kz400 later tank on early bike

looked around a bit and couldnt find what i was looking for. I have an earlier round style kz400 tank "bike was a late family members and I believe it is a 76. This is going to be a cafe project since it needs fully stripped down anyhow (has been sitting since 1985 or a year or two earlier). the original tank crumbled as it was stored wet sadly. I'm not a big fan of the earlier tank design for a cafe, but the leter one with the raised center isnt bad.

Are the tanks a direct swap?
if not what parts or mods are needed to swap em?
if not swapable due to structural changes what tanks are a knpwn to be good swaps. I'm looking for design inspiration anyhow. 

simplest thing would be to get a 400 fuel tank with the same method of attachment. yours probably has a hook w tank band.
AFAIK, kz400 tanks have either a hook w band, tab w damper, or are bolted to the frame. not interchangeable without modification.
try ebbay to see what's available. if welding the frame is an option, then any 400 or 440 tank might work.
avoid welding the tank if the welder doesn't know what he's doing as an explosion is possible.

I don't have any of the early 400s, but the '81 KZ550/GPz550 tank fits directly on to a '78-'79 KZ400.

Something to consider: if you're stumped by a tank swap, you might not be ready for a "cafe build".

Also note that there are no aftermarket rearset kits for the KZ400s, so you will need to fabricate brackets from scratch and weld them into place.

The tanks are very similar so should not be a problem. If you check these eBay listings you can see the mounting points and general shape of both. 
KAWASAKI KZ400 FUEL TANK ORIGINAL PAINT 79-80 CAFE RACER GAS TANK | eBay
*CLEAN RUST-FREE* 1976 Kawasaki KZ400 Gas Tank - Blue (Fits 1974 - 1977) | eBay

ThatGPzGuy wrote:

The tanks are very similar so should not be a problem. If you check these eBay listings you can see the mounting points and general shape of both. 
KAWASAKI KZ400 FUEL TANK ORIGINAL PAINT 79-80 CAFE RACER GAS TANK | eBay
*CLEAN RUST-FREE* 1976 Kawasaki KZ400 Gas Tank - Blue (Fits 1974 - 1977) | eBay

What?? You just posted two fleabay links! Do you realize how long it has been since that was possible on KZR?

Hooray for the update!

Now back to the fuel tank discussion........

Nerdy wrote:

I don't have any of the early 400s, but the '81 KZ550/GPz550 tank fits directly on to a '78-'79 KZ400.

Something to consider: if you're stumped by a tank swap, you might not be ready for a "cafe build".

 

I used to build custom bikes fr a livig back in the biker buildoff OCC show era (sadly there's little demand anymore) so no worries on fab. I was just hoping group institutional knowledge would show that the tanks were direct swapable, or that there was a trick to using one tank on the other bike. I just liked the later tank for the build over the early ones.

looking at images of the frames from early and late bikes and under tank attachment points of both eras...they are the same up front but different in the rear,  and it'd be easier to make a new rear fastening that to make the factory gear work. I may just use my early tank base pan and weld on the shell from an aftermarket tank. Stock attachment and petcock, with custom appearance. 

Would love to see pics of your past work 

TexasKZ wrote:

What?? You just posted two fleabay links! Do you realize how long it has been since that was possible on KZR?

Hooray for the update!

Now back to the fuel tank discussion........

Well, I didn't use the eBay function from the menu. I tried but it didn't work . I just copied and pasted the links. 

Wookie58 wrote:

Would love to see pics of your past work 

cant fint em in my old photobucket. so they're lost on a drive somwhere in my house. I was working for American Performance Cycle out by the Speedway in las vegas. Most of our stuff was  company builds (our designs in 3 models our frames full custom paint and aftermarket controlls but made to a basic template) sold via the Arlen Ness dealership that was out here (now it's a Ride Now iirc). There we're probably 1 actual custom to every 8that we pumped out to Arlen Ness

When the economy tanked they packed up the whole business (cnc machines, paint booths, fab room, and builders room,stock areas, offices, etc) in 72 hours non stop. When I applied for a job at arlen ness afterwards they said my former employer still owed them 3 bikes. I wasnt suprised.. I left 3 months before they tanked and paycheks were becoming 2-3 weeks late, and then it was a partial check from the previous period when there already late giving you the current check. 

Found a link of a couple of the types of bikes we made. That highroller and hustler were indicative of the "company builds"

www.bikernet.com/pages/American_Performa...es__2006_Models.aspx

Scholl wrote:

I used to build custom bikes fr a livig back in the biker buildoff OCC show era (sadly there's little demand anymore) so no worries on fab. I was just hoping group institutional knowledge would show that the tanks were direct swapable, or that there was a trick to using one tank on the other bike. I just liked the later tank for the build over the early ones.

looking at images of the frames from early and late bikes and under tank attachment points of both eras...they are the same up front but different in the rear,  and it'd be easier to make a new rear fastening that to make the factory gear work. I may just use my early tank base pan and weld on the shell from an aftermarket tank. Stock attachment and petcock, with custom appearance. 

Excellent - thank you for the info. I didn't want yet another nice old bike to be chopped up and abandoned when the "builder" got in over his head.

I like the later tanks too, but there is an issue with using them: the flat round gas caps were used only on the '78 and '79 KZ400s and on (I think) a couple years of the CSR650, so they're tough to find. Most of the tanks that are for sale do not have the cap.

The breadbox-shaped tanks from e.g. the '80 or '81 KZ550 will drop right in.