The Mosquito! (KZ250)

Re: The Mosquito!

These are neat little bikes. I found one in a barn a ran it for a summer as a dirt bike (lol) when I was 14 after I blew up my 2 stroke. The little KZ was bullet proof.

A lot of parts from early KLR250s will interchange. I ended up building a hybrid engine with the KLR bottom end (no electric start) and the KZ top end.
 
Re: The Mosquito!

We got the replacement cylinder all cleaned up and started putting the engine back together.
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Re: The Mosquito!

The hardest part was getting the cam timing right. It took us a couple of tries, but we eventually got it.
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Re: The Mosquito!

Not knowing exactly what the carb came from, I had to order a manifold to fit the carb. The mounting holes weren't quite the right spacing, but my Dad took care of that for me.
Mounts up real nice now. I still have a little cleaning and detail work to do on the lower half of the engine.
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Re: The Mosquito!

Unfortunately, I don't think the tank will work. Even with minor mods to the frame and tank, I can't get the back to fit. I can get the front end down and make it look nice, but because if the backbone on the bike, the rear is going to leave a HUGE gap. It will show the tunnel no matter what I do, making seat fitment an issue. Bummer.

I do have a "Plan B", though. Stay tuned.
 
Re: The Mosquito!

So....I picked up another tank to work with. It's not all the way forward on the frame in this pic (yet more customizing to be done), but it looks like it will work.
Any guesses as to what it's from?
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Maybe this shot will give you a hint. It still has that "skinny" look we were going for.
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Re: The Mosquito!

And my Dad fabbed up this acrylic plate for the timing cover. Apparently, there's a special "tool" from Kawasaki that's used to time the engine. I guess there's oil behind this cover when the engine is running.
That "special tool" is a piece of clear plastic, so we made our own.
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Re: The Mosquito!

Nice work so far, Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for the styling.
 
Re: The Mosquito!

The seat finally arrived so Dad and I did a little mock up today. Mostly just brain storming and figuring out what we have to do; what to cut, what to keep, what to bend, etc.
Here are a few pics:

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Re: The Mosquito!

Been working on the frame. My Dad braced and cut the frame in preparation for straight rails to suit the cafe' seat.
We also removed the "nubs" for the tank mounts and welded in these plates. I forgot to take pics, but we trimmed these rubber stoppers and mounted them to the frame in order to make new tank mounts that fit the TS tank.
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Re: The Mosquito!

I found this tip on another post on DTT. Use reinforcement labels to wrap around the spokes (you have to cut a slit in them). This makes it super easy to tape the wheel for paint.
I wasn't worried about overspray on the tires. They're junk and I have new tires on the way.
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Re: The Mosquito!

Tires showed up today, so we dropped off the rims to have them mounted and balanced.
Cleaned up the brakes, greased all the pivot points, packed the wheel bearings and installed new pads.
Rear:
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Front:
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Re: The Mosquito!

We changed the fork oil, polished up the lowers and isntalled fork gaitors.
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Re: The Mosquito!


Here's a shot of the two frames (one titled, one from a parts bike) showing the changes we made.
In the early '80's, nearly every Japanese motorcycle supplier went for the 'cruiser' look. We had to do some chopping and reinforcing to get the frame level for the cafe' racer look we wanted. It's probably stronger now than before.
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Re: The Mosquito!

Here's the coil mount my Dad fabbed up and a shot of the modified tank mounts (to mount the Suzuki TS tank to the KZ frame).
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Re: The Mosquito!

Worked on the placement of the electrics. This bike had been left outside, unprotected, for who know's how long. The P.O. had severely chopped up the wiring, too.
We'll be stripping it down to the bare minimum and going through it front to back.
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Re: The Mosquito!

And she's a roller again!
I went with a taller, narrower tire on the rear. Again, trying to lose some of the "cruiser" look. The guys at www.smalltires.com were a BIG help. Affordable, too...only $108 shipped for two tires and two tubes!
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Re: The Mosquito!

I had some rear-sets for the bike, but the frame is just TOO small. I'm 6'1", and when we mocked up the rear-sets, I just about dislocated my hip trying to fit.
We'll be using the stock foot pegs and controls. Doesn't look too bad and greatly simplifies brake/shifter fitment. It also allows me to slide back against the bum stop.
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Re: The Mosquito!

My girlfriend had been out on her FJ600 and pulled in as we were taking pics. She couldn't help but strike a pose, too.
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