My '77 KZ650 bobber project

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

I picked this bike up today off a buddy of mine here locally. It runs and drives fine, it was just lacking some cosmetic work...or so I thought haha. Upon looking the bike over I discovered that the wiring was an absolute nightmare and rats nest. There was open ended wires hanging, bare wires and wires connected together unsoldered, untaped, ect. So I started to strip the bike down and eliminate all the wiring that wasn't a necessity. I am going to run all the wiring down through the frame to tuck it away out of sight. This is going to be a learning experience for me as I have never owned a bike and hell I have never really been into bikes of this style. Luckily my brother in law owns a 78' 750 bobber, so he's gonna be giving me a hand.

 

Plans for the bike:

Wire tuck

Buy a different rear fender and shape it how I want it

Powder coat the frame (color undecided)

Powder coat the wheels (color undecided)

Paint the tank and fender (color undecided)

Make sure all routine things are taken care of such as new rear tire, brakes, etc..

Sell it come spring time!

 

Here is what the bike started out as and then pictures of the stripping process

 

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy218/guy_from_nerk/Bobber%20Project/10511279_10152786821501907_8367379525946425783_n_zps23798d9c.jpg

 

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy218/guy_from_nerk/Bobber%20Project/10401984_10152786821611907_3194283239358935420_n_zpsd8ba47bf.jpg

 

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy218/guy_from_nerk/Bobber%20Project/10672407_10152786821826907_1079743414354050617_n_zpsf308cd92.jpg

 

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy218/guy_from_nerk/Bobber%20Project/10355833_10152786821736907_6356739212893475035_n_zps1f23a795.jpg

 

The electronic ignition was broke, so I will be replacing that and eliminating the kick starter. Yes that is a bicycle pedal on the kick starter

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy218/guy_from_nerk/Bobber%20Project/10383642_10152786821666907_4750848824576218257_n_zpsa5dc817e.jpg

 

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy218/guy_from_nerk/Bobber%20Project/1544945_10152786821901907_2259377788742704992_n_zpsabc0af1a.jpg

 

And a bike I really like and hope this one sort of turns out like, just in a different color scheme

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy218/guy_from_nerk/Bobber%20Project/1977_Kawasaki_KZ_650_Chopper_bobber_project_completed__zpsab30e38f.jpg

[Jackson1647545504]

3.2/10

 

Should have posted photos, challenged people to 40 rolls, and 28 months later posted a progress pic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

looking good and nice start !!!

[Not Brian]

I have nothing to add except that sounds like a fun project. I've never owned a bike either, but would someday like to pick up something cheap like that to tinker with. I think a burnt orange color with black accents would look pretty sweet, but am always partial to a nice deep blue.

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

There is a teal color that reminds me of the 50's that I really like. I was thinking about doing that color on the frame and wheels with white walls. The only issue I would have then is finding a color that doesn't clash to do the tank/fender. Idk, I have a little bit of time to figure all that out. Right now the main focus is wiring

[Green Bastard]

Do you know anything about the running condition of the bike? I see it has no filters and a straight piped exhaust. The reason I ask is because (at least on my old kz750) for each mod to help the motor flow (ie exhaust and filters) you should go up one jet size, otherwise it could run too lean. Looks like a cool project though.

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

Yeah it ran fine, he rode it over to my house to drop it off today. I plan on putting filters back on the carb, mainly because I think it looks terrible without them.

[Bullnugget]

That is a sweet little project, and I bet it is fun as hell to ride!

[-Alex-]

Nice, they're really fun bikes and pretty simple to work on. I had 2 late '76 built KZ650s.

[Geeto67]

here are two pennies that don't buy anything these days....

 

Because you said you have never owned a bike I am assuming your riding experience is almost zero. This is a horrible idea for a first motorcycle. It doesn't handle, it barely stops (if you think those 70's disc brakes are up to par you are in for a shock), it will bounce around while also compressing your spine, it will scrape and high center nearly everywhere, and the rain gutters in the roadway will constantly take you by surprise with how much you will be pushed around. It also doesn't promote good riding habits due to missing things like signals, mirrors, etc...My advice, is before you even try to ride the thing, take an MSF course, buy some real gear (full face helmet, gloves, jacket, over the ankle boots, and a set of pants that won't shred when you fall - levis won't cut it).

 

I know you said it runs well but just looking at it I can tell you it is not. Even though those mukuni carbs are a better design than most other vintage bike carbs, they don't like open mouths with no filters. These aren't cars, even the stock airbox isn't restrictive and there is a lot of GP motorcycle tech that made it's way into these engines before it was ever seen in production cars. Before you pull the engine from the frame I would do the full service on the engine - valve adjustment, timing chain tension adjustment, timing (check the advance mechanism too), carb sync, etc....so that when you do finally pull the engine you know you won't be chasing gremlins that were there before.

 

You have a lot more work ahead of you than wiring and cosmetics. Although it looks like you have forward controls on there - the actual brake and shifter are still in their stock position while the pegs are just highway pegs. You need to either fabricate a set of forward controls (recommended) or move the pegs back to mid peg position (not recommended due to how uncomfortable the bike will get).

 

Wiring you already mentioned will need to be addressed. Remember frame tubes are structural, so try not to drill to many holes that you don't also reinforce, and be mindful about where you drill those holes. There are clean ways to run wires externally, the OEMS have done it for decades, this thing about running wires inside the frame rail is a show bike trick for bikes that have little intention to be ridden. It looks like the stock original harness was used just to get the bike up and running, get a wiring diagram for your bike and remake the individual harness yourself. There are plenty of places to get good quality wire and connectors if you don't want to use japanese OEM. Pay attention to the wire requirements for each thing - if you are using home depot lamp cord the bike will burn to the ground. Old japanese bikes have terrible electrical systems (most don't break even charge until you are over 2000 rpm) so any way you can improve (blade fuses, weatherpack connectors, etc) it pays to do so, but if you are just uing the wrong stuff it will bite you.

 

Here is a wiring diagram:

http://diagrams.kz650.info/wiring/images/KZ650-C1.jpg

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

I raced dirtbikes as a kid and have rode plenty of bikes, but thanks for your concerns. In regards to the bike running, it does and has been ridden a lot by the previous owner, the carbs have been synced. I am also aware that the brake and shifter levers need to be modified. As for the wiring, I have thought about just running it along the frame rail rather than tapping into the frame it's self. Thanks for the schematic!

[Geeto67]

Do you know anything about the running condition of the bike? I see it has no filters and a straight piped exhaust. The reason I ask is because (at least on my old kz750) for each mod to help the motor flow (ie exhaust and filters) you should go up one jet size, otherwise it could run too lean. Looks like a cool project though.

 

These aren't cars, removing the stock airbox and putting on a less restrictive exhaust doesn't mean the bike "flows" better than before. The Japanese were using plenum tuning on their street bikes going back to the mid 1960's. If you ever take apart an old jap bike airbox you'll usually find a large plenum chamber, a smaller than you would think filter, and a velocity stack for each carb inlet. Often on these older bikes the restriction is in the head to help beef up the torque curve rather than in the airbox and pipe.

 

Often when people remove the airbox they go for pod filters and most often they buy shitty EMGO/Tucker Rocky/Parts Unlimited/Dixie Co pod filters that actually have a restriction built into the inlet that chokes the carb and the bike starts to run rich - but because they apply car logic and think they have de-restricted the engine and are leaning out the engine so they jet up. K&N brand filters often have a generic velocity stack shape inside them that at least makes them workable for most applications (as good as one size fits all can get) but that is why they are $40 per filter rather than $9.95 per.

 

Often part throttle operation suffers the most with good pod filters due to now sucking in roiled air vs air passed through an engineered velocity stack. Which requires moving the needle position rather than jetting.

 

Point is any changes require carb tuning, but the generic "put bigger jets in it" or "just go up a jet size" logic isn't accurate. take a scientific approach, do plug chops, test it, really think about what the carb is doing when you are asking it to do something and it stumbles.

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

Truth be told, I probably wont even ride this thing. I am 6'6, this bike is way too little and is not a comfortable riding position for me. The price I got it for and the want to do something over the winter outside of my car was the main reasons behind purchasing it. I will make it a nice bike and sell someone a nice bike this spring.

[Geeto67]

I raced dirtbikes as a kid and have rode plenty of bikes, but thanks for your concerns. In regards to the bike running, it does and has been ridden a lot by the previous owner, the carbs have been synced. I am also aware that the brake and shifter levers need to be modified. As for the wiring, I have thought about just running it along the frame rail rather than tapping into the frame it's self. Thanks for the schematic!

 

I have a lot of expirence with old japanese bikes. If you get stuck, ping me.

 

This is my old cb550 honda chopper:

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f102/Geeto67/1974%20Honda%20Chopper/5a40.jpg

 

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f102/Geeto67/8750b087.jpg

 

Original AEE kit built out of a new bike in 1974. I bought it from the original owner in 2002 as a basket case and put it back together and rode it around New Orleans before moving back to NY. Sold it in 2013 when I moved to ohio. So I have been down this road before.

 

By the way, all the wiring on this bike was run external. The thing that looks like an oil tank (cb550s are shared case wet sump) is actually the battery box. The front chrome box is where the coils are. All wires were run outside of the frame rail but on the side that faced in toward the bike.

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

Will do, appreciate it.

[Green Bastard]

These aren't cars, removing the stock airbox and putting on a less restrictive exhaust doesn't mean the bike "flows" better than before. The Japanese were using plenum tuning on their street bikes going back to the mid 1960's. If you ever take apart an old jap bike airbox you'll usually find a large plenum chamber, a smaller than you would think filter, and a velocity stack for each carb inlet. Often on these older bikes the restriction is in the head to help beef up the torque curve rather than in the airbox and pipe.

 

Often when people remove the airbox they go for pod filters and most often they buy shitty EMGO/Tucker Rocky/Parts Unlimited/Dixie Co pod filters that actually have a restriction built into the inlet that chokes the carb and the bike starts to run rich - but because they apply car logic and think they have de-restricted the engine and are leaning out the engine so they jet up. K&N brand filters often have a generic velocity stack shape inside them that at least makes them workable for most applications (as good as one size fits all can get) but that is why they are $40 per filter rather than $9.95 per.

 

Often part throttle operation suffers the most with good pod filters due to now sucking in roiled air vs air passed through an engineered velocity stack. Which requires moving the needle position rather than jetting.

 

Point is any changes require carb tuning, but the generic "put bigger jets in it" or "just go up a jet size" logic isn't accurate. take a scientific approach, do plug chops, test it, really think about what the carb is doing when you are asking it to do something and it stumbles.

 

I was just sharing some reading I did on my old bike. My old bike when I got it ran like complete shit (and had no filter of any kind on it), and I ended up putting pod filters on it and retained the stock exhaust. I did jet up one size based on the reading I had done and after doing a few things (mainly rebuilding the carbs) the bike ran like a top. I am glad to see that there is someone with more knowledge than myself on the subject that was able to correct me, I was just concerned about him damaging the bike due to lack of fuel.

[Geeto67]

I was just sharing some reading I did on my old bike. My old bike when I got it ran like complete shit (and had no filter of any kind on it), and I ended up putting pod filters on it and retained the stock exhaust. I did jet up one size based on the reading I had done and after doing a few things (mainly rebuilding the carbs) the bike ran like a top. I am glad to see that there is someone with more knowledge than myself on the subject that was able to correct me, I was just concerned about him damaging the bike due to lack of fuel.

 

wasn't doing it out of spite or anything, this is one of those old tropes that newbies read on the interwebs and think is true across the board - you know "like cold air intakes add 50 hp" and things like that.

 

One of the best examples of 70's motorcycle engineering is the 1969 honda SOHC cb750. There is surprisingly a lot of info on how that engine was developed and it set the standard for how the big four developed their 4 cylinders going forward. It was the first time Honda used a window into the combustion chamber on a motorcycle to make sure they were getting proper burn in the cylinder. They designed the entire intake track to maintain laminar flow starting from the airbox inlet to the valve, and did the same with the exhaust track from the valve to the silencer. It was pretty common in GP racing but pretty novel for a street motorcycle in 1968. The airfilter was never an afterthought, but it was tuned for rideability than all out power. Most people who remove the the airbox on a cb750 think they are adding hp, but the reality is I have owned about 20 cb750s, dynoed a few, and every one without an airbox lost power - even when fueling was spot on. Not the same can be said for every bike - big twins and singles are way more forgiving than inline fours of the same size.

 

Although they both use engines to power the wheels, car and bike logic are worlds apart. Lowering bikes does not make them handle better, removing the airbox and velocity stacks does not add power, fatter tires do not improve cornering. A part is not a part is not a part.

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

So I hated the rear fender that was on the bike, so much so that I went out and bought another one. My brother in law who has built a few bikes told me to go to Tractor Supply Co. and pick up a trailer fender. I did just that, we had to bend, hammer and cuss in order to make it fit but we are almost there. I am going to cut the fender down some and do something fancy looking with it, just to give it some character. I also got the header off the bike, to remove the old, worn out heater wrap that someone put on it. This saturday I am going to take the pipe to a buddies house and bend it, pie cut it, weld it together (its a 2 piece exhaust with a clamp right now), then send it off Monday to be ceramic coated. Enough talking, here's some pics

 

You can somewhat see my marking in this pic, I am going to cut 4" of the fender off by time it's done

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy218/guy_from_nerk/Bobber%20Project/10646679_10152790046061907_170060697637756534_n_zpsc781fd41.jpg

 

Just kinda sitting on there, not in it's final position

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy218/guy_from_nerk/Bobber%20Project/10151416_10152790046116907_7943534983670525746_n_zps05171aae.jpg

 

Old vs New fender

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy218/guy_from_nerk/Bobber%20Project/10374522_10152790046166907_7726807888394994679_n_zps3521e380.jpg

 

The old header wrap was terrible, it fell apart and a lot of it turned to dust. Not sure what my camera's problem was

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy218/guy_from_nerk/Bobber%20Project/10174825_10152790046026907_8101108630767596147_n_zpsca2917d5.jpg

 

Oh and just a random bobber I found online that I really like

http://i793.photobucket.com/albums/yy218/guy_from_nerk/Bobber%20Project/WildCardCustomBobber2_zpsfcb28b46.jpg

[gillbot]

I have nothing to add except that sounds like a fun project. I've never owned a bike either, but would someday like to pick up something cheap like that to tinker with. I think a burnt orange color with black accents would look pretty sweet, but am always partial to a nice deep blue.

 

Buy mine. Shoot me a pm if you are really looking.

[MattKatz]

Truth be told, I probably wont even ride this thing. I am 6'6, this bike is way too little and is not a comfortable riding position for me. The price I got it for and the want to do something over the winter outside of my car was the main reasons behind purchasing it. I will make it a nice bike and sell someone a nice bike this spring.

 

Da Fuq.....Someone Prety much calls you and tells you how to go about things and your tune goes from I picked this cool toy up, to I just bought this to build and sell.....GTFO.

[Not Brian]

Buy mine. Shoot me a pm if you are really looking.

 

"some day"

 

I want a new house with a barn or work shop or something first.

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

Da Fuq.....Someone Prety much calls you and tells you how to go about things and your tune goes from I picked this cool toy up, to I just bought this to build and sell.....GTFO.

 

"Da fuq" are you talking about? My tune has been the entire time that I was going to flip this come spring. My tune is the same, it is a cool toy/project. As a matter of a fact, go look at my very first post, or here I will save you the hassle

 

Plans for the bike:

Wire tuck

Buy a different rear fender and shape it how I want it

Powder coat the frame (color undecided)

Powder coat the wheels (color undecided)

Paint the tank and fender (color undecided)

Make sure all routine things are taken care of such as new rear tire, brakes, etc..

Sell it come spring time!

 

 

Almost every person that has commented has been under the assumption that there is this wrong with the bike or that wrong with it, or I need to take a riders course ect. There has been very few things posted in here that are even worth my time looking at. The stuff that has been worth looking at I stated that I appreciated such as the wiring schematic or offer to contact if I needed help. Thanks for your concerns though haha

[gillbot]

"some day"

 

I want a new house with a barn or work shop or something first.

 

I don't need to sell mine but if I do I'll get something better. If not I plan on doing something similar. Just make it mine, change the rear fender for sure and clean it up.

[cstmg8]

You're right, people should be more constructive. Personally, I think you should cross it with one of your wagons and build a radio bobber. [emoji39]

J/k, I have no help to offer on this project, but I can say that if you apply the talent/skill that we've seen on the wagons, someone will be buying a nice bike. Cool project.

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

You're right, people should be more constructive. Personally, I think you should cross it with one of your wagons and build a radio bobber. [emoji39]

J/k, I have no help to offer on this project, but I can say that if you apply the talent/skill that we've seen on the wagons, someone will be buying a nice bike. Cool project.

 

The thought of putting this motor in a golf cart crossed my mind when I got it, but I would rather keep it as a bike and build something nice for someone to enjoy. I will welcome constructive help all day long as I am not a pro, I just hope people realize that I do have an idea of what I am getting into and will make sure everything is in tip top order before it's finished.

[bones514bb]

go look at my very first post, or here I will save you the hassle

 

 

 

 

Almost every person that has commented has been under the assumption that there is this wrong with the bike or that wrong with it, or I need to take a riders course ect. There has been very few things posted in here that are even worth my time looking at. The stuff that has been worth looking at I stated that I appreciated such as the wiring schematic or offer to contact if I needed help. Thanks for your concerns though haha

 

Your first post States it's your first bike, it's probably not a bad idea to take a rider's course. A bobber isn't a dirt bike, it would be a shame to see you drop it after putting a bunch of work into it.

 

For the record I'd also like to add you're coming off as a complete dick in this thread. People are trying to be helpful, and you're left looking like a fucking jerk. This serves as proof that no matter how fast, built, or "nice" a Honda owner's car is, he's still a Honda owner and will act as such.

 

That's all I have left to say. Back to lurking..