An odd one. 82 kz750r1.

Coopacoopacoopa

Active Member
Well, starting a thread. I obtained my first motorcycle in February of 2012. It was a 77kz650 4. It ran poorly, I decided to turn it into a project and bit off more than I could chew. It was a learning process that's for sure. By dumb luck a few months later I picked up a 83 gpz550 for nearly free. I was trying to cobble 2 bikes together out of 1. It was a disaster. I ended up giving everything away to a friend. I then picked up an 82 kz750r1. It's a one year only production motorcycle and was blend of the kz750 4cyl and the gpz750. Wikipedia tells me it was the fastest 750cc production bike of 1982, which I guess is sort of cool. It ran in January 2013. Just now picking up where it was abandoned. Looking to do something right this time around. This is about the condition I got it in. Leaking fork seals, lack of seat, gummy carbs, leaky front tire, butchered wiring, and well. Ugly. I've always liked the cafe racer look, with flat seat, and no rear cowl. So does that make it a brat-cafe? After going to the HandBuilt show and MotoGp in Austin last year, I got a healthy dose of motorcycle. Seeing the "musket" bike Maxwell Hazan provoked something inside me. I've also been a huge fan of the auto fabrica bikes from the Uk, and everything they produce inspires me as well. A blend of design, simplicity, and ride-ability is what my long term goal is. Changes are taking place.

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Re: An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

In my eyes redemption comes in the form of an early 80's superbike replica. Feel free to take some liberties with design but that "sit up and beg" design is the key to a well executed bike. Oddly, that route it much more unique in reality than the brat look, which is very played out at this point.
 
Re: An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

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This is kind of where I'm picking up from. A while back I removed about 85 percent of the harness (previously hacked..bad news), made some cuts to the rear end, and cleaned out the carbs and made it run off a simplified harness. It needs serious changes in the jets and nearly every gasket in the carbs refreshed.
 
Re: An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

slikwilli420 said:
In my eyes redemption comes in the form of an early 80's superbike replica. Feel free to take some liberties with design but that "sit up and beg" design is the key to a well executed bike. Oddly, that route it much more unique in reality than the brat look, which is very played out at this point.

I know what you mean. The main problem with that is, I've don't appreciate the early superbikes near as much as I should. The gpz's are cool bikes, but it just doesn't work aesthetically for me.
 
Re: An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

Please tell me you don't plan on leaving the forks sitting like that...
 
Re: An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

1fasgsxr said:
Please tell me you don't plan on leaving the forks sitting like that...

Certainly not. One of the triple tree clamps was also broken off.. No thanks to the previous owner. I would like to bring the front end down some. Was kicking around the idea of using a 06-07 gsxr 750 front fork and triple tree set up. There's a lot of cost involved to do that and have proper wheels. Not sure if that's something I want to dive into right now. I've also thought about just cutting the springs some and running a spacer when I put new fork oil and seals in.
 
Re: An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

Coopacoopacoopa said:
Certainly not. One of the triple tree clamps was also broken off.. No thanks to the previous owner. I'd would like to bring the front end down some. Was kicking around the idea of using a 06-07 gsxr 750 front fork and triple tree set up. There's a lot of cost involved to do that and have proper wheels. Not sure if that's something I was to dive into right now. I've also thought about just cutting the springs some and running a spacer when I put new fork oil and seals in.

Neither of those mods really accomplishes anything except to upset the handling of a bike. Cutting springs is really a bandaid for improperly tuned suspension. Adding USD forks is again totally unnecessary and costs quite a bite more than a proper period fork swap with some upgraded calipers.

What is the vision for this bike?
 
Re: An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

slikwilli420 said:
Neither of those mods really accomplishes anything except to upset the handling of a bike. Cutting springs is really a bandaid for improperly tuned suspension. Adding USD forks is again totally unnecessary and costs quite a bite more than a proper period fork swap with some upgraded calipers.

What is the vision for this bike?

Well aware that both of those changes is counter productive to handling. One of my friends has an ls650 with shortened springs and I didn't mind riding it at all. Even though I live in Colorado, I'm not going to be aggressively riding in mountains/canyons. I had to hold together a good friends body parts after a motorcycle accident from reckless riding. Not keen on it. Just around town and maybe to work and back sometimes, which is 18 miles one way.
 
Re: An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

Ok so it's yours and do what you want. Neat bike originally. I'd agree the brat flat seat whatever is pretty played out. Way too many instawanna's built them going for imaginary cool points. Some did them really well, most not so much.


Early superbikes are the coolest imho. Since you are just getting into bikes, do some more searches for Eddie Lawson replicas, Wayne Rainey, Wes Cooley, etc. These are timeless and the internet will love you for building them. ;)

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Re: An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

Forks are not staying that low at all. I just had everything on and off a few times and that's where they were.
 
Re: An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

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That's a 1982 Z1000J, standard it was faster than a GPz750R1, it's now got an 1170 Unitrak engine and is a lot faster than a 750.
 
Re: An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

Wikipedia lied to me, no surprise. ::) That gpz looks nice!

Some early super bikes look really neat. That being said, Im not going to turn what I have into something performance based or period correct just because I want dotheton cool points. I'm also not trying to build something that looks like every other cb750 cafe bike on the internet for instagram cool points. Bear with me guys.


And yes, I know. The forks aren't set in the correct position.
 
Re: An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

Better get those forks into the right position ha ha ha....curious to see the finished product, I'm working on a 80 kz550ltd right now. I'm doing a single seater though
 
An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

I have a seat pan and Eddie Lawson cover also a start on foam... I would sell it for $250 seat pan is for an 82 GPZ750

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Cover is NOS


Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON
 
Re: An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

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This is what I think of whenever someone says "early superbike". I understand this was a big stepping stone in the motorcycle world. To each their own, I've just never liked the look.

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This is more what I'm into. Yeah yeah, it's a cafe style cb750. The seat isn't padded enough for long rides, it isn't going to be a track monster, etc etc. In my eyes, it has beautiful lines, and the craftsmanship excellent. If this is "too played out" and "hipster" for dotheton, just tell me know so I'll stop posting and carry on elsewhere.
 
Re: An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

Coopacoopacoopa said:
This is what I think of whenever someone says "early superbike". I understand this was a big stepping stone in the motorcycle world. To each their own, I've just never liked the look.



This is more what I'm into. Yeah yeah, it's a cafe style cb750. The seat isn't padded enough for long rides, it isn't going to be a track monster, etc etc. In my eyes, it has beautiful lines, and the craftsmanship excellent. If this is "too played out" and "hipster" for dotheton, I'll just stop posting and carry on elsewhere.


Don't get too worked up over stuff posted in your thread. Like I said in sentence #1, it's your bike do what you like. We are glad you brought your build here, just don't expect everyone to only post love notes. It's an open forum with lots of different tastes.
 
Re: An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

You only need to decide if you want the bike to look cool or work better than it was born.

Choppers are totally impractical but look cool and a well done one will ride well in a straight line but not necessarily corner well.

Brats, well, they are just dumb and don't check any boxes, so I have no clue why its a thing.

Cafe racers are like a more freestyle version of a superbike, and usually have more of a vintage feel to them. Well done ones are some of the coolest builds out there, but there are a lot of hack jobs. Doing a bike right and making lots of custom pieces to really make it your own isn't cheap so get ready.

When you think superbike, think this:

http://kickstart.bikeexif.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/kawasaki-kz1000.jpg

Not this:

http://www.motorcycleclassics.com/~/media/Images/MCC/Editorial/Articles/Magazine%20Articles/2007/01-01/Kawasaki%20KZ1000R%20Eddie%20Lawson%20Replica/Kawasaki-KZ1000R-03-parked%20jpg.jpg?h=365&la=en&w=550&hash=35E74A2FB48BBE6A642726BAF79CC2A7EF068ACC

The first represents the highest level of craftsmanship and tech in braking, suspension and power of the era. The latter is a marketing ploy that does many things well, but wouldn't hold a candle to the first one.

Form should follow function, and those that know the difference will see a bike that functions better, and it will look better in their eyes. Lots of bling and shitty bolt-ons like pods, balloon tires and the like are not the route to take if you want your work to be appreciated. Notice I said appreciated, that is not about you getting cool points, its about knowing that you built something to a high level. If you build a clown bike, that reflects on you that you aren't a person who listens more than speaks, who doesn't do research on everything, and is willing to settle for less than you are probably capable of.
 
Re: An odd one. 82 kz750r1. Brat cafe.

canyoncarver said:
Ok so it's yours and do what you want. Neat bike originally. I'd agree the brat flat seat whatever is pretty played out. Way too many instawanna's built them going for imaginary cool points. Some did them really well, most not so much.

Whatever, I still like the flat 'brat style' seat I have however never actually built a bike with one. Mothgils did one on his build with a rear hoop that kicked up behind it that I always thought was cool. The one real issue you will have is that if you do a standard hoop thats flat with the frame you very well may end up with clearance issues when your rear wheel hits full travel. I learned that lesson once at the end of a build 8)

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