Project: "HonkyKong" 1979 KZ750 B Twin (brat-tracker-thingy)

[Bert Jan]

Really depends on your tank. Its the combo that makes or breaks it.. Green with those stiches is a -cant go wrong- i guess, but just my .02
Stock tank fo sho btw, those harley tanks are a waste of metal. (as are harleys

[hallin222]

If anyone stumbles on a source for such a material, please send it my way.  I'm having difficulty finding 'outdoor rated' leather in the finish seen above.

Also, I actually own two H-Ds.  But I think both would likely get some level of approval in this crowd.  Not much chrome to be found on either.

[damarble]

Bike is turning out great. Yay for KZ twins! I can't say I approve of the tires tho. 

[tron97]

Pics of the HD's!

[hallin222]

Pics of the HD's!

Here's my Sportster cafe build thread:  http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/showthread.php?t=594781

It pretty much looks like this now.  It's run a 12.9 at 102mph in the 1/4 before the cafe conversion, with a bad, heavy pilot aboard. 



I'd really like to put a proper tail on it, but since I'm not willing to cut the frame on this bike, my options are limited.  The best option is the Airtech Streamlining XLCS tail seen here:





A low-res, and out-of-date photo of my Dyna is here.  I've changed a few things since the pic was taken years ago, most notably a black 2-1 Thunderheader exhaust, and smoked turn signal lenses, but you get the idea.  I consider the Dyna basically 'done' except that I may remove the mirrors, put on slightly lower, narrower flat track riser bars, and a low profile, smoked tailight, but those are minor details.  I took this motor from 62rwhp to 110rwhp.  Those numbers on the tank are from when I used to ride it to the track for test & tune nights.  My best run was about a 12.3 @ 111mph (also with fat old me in the saddle) before the pipe swap and ignition upgrade. 



Here's an MS Excel plotted graph of my various dyno runs, over a few years of engine modifications.  If you're an H-D guy who wants details of components of each stage, just let me know.  The only one that's NOT my actual bike is the green dotted line, but I put it in there as a comparision to what many H-D owner do as their first step.



I hope this satisfies the request.   

[sinbad85]

nothing but straight up respect from me.....(60 to 110 hp)
thats sick!
i will get a hd one day...... i want to get a buell xb12 and chuck it all in a hardtail frame with buell front end and wheels etc...
 you have 2!!!

i still reckon your kz looks better though........
love the tracker look
looks like it will have great ergonomics too!!!

[hallin222]

.....(60 to 110 hp)
thats sick!

The Sportster has seen similar percentage gains, since it's now equipped with a Buell top end (Thunderstom system, pre-XB era) and larger-than-Thunderstorm cams.  I estimate it has gone from 40-45rwhp to the 80-85rwhp range, based on what others with similar engine builds see, although I've never had that bike on the dyno.  I like that it still says '883' on the tank, but those mis-matched black heads are a dead giveaway that they're not stock.

Eventually, I may get around to some mild porting and maybe head planing to bump the compression up on the KZ to get a few more HP out of it, but I'm in no hurry with this bike.  I just want to get it running again and have it look cool.  Did anyone ever even make bigger cams for these engines?

[damarble]

From what I'm seeing nobody made anything for these lumps, completely neglected. A big bore kit and cam would make my day.

Be sure to document anything you do to squeeze out some more ponies, plenty of 750 guys are wanting more power.

[damarble]

My mistake, Swivel just informed me that Megacycle does a street cam regrind, #475-20.

[tron97]

nothing but straight up respect from me.....(60 to 110 hp)
thats sick!
i will get a hd one day...... i want to get a buell xb12 and chuck it all in a hardtail frame with buell front end and wheels etc...
 you have 2!!!

i still reckon your kz looks better though........
love the tracker look
looks like it will have great ergonomics too!!!

Ive been dreaming of a build with exactly that as well. Buell motor and front end, in a hardtail.

Those are some huge gains. awesome to see

[Cookie]

Kawi looks rad, Hallin! Good on ya.
Hope I'm not too late to toss in my opinion, but it's pretty much the same as the others: Stock tank (the peanut makes it look WAY too tall) and that filth green with diamond stitching is strangely hot.
 As far as where to procure that kind/colour of leather, my wife makes a lot of her own clothes and upholstery, so I end up spending way too much time looking around in fabric stores. They'd be your best bet. Im my corner of the world (Ontario), FabricLand and Len's Mills are the places to go for outdoor fabrics. And if they don't have wht you want, they can probably direct you to someone who does.
 Another optin would be to locate a custom auto upholstery shop and ask there...

[hallin222]

Thanks, Cookie.  That was my plan.  So far, interior upholstery shops are no help, as they have no 'outdoor rated' materials, but I'm giong to hit up the local boat uphostery folks who did fresh_c 's seat and see what they can locate.  I should be able to find something in or around a city as big as Austin.

I was just up in Torono last week for a quick work-related visit.  To bad I didn't get to look around at all.  It was a whirlwind trip.

[hallin222]

Small progress today.  I just had time this morning to make the front seat hold-down tab and slot.  I've tried it out with the tongue temporarily bolted to the seat pan (final assemby will be riveted, post-upholstery), and it seems to work great.  This keep the nose held down tight, with no side-to-side movement, and allows just the one bolt securement in the back, which I'll probably use a wing bolt, or knurled thumb screw on for easy, tool-less access.

sorry for the small cell phone pic



Not seen here is the slight centerline bend I put in it, both for strength, and to match the same feature in the seatpan.  It's also jogged downward slightly, to avoid the thicker lip of upholstered edge that is to come.  It's simple, but works well.  It's now been painted black, along with a few other minor pieces like the headlight mounting bracket, and old, pitted footpeg mounts that were wire-wheeled clean prior to paint.

[tobiism]

Looking great so far!  I'm just about to get back to working on my 750 twin, Jack Pine style. 
You emailed about the single carb setup.  The single manifold I made was out of 1 3/4" harley exhaust pipes.  They slip right into the rubber carb spigots.  I had it running really nicely with the single Harley 40CV.  It was a tad rich down low but I never had it running long enough to jet it properly.  I do know that I had plenty of grunt down low and nice pull up top. 
You can also run another 750 twin exhaust cam in the intake cam position for more lift and I "think" a tad more duration.  I've got one waiting to go in my engine.
I've taken the whole starter clutch mechanism out, welded the oiling hole in the crank closed and removed the starter.  That with a capacitor for kickstarting the engine to life has really helped reduce weight. 

[hallin222]

tobiism, do you happen to still have that 2-1 manifold kicking around?  The more I think about this, the more I like the idea of the single carb.  I'd like to ditch the stock rubber boots and weld on intake flanges, though, to reduce the overall size of the assembly.  Also, because of my electrical box, I may need to angle my carb off to the side, but I'll have to just hold everything up to get a feel for it.

I've been scouring the web for other twins with single carbs and came up with these styles:











So far, I'm liking the last two (which appear to be of the same XS650), as its compact, and looks like it will work with the space I have available.  It even has the same carb mounted that I plan to use.

Should I be concerned about the possibility of the left cylinder running lean with a setup like this?