wrote:

My opinion...

Fork springs, stiffer than .7, fresh oil and done

Ikon or Hagon shocks.  Or maybe the Biturbo shocks you found for a good price.  These shocks will provide performance consistent with the limits in the rest of the bike.  

Beyond that, it's mostly fluff.  If you don't have stainless/teflon brake lines, that would be a good investment with some of the money you will save over higher cost options.
 

I am with Ed (Nessism) on this. They KYB shocks, resprung, rebuilt and Gold valved will be almost as good as a set of Bitubo shocks which are almost as good as the Ohlins. If you want to get deep in the weeds on this issue, there are several extensive discussion threads over at ZRXOA.COM. Guys there have experience with rebuilt KYBs, Bitubos (which is what I have), Ohlins, Wilbers WP, Penske and the rest. One thing I have noticed in those discussions are that the riders who do not do track days and are not aggressive on the street claim to see much less difference than the riders who do those things.
If it fits your budget, I would say, Bitubo shocks out back, Race Tech springs, cartridge emulators and oil up front. Definitely better brake lines. You may also want to look at Traxxion Dynamics.   traxxion.com/
 

Finally got a quote from RaceTech, so time to weigh options, and commit. Wondering what you guys think here. 

On the front end, there’s still the option of the Öhlins replacement springs (and rebuild). I have not yet gotten any info from RaceTech if they can supply springs or not, but I will ask them if I decide to go with them for the ZRX shock rebuild. 

So on to the quote for the shocks. For a rebuild and lowering of the ZRX shocks, they quoted about $720. I can pony up extra to have gold valves installed, which would run about $1330, but that’s pretty much out of my budget and probably more than I need. But $720 is less than the Öhlins I was looking at are currently selling for, and I’d have 3-way adjustable KYB shocks that would look I think much more like they belong there instead of being aftermarket. Of course, they’d still have to shipped, I don’t know what the lead time is for the service, and I already dropped $270 to purchase these ZRX shocks in the first place. So ultimately a lot more spent.

What do you guys think? Worth it? 

I have ZRX1100 shocks on my KZ650.
They are almost 2 inches longer than the Koni shocks I had on before.
I had the front end lowered for years, forks slid up in the triple clamps, so moved them back to stock height.
Also have an 18" front wheel, so that must lower the axle 1/2".

First few rides I could feel a little difference; the bike sits higher and corning was different, but now after many rides she feels normal.

My ZRX got Ohlins rear shocks.
Noticable improvement in ride over the stock shocks.
The front end needed some help, and adjusting them with the help of Steve who sold me the Ohlins helped.
Both the KZ and ZRX will get some front end attention this Winter, RaceTech Emulators and rebuilds are in the plan.

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I would pick something with adjustable damping. It comes in handy now and then.

If I end up getting the ZRX shocks to work, I’ll have preload, compression, and rebound adjustability. Hoping that’s less than the cost of the Öhlins, but we will wait and see. I called RaceTech this morning, they are gonna look into it and get back to me.

wrote:

. So unless anybody knows if there is a way to shorten some ZRX shocks up a little bit (I already have a pair I could use),

I would call racetech. I believe racetech can rebuild and revalve ZRX shocks. It's also possible they could limit the travel internally to make them a 1/2" shorter, assuming that leaves enough compression travel for your setup. This may not be much cheaper than those ohlins, but presumably the result would be custom trailered to your bike

Really awesome responses here guys! I knew I came to the right place with these questions. Thank you all sincerely for taking the time to get into it with me. I can't seem to get replies or answers from manufacturers or shops, but you all are right on top of it. Again, thank you!

You've all helped sway my opinion and given me a better idea what makes sense for me. The irony of it is, I think I'm still going with Ohlins. Here me out though, I think this is actually gonna make sense, LOL!

For the front forks, you guys have convinced me that all I need is new springs, and a good rebuild. RaceTech was my first choice, and their rate calculator suggests 0.71 kg/mm spring rate (stock is 0.52 kg/mm). However, their site says that they don't actually have springs with that rate available. Cue sad trumpet sound. But guess who does have springs available that are exactly the right spring rate?  Yep, you guessed it, Ohlins.  I guess I could save a little money and go with Progressive, but they don't even list what the kg/mm is, so I feel like the Ohlins is a safer bet.

For the shocks, I would be thrilled if there was a way to have a set of ZRX shocks rebuilt to work with my bike. They are a direct bolt-on as far as the eyelets are concerned, but they are 1/2" longer than my stock Zephyr shocks. The bike feels plenty sporty for my skill level, and I don't want to raise the rear end up and make the front feel twitchier. So unless anybody knows if there is a way to shorten some ZRX shocks up a little bit (I already have a pair I could use), then I am on to plan B...

Obviously there are hundreds of shock choices out there, and to Nessism's point, I found a set of Bitubos for around $400 that would probably be great. However, I will confess to some vanity and desire to make my bike look cool, plus having a name I can trust on there.  Once again, Ohlins.  Yes, they're a little pricey. But surprisingly, they're more like in the middle of the price range, and also they're not adjustable to the nines. Preload only. I figure if they've already dialed in the compression and rebound at the factory (and I imagine Ohlins knows how to do that better than I do!) than it's less I have to worry about. 

So other than figuring out if there is some way to make the ZRX shocks work, I think I have my plan. What do you guys think?

Test fitted the new headlight bracket to the Mk2.. will fit fine once I space it out with some neoprene washers, along with spacers between the bracket and lower yoke. The original ZRX bracket used thick rubber grommets which need to be accounted for. Next need to make a pair of alloy 'ears', to bolt to this bracket which will hold the headlight.

Meanwhile, took a trip to Maxton Suspension to collect my custom built shocks.. very nice. Cant fit them yet as the upper shock mount uses spacer/threaded jet style nut to move the mount out to match the wider swing arm. The ZRX shocks fitted originally had their top mounts modified to fit the now 18mm extension. Standard Zeds use a 14mm top mount, as does my new Maxton shocks. I wasn't happy with the 'extenders' that were fitted, so will make something better in one piece not two, complete with a standard 14mm top mount.

OE ZRX1200 Bracket


New bracket Test fit


Upper shock mount spacer needs more work


Maxton Shocks


 

Found a pair of headlight brackets I liked, they can be fitted without dropping the stanchions in the yokes, but sadly the back of the clamps hit the tank on full lock, so they cant be used. Therefore, since I had an original ugly ZRX1200 headlight/fairing mount, I've sketched out a better looking version, and bent a piece of 7mm steel rod to make a sort of cage, similar tot hat used on the KZ650. Just taken it to my local welder to have him complete it, and fab the all important mounts to bolt it to the existing cast mounts which are part of the ZRX1200 yokes. I took along the ZRX mount to use as a guide as to how the mounts should be made.

In the next week or so I should be getting a pair of custom shocks from Maxton, along with rear sets from Tarozzi in Italy, both have a 4 week lead time. 

  

I've wanted to buy my old Turbo Zed back for awhile, as its owned by a friend. He started to restore / modify it but hasn't been able to do much with it for a few years. Like me he has other bikes that need work, and there's only so much time and money he can devote to his projects. So today I bought it back, though its now in pieces.

The bike was built in the mid eighties as a road legal drag bike.. I'm told by the original owner that it was one of the fastest such bikes of the time.

Fast forward twenty years, the poor Zed had been left languishing in a damp shed when I saw it, bought it and brought it home. The engine was stripped and found to have bent conrod and other serious problems.

My original plan ten years ago, was to restore it back to its turbocharged glory. But as ever life gets in the way and I sold it on to my friend who had other plans for the old Zed.

The turbo has long gone, as have the lightweight wheels, forks, frame an bodywork! But even so the engine is still something special. It has a Orient Express big block which allows it to be take a set of big pistons, taking the engine from 1000cc up to 1400cc. Oh and it also had homemade Nitrous Oxide injection too... that was super dodgy so it wont be used.

The good news is that the bike comes with a different Z frame, that's been braced and strengthened and modified to take wider modern wheels, its even powder coated. In place of the classic Z1 bodywork, it comes with a mint set of bodywork from a late seventies Z1000 Mk2, along with a swingarm and forks from a later ZXR1200.

I'm still thinking about which way to take the Zed... build it as a road bike, turbo it, or maybe go for broke and build a 'show bike' with lots of high end parts... inspired by the Japanese custom house ''Sanctuary RCM'' Google them they are v impressive bikes.

How it looked when I bought it more than ten years ago..




While many years later, this is what I bought, Forks need new stanchions, wheels are from an R1, suspension and swing arm from an ZRX1200. Dont like the shocks or wheels so they will be replaced..



Having finally pulled the tank and bodywork out of its packing, I've had a change of heart regarding the repaint. The original paint is just too good to be resprayed. The tank did around 2000 miles on the bike, before it was removed and stored for many years. So now I'm just going to have the ZRX12 front mudguard colour matched, while need to source a seat. 



As for the second Zed, That project has only just began.. starting with a Z1000A1 frame imported from the US