Nice project, I am a fan of the KZ's myself. longer shocks can alleviate your clearance problem, and make the bike steer a bit quicker as well. IMHO, when the fender shape is not considered into the hoop design it can look like a bit of an afterthought. What fender are you using BTW? fits the bike nice. heres my z750twin project that I wrapped the hoop up and around the fender, with 1.5" over shocks.