Fast forward a bit to December. The storage unit where I was storing the Kz and Gsxr experienced a bit of flooding. The bikes were moved to higher ground but it wasn't high enough for the record flooding. After 4 days underwater, the flood receded and I found the bikes knocked over but with minimal amount of damage considering the situation.



During the time in storage I was slowly collecting pieces to update the Kz. I found a Zrx1100 swingarm and an installed but never used Z1 carved seat. I also bought a pair of RFY shocks that were rebuilt by CL MotoTech. I also picked up a set of Carrozzeria wheels but their fate is still undetermined.

After the recovering the Kz from the flood, I was able to get the bike running with a carb clean and a couple oil flushes. With the biggest hurdle conquered, I set about getting the swingarm to fit. I had to shave about 1/4" or so from the pivot and turn up some spacers to adapt the 20mm pivot of the arm to the Kz pivot bolt. Luckily, the arm missed the stock muffler brackets.



I ended up with a spare Brembo rear caliper so might as well put it to use. I pulled out some 5/8" 6061 plate and made a simple mount. I'll get some pics of the finished part later.



To be continued...

Later, Doug

I skipped work today for reasons I wont get into. Lets just say there was a cluster at home and due to evening commitments it wouldn't be worth the trouble to head in so I called in.

It was a beautiful day in the middle of the week in the middle of the day so I decided to see if Big Cottonwood wasn't crowded. The resorts are closed but it's still too cold and snowy at the top 1/3 of the canyon for hikes and such to want to go up there. I was in luck, it wasn't at least inbound. I had only 3 cars get in my way, one pulled off for me and I easily got around the others. This meant the S-curve about 1/3 of the way up was all clear. This is the goal for all riders and performance car drivers are trying to achieve when they head up this canyon. I hit it at about 5:15 in the vid. I left the entire ride up the canyon, from turning in from the valley intersection to stopping in the resort parking lot, uncut since it was such a free and clear ride with many other nice twisties and sweepies. You see how it progressively gets less green and more white. It was in the lower to mid 70s at the bottom and 20 degrees colder at the top. The ride down, not so much. I had a car and/or a cop in my way most the ride down so I left it out.

Here's the triumphant bike porn shot at the top. Like my "new" ZRX shocks? I also put the original tail piece and side covers back on. The other side is black since it is a replacement from a KZ700.




If you only want to see the S-curve bit you can see it in this thread .

After looking at the pics in the previous post then looking at some earlier pics I think I'm going to go back to the original style side panels. Especially with the ZRX shocks.

I just took her for a spin with my "new" ZRX shocks.

Rides great. I also got involved in an airbox discussion and ended up modifying the filter cap which works very nice I'm going to have to make some adjustments but i like the way its running.

79MKII wrote: Those shocks look awesome. Would you mind sharing the details on them?

They are Bitubo WMT series shocks. They are fully adjustable and sprung and valved for your weight.

I order the two pair I bought with chrome springs. Hard anodized bodies and are comparable to an Ohlins. ZRX owners association has done two group buys that I took part in. These are for the KZ. I had custom decals made up for them as well to replace the red factory ones.

www.bitubo.com/index_en.php?lang=en

Cory

Those shocks look awesome. Would you mind sharing the details on them?

Nothing major to report, Still messing a little with the tuning. Changed the oil and went up to Brighton Ski Resort last weekend. I pulled the KZ750 badges off the side panels.



I have some goodies to put on. Some switch gear, quick twist throttle and a set of road lights. Going to wait until I get a fuse box from Creative Wiring Solutions now that he's no longer MIA.

OH YEAH! I have a set of ZRX shocks on the way!

emy111 wrote: @Kidkawie

Yes, I bought the bike from one of my parents neighbors for $650 (with title) about 4 years ago.
It had a crappy brand 4-1 exhaust, but other than that, it was all stock 1974 z1 900, but with 1975 tank / tail colors.

I rode it for a year with the motor all stock.
Then I did the weisco 1015 kit, and rode it like that for a year.
Then I did webcam 118 cams and keihin crs 29 carbs and rode it for a year like that.

Then I realized my frame had a crack in it, so I tore the entire thing down, and had the frame fixed / welded, cylinder head ported, another set of cams, and a bunch of other shit ...

So, yes, I've gotten to experience the motor in a few different forms.
It's a fun bike. I love it.

I'm sure it's night and day, but what do you think about the frame bracing and suspension mods? For the forks, did you just respring it or do emulators?

I'm running stock forks on my Z1B with modified ZRX shocks. I'll probably do the emulators (been saying it for years now) this spring. Only doing minor bolt-on mods. My Dad bought it new in '75.

ThatGPzGuy wrote: The ZRX shocks are a bit longer. I didn't notice a huge difference but it did quicken the steering a little. The most bang for the buck was the cartridge emulators and Progressive springs

Well crap! Why didn't I think of that? I guess I assumed the ZRX was a monoshock. I looked it up and sure enough it's a 365 mm long shock. I think I'm going to buy or build the 30 mm extenders first and see how I like it and if I do I'll get the ZRX spec shocks for later.

The ZRX shocks are a bit longer. I didn't notice a huge difference but it did quicken the steering a little. The most bang for the buck was the cartridge emulators and Progressive springs