Guys, replies are great thankyou, answers are -
The controls on the handle bars are suzuki Busa 1300, these were specials I bought on ebay for $100 with fittings (haven't seen them advertisd since).

Steering dampner is a hyperpro, it works well but I did have trouble ensuring it doesn't rotate on the fork leg so I have a small bracket attached to the triple clamp base. The adapters were something I had left over from my ZRX1000 hyperpro (old model that leaked). I had (my friend again) a set of spacers machined to fit the clamp onto the smaller diameter fork.

Koni shocks work well, the only time I can see problem when we go on weekends through some tight corners (close to the frame limit), you can get just a hint of fade but then maybe others would as well.
The cable leaving the left hand controls (I assume)is my hydraulic clutch line, the feel and pull are much better than the cable without the faults of having a cable. I run synthetic fluid to prevent the usual corrosion in clutch fluids

Make no mistake evey weekend this beast gets hammered, and every time it just needs a wipe (once a month)and off she goes. It uses a small amount of oil every 5000km so even that I don't worry about. Lets put it this way, the ZRX (dragged a couple) will just start pulling away over 170 kph.

The one thing no-one mentioned was the pipe, without doubt my best addition I highly recommend it, it's a Marving (yes the Italian mob) racing pipe but its very pleasant and less noisy then Kerker or equivalent, the power gain was noticable to my three previous pipes (you have to remove it for the filter.
I also have digital Voltmeter and fuel gauge (I'll post pictures) which look/work 100% better than standard.
let me know if you need other info, once I finish replying I'll start looking at your bikes and asking questions.
I've posted some pictures of this bike going through central Australi dirt roads in the wet season,,, yes I know give me a break I was young and foolish.





I'll post pictures before the weekend (where is a good place to post them?)

Hey! Saw this build on the zrx forum and now over here! Nice!

Like many others, I have a 5/8" offset sprocket and a machined rear hub on my '77 KZ1000 in my avatar. I to have run it w/o a support plate on the street and track days. No issues.

Enjoying your build! Steady on!

I have a '78 KZ1000 that I'm waiting to decide what to do with. I also have a zrx1100 swingarm and soon I'll have zrx1200 KYB shocks and front end. Hmmm. What to do... what to do?!?!

So, I spent some time on the mill today....Mark & Co convinced me to move the shocks forward and lean them.




So here are the finished goods, but they need to be welded in this weekend.




Nice tight fit to the tube radius, should weld nicely.

Cory

Do you need to modify the upper shock mounts for the wider swingarm?

Your sag numbers will dictate spring rates. I have ZRX shocks on my Z1 and have 0 static sag.

i agree, that goes for most bikes.
i just feel that my rear end (the bikes, lol)feels better/smoother, tracks the road better in the lowered position. it also makes the internal damping work as intended. its more about letting the shock work the modern way as apposed to the old way. when they designed the kz that era ran the shocks more upright. a vertical shock over the axle travels at the same rate as the wheel. 1:1. through there racing efforts they discovered that the bikes handled better when they started giving the shock less travel to the axles. Just look at the race bikes in the late 70’s to early 80’s, they started laying the shock down. this improved the handling. eventually they hit the limit, and went mono with levers to get the ratios way up. and the handling went up with it.

it made a big dif. that I could feel. to me anyways
hard to go wrong if u copy ma kawi.

NakedFun wrote: Mark,

You are running a 5/8" offset though right? I am running a narrower 3/8" offset and milling the rear hub to slide the rear sprocket toward the centerline of the bike. I have considered leaning the rear shocks forward, but I am 260 lbs and I can change the rear spring rate with different springs if required. I am also measuring the geometry against my ZRX to see how far I am off a stock ZRX geometry. As far as the peg bosses go, I am not sure how I haven't decided what direction to go with the pegs yet. I may weld in new peg mounts for my rearsets, or make adapter plates that mount off the stock peg bolts, then mount to my rear sets. It is still in flux. I know you have been down this road before, so your expertise is always appreciated.

Cory

i am running a 5/8 offset, and i too milled the rear hub. i ended up running a 170 tire. at 260lbs u may be fine. i found that my 170 lb ass kept getting bucked off the seat on the stock shock mounts, so i copied the zrx geometry . it rides much smoother now.
As far as the peg bosses go, i meant the lower one on the inside of the frame. it stick out a bit and the chain hits it with a 5/8" offset.

Mark,

You are running a 5/8" offset though right? I am running a narrower 3/8" offset and milling the rear hub to slide the rear sprocket toward the centerline of the bike. I have considered leaning the rear shocks forward, but I am 260 lbs and I can change the rear spring rate with different springs if required. I am also measuring the geometry against my ZRX to see how far I am off a stock ZRX geometry. As far as the peg bosses go, I am not sure how I haven't decided what direction to go with the pegs yet. I may weld in new peg mounts for my rearsets, or make adapter plates that mount off the stock peg bolts, then mount to my rear sets. It is still in flux. I know you have been down this road before, so your expertise is always appreciated.

Cory

Here's some updated pics. Switch blocks restored, ZRX shocks, etc.







Soda blasted the engine




ZRX shocks

I went with ZRX shocks, comp and rebound adj, and rebuildable/tuneable. $130 off Ebay. Had to massage the to fit, not too bad though andthey work good.

Stock Z1 shocks (actually aftermarket shocks) are 13 7/8" eye to eye.
ZRX shocks are 14.25" eye to eye

I measured the sags from the center of the axle vertically to the bottom edge of the rear fender.

Stock shock sag
Free sag 15 1/2"
Static sag 15"

ZRX shock sag
Free sag 16"
Static sag 16" ???

Ride height was measured from the floor vertical to the center of the top shock mount.

Stock - 27 1/2"
ZRX 27 3/4 - 7/8"

Main issue is the chain guard. I was going to save mine but it was a little scratched so I decided I'd cut it and find an OEM one later for replacement, or not. There were burrs on the top shock mount studs I had to file down, not sure how they got there but since the ZRX shocks have a steel inner sleeve the top stud has to be clean. With the bike on the center stand, the swingarm hits the exhaust mount so you have to pry the bottom of the shock to insert the bolt.











Might hear a clunk when the suspension fully extends while riding. When I service the shocks I'll install a limiter so the shock's bump stop takes the hit.