79kz650 generic brat motorcycle thing

Another potential issue ive run into is that i got some tarozzi rear sets on ebay for a steal without thinking about the interference with the kick start, now i know i dont need a kick start, but it feels like such a wast removing the kick start when they are not that common anymore, i think it would be really cool to keep the kicker. Not using the tarozzis also means it wont be so easy to make the rears a disc brake too.

Anybody have opinions on removing the kicker and using the rearsets?

I'm all for electric start but c'mon, kickers are fucking cool. I'd ditch the starter motor before I'd lose a kick lever.

Let's see a pic of how the kicker hits the rearset. In most cases a torch and a vice can fix what ails ya.

Jboogie13 said:

Another potential issue ive run into is that i got some tarozzi rear sets on ebay for a steal without thinking about the interference with the kick start, now i know i dont need a kick start, but it feels like such a wast removing the kick start when they are not that common anymore, i think it would be really cool to keep the kicker. Not using the tarozzis also means it wont be so easy to make the rears a disc brake too.

Anybody have opinions on removing the kicker and using the rearsets?

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bending the kicker might give you enough clearance. Folding foot-pegs on the tarrozis will help but the brake lever is probably in the way too. On my kz1000 it would have required a shitload of bend in the kicker to clear the rear sets, So after seeing some similar examples on the XS forum i came up this solution so the brake pedal can be folded back temporarily to kick the bike. the spring loaded lever keeps the brake lever from accidentally being kicked up.

Wow, that's quite the device you've got there. I think it may be a little out of my fabrication abilities right now (but once i get into my own garage possibly)

Here's the desired position, and obvious kicker interference.


I think i will leave the kicker for now, and revisit it once the bike is ride-able, as i don't have a rear caliper or the other required parts aside from the wheel to do the disc conversion. I do plan on a swinger and fork swap down the road, but that wont happen until after I've found a house and what not.

In other news, I've ordered a set of progressive rear shocks for a good price off of ebay, so my shock dilemma is solved.

For some bike porn, and the reason i WILL be doing a swinger/ front end swap ( i love the 17 inch wheels)

looks like a GPZ750 with EFI in there. sweet

some illusion of progress today, got the left side cover mounted ( i had to make all new tabs)


looks much better with the stock length shocks. God do i ever regret cutting this thing up. Id be riding it right now if i had left the damn thing!

Well i got some small but time consuming work done today, making some more brackets! Also my progressive shocks showed up.

The seat catch is now installed, so the seat has been completed apart from the re covering which will be done later.


the side panel clips


a bit of a simplified relay panel


starting to look as it should!


What i couldnt figure out, as its been quite some time since ive seen the stock harness is:

Where this cluster is supposed to go:


and if this lot is supposed to be inside the headlight bucket:


I do also need to find some bushings for the top shock mount, but its proving a bit difficult to find a bushing with a 14mm (or 9/16) ID and a 5/8 OD. Once ive found a house, a lathe will be one of the first tools to follow the TIG welder

I am also tossing around the idea of switching back to the stock airbox (which i never recieved with the bike, so i would have to buy one).

Votes for keeping the pods? or should i switch to the box?

The wires in your first photo go to the handle bars/headlight/gauges. Yeah all that crap has to go in the air box(meant bucket). It looks like that may have been a factory vetter setup with the extra lights. If it's a stock motor I vote for the air box, they look fine on these bikes., I recently picked up another kz650 and I put the air box back on it. So maybe I'm biased

doc_rot said:

The wires in your first photo go to the handle bars/headlight/gauges. Yeah all that crap has to go in the air box. It looks like that may have been a factory better setup with the extra lights. If it's a stock motor I vote for the air box, they look fine on these bikes., I recently picked up another kz650 and I put the air box back on it. So maybe I'm biased

Click to expand...

Yeah the harness is from a CSR model, but from what i can tell, the basic harness is the same. They've all got the same necessary functions as far as flashers/ headlight/coils/charging. Looks like i ought to start searching for an air box then. Thanks for the help!

Some pretty good progress today! She moved under her own power! I also got the front calipers rebuilt, and bled well enough to at least stop the bike, I will need to bleed them a little better before riding it again. Still have some ( Alot) of electrical connections to figure out, and a carb that keeps overflowing, but that will come soon enough. I have some headlight brackets on their way to get that monster hung.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkn2lYUk4Y4&feature=youtu.be

Not much visual progress, but im pretty happy with how its coming along. It probably wont get to paint until after ive found a house, but it should be road worthy pretty soon.

I must ask for some help from anybody still reading this:

I recieved a left hand switch assembly, but there are 3 wires that have become detached from what i believe are the hazard light connections. Could somebody maybe take a picture of their switches, or tell me where they are supposed to be connected?


Also, it is missing some hardware for the turn signal selector, is there some sort of bushing that is supposed to go between the screw and the lever here?


Obviously it all needs to be cleaned, but id like to figure out what i am missing. any help is appreciated!

those wires are for the turn signal switch. the hazard button uses them too. There is supposed to be a washer and a 3x5 pan head screw.

Awesome, just the info i needed. Thanks!

Its been a while since ive updated this thread. I ran into some issues obtaining paperwork for the bike, so i put it in the corner and bought a 98 shadow to ride for the summer. I was also living with my parents at the time while looking for my first house. Ive since found said house and gotten settle in, while also finding a potential way to get paperwork for the bike. So now id like to get it to pass for a rideable bike and go from there if i can in fact get paperwork for it.

I have a left handlebar switch on its way to hopefully complete the bike electrically. The new work area is less extravagant than my fathers garage, but the 10x10 shed should work alright for my purposes.



Once paperwork is obtained i aim to work on tidying everything up, painting the bodywork and riding it until i pull it back in for the swingarm and fork swap to get some more modern wheels/better rubber on there!