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Posted by: Sircraigery May 18 2009, 08:33 AM

Hey folks, haven't been around in a few weeks! But for good reason, I'm hacking an old 1977 Kawasaki kz650 into a sweeeeeeet BOBBER!!!! I got it for $350 from some farmer's field, and the frame and engine (which is all I care about), seem to be in great shape.

Summer isn't for guitar imo (unless your playing gigs outside.. which I am not).

If you don't know what a bobber chopper is, it's an oldschool street bike chopped into a rat bike. Better yet, I'll just post some youtube vids of people's builds. Most popular are the honda cb, and the yamaha xs series....(ies?).

The Honda CB750:


INTO:





The Yamaha XS650:


INTO:




It's unbelievable that these old bikes look so awesome with as little as $1000 invested if you have the right tools and know how to do some welding and a bit of painting. Wish me luck, I'll keep this build a well documented one since I haven't seen many Kawasaki builds on youtube. Some white wall tires, harley sportster gas tank, and some ape hangers are going to be my only expenses.... I already have the german helmet


EDIT: PICS FIXED, WITH BETTER PICS THIS TIME TOO.

Posted by: MickeM May 18 2009, 09:09 AM

Retro bikes are so cool! Hurts me to see one go down like that but hope it turns out the way you like it. Have fun!

Posted by: sted May 18 2009, 11:12 AM

Love the ape hangers on the first one, need to watch your back side on that rear wheel though

Posted by: Praetorian May 18 2009, 12:39 PM

That's awesome!! Flat black all the way bro!!

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic May 18 2009, 06:54 PM

Wow you have a cool hobby mate!! I wish you good luck with the rebuild!

Posted by: Sircraigery May 19 2009, 10:49 PM

Thanks guys. Yeah I love retro bikes too, and this one will get well taken care of (apart from the frame lol). I almost want to save this bike, because cosmetically it's in great shape. Not one a rip in the seat, no dents in the gas tank, not even any scuff marks on the paint!

But, at least I know this bike will drive down the road straight haha. I'm just cleaning the carbs now to get it running again. It's been sitting for about 5 years the guy told me. Once I know the engine/electrical is good, it's time to get the cutting wheel out...

Posted by: Emir Hot May 19 2009, 11:59 PM

wow man this rocks I have many friends who build custom bikes. It's an awesome hobby

Posted by: AlexLion May 20 2009, 09:30 AM

+1! It may hurt

Very cool hobby you got there, can`t wait to see what you come up with!

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic May 20 2009, 10:52 AM

Wow man, this bike looks cool, it's really hard to believe it's that same bike from the small picture! Very cool hobby man

Posted by: Sensible Jones May 20 2009, 01:31 PM

I've built quite a few Kwak 650's!! It's one of my favourite Engines/Bike to use!!!



This is my current ride (A '76 Suzuki GS850):-

And this was my very first CB 750!!!

This was my Triton!

At the moment I am working on a '71 XS 650 and also 'Street-fighter-ing' an RF600!


As Ben said 'Flat Black' all the way!!!!! If I can help in any way don't hesitate to ask!!!!

Posted by: AlexLion May 20 2009, 01:39 PM

Dude! A you a bike fanatic? That collection looks just fantastic!! I like especcialy first bike, your current one and CB750

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic May 20 2009, 03:24 PM

Jones, what can I say man, wow is all that pops out! You sure know your stuff man, these rides are brilliant!

Posted by: Sensible Jones May 20 2009, 03:47 PM

I've been into Bikes since I was 6 years old!! I started riding at 9 years old!!! I started helping other people build when I was 13 and built my first bike when I was 16/17!!! About the same time as I built my first Guitar too!!!! I don't own all these any more, although the first 3 (all the Kawasaki's) are all still around.
I'm not sure where the CB is now. I last heard of it about 5 years ago.



Thanks Ivan!! There's been many more than these!!!



@Sircraigery ~ I think you've put an XS 650 pic where your CB750 one should be!!
"If you don't know what a bobber chopper is, it's an old school street bike chopped into a rat bike."

Not quite true!! A Bobber is a stripped down Bike, usually with standard length Forks, Hardtail Frame and in a50's retro styling.
You cannot just 'build' a Rat Bike, they evolve!! Just because it's Flat Black doesn't make it a Rat!!!!

Posted by: Pedja Simovic May 20 2009, 05:09 PM

Bikes are awesome ! ! !
How much do these from pictures above go for ?

Posted by: Sensible Jones May 20 2009, 05:33 PM

Any of the ones in my post would sell for £1000 up!!!

Posted by: Praetorian May 20 2009, 05:50 PM

Flat black...red rims...white wall tires!

Posted by: Sensible Jones May 20 2009, 06:05 PM

I'm not even sure about the Rims and 'Walls!!!! (They're a more recent de riguer for the Genre!!!)

Although.............

Posted by: AlexLion May 20 2009, 06:30 PM

Really stunning looks, especcialy first! btw you must be as cool as Muris if you took guitar at 17!!

Posted by: Praetorian May 20 2009, 06:37 PM

Another example...I love this color combo. On bikes and on rat rods!

Posted by: AlexLion May 20 2009, 06:45 PM

Cool thing too Tho I didn`t understand much difference between those highway bike types

Posted by: Sensible Jones May 21 2009, 12:25 AM

If only I was!! I was too busy messing with Bikes to spend too much time with Guitar!! That's why I joined here to take my Guitar a bit more seriously!

Posted by: Emir Hot May 21 2009, 12:30 AM

This is Harley from a friend that I sometimes ride. Great machine

Posted by: Sensible Jones May 21 2009, 03:30 PM

Nice Emir! Looks like a 'Night Train'!

Posted by: Sircraigery May 23 2009, 05:33 PM

Wow this thread has really taken off!!

Really great bikes guys!! I would love to find an old triumph in a barn somewhere, but in Canada, those are few and far between.

And yeah, I'll ned tones of help. I've been riding bikes since I was 5, but this is my first build. The frame is stripped of any cosmetic parts. It's function.

Right now before I cut, I'm trying to get the engine to spark (boo-urns). Neither of the coils are giving spark, so I think my points are bad (good thing they are cheap). Have to check those out today (I LOVE SATURDAYS FOR THIS REASON!!) Hopefully, I'll get the old girl running sometime this weekend, and I can start chopping next weekend.



(Yes, there are about 10 bikes at my friends house right now haha)

I know it looks dirty and stuff, but that's because it is out of a barn afterall. I cleaned little parts of the engine and it's still nice and shiny under all that dirt. And I do have all the body panels (which are mint other than some sun fading), but I took those off before I took any pics.

Posted by: Outlaw2112 May 23 2009, 05:41 PM

my money pit...

thinking bout gettin a jet ski this year and take over the water

Posted by: Sircraigery May 24 2009, 08:54 AM

Sweet bike man!

OK, here's my first trouble, and I need help. First, load this schematic:
 KZ650_B1_1.pdf ( 838K ) : 247


Next, check out the coils and the points/condenser part of the schematic. As you can see, the 12V comes into the primary coils and runs down to the points/condensors to ground.

When the points are open, there is no ground -> no current -> no voltage to the secondary -> no spark. Correct? (please correct me if I'm wrong).

When the points are open, the current flows and induces a voltage onto the secondary -> spark.

My question is, what is the point of the condensers. I've heard they prevent arcing of the points switch, but it's only 12V. Can this possibly arc?

Posted by: USAMAN May 24 2009, 09:28 AM

An ignition system is an ingenious invention. This is how it works.
To make a coil work you must have alternating current (kinda). Ignition coils work on the principle of induction which can only occur if you have three things.
1. Conductor (coils of wire inside the coil)
2. Magnetic field (provided by the 12v in the primary of the coil).
3. Relative motion ( provided by alternating current). Wait .....we have dc...no relative motion.
If you look at alternating current on an oscilliscope (basically a graph) it looks like a sine wave ~~~~~~~.
if you look at dc current it looks like a straight line.


18
12----------------------------------------------------
6
0------------------------------------------------------


In order to make an ignition coil fire they need to provide some relative motion. What they do is turn the power off and on. Each time you tun power off it heads towards 0 volts...thats relative motion. Every time you turn it on it heads towards 12volts that also is relative motion. So the resulting wave form looks like the attached image below.



Which strongly resembles a sign wave. So every time the points open the coil fires as well as every time that the points close.

Now the condesnser is nothing but a simple capacitor. (conductors separated by a diaelectric). The easiest explination is you need it. You points will burn out quickly if you do not have it in the circuit. It prevents an arc flash at the point contacts and helps to provide a quick cascade in the secondary of the ignition coil. The ignition system may function without it .....but not for long.

I didnt check this for typos its 3:30 in the morning.

Peace.

Posted by: Toroso May 24 2009, 02:04 PM

Will you be converting to a hardtail? How much trouble is that and is it worth it?

Posted by: Jesse May 24 2009, 02:15 PM

Outlaw, what bike is that? It is "friggin" awesome!

Posted by: Sircraigery May 25 2009, 05:31 AM

It's going hardtail. And it's more of a hobby for me, so we'll see how 'worth it' doesn't really apply - more so just keeps me busy.

Plus I want an oldschool bike, but can't afford to shell out $70,000 for an Indian Larry build hehe. My total budget for this bike is 2 grand tops on this bike, so that's about 1500 us. And I'll easily reach that since we're painting and doing everything ourselves.



K thanks man. Today I took the points off to file them (I know, bad idea...but it was a temp thing to see if I could get a spark) and I've found that they are pitted fairly badly... Which, I've heard makes arcing much easier.

Now, I tested the condensers with an ohm meter, and I didn't see the normal rising ohms as the cap charges. I remind you, this bike hasn't been working in years, so I figure the caps have dried up. So, no condesers + pitted contacts + anything = no spark.

Just ordered a set of points and condensers off ebay for $20



Yeah, that's true enough I suppose. But I'm all over the retro style.

I'm putting on a sportster tank (been done a million times, but I love that tank), some 10" apes, with the white walls.

What did you do with the oil tank there? I was just thinking of leaving it out, but is there any real benefit to one?

It actually gives me a good idea, I might make a fake one just to hide the electronics inside!

Posted by: Sensible Jones May 25 2009, 12:09 PM

This one has the Electrics in that dummy Oil Tank. There's no benefit that I can think of to having a separate Oil Tank, except perhaps a slight bit of cooling, but totally not a necessity!! An Oil Cooler is a fairly easy conversion on these engines though! We have built a couple of bikes using the Frame as the Oil Tank and also a Streetfighter using the Swinging Arm as the Oil Tank!

As for your 'Points' problem..
I always install http://www.boyerbransden.com/index.html and http://www.dynojet.co.uk/dynatek/ignition.htm as it's the most reliable Set-up I've come across!! If you go this route remember to buy a couple of Ballast Resistors from Boyer or else the Dyna's will burn the Ignition Module after a while!! (Guess how I found this out!!!!! That was a bloody long walk/push home!!!!)

Posted by: Outlaw2112 May 25 2009, 07:12 PM

Its a 2003 harley softail standard that i customized...

Pm 240 phatail kit, chromed out, raked out the front, changed the lowers to black.. turned out nice and its a one of a kind cause i customized it from scratch to my liking.. I have a skull air cleaner that looks cool

and thanks

heres a pic i took last year at a harley shop in the mountains when we were out riding, i thought it looked cool with the sun going down in the reflection on the windows of the harley shop... too bad i only had my cell phone camera so the quality isnt that good, but its still a cool pic

Posted by: AlexLion May 25 2009, 09:38 PM

Look what is written on your pickup front! GMC! I guess it`s Kris truck!

Posted by: Sircraigery May 27 2009, 06:50 PM

Ordered my parts today. SG, I would to buy one of those ignition kits, but they are still going to run about $200 cdn.
If I didn't have to replace the coils already, I would get one. Once I get the bike on the road, I'll be sure to pick one up.

But for points and condensers, I found a GREAT website: partsnmore.com. They specialize in older jap bikes (the best ones around). If you live in Canada, they ship for free, US is standard $5US shipping on your order.

Also, I'm building a table tonight to get this bike off the ground about 1.5-2 ft. I'll post some pics of that when I'm done too. But right now, as far as the bike goes, waiting on my carb kits and ignition parts.

Posted by: AlexLion May 27 2009, 07:11 PM

Cool, looking forward to see what you come up with!

Posted by: playaxeman May 27 2009, 07:47 PM

Honda 1966

restored by an uncle of my wife

Posted by: Sensible Jones May 28 2009, 11:10 AM

Stunning job!!! That was my Dad's first Japanese Bike!!!!

Posted by: playaxeman May 28 2009, 11:28 AM

Thx

I will tell uncle Henk, he will like it.



These Honda's are so well build, they will run a life time.

Posted by: Sensible Jones May 28 2009, 11:33 AM

ALL Hondas are!!!!!

Posted by: Sircraigery May 29 2009, 06:32 AM

MORE PHOTOS!!!

Started chopping the frame tonight, so exciting!





The struts are the angle my exhaust is going to be when finished. I still need to move the swing arm back about 4-5 inches, but this give a good idea.

Posted by: Sircraigery Jun 2 2009, 02:11 AM

Got some more pics for those interested.


Bike pedal kick starter




Got the suicide shifter started, this will be a small one behind my leg.




Me dreaming of the finished product (should be 2-3 weeks before all the fabrication is done). Notice the engine stitting beside the bike now, and frame is now prepped to get some welding done.




SC, did you use a mig or an arc welder for the frame? I'm thinking mig with some inner tube reinforcements.

Posted by: Sensible Jones Jun 2 2009, 08:21 PM

I'll tell ya, you certainly don't hang about!!!!!

Mig with inserts is the way to go!!

Posted by: Praetorian Jun 3 2009, 05:14 PM

Here is the coolest part of this picture....GMC!!!!!!

Posted by: AlexLion Jun 3 2009, 06:44 PM

Definitely!

Posted by: Sircraigery Jun 3 2009, 10:40 PM

Yeah man, there are like 300 around the shop too. I'm the GM type myself.



Cool, I've been welding this small stuff and it seems to bond ok, but I was a bit worried about it breaking. But if inserts will make it strong, I'll use that method. I'm 1000x better with the mig anyways haha. I guess the biggest thing to remember if your not sure about the weld, cut it and do it again right.


Another pic; The welding jig we're almost finished.

Posted by: sted Jun 4 2009, 10:21 AM

Cool thread this mate! Keep it going!!

Posted by: Sensible Jones Jun 4 2009, 11:08 AM

Exactly, but I wouldn't recommend too many attempts at the same weld due to the annealing process caused by the heating/cooling/heating/cooling! Having said all this.. I was always much better with an Oxy/Acetylene Gas torch than electric welding any day!!! That's how I was taught at College!

Posted by: Sircraigery Jun 4 2009, 06:41 PM

Thanks man! GMC is a good place to post side projects. The community is great, and lots of people here are really knowledgeable with just about any type of hobby. Perhaps we should as for a section of the forum to post our other stuff. This would make it easier to get to know everyone on a more personal level I think.




Yes sir, once I get an arc going I'm ok. It's getting it started thats a real B. It always wants to pull the rod right to the tubing. But if I turn it up too high, she melts through haha. I've never done gas welding before, but our little lincoln mig can be converted. Maybe I'll have to try that too, I want to get all my bases covered so I know which method is best.

Posted by: Vasilije Vukmirovic Jun 4 2009, 08:15 PM

This is great! Also a great hobby, like Orange county guys

Posted by: Sensible Jones Jun 5 2009, 12:44 PM

You won't convert a mig welder to Oxy/acetylene!! I'm talking 'Old Skool' Gas welding with flames and everything!!

If you use Gas on your MIG set-up you'll find that it's a little easier (the weld should 'take' better), and make sure you get the Wire Feed and Amperage set right!! Just practice on your old seat rails until you get it right!

Posted by: Sircraigery Jun 6 2009, 10:15 AM

Yeah, converted was the wrong word... haha.


Got some real progress tonight!!!





And in some time, this is going to be the line of the bike. Still have some bending and straightening to do tomorrow, but hopefully we'll get this frame nice and true by tomorrow night.

Posted by: Sensible Jones Jun 8 2009, 04:44 PM

Looking good!!!!

Posted by: Sircraigery Jun 10 2009, 07:08 AM

THE BIKE IS FINALLY RUNNING!!!!!! AND IT SOUNDS MEAN!

I took a vid with my cell, so I'll see if I can get it on youtube tonight




This vid turned out pretty bad. Too bad you can't really make out the audio because I was running the bike without headers -> too loud for cell phone haha.

Posted by: Sensible Jones Jun 11 2009, 05:41 PM

Great news!!!!

Posted by: sted Jun 11 2009, 09:25 PM

wow man, that bike is gonna make you real popular with the neighbours!

Posted by: Sircraigery Jun 12 2009, 07:03 AM

Thanks dude. Tank, seat, and bars should all be here by end of next week. Which works out great because I have a math final to study for this week.




Yeah, this is in the hood anyways. Anything goes.

Posted by: Sircraigery Jun 17 2009, 10:38 PM

I've hit a snag in the bobber build.

Turns out my back wheel have a vertical offset of of about 2-4 degrees. I did everything right....except check the stock frame LOL.

Oh well, a cut and another afternoon to make some proper spot tacks and we'll be back on track!

My seat and tank have arrived, on a positive note.


This is NOT my bike, but just to give an idea what tank and seat I went with. This is a pic of the guys bike that I bought the tank and seat off of. Not bad for $270 cdn/pair.

I also cut out all the BS from the triple tree support, and welded in a nice plate across the two bars that run down, and then a vertical one from that plate to the backbone. And it looks really sweet!

That's it for this week....it's been a slow process with all my homework this week (math final on monday).

Posted by: sted Jun 18 2009, 10:27 AM

Cant wait to see and hear the finished article!

Posted by: Sensible Jones Jun 18 2009, 11:19 AM

Don't forget that the front cradle will move slightly when you release some of the stress when cutting the back end out of it!!
Not that it ever happened to me or anything!!

Posted by: Sircraigery Jun 19 2009, 12:57 AM

Yep, it sure did haha. I noticed that the other day too.

I have a plan for straightening everything though.


1) The cut the rear corner of the frame so the top and bottom are apart.
2a) Then make a relief cut on the top rear wheel/seat supports to bend them back straight at the proper angle from the forks.
2b) I'm going to cut/insert/re-weld the backbone and line the seat plane perpendicular to the forks (to ensure the seat pan is horizontally level with the forks).
3) Move the bottom frame rails parallel under them.
4) Use a apparatus I made (welded onto the bike lol) with a level, and one I made to bolt onto the rear sprocket to make sure everything is true again.
5) Burn that sucker home!
6) Test ride with my friend pushing me

7) Get drunk in either joy, or sorrow Ah...lucky #7

Posted by: Sircraigery Jun 23 2009, 09:13 AM

Oh, boy....Math final is over and I just got out of the garage (1:30 am)

Finally get closer and closer to a true frame. She's within 1 degree now (according to my $5 el-cheapo level haha). But, still have to put on the axle hangers and complete all the welds. But that is tomorrow's project.... time permitting; Petroleum eng. midterm is on Thursday.

Anyways, I decided it would be easier to complete cut apart the frame and weld it back together after I did some bending. Here are the pics of the tac welds after everything is in place. This time I also put the engine in, bolted by the 2 front supports (there are 4 total, kinda overkill I figure).



I also have a pic of the gusset I made for the backbone/down tube junction.


Far view, the line is good. I put it a bit of an angle downward this time, to shorten the wheels base a bit. Once the tank is on, you'll never see it.



Rough overfront view. My seat place needs to be trimmed a bit on the right side of the pic, so the back bars look a bit off, but I assure you, they are very very close to perfect now.



Back angle view to bring things into perspective. You can now see why I wanted to shorten the wheel base haha, I'm going to have a bit of room left behind the engine.

Posted by: Sensible Jones Jun 23 2009, 11:11 AM

Looking good!!!!
For future projects this is a very useful site that I've just found out about!!!
http://chopperhandbook.com/neatstuff/index.html

Posted by: Sircraigery Jun 24 2009, 07:59 AM

Thanks SG, that's an awesome site. I'll have to consult that from time to time.

Got a few more pics. Wheels is straight now and mounted (but not in pics) !!!

Put the handlebars on, and made my friends hold the parts on the bike for pics haha.






In this pic the tank needs to be up a bit more. My level was blocking it, but it's off and gone now.

Posted by: sted Jun 24 2009, 08:56 AM

Looking good mate!

Posted by: Sensible Jones Jun 24 2009, 11:10 AM

Looking good!!!!

Posted by: Caelumamittendum Jun 25 2009, 03:26 PM

I am SO envious!

Posted by: Sircraigery Jun 26 2009, 06:40 AM

Build one dude!!

Posted by: Sircraigery Jun 27 2009, 08:30 AM

More pics with the wheel, seat attached, and a partially attached tank (2 bolts out of 4.....they take forever to counter sink the nuts into the frame and grind them to a nice curve).

ENJOY!










By next week she'll be wired and a rideable running bike (I hope haha)

Posted by: Sensible Jones Jun 27 2009, 06:16 PM

It's getting there!!!! I spy an old Suzi GS on the right!!!
It'll soon be time to get the Flat Black flying!!

Posted by: Sircraigery Jun 28 2009, 09:44 AM

Sure do mang,

GS 750, and behind that a Honda 450, and the white/gold is a honda 400.

Don't forget we have and old Suzuki 2 storke (c. 1968?) +/- 4 other bikes,


And yeah dude, thanks a lot. The further I get, the more I realize I have to do!!!! Can't wait to get the paint on her. She's going to be hard to sell.... I'll give her that. (Sometimes I hate being a uni student).

Posted by: sted Jun 28 2009, 11:27 AM

Whats the paint gonna be? Matt black rat bike or something nice?

Posted by: Sircraigery Jun 28 2009, 05:09 PM

Matt black, but I'm doing the body work nice. Lots of people use matt black to cover mistakes, so mine is going to look flawless.

Posted by: Sircraigery Jul 17 2009, 06:31 PM

Got the foot pegs on, and just finished the rear engine mounts. Working on the battery/electrical box atm. I decided not to go with an oil tank because I don't have the funds right now to buy one.

I'll post pics later this afternoon!

Posted by: Sensible Jones Jul 18 2009, 01:16 PM

Looking forward to seeing them!!

Posted by: sted Jul 18 2009, 02:33 PM

cool mate! its going well!

Posted by: Sircraigery Apr 24 2010, 04:35 AM

New pics from today.

I cut off the old frame (from last year) and made a new one of thicker tubing (0.12" wall). I didn't like some small imperfections and wanted to redo it, so I spent the $100 and build a new frame and a jig. 3 days after the jig was made, the bike was back together. Notice the new axle plates, they are much stronger than before.

It's only tac welded now, but I just set all the goodies on to see what it looked like.

Also, while I was waiting for my tank sealant to dry, I did a quick spray bomb of the stencil I'm using for the tank (just for sizing). I think the size is ok, maybe I'll rotate it clockwise about 20 degrees though.


So far, build tally is around $2500 (cdn), bike included. I'm about 400 hours of labour in as well, but it is my first build so there is A LOT of wasted time in there as well.

New parts:
coils
tires (front/back)
seat
tank & petcock
chain & sprockets
handle bars & grips
headlight
battery
carb kits & pod filters
long cables (for 10" bars)
brake switch
tail light
rear axle plates (very highly recommended!!!)

.... that's all I can think of right now. I'm sure there is more.


Also, which rear fender is better? Squared or rounded. Personally I like rounded, but some of my friends like the square one.

Posted by: Santiago Diaz Garces Apr 24 2010, 04:45 AM

Now you're able to work on american choppers!! Hahaha

Posted by: Sensible Jones Apr 24 2010, 08:12 PM

Looking good man!!!!

Personally I'd go for the Round as well, but in BLACK!!!

Posted by: sted Apr 24 2010, 08:30 PM

hey man, long time no see! Yeah, rounded for my money too! Looking good!

Posted by: Praetorian Apr 25 2010, 02:11 AM

Round fender...without question!

Posted by: Azzaboi Apr 25 2010, 02:43 AM

Thoses are super awesome rides. Could I have a ride on the Yamaha XS650 Bobber, that looks like fun. Oh yeah and you can trust me, no license, last time I rode a dirt bike off-road into a electric fence, I'll be a lot more careful next time! zap zap

Posted by: Sircraigery Apr 25 2010, 02:20 PM

Round fender it is. I'll take it to the wire wheel and beat the chrome off of it.


Lucky my friend owns so many bikes, I'm going to have to temporarily rob some stuff like mirrors and foot pegs so I can pass my inspection by the end of next week. I'm living in Regina for school, but Alberta is home so that's where I'm going to register the bike. I'm only home until the start of next week, so things have to happen fast.


This weeks check list includes:
finishing the frame welds
rear engine mounts
chain guard
exhaust
wiring the handle bars (Left: kill switch ||| RIght: signal switch, horn button, Hi/Lo beams)
mounting signal lights (front & rear)
Seat mount
mounting the kick stand
license plate holder and brake/running light


A lot to do, but I can get it done I hope. I normally go home for a week after every semester, but I think this time I'll need to use that to finish my bike, and go back for the weekend sometime soon.

Posted by: Santiago Diaz Garces Apr 25 2010, 05:30 PM

There's some work to do ahead!. Good luck, you can finish it!!

Posted by: Chris Evans Apr 26 2010, 10:44 AM

wow thats really come together nicely, you`ve done a great job so far, cant wait to see it finished, I`ll go with the others as well, round rear fender ftw

Posted by: Sircraigery Apr 30 2010, 09:14 AM

If anyone wants to hear how it sounds (headers only, no pipes yet).

Yes, I am going to wire it cleaner, I just needed to know if my cylinders we wired properly (and I was dying to hear it).

Sensible Jones -> She barks quick with the throttle, but takes a while to idle down. I know my carbs need to be synced, but will adding a baffle to the exhaust help this or is it strictly a fuel/air mixture problem? (I'm terrible with carbs ha ha)

Posted by: sted May 3 2010, 10:44 AM

Sounds like a beast mate!! You need to git that sucker on the road!!

Posted by: Sensible Jones May 3 2010, 11:28 AM

Oh great, I get the Techhie questions!!!!!

OK, adding a baffle will help that. Think of the Air coming in through the Carbs, getting mixed and then burned and spat out through the exhaust with no resistance anywhere along that process (because there's no Back Pressure). So, when you open the throttle it'll run up quickly but will take some time to drop back to idle as the engine is having to overwork to stay running due to it's 'free breathing' state. Once you add a bit of Back Pressure with a baffle you should alleviate this! You don't need to go too mad with the baffling and loose too much noise!! Once you have the Exhaust finished THEN Sync/Balance your Carbs. You may need to adjust the mixture as well to get optimum performance/economy.
My last Z650 was running straight through pipes and open filters, I had to put in larger Jets and richen up the mixture and it would still give about 33 MPG and that was riding it hard!!

Posted by: Sircraigery May 8 2010, 09:16 AM

Ok thanks SJ. Today I started to build the exhaust.



I also started my chain tensioner (http://www.monstercraftsman.com/?l1=products). But I think I'm going to use a old school skateboard wheel instead. I just don't like the idea of having that sprocket seize up while I'm going dow the highway. Having a roller that has no teeth, at least the chain won't bind and lock my back wheel up.

I also decided to build a new battery box. The old one was sort of ugly, and didn't match the bike. The new one is tucked under the seat, as you can see. Almost fully mounted, and still needs the corners rounded out.


You can also see, I put a leather "tool" bag on the front of the bike to hide the wiring that would normally go into the old headlight. Since I was changing the headlight, I couldn't hide wires so this was my only option. I think it finishes off the front of the bike.







Chain guard got started today. Took a 1.5" square tube, and cut off one side. That actually took forever since the tubing wall was an 1/8" thick.

Also started beating the chrome off the rear fender.


The electrical system in the shop isn't the best, so I sorta have to take breaks or start working on other parts. This gives things time to cool down, otherwise I'm popping breakers every couple of minutes.

Posted by: Sircraigery May 29 2010, 11:43 PM

Hey guys,

This is the final progress report on the KZ650. Hope everyone who is following this build likes the finished product. The only thing I'm changing is painting the rear fender black (and hiding the wires underneath it).

The bike is balanced perfect, and rides great. It pulls really hard (surprisingly) for a 30 year old bike. The carbs are sync'd but set a bit rich, and I'm still neck and neck with my friends GS750.

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic May 30 2010, 08:30 PM

Hey man, bike looks (and sounds hehe) really cool! Congrats on building it! I wish I had something similar to ride )) One day....

Posted by: sted May 30 2010, 09:51 PM

beautiful mate! And just in time for this summer! cue the steppenwolf.....

Posted by: Sensible Jones May 31 2010, 12:05 PM

SWEEEET!!!!!!
Great job mate!!!

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic May 31 2010, 09:47 PM

WOOW, great bike man and awesome mean sound heavy metal indeed hahaa \m/

Carbs and air filters look awesome

Posted by: Sircraigery Jun 2 2010, 07:12 AM

Thanks everyone. Finally got all the bugs worked out with the setting the carbs properly.

Going to debut the bike to the world (in person) this weekend in a rally for diabetes. Anyone who has seen the bike during the test rides has stopped as asked about it. I'm just waiting for a "Nice Harley" haha.

I'll post another vid this weekend of me actually riding it, if I get a chance.