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Hello everyone! Happy to join your forum and depending on how it goes, I might be back frequently.

I noticed a KZ400 go up for sale near me and I'm thinking of buying it to do a cafe racer conversion. Never built a cafe racer before but I can do some wrenching stuff. However, I've never welded in my life..

The bike I want to buy will be easy enough to get running, but I'm not sure how the conversion will go down. It looks like this is a 1980s model with the upswept rear part of the frame. Is it possible to get that straight in the cafe racer style? Would it be too difficult for a beginner welder? How do people even do the whole seat and cowl thing?

I posted this same question on reddit and was redirected here, so , hopefully I can find an answer. If not, I'll probably pass on this bike.

Thank you!

You can also check out DoTheTon.com or Caferacer.net . I suggest getting it running and riding in tip top shape first and then go to modifying your machine. As for the welding get someone who does it for a living or attend a class at your local community college.


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Welcome aboard!

If you're in the US, the "1980s model" would be a KZ440, rather than a 400. For model identification - and a metric boatload of other great info - check out www.kz400.com.

By "upswept rear part of the frame" it sounds like you're talking about a KZ440 LTD; this is the cruiser model that has a dip in the upper frame rail, which then angles up toward the tail. Does it have a "king and queen" cruiser-style seat?

I am currently working on a cafe conversion of a 1981 KZ440 LTD, and will let you in on a little secret: you can remove the seat cover and trim the stock seat foam into a good approximation of a bum-stop seat. You will however have to sew your own seat cover. This eliminates the need to worry about the dip in the frame rail: the seat remains on the stock pan and hinges, which is nice. Or you can buy one (foam + seat cover) from motorcycleseatsdirect.com if you want something off the shelf. Theirs also uses the stock seat pan but is pricey.

The bigger part of the conversion will be rearsets: there are no aftermarket rearsets for the KZ400/440 so you will need to work that out. I am thinking about using the rear passenger pegs because I have short legs and a long torso, so what would be awkward for normally-shaped people will work for me.

As Nebr_rex mentioned, find someone - preferably a pro - who can do the welding for you.

If the bike you're considering is indeed an LTD, it will have a cruiser-style fuel tank, which is not really conducive to the cafe look. I am doing a tank swap to get around that.

There were some KZ400 LTDs produced also.


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Fair enough, but I believe those were only in 1979, and anything 1980 or later would be a 440. If the OP is looking at a 1980s bike it wouldn't be a 400.

Modifying the frame, without welding ability makes it tough. You would be better off with a frame that is already the shape you want. That said, I'd rather see an Ltd 440 cut up before an early 400 standard.

Nebr_Rex wrote: You can also check out DoTheTon.com or Caferacer.net . I suggest getting it running and riding in tip top shape first and then go to modifying your machine. As for the welding get someone who does it for a living or attend a class at your local community college.
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Wise words these... I bought a KZ400 D3 to café but I ended up keeping it stock. It's too pretty to hack up. Now a 440 LTD is another matter...hack away. I ended up getting a XS650 Special to café which no one is going to miss.

loudhvx wrote: Modifying the frame, without welding ability makes it tough. You would be better off with a frame that is already the shape you want. That said, I'd rather see an Ltd 440 cut up before an early 400 standard.

Amen.


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