1979 kawazuki mono

[seth.sundquist]

hi all, i found another bike to ruin. or make better one way or another. i found a 79 kz650 not running for 500 dollars. it turned over and had been garaged it's whole 33 year life, so i thought it was well worth it. i currently ride a cb400 and want something that doesn't scream at me on the highway. hopefully 650 is enough although if its not then i just get to do this again.

first thought was to do a mono shock rear. dad works at a machine shop so i had some tubing bent. found a seca II shock for 10 bucks on ebay and this was the end result:

then i decided i couldn't stand ramming the forks that high in the tripples to get the stance i wanted. of all the options i decided to ditch the whole thing and run a gsxr 1000 front end. this is where it was really nice to have a dad that works at a machine shop, he sent me a copy of their "autocad" program and i drew up a new steering stem. wham bam thank you mam a week later i've got this:

bolt it all together and you've got this:

yup thats a fatty front tire can never go to big 140:

let me know what you all think

oh and one more pic, i personally think everyone's gotta get the shop dog in here whenever they can:

 

[natasdaisy]

Looks sweet so far, how did you figure out your swingarm brace angle? Id like to do the same no link mono setup on my gs. Must be nice to have a machine shop handy definatley jelous. Great lookin pit too!

 

[JustinLonghorn]

I'm on board.

 

[Durgam_K]

I'm on board.

+1

 

[seth.sundquist]

alright so i got some 117.5 mains and new pilots, went to town on the carbs and also raised the needles a notch, decided to paint them while i had em apart. then had to stick em on the bike and make a little noise. pretty solid pay off if i may say so myself. lots of noise and flames out the headers is a success to me.

then i welded some tabs for the seca II shock and some integrity pieces then cleaned up the swing arm and painted it.

and that's how she sits today

next is the seat, im gonna make it outa fiberglass. waiting on a tail light in the mail before i can do it though. as it will be incorperated in the hump. once there is a seat then there can be an electrical pan and once there is a pan i can make a decision on whether on not ill run a starter due to battery size. so i really need this light.

anyone out there that wants to give me some color scheme advice im all ears. i did the carbs black and grey, but am not in love with it. kinda like the flat black, gloss black thing. but with the gold forks im having a hard time figuring this out.

 

[neevo]

Got any pics of the top shock mount and how it is attached to the frame?

 

[seth.sundquist]

no pics of it yet i can take some though. from the suggestion of another member i am currently reworking the swing arm and when it is done i can reshoot pics and include the upper mount

 

[neevo]

Thanks. Good news on the reworking. Bracing looks a little light on.

 

[guernz]

Awesome start. I like it.