KCCOHemingway
New Member
Picked this baby up along with a 1983 KZ550 for 700 bucks. Both had titles. The 550 I gave to my dad cause hes been wanting a bobber project, and I kept the 440 all to myself. I've always loved Cafe Racers, but for mine I decided to have no rear cowl or anything like that. Just nakedness. I'm kind of a minimalist ahaha. My deadline for the bike is the end of April, as bike week starts may 9th or something like that here in Myrtle Beach, SC and I would like to get some riding and fine tuning in before that. So anyways, I've done all the cosmetic stuff while I've waited for this carb jet kit to come in that I orderer over 2 weeks ago and still havent recieved, which is annoying but its given me time to kinda get a feel for the bike, or as much as i can without it running ahaha.
Plans: Going with a Khaki, black, and dark brown color set up. Dewire to a bare bones wiring. LED lights everywhere, but keep it looking older. Kind of the mish mash of modern tech with old style. Get it running properly, obviously. And then lose weight.
Stock, right after I wheeled it into the garage. Has 7278 miles on it actual.
After I decided on the color and ordered the jet kit, I dedecaled the tank and the side covers, bondoed the holes and any smaller holes or bumps on the tank, primed, and painted them. I love it. I got the color from my previous toy, a 2001 Nissan Xterra I built.
After that i dug into the wiring some, taking out what I didnt need, labeling everything.
Then ordered some KCCO stickers for the tank sides.
After that I cut the butt off right behind the shocks. And straight piped the bike.
Next I used the stock seat foam to mock up my how i wanted the seat to turn out. Should be picking it up from the upholsterer end of this week. I also made the seat pan out of the stock seat pan. I'm a big fan of saving and reusing parts so yeah ahaha.
Wheeled outside and snapped from pics. I cut the stock fender, but was unsure of how I liked it, as it was not as low as i wanted it to be.
Put the stock headlight back on, but I flipped the mounts so now it sits lower and gave the headlight bucket a fresh paint job. Also stole the front fender off my dads 550 and painted it brown and lowered it. I love it. Exactly what I envisioned. And got my clubmans put on, but i'll definitely be switching to clip ons by the end of the summer.
Cleaned the engine up and flat blacked it. Looks pretty good I think and it should last until I can pull the engine and give it a real paint job this winter.
And then today I painted the wheels and the forks. Love how this thing is turning out. Can't wait to meet my deadline.
So I've got a few questions for you guys.
1. Would leaving it straight piped be a viable option or should I put something on there for the BP?
2. What are some performance numbers you guys know of this bike? I'm not trying to win any street races or anything, but I would like to DOTHETON at least once ahaha. Anything you know of to increase is greatly appreciated. I get conflicting numbers and whatnot on the interwebs.
3. Anything else you would like to add on would be great. Information is the only true wealth in this world.
Plans: Going with a Khaki, black, and dark brown color set up. Dewire to a bare bones wiring. LED lights everywhere, but keep it looking older. Kind of the mish mash of modern tech with old style. Get it running properly, obviously. And then lose weight.
Stock, right after I wheeled it into the garage. Has 7278 miles on it actual.
After I decided on the color and ordered the jet kit, I dedecaled the tank and the side covers, bondoed the holes and any smaller holes or bumps on the tank, primed, and painted them. I love it. I got the color from my previous toy, a 2001 Nissan Xterra I built.
After that i dug into the wiring some, taking out what I didnt need, labeling everything.
Then ordered some KCCO stickers for the tank sides.
After that I cut the butt off right behind the shocks. And straight piped the bike.
Next I used the stock seat foam to mock up my how i wanted the seat to turn out. Should be picking it up from the upholsterer end of this week. I also made the seat pan out of the stock seat pan. I'm a big fan of saving and reusing parts so yeah ahaha.
Wheeled outside and snapped from pics. I cut the stock fender, but was unsure of how I liked it, as it was not as low as i wanted it to be.
Put the stock headlight back on, but I flipped the mounts so now it sits lower and gave the headlight bucket a fresh paint job. Also stole the front fender off my dads 550 and painted it brown and lowered it. I love it. Exactly what I envisioned. And got my clubmans put on, but i'll definitely be switching to clip ons by the end of the summer.
Cleaned the engine up and flat blacked it. Looks pretty good I think and it should last until I can pull the engine and give it a real paint job this winter.
And then today I painted the wheels and the forks. Love how this thing is turning out. Can't wait to meet my deadline.
So I've got a few questions for you guys.
1. Would leaving it straight piped be a viable option or should I put something on there for the BP?
2. What are some performance numbers you guys know of this bike? I'm not trying to win any street races or anything, but I would like to DOTHETON at least once ahaha. Anything you know of to increase is greatly appreciated. I get conflicting numbers and whatnot on the interwebs.
3. Anything else you would like to add on would be great. Information is the only true wealth in this world.