Coopacoopacoopa
Active Member
Hey all. I'm Cooper. I live in Longmont Colorado.
Last March I picked up my first motorcycle. Found a 1977 kz650 on craigslist that "was running....a few months ago" I'm sure we all know how that goes. It was a mess. I didn't even bother trying to make it run. Stripped it from the get go. I'll let the pictures speak.
as purchased
gutted it the day after I purchased it
shaved a good number of brackets and mounts I didn't think I would be needing. painted the frame. did the hubs/spokes/nipples satin black and polished out the rims the best I could
Filled some of the dents in the tank. "quick welded" a few pinhole leaks in the tank. Made steady progress on it when I had the funds to do so.
In progress. Quickly built a seat. Pretty lame attempt out of a snowboard deck. Was rushing to get it running in the hopes of riding before the weather gets interesting here in Colorado.
Clip ons, levers, throttle, other bits and pieces here and there. Again, still rushing..
Picked up a tail light and messed around with my factory headlight.
Played around with a few battery options. I'm on a simple kick start only wiring harness that I built. I got my plugs to spark and my compression is great. Carbs are looking good. I ran into a few over fueling problems/cracked rubber carb boots. Overall, I didn't like the direction it was headed. The tank shape bothered me. I should have taken my time. I'm a very detail oriented person and this thing was driving me nuts. SO. I scraped it! I picked up a gpz freshly powdercoated frame, mint tank, fork, seatpan, brand new yoshi 550 exhaust, and works rear suspension... and 5 rubbermade tubs of random motorcycle parts from a friend. A massive $80 well spent.
A rough mock up.
So I started swapping everything over onto the gpz frame. I have the intentions of fitting the kz650 motor into the gpz frame.. And turning this into build throughout the winter. In which I can take my time..do everything the way I should have. Clean and refined.
And to bring you up to speed. Recently quit my job and decided to attend college and pursue my Associates of Arts. Was jobless for a month.
Last March I picked up my first motorcycle. Found a 1977 kz650 on craigslist that "was running....a few months ago" I'm sure we all know how that goes. It was a mess. I didn't even bother trying to make it run. Stripped it from the get go. I'll let the pictures speak.
as purchased
gutted it the day after I purchased it
shaved a good number of brackets and mounts I didn't think I would be needing. painted the frame. did the hubs/spokes/nipples satin black and polished out the rims the best I could
Filled some of the dents in the tank. "quick welded" a few pinhole leaks in the tank. Made steady progress on it when I had the funds to do so.
In progress. Quickly built a seat. Pretty lame attempt out of a snowboard deck. Was rushing to get it running in the hopes of riding before the weather gets interesting here in Colorado.
Clip ons, levers, throttle, other bits and pieces here and there. Again, still rushing..
Picked up a tail light and messed around with my factory headlight.
Played around with a few battery options. I'm on a simple kick start only wiring harness that I built. I got my plugs to spark and my compression is great. Carbs are looking good. I ran into a few over fueling problems/cracked rubber carb boots. Overall, I didn't like the direction it was headed. The tank shape bothered me. I should have taken my time. I'm a very detail oriented person and this thing was driving me nuts. SO. I scraped it! I picked up a gpz freshly powdercoated frame, mint tank, fork, seatpan, brand new yoshi 550 exhaust, and works rear suspension... and 5 rubbermade tubs of random motorcycle parts from a friend. A massive $80 well spent.
A rough mock up.
So I started swapping everything over onto the gpz frame. I have the intentions of fitting the kz650 motor into the gpz frame.. And turning this into build throughout the winter. In which I can take my time..do everything the way I should have. Clean and refined.
And to bring you up to speed. Recently quit my job and decided to attend college and pursue my Associates of Arts. Was jobless for a month.
Basically, I need something to bundle/enclose the main wiring harness. The oem flexible plastic stuff would be perfect if it wasn't so haggard. What's everyone else using? And no, a length of old garden hose won't cut it. ;D
