1981 Kawasaki GPz550 Cafe Build

painting those cheapo shocks will get you on the road but a decent pair of shocks will drastically improve the ride-ability of most bikes.

https://www.amazon.com/Antigravity-Batteries-AG-SC-1-Lithium-Motorcycle/dp/B00VM7O6NC/ref=sr_1_15_sspa?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1522951953&sr=1-15-spons&keywords=12v+lithium+motorcycle+battery&psc=1
 
doc_rot said:
https://www.amazon.com/Antigravity-Batteries-AG-SC-1-Lithium

SICK. But on their site it says not for daily use at all.
 

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ah, missed that. just type motorcycle lithium battery into amazon, lots of options.
 
doctorcat said:
id look into a shorai battery. I'm using one on my GPZ and so far so good!

Do/did you need to update or modify your charging system to use the lithium ion batteries?
 
I bought a new regulator/rectifier from Rick's; using with a ballistic 8 cell. no problems.
 
Do/did you need to update or modify your charging system to use the lithium ion batteries?
No the Lithium batteries have an internal charging management system to ensure they work with the standard bike charging system. Otherwise they could not sell batteries!
 
You DO need a well functioning charging system. They need slightly more to charge than a lead acid. Most good condition charging systems put out enough though but if it's on the verge maybe not. Shorai has more about this on their site
 
Widened tail to line up with new seat frame.
 

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Hey Sam_I_Am. That is really nice work you've done with that tank. I was the owner of this bike years ago and started this thread. Obviously I ran at out steam at some point (time really). I am glad to see that the GPZ lives on! There is definitely something special about the sound of that bike, like a turbo spooling up. Good luck with your build. :D
 
c4f3 r4c3r said:
Hey Sam_I_Am. That is really nice work you've done with that tank. I was the owner of this bike years ago and started this thread. Obviously I ran at out steam at some point (time really). I am glad to see that the GPZ lives on! There is definitely something special about the sound of that bike, like a turbo spooling up. Good luck with your build. :D

So cool that you chimed in man. I haven't fired it up since I cut the exhaust. I'll post a video when its up and running again. The guy I got it from, I think he said he knew you. Do you remember his name and/or have his contact information?

I know what you mean though.. baby #2 is coming in June and I'm afraid the funding will be pulled, so I'm hustling.
 
Building a tunnel for all the electrical to travel into the tail
 

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Looking for advice on what electrical units need to stay out in the open air and what can be tucked in the tail. Also if I can delete anything
 
Sam_I_Am said:
Building a tunnel for all the electrical to travel into the tail

now THAT is a clever solution. I'm building a plastic "top tunnel" (basically an upside down tunnel) with ABS plastic that the seat will sit on top of. This is COOL and METAL. I'm a shite welder (I have a friend do most of the important stuff with metal) but I'm pretty handy with heat forming and a dremel (my metal working background was jewelry making in high school, and my workshop will be used for jewelry after I'm done with the bike) so seeing your work is really REALLY cool to me. KEEP GOING! I LOVE THIS BUILD!

My UNI TRACK is almost done but I really like the twin shock GPZ looks (enough that I'm using the tank from one on mine)
 
Sam_I_Am said:
Looking for advice on what electrical units need to stay out in the open air and what can be tucked in the tail. Also if I can delete anything

you need to have the Regulator/Rectifier in the open air or it will heat up and fry the ignition box. The ignition box needs less ventilation. The starter solenoid also should not get wet so you WANT that to be concealed or tucked. There's lots of power through there and sparking/arcing will fry it (and possibly the electronics, so make sure it's on a fuse). Battery too should be sealed from moisture. Lithium ion batteries go up in flames, but to my knowledge the lithium IRON (shorai) don't have quite the same problems.
 
Got home to my buddy surprised me with laying all the wire down the tray. Ready to start simplifying it. And he started bondo on the tank
 

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Just a thought for your next project, but if you create a shallow tray that fills the total width between the top tubes and drops down to be more or less level with the bottom edge of the top tubes, you would have a larger tray to work with. That way it's easier to wire in place and some of the components way back in the tail could be mounted in the electrical tray reducing wiring weight and being invisible.
More space is always nice.

There's always a next time. :)
 
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