81 KZ650 CSR Basket Case

twerth

Active Member
I started this project a couple of months ago, so I've got a little catching up to do. I bought the subject bike for $300. The PO had completely disassemble it except for the motor and it was in several boxes and baskets. He had bought new tires and tubes, new Progressive shocks, all new bearings and rebuilt the forks with stiffer springs. I think the new parts alone cost more than the purchase price. The paint on the tank is in good shape, and according to the PO it was running well when he pulled it apart.

The plan is to put it back together and let me son have it as his first street bike. He's logged quite a few miles on ATVs and dirt bikes, but this will be his first shot at asphalt. So, I put him to work cleaning the engine so we can start reassembly. The seat is gone except for the pan, so we'll be doing a café style rebuild.

We put it back together, and it ran great. I could only put about 50 miles on it before the lack of a seat cushion got to be too much. So now I'm in the process of building a café seat. I wanted to use the stock pan so I could retain the hinges and latch. I turned my son loose with the cut-off wheel. He hacked the back of the frame off as well as the seat pan.

We made a form out of foam and started laying fiberglass over top. It's taken longer than I expected, but I've finally got most of the body work done on the seat pan. It was a lot more work than I thought. An easier route would have been to buy tail section off the net and bolt it to a trimmed down pan. It would have been quite a bit more expensive, but it would have gone a lot faster. My garage wouldn't be filled with dust either.

Next step is the seat cushion. I'll be using camping mat over a wood and fiberglass board. The pic below shows my progress so far. I started with a piece of 3/16" underlayment plywood cut to shape. I sawed some grooves in it so it would "curve" to match the shape of the seat pan. Then I bolted it down and put a couple of layers of fiberglass mat over the top. Hopefully, when it's unbolted, it will retain its shape. Wish I'd have taken more "in progress" photos, but I didn't think of it at the time.

That pretty much brings this build up to date. I'll continue to post photos the project progresses. Wish me luck!
 

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I've made a little more progress over the last week or two. Seat pan is in primer and I've replaced the handle bars, headlight and gauges. It's starting to look a little more like a café racer. I still have a lot of soldering and heat shrinking to do over the next several days so I can get it back on the road.

The only major mod left aside from polishing and paint is the pegs. I've got a pair of Hayabusa rear sets for it, but I need to figure out a way to make the mechanical rear brake work with the hydraulic linkage on the new lever. Might be tricky coming up with linkage that provides enough leverage. We'll see.
 

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I was finally able to get some paint on the tins over the weekend. It turned out pretty good, but always room for improvement. I had an old Buco half helmet, so I painted it to match.

I'm hoping to put it back together in the next day or two, and I'll post a few more pics at that point. After a few more miles, I'll tear it completely apart and start polishing aluminum and paint the frame. Still need to figure out some rear sets too. Always something.
 

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looking sweet mate love the colour combo 8) and the olde bone dome too ;) theres always something to do especially when it comes to polishing haha
 
Nice work on the paint. Love KZ's :) should look great on the bike! And killer work on the seat and bump! It took longer, but I think the end product is worth the dust :)
 
Thanks for the compliments. Here are a few shots partially assembled. Still need to detail the badges and then move it out into the sun.
 

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Looks great.

Id leave the stock pegs and run low rise renthals, much more natural and easier to handle in street traffic where not everyone is a racer
 
DohcBikes said:
Looks great.

Id leave the stock pegs and run low rise renthals, much more natural and easier to handle in street traffic where not everyone is a racer

I might consider that. The clubmans are definitely NOT comfortable, and I'm on the fence on the look. The pegs are in the wrong position with the clubman bars, but might not be too bad with something different.
 
Don't know your budget but you can try to find Tarozzi rearsets for that bike in fastfromthepast.com
You can also use low drop clubmans available in speedmotoco.com
Cheers, Charlie
 
A few updated photos. I'll probably ride it like this for a month or two before I tear it back apart. I went ahead and ordered a pair of superbike bend bars for giggles. I may or may not use them, but I want to give them a try and see how they look.
 

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The KZ650 CSR isn't the ideal bike to make a cafe bike from, But you have made your's look very nice. The rake of the frame was different from all the other KZ models and thats why it makes it handle differently. Have you given any thought to adding a second disc to the front ? Im sure the master cylinder will handle a second disc and make braking better. maybe even some rearsets for better foot positioning....
 
I haven't posted an update for a couple of months, but that's because I've actually been riding it. I've pretty much got all the kinks worked out, so a couple of weeks ago I tore it back apart and started the cleaning and polishing process. I got the frame detabbed, smoothed and painted, and I've given the engine a thorough cleaning and a coat of paint. Things are starting to come together, but it's slow going. Everything gets degreased, polished or painted, so it takes a while.

Next up will be installation of the rear suspension and new seals and oil for the forks. I'm on the fence as to whether I'll paint or polish the fork lowers, so I'll listen to suggestions. I'm leaning toward paint since everything else on this bike except the tins is black.

More pics to come as the project progresses.
 

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She'll be a roller soon. Hoping to have it back on the road by next weekend, but that may be a little optimistic.
 

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Fast forward, almost done. Turns out, the stock front brake reservoir is too big and interferes with the forks with the superbike bars. I've got a smaller one off a KLR650 ordered, and it should be here today. Other than that, I think this project is about done. I like the look of the superbike bars better than the clubman bars I had on before, so I think they'll stay. I guess now it's a tracker instead of a café :p
 

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Who cares what it is called, it is a nice looking bike. Good job. The new bars are going to make riding it much more pleasant than clubmans would have been.
 
Maritime said:
The new bars are going to make riding it much more pleasant than clubmans would have been.

Definitely. I didn't have to ride very far with the clubman bars before my back started to ache. I think it looks a lot better too.
 

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