck in.
I've never ridden a road bike....or even have my road bike license yet!
The bike isn't road legal at the minute any way. It's an American import that has probably been stood for a long time, so a few of the rubber items have deteriorated and/or cracked. Plus the front brake master cylinder is seized - well, the front brake lever is solid.

Regarding the time it takes to do things - I'm not so bothered about it taking time to complete. As a first project I realize it wouldn't be done in a month. It's more about the learning and pride in making it different to others out there.
I appreciate what you say about some things making the bike ride worse. Could you say though that if you don't know what it's like stock, then as a modified version, I wouldn't be any the wiser about if it was good or bad?

.kyle wrote: My mechanical ability might be described as brave but naive? Lol. I used to ride motocross and have done maintenance on those bikes.
I'm not afraid to get stuck in.
I've never ridden a road bike....or even have my road bike license yet!
The bike isn't road legal at the minute any way. It's an American import that has probably been stood for a long time, so a few of the rubber items have deteriorated and/or cracked. Plus the front brake master cylinder is seized - well, the front brake lever is solid.

Regarding the time it takes to do things - I'm not so bothered about it taking time to complete. As a first project I realize it wouldn't be done in a month. It's more about the learning and pride in making it different to others out there.
I appreciate what you say about some things making the bike ride worse. Could you say though that if you don't know what it's like stock, then as a modified version, I wouldn't be any the wiser about if it was good or bad?

Think about it this way; when you make a bike perform worse than stock, you are making it less safe. Motorcycling is already a risk taking activity, don't make it any more dangerous than it already is.

Don't think about changing any major parts of the bike until it is a reliable and safe rider, then once you have a clean starting point is when you can start improving things.

.kyle wrote: ........................... Could you say though that if you don't know what it's like stock, then as a modified version, I wouldn't be any the wiser about if it was good or bad?

You may be the considerably wiser if you survive the crash and end up in the hospital. Riding dirt bikes is fine and fun, but riding a street bike is a whole different matter. On dirt bikes you're not in traffic with cars and your speeds usually are considerably less than they may be on a street bike. You can get hurt on either type, but on a dirt bike you are very unlikely to come in contact with a car or truck.

No offense intended, I'm just stating my honest opinion. Most of the changes you describe are not the type of thing anyone new to the sport should attempt without professional help and plenty of money. That is to say not if the person really expects to ride the bike. Some of the modifications stated will change the geometry of the bike, and that may lead to serious unintended consequences. On the other hand, the changes are so extensive that it is highly unlikely that you will actually complete them, so if you are not actually serious about riding the bike.................. Ed

Brings to mind one of our members. He did a major overhaul and big bore kit then upgraded the brakes along with modern front/ rear end. Beautiful bike. He went for a ride with his buddies before he could address the front end clearance issue. The bike rode and handled fine until one of them braked without warning causing him to high side the bike to avoid hitting him. His bike turned too quickly and he went down. He was badly injured and said he will fix the bike but is done with riding for good. He wasn't a newbie and everything was top notch but he missed one thing.
That's all it takes.
Steve