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I've got a KZ440, I'm planning to make it a cafe on a budget. My plan is if I can use junk I've got around the house I will and if I have to buy it I'll get it used, besides the engine rebuild and general maintenance parts (for safety and longevity of the motor)
Sofar total cost: $582.45
Bike - $500
Glow in the dark flake for paint - $50 (kawasaki green of course, little costly but I like it)
Clubman Handlebars 32.45
So far I've only stripped the vinyl off the seat and will be looking at carving a seat out of it and fiberglassing it or setup a bumpstop out of a helmet or two I have sitting around spare.. I'm mostly trying to avoid cutting the frame at any point so far.
Stuff that needs done on the bike:
Petcock rebuild
Fresh Paint
Engine rebuilt, most likely just needs new rings and valve guide seals (38K on the bike without any engine work)
Seat work
Fenders chopped
LED lighting conversion
My end goal is keeping the bike below 1k total, I think its very doable long as I spend frugal where I can and do a lot of the work myself.
More pics man. I saw a 440 on ebay once I dont have any pics of it anymore. But they made a simple seat out of sheet metal and mounted the taillight beneath it. It was a very clean bike and looked simple to replicate. I like the mags you have. What size is the rear? Post some more pics. Ha I found the pic.
For the seat, you could flatten the part out where it meets the tank so it doesn't flow so cruiserly smoothly. Then, recess the bum-stop area back a few inches further into the front of the pillion seating area. Lastly, take the rear lip off the pillion area and cover with vinyl. Should look just like a Dunstall type seat, and be quite cheap and effective.
I decided since I'm currently riding the bike I wont be tearing it down for a bit and everything done to it will take less then a day to complete, 45mpg back and forth to work rocks!
My clubman handlebars got in today! I spent a few hours installing and fine tuning things.
I've also got a new clutch cable on the way, as I'm dumping the clutch every time I let off it lol.. Next check I'll order my seat! 8)
My plan is to cut them off behind the shocks if the seat I'm planning on getting doesn't work too well, though I plan to keep the seat lock and helmet lock as well.
400 and 440's have different frames. the 400 is flat and straight, while the 440 dips down after the tank, then goes back up at about 30 degrees.
FYI - I found a video of that same 400 you posted, and it's the only kawi green color scheme I could tolerate. looking to copy it maybe, if I don't do the h2r scheme..
Yep your right I looked at a couple of 400's last nite on ebay and found the 400 frames perfect for the cafe conversion. I like the looks of the kawi two bangers I saw a sweet 750 b done up street tracker style has to be one of the best looking streettrackers I have ever seen. The new bars look good on there too saki
Found this bike and I'm thinking I'll be cutting my stock seat down to have just have it be more square and a bump stop on it after I cut the frame down. http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=43392.0
I'm also debating on a motor swap on my bike, apparently the ninja and vulcan 500 share some common mounting points with my 440.. I'm thinking since they are cheaper to rebuild then my current engine and produce almost 20 more hp and torque that I might be better off. lol
No real work on the bike yet as I'm at work so just mostly planning at this point, though tomorrow I start the cutting and painting.
Good work, Saki. Always something reassuring when you get it right, isn't there.
Now all you gotta do is reposition that hateful headlamp and get a seat made up. Personally, I reckon the frame is a bit of class - you could make/buy a long, flowing rear fender from fibreglass and have a seat in the dipped part between that and the tank. It'd look pretty good IMO.
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