Kawasaki KZ400 Rear Hoop make or buy

S

SwingKid1

New Member
Hi all!

This is my first post on the forum (so don't chew me up too bad ;) ).

I'm currently rebuilding/cafe'ing a '76 Kawasaki KZ400. I'm a college student in NYC, and this is my first bike project, though I've been doing repair/shop work and been working with tools my whole life.

I've been through so many forum posts on DTT, but alas, no answers to my questions were found, so I'm posting in the hopes that someone can help.

I've tried finding a pre-made hoop to weld onto the rear of the frame online, but haven't found anything that fits a KZ400-the frame dimensions are: 8.5" outside-outside width, and the diameter is 1" outer wall (I think-I haven't chopped the frame, but I measured the circumference of the pipe and it was 8 cm, giving me a rough diameter of 2.5 cm-->1").

Does anyone know a reliable source where I can buy a hoop made specifically for a KZ400? Alternatively, does anyone know a custom shop in the NYC area that does this sort of work, or even a machine shop that bends steel pipes? I've been all over the city trying to find someone who can do a simple pipe bend, but no hardware store, plumbing store, or shop has turned up any results.

Any advice is greatly appreciated-I wanna get to riding real bad.

-SwingKid

"There are those who love to get dirty and fix things.
They drink coffee at dawn, beer after work.

And those who stay clean, just appreciate things.
At breakfast they have milk, and juice at night.

There are those who do both,
they drink tea."
 
Contact DTT member SONIC. He cranks out seat hoops in several bends and styles, and all for $35 shipped ;)
 
Redbird said:
Contact DTT member SONIC. He cranks out seat hoops in several bends and styles, and all for $35 shipped ;)
Click to expand...

Doubt you'll get a reply. Sonic seems to have disappeared.

You need to go to an actual fabrication shop. A place that does custom work. Living in NYC you should be able to spit on a dozen or so places that can help. Custom bicycle shop, machinists, chopper shop, hot rod builder, etc...
 
I've tried contacting SONIC, no response yet-seems like he was on a few days ago, but since then nothing.

I've contacted a bunch of custom shops and machine shops, to no avail-does anyone know a specific place in the NYC area?

Thanks all.

-SwingKid
 
Pretty sure SONIC stopped making/selling hoops, IIRC he was doing it on the side at little to no profit (good on him) but it was taking up too much time. Had a lot of satisfied customers though!
 
Oh, I had no idea Justin stopped.

Here's another guy on DTT selling Hoops...
http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=34914.0
 
Consider branching out.....if you can't find one locally (which seems like you haven't looked in all the right places) then shop around outside your zip code. My pinstriper had a stroke right in the middle of doing my bike and so I looked around and sent the tins to Missouri (from FL) for finishing...
This is a simple mod that takes half a day with a welder and grinder once the tube is bent.
 
I can make you one. It will be made on a roll though instead of a bender. I can make it any size width but the straight sections are relatively short (about an inch and a half). It would be made out of 1/2 structural pipe which is a little under 7/8 OD (.840) with a .109 wall, It's plenty strong and easy to weld. I can also roll 7/8 tube but I have the pipe so tube would cost more.
 
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