1975 Kawasaki kz400s Cafe Racer

I think the bike is looking great! Love the worn paint, especially where knees have worn it through! 2" clearance is not enough. It's not the bumps in the road that you have to worry about. It's the G outs. just about every road has them. You don't see them either. They are slow gradual dips in the road,and when you hit them you will know all about them!!! They really suck up alot of suspension travel.
 
Plus one on what everyone is saying on the rear hoop. I am somewhat qualified to speak on it, since I just build a kz400. I have 600# springs, and plus 1" ride height in the rear, and I still soak up 2" of upward travel, unless I unload the bike by standing over big dips. And fyi - finding longer than 14.25" shocks, with eye to eye measurements is hard. The largest I found were for ironheads.

The bike looks good though, good style points.
 
bonzer78 said:
Thanks for the props guys, really! I'm stoked.

Regarding that rear hoop — yeah, I hear ya. When I built it I had the stock tire on here, which was much thinner, and didn't sit as tall. When I put these Firestones on I couldn't believe how tall that back one sat, and how close it came to the frame loop. Currently there's only 1.25" clearance between the tire and the bottom of the frame. I'll take another look at it tonight, but let me run a couple alternatives by you guys:
• I've been thinking about swapping the rear shocks for some new ones. The current ones are 12.5", and I could go to about 13.375". That would give me just over 2" of clearance.
• That 4.5x18 rear tire has about 4" of profile, while the 4" on the front has 3.5". If I swap the rear tire for a 4", that should give me another .5" of clearance. Combine that with the longer shocks, and I'm looking at about 2.5", or double what I have now.

Or I extend that loop. But my seat is custom made for the size my frame's at currently. If I change the frame, I'll have to get a new seat made. $$$. Now, even if I extend the loop, the tire would still rub on the bottom of the seat when it bottoms out. But I guess that's not as much of a problem?

Another note: I'm 5'8", about 145lbs. When I sit on this bike now that suspension barely moves. I know it will on the road obviously, but I just wanted you to have an idea what I'm working with — I'm not huge or heavy, so I'm not as taxing on the suspension as if I was 200+.

And dakine, I don't take it as negativity — I appreciate the input. That's why I'm on this forum, for the shared expertise.
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first of all, let me just say, ... im having some healthy french toast right now and it is bomb!!!!!!

haha ok on tho the bike buisiness. i think you should get some 14 or 14.5 inch shocks, and call it a day. you can find some old harley shocks, they will be nice and stiff too, maybe too stiff, but youll now when you get them, if you choose to, this way suspension is all you will have to mess with, ebay should have some deals. i would leave the tires in their corresponding locations.
 
+1 to what josh said above... go with at least 14" in the rear (there are tons of shocks longer than 14", I believe Kawasaki zephyr shocks were 14.25".) Personally, I like the look of raising the rear, gives it the slightest modern touch and will sharpen your steering a bit. Also when you raise the rear you will want to install a damper on the front.

Now if this still doesn't give you the clearance, you will want to move the hoop back a bit and let the rear wheel travel into your seat. I don't know what your plan is for a eat but it looks like your seatpan is flat. If you are putting a standard cafe seat on there you could get away with having the rear wheel travel into the hump. You might also have to make something that fills the void where the seat and the tank meets if you move it back.
 
killerdwarf said:
I think the bike is looking great! Love the worn paint, especially where knees have worn it through!
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Thanks man. I'm still figuring out what to do with the tank. I've got some ideas for paint jobs, but I've had a few people tell me they love it as is. So I'm kind of not sure.
 
hurley and dakine: thanks for the tips. that's exactly what i'm going to do. modifying the frame at this point is going to be a bit of a nightmare, so i'm going to get some 14/14,5" shocks and see where I end up. I'll get it straightened out.

my seat was supposed to be done this week, and it's not looking good (only about 1 hour left in the work day here on the east coast). so that sucks. next week should be a big week, though. I should have my seat, and I should get my throttle cable back. Then I can finally take it for a ride.

stay tuned.
 
Before you go out and get some longer shocks, unhook the top eye, and move the top eye down on the frame. This will have the same effect as installing longer shocks. Keep the shocks in line with the arc of the swingarm to avoid a binding situation. If you can get the clearance you need by laying the shocks down, then all you have to do is relocate the top shock mount. Laying the shocks down has a performance advantage as well, and looks good.
 
killerdwarf said:
Before you go out and get some longer shocks, unhook the top eye, and move the top eye down on the frame. This will have the same effect as installing longer shocks. Keep the shocks in line with the arc of the swingarm to avoid a binding situation. If you can get the clearance you need by laying the shocks down, then all you have to do is relocate the top shock mount. Laying the shocks down has a performance advantage as well, and looks good.
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Far easier to get longer shocks than re-locate shock mounts. Not trying to critique anyone's building skills, but you need to know what you are doing with this sort of stuff. We're not talking about welding on a tab for a muffler mount here - this is something that will potentially be lethal if it fails :eek:

Safety first, kids ;)
 
Ya, I'm pretty fuckin stupid, so I wouldn't even think of getting a professional welder to fab up the mount. I'm pretty sure bonzer would just hose clamp the shocks to the frame too. ::) Ya, that was sarcasm.
 
Hey, play nice children, let's no go and Jack up this thread. Peace and love homies, keep it fresh...,Baja fresh lol
 
Thanks for all the tips. I'm just going to try the longer shocks, and leave it at that.
My seat didn't get finished this week. A friend is doing it at his shop for me, so he said to do it cheap they're having to do it during down time, and unfortunately for me they've been busy. So hopefully next week. We'll see.

Until then I'm still waiting on my new throttle cable from Sudco, and I'm trying to figure out my tank paint scheme.
 
Im starting my kawasaki project can you tell are your rear shocks lower than stock?i dropped my front end about an inch and would like to match the rear thanks and great job on your bike
 
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