Hello all, new member of the KZ world here. Picked up a 2001 KZ1000P runner with 42K a few weekends ago for a few bills, thinking that it'd be a nice cheap bike for my fiance to learn to ride on. Only took the 150 mile trip back home to decide that anyone brave enough to ride this bike was utterly bonkers. Everything from the forward controls to the clutch and brakes were sloppy...you could never tell if you actually engaged the clutch or changed a gear, it felt like the front wheel was going to eject itself when coming from a stop, and my god the vibrations at 60 and up were enough to set off an active volcano.
However, the ride back home did give me time to ponder what the bike's fate would be now that my fiance wouldn't be mangling herself on it. A few hours deliberation finally sealed it, I've got the old man touring side of the motorcycle spectrum already handled with my Stratoliner...and I've always had that calling of the old world, where comfort and chrome were for pansies, so why not answer that call by building it?
Now bear in mind I've been riding for about 4 years now, and having purchased all relatively new bikes I've never had to troubleshoot, fix, or otherwise do anything more then a few oil changes. I've been an auto and diesel tech for years now, and am familiar with amateur parts fabrication, but carbs and motorcycles are still a mechanical mystery to me...add on top of that a fairly large project that isn't just slapping parts together, and this should get interesting. Anyway, enough about my mechanical inadequacies, onto the build.
Here's how I got her, looks nice enough...
...And 4 hours later
The frame will be converted to a hardtail for sure, and as I don't trust my welding and fab skills enough to bet my life on, I'll be sending the frame off to cycle one for the conversion. I also want to get rid of the ugly triple tube backbone, instead using a single tube backbone. All the extra mounting for various things like the floorboards, fairing, etc... will all be cut off as well.
An engine and transmission rebuild will definitely be in the works, still not sure if I want to undertake that myself just yet, or ship it off and have it professionally done, or a mix of both. Probably have pit stop do any work as they seem to be the favorite from what I have read. I'll probably be keeping the engine stock displacement, one oversize if necessary. Externally the engine itself will likely be bare aluminum with a media blasted finish.
The hardtail conversion will pave the way for a variety of aftermarket wheels and widths. I'm thinking about using an OEM FLHT 40 spoke wheel (16"x5") with a 180 tire on the rear, and an 18" 40 spoke on the front from whatever I can pull one off of. The forks and triples will be changed out in favor of a springer setup, there's a guy selling the full setup on ebay for $380, I just have to find the bearings to make it work with the KZ neck. I'm toying with the idea of apes, maybe 12" rise or so, nothing too crazy. The final decision will come once I can actually sit on it and figure out where my arm placement would work best.
As for a general aesthetic theme, I'm thinking bare metal engine and accessories on flat black frame. No polishing, no chrome if I can avoid it. I intend to commandeer a friend's lathe/mill and make my own forward controls, which will receive nothing besides a basic knurl. Standard trailer fender chopped in two for the rear, no fender in the front. I'll make up a black leather springer seat, slap a smaller fuel tank of a yet undecided design on there, delete as much wiring as humanly possible, then hopefully have some kind of something resembling a bike by the end.
Hopefully none of that sounds too crazy...at least if it is I hope I find out before I go to town with the cutoff wheel. It's still in the planning stages, but it'll pick up steam once the big stuff (frame and powertrain) get settled. Oh and if anybody want's some leftover parts don't be afraid to ask.