78 Kawa KZ650 Road Racer/Cafe Project

Awesome site! So many good people doing things here. Thought I might post my first project here as well. Picked up this ratty 650 for $300 through Craigslist. Bike had a clear title and would fire up but not rev past 2000 rpm. After some tinkering I had to rebuild/jet the carbs and free a rusted stuck ignition timing advancer, finally she came to life! Initially I planned to clean it up and add some cafe appointments but you all know how these things snowball...
Looking pretty sad:

Deciding to dig a big hole and throw a bunch of money and time into....I picked up some parts to add some modern awesomeness to the Kawa.

2001 GSXR-750 Front end, 1000 brakes and rotors, 600 clip-ons (thankfully alot of Suzuki stuff is interchangeable) Only paid $43 for the forks and lower triple if you can believe that. SV650 swingarm for the back.

05 Hayabusa front wheel and a 03 SV650 rear (need to paint black to match).
The busa wheel bolts right up to the 750 front end...but on the rear I am going to have to an older generation SV swingarm to work properly...it will require a spacer and bearing kit to accomodate the rear wheel though. Luckily a guy sells that exact kit on ebay...go figure.

To make the gixxer front end work I first had to remove the KZ steering stem from it lower triple. These older ones are pressed then welded whereas new ones have a stepped design that only allow it to go in/out one way.
Had to grind off this weld.

After that I took to the KZ stem and upper/lower gixxer triples to a machinist. He pressed out both stems, then made a sleeve to press fit then weld the KZ stem in the gixxer lower triple with.
KZ stem pressed/welded in with original pressed out.

I had him leave the lower race in place to assure it would bolt on the way it originally did. The hole in the upper triple was smaller than the top of the KZ stem so that had to be machined out. Now the whole front end bolts right up using the original size bearings! Still need to make steering stops...

Spent quite a bit of time bondoing and sanding flat dents all over the tank...I also smoothed out the area where the Kawa emblems mounted, as I plan to use some sort of a decal like on the old H1 and 2 triples. Still not sure if I'm going to use this tank or not...I love the way it would look to keep a semi stock look but then again a stretched racing tank always looks amazing... :-\
Here is a photo of the front bolted up and the rear mocked up for visual reference:

Like I said that isn't the swingarm I am using...it is quite pretty though. I ran into issues with the swingarm's pivot tube being too wide to fit in the KZ frame...I would have had to grind off about 1/4 inch of material from the frames mounting points perfectly to make it work. Then I realized that since the rear caliper mounts on the top of the swingarm it would interfere with shock mounting. I am going with the old school double shock setup instead of the mono-shock original to the SV.

I bought a first generation SV swingarm off ebay for $20 after discovering that the caliper mounts underneath and lucky enough the pivot tube clears the frame, only the lip on the bushings will have to be machined down a hair for clearance on either side. Now the frame wont need to be altered. Lucky seeing as how you cant chuck a frame onto a lathe and a file would be no fun ! Now that the clearance and caliper issue is resolved I still need to mount the swingarm. The stock KZ swingarm bolt and corresponding holes in the frame are a good 5mm smaller than the bolt the SV swingarm accepts. Some people drill out the holes in the frame to fit the bolt original to the swingarm...but a much better method is to simply machine a cylindrical sleeve. The sleeve's outer diameter will be the the inner diameter of the SV swingarm bearing race, and the inner sleeve diameter the size of the frames mounting holes...it just fills the space. Much better than trying to drill the holes out perfectly straight and use the SV bolt. Dropped that off today to have the sleeve made.....really wish I had a machine shop myself...

I intentionally chose the the SV rear set up because although it accepts modern sport bike rubber, the wheel is about an inch narrower than say a GSXR or CBR. Most of those are around 5.5 inches wide. There you get into trouble trying to line up the rear sprocket to the engines sprocket, seeing as how our old bikes rock like 3.5 inch wheels. Mine still wont line up but it will be much closer...I will need an offset engine sprocket that sticks out further than the original, but if you go out too far your chain won't clear the frame...then out comes the torch/hammer/grinder/welder to bend the frame to the chains will...no thanks...crossing my finger here. Also the rear sprocket carrier will surely have to be machined/recessed to perfectly align the sprockets. That is the hardest part to these mods, chain alignment. Some guys will space their whole wheel over to align them but then your front and rear wheels are out of whack. Bad idea. KZrider.com has become an invaluable resource for these hurdles, some seriously amazing machines on that forum.
Another small problem will be the shock mounts...most swingarms are make off kilter a bit to allow room for the sprocket carrier. The SV is more pronounced than usual, in affect the arm don't align directly under the frames shock points. One side is going to mounted directly over the arm while the other will be to the side of it. I am hoping this is not a problem because the only other solution is a mono shock. The KZ's swingarm had shock mounts off the side and not over the arm so I figure as long as the shock mounts are made very strong the load will be balanced fine. BTW there are some awesome shocks on ebay for very decent prices, I'm definitely picking up a pair soon: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Motorcycle-gas-shocks-Federbeine-YELLOW-fit-Vmax-Harley_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ72Q3a1171Q7c66Q3a2Q7c65Q3a12Q7c39Q3a1Q7c240Q3a1318Q7c301Q3a0Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem130286991047QQitemZ130286991047QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

nice work i am about to do the same with my cj250 but mount mito 125 forks and use the stock cj wheels thanks for the info as i was looking for a newer honda yoke that would fit but ill grind of my tube and see as it looks the same as yours can you post up a pick of the spacer you made up thanks or even a close up of the bottom of the yoke thanks

Nice build. Do keep us updated! Also, please post the link you the other forum as well.

--Chris

Dude you should use the Cagiva wheels that would look killer! Just grind the bottom weld slowly and evenly until you see a small circular line...where the triple and stem meet. Then you may be able to just knock it out carefully but it may need pressed out. Then press out the Cagiva one and take some measurements. Have a sleeve made with an outer diameter that can be press fitted into the yoke and an inner diameter that is a press fit for the stem. Then you need a damn good welder to get a weld on it. You have to keep stem length in mind as well. I got lucky...the GSXR and KZ stems were within a 1/4 inch. Make sense? I think I may have a .pdf a guy made up that I followed...lemme look around.

thanks for the info pdf was grate help i have the stops in place now just have to grined out my tube and get the sizes sorted the honda tube is about 3 inches longer than the mito was thinking of useing mito wheels but not in the budget right now i allso used a ktm swing arm but was way to long for me so looking for something shorter keep it up yours will look killer when rolling

Boy, overwhelming to think of all the work ahead...masked, wet-sanded with 320, simple green, then painted my rear wheel and sprocket carrier to match my front one. Used duplicolor black. Not sure how it will hold up, gonna clear coat it after it cures about a week. Have any of you tried this paint on cast wheels? Seems to stick well to the wheel but not so much the carrier for some reason.



Trying to imagine a cool paint scheme for the frame and tins. Originally I was thinking of the traditional black frame with a dark metallic green and line green decal like the the old triples...But looking around the threads here and elsewhere I have seen some awesome bikes with colored frames. Really gives it a whole other look!
Like these super sick ones:



I also like the old purplish/red H1 and 2's...but those schemes look good with black frames...hmmm :-\

Good work!

Well, decided to start to paint my tank while I'm waiting on my parts from the machinist. The tank and possibly seat cowl, depending on what I do for the back, are going to be metallic Deep Jewel Green and a non-metallic candy lime green then decals like the old Kawa h1's. Reproductiondecals sell decal kits for the triple but the tank is likely shaped different and they cost $90! So I drew out about the size I wanted on my tank with a marker like so:

...then traced it with tracing paper...I think this method helps to account for how the lines need to bend around the tank. Then I scanned the drawing in and used Adobe Illustrator to come up with a decal by tracing the scan. Here's what I came up with:


The old Kawasaki logo must have been a one-off font...I can't find it anywhere. I found a .jpg that I could trace in Illustrator but boy is that a pain! So, I sent the files to a local decal maker...hopefully he can get the font right. The lime green won't be part of the decal that will have to be painted on. I'm using lacquer...we'll see how it turns out. Here's what I'm going for:
The purple is sweet too!

Nice work so far.

What solution have you come up with for the steering stops? The Gsxr stops are spaced out much further (atleast on the cb350) than the frame's.

I have yet to address the steering stop thing. The GSXR aren't even close to working with the KZ frame. I'm gonna wait until I've got a rolling chassis to work on those, so I can get a better idea of how much usable turning radius I'll need. Just figured on using bits of cardboard to figure out a shape and size of the stops, then just make them out of aluminum and weld them to the lower triple.

Looking good, That Gixxer front end was a score.

+1 on the gixxer front end. I frickin LOVE it! It's a shame the sv swingarm didn't work, but I think the twin shock setup will match the look of the frame better anyway. Great project! I'm looking forward to seeing this one finished!

Well, I finished her up this morning...just need a chain.
Photoshop really helps to keep one inspired...that front brake reservoir is really obtrusive isn't it? And I'm not feeling the look of a gixxer front fender...maybe I can cut one down to shorten the front. I had a sleeve made for the swingarm...but it isn't quite right. Soooo...learning the hard way on this one, take these things to a professional. Anyway, upon looking at the stock kz sleeve, which i never considered, it will work perfectly, just need to machine about 1/32 in front the outer diameter. Never know it but there is a super high tech machine/fab/welding company right down the street from me and they are willing to do these little jobs. So, hopefully next week I will have the swingarm on there properly.
Ordered the bearing/spacer kit to make the 05 rear wheel work with my 01 swingarm...sourcing the rear brake from ebay, funny the older ones are like twice as much as the ones taken off 08 and 09 sv's?
Things are moving slow because I'm saving for a snowboard trip out to Whistler Vancouver, B.C. next month! Gonna be amazing...then I can throw some more money at this and hopefully get to ride this season. Good luck on all your projects!

Cool build! I had to smile as I read through your posts! It brought back memories of my KZZXR build! 8) Fun times!

It sure sounds like you're on track! Good luck with he details of your bike! That's where I ran into the most frustrating issues!

One thing to consider when you're mating new running gear to an old bike, is the chain/sprocket size. I had a cool offset countershaft sprocket in my hand but forgot I was going to run a 530 chain because of the '04 ZXR wheel. I had to scramble to find a sprocket supplier that could match up the 'old' to the 'new'.

I run a ZX6R rear wheel with a 180 Pirelli. It JUST fits!!

Have fun with it! It looks great!! 8) 8)

Here's the build thread if ya wanna have a look!


http://dotheton.com/index.php?topic=2735.0