KZ650 Street Fighter

DNel928

DNel928

Active Member
Well I'm new here to the TON, couple friends drug me over. Anyway, I have a '78 KZ650 I picked up this summer for $750 not running and pretty ratty. I've brought it pretty far since taking ownership. I'll let the pics do most of the talking.

Day I got her home.
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Kind of chopped up, but getting more towards my goal.
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I picked up a ZX6R front end on eBay for $250. Took a little machining from Leon, but it's a fairly simple swap.
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And here is how she sat before I tore it all apart.
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And it's current state :P
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There is a lot of work that has went in to it so far, but this winter it will be completely restored. Here's a link to my thread on KZR if you wanna know all the fine details up to this point. http://kzrider.com/forum/11-projects/520339-dnels-78-kz650-fighter-project

Stay tuned, much more to come!
 
Brentscafe said:
Lookin good man!
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jbeebe said:
that looks real b.a.

i'm staying tuned.
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mhallman25 said:
That looks sick man I just bought a 77 kz 650 and had kind of the same idea as you looks great
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Thanks for the king words guys!

Little bit of progress made here lately.

Slimmed her down a bit
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Got the new rear tire size in for a mock up, and steel for the custom swing arm and rear section of frame.

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Everything else I need arrives Friday, so the next update will be a big one.
 
Sweet bike! did you check the chain vs tire space before mounting such a monster? And are you going to run spokes in the front again?
 
Bert Jan said:
Sweet bike! did you check the chain vs tire space before mounting such a monster? And are you going to run spokes in the front again?
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Thanks!

It's not mounted yet, just test fitting to see how much work needs to be done to the swing arm. It should clear fine with an offset sprocket, if anything I can notch the frame a little bit.

Won't be going back to a spoked wheel for weight reasons. The ZX6R wheels and tires are 38 lbs lighter than stock. 38 lbs of rotational mass is a huge difference :)
 
Cool project DN.

Have you considered using a modern rear end?? I would think with that super high speed front end you would want to do the same out back. Also, the modern aluminum swingers are a metric ton less weight!! Gixxer swingers are all over ebay in the $40 to $80 range. All you would have to do is go with one that is a bit narrower than your frame. Then just make up some bushings to match your pivot bolt to the arm, make some spacers and have some tabs welded on the run dual shocks. I bolted a gixxer arm to my CB and I love it!! Chain run was almost straight, used 2 machine bushings behind the front sproccket to make u the few milimeters. ;D

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Hundreds to choose from. They are so cheap, if it doesnt work out its not a huge deal. Just try something else.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2006-06-suzuki-gsxr-600-swingarm-swing-arm-chain-243-/140755029634?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20c5a74e82

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/97-Suzuki-GSXR750-GSX-R-750-GSXR-750-600-swing-arm-swingarm-/271077239105?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f1d766941
 
The thought crossed my mind a few times, but my main concern is the length of most modern arms. I don't want to stretch the bike out if I don't have to. The stock swing arm will be extremely easy to modify. I also have no access to a heli arc welder. Who knows what will happen though, trial and error.
 
I dont think a gixxer arm is much longer than a stock arm, if at all. Mine may look a little long, but that is because the whole tail of my bike is trimmed off. The welder charged me $45 to put on tabs to run dual shocks.

Just somethin to consider. I am sure you can make your stocker look pretty sick also. I had mine stretched and braced for like 200 bucks before I switched to the gixxer arm.

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Well I just ordered an 03 ZX-6R swingarm. Too much work and $$$ to make the stocker work, pretty much have to completely remake it.
 
Cool rear end!!

Have fun. Parts, tools, a bike, a garage and the really important stuff in the fridge, sounds like a good weekend!!! 8)
 
ctluba said:
Cool rear end!!

Have fun. Parts, tools, a bike, a garage and the really important stuff in the fridge, sounds like a good weekend!!! 8)
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That fridge is stacked lol.
 
New swingarm is in finally! Haven't been very productive lately due to my new project lol.

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Should be getting a lot more down after the holidays.
 
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