here's a few poor quality pic of my "spares" build up.
got a Z11r frame and most of an engine,with the bits i have collected over the last 10 years or so i had enough to almost build an other one:woohoo: .
so made some space in the dinning room and put the bits together.
so far,
zrx yokes and forks,wheel
z11r engine,frame,bodywork.
gsxr swinging arm ,and wheel(well, i'll take that out my other one).
"yohlins" shocks from a xjr13.
plan is for no light's ,total loss ignition,80's sooperbike stylie.

need to get pistons and rings,exhaust,dyna coils etc
hope it will run this year but money is tight:blush:
so who knows....

yes copy the kz shock angle. this should also put the swing arm at the right droop angle.
put the stock arm and shocks back on and measure the shock angle and the swingarm angle.
draw an imaginary line from the front drive sprocket center, backwards through the swingarm pivots, center, all the way back past the rear axle. the rear axle should end up below this line. that is what i will call the swingarm droop . if all 3 of these axis were lined up, the chain would be at its tightest point. as the rear axle deviates from this line, the chain will get loose.
if the swingarm droop is severe your chain will get very tight as the shock compresses to a zero droop angle.

if u copy the stock kz droop angle u can adjust the chain slack the same as a stock KZ.
i have longer ZRX shocks, so my arm droops down low. this caused me to use a chain support roller under the chain, so it would not rub on my zrx swingarms lower brace. also if i tighten my chain to 1 1/4" of slack, it will be too tight and stretch the chain excessively when the rear droop angle becomes zero.
does this make any sense?

Thanks for the response Mark!

I almost won a set of ZRX shocks the other day on ebay but they jumped way up at the end of the bid and I bowed out of that. I'd love to do track riding, but I don't even know where there are any tracks around me? I think they do some riding a couple hours away from me, but this is definitely not a bike that will see much if any track time. It may see the occasional drag strip (though rare).

I like the plate idea, I'll have to think about it and draw out a solution I think may work. I'll have to take some measurements.

I guess with this being mainly a street machine, shocks for the mean time will not matter too much. I'll stick the stockers back on for now. So if I am using the kz shocks, I should imitate the original angle the KZ had?

ideally u want to copy the same angle that the shock were on the original bike, with no weight. the shocks springs and damping are designed to work with a certain load. by changing the angle and contact points, u change the load. so if i change your shocks later u will have the same dilemma.
maybe u could weld a plate on the bottom of the Z1E mount,that extend front and back. then u could drill and bolt the plate to the arm , and move it later?
have u looked for ZRX shocks at ZRXOA.com ?
The type of shock is dependent on the type of riding u will do. if this will be a cruiser,it wont matter much, the closer u get to track riding, the more u will want better shocks.

Adam, yes thats the same pipe.ihad it ceramic coated.they sandblast it then stick it in this big vat of little balls to clean it inside and out then bake the coating on in oven.as far as swing arm color I was torn between the black finish and the stock looking zrx finish.its all powdered so ill probably leave it like this.still have to finish up brake lines and get my electronic guages.keeping a look out for a decent set of shocks for the rear.I did bid on a set of old fox shocks on e bay but went wayy over my price range.anybody got any good candidates laying around let me know.I found decent 83 GPZ head to replace the stock im running right now.just want to ride it awhile before aI tear the top end off it.cant wait to ride this thing.my daily ride is getting tired.

well, my plans for this build are something along the lines of the bull dock or sanctuary bikes. all but on a smaller budget. i have collected loads of bits for this build over the last year or so and am now in the position of making a start. i have ridden bikes now for nearly 30 years with a break when i lived in germany. i built a bandit 1200 streetfighter last year but have always loved the look of the old zed`s.

if you google yakamahuki, and follow the links for oldskoolsuzuki you will see that bike.

for my new build, i have picked up some OZ wheels and ohlins forks from an rsv1000r. zrx12 swing arm. ohlins rear twin shocks. copy z1 side panels and zed butt from z1enterprises. plus a load of other bits and pieces. i was origanally thinking of fitting the spare bandit 12 engine i have sitting in my garage, but i`ve done that thing and fancy trying the zed though lump. this is a new deal for me. i dont know much about the zed engines. ideally, i would like to have at least 100 horses. i`ve squeezed 134 from my b12 and love the power. but, we shall see.

freebyrd24 wrote:

That is true Mark, I agree with that. I could tack things in place but I'd have to farm a bit of it out. I think I'll stick with the dual shock setup. Any opinions on those CB900 Air shocks I have? Worth it or are they just as bad as the KZ "pogo sticks" as someone called them? :laugh:

I didn't find any ZRX shocks yet, I'll keep my eyes open for them though. I don't have any real good motorcycle yards around here, so a lot of parts I need online.

Also, I was takinga look at Testrossa's thread on his build and say some of his bracing. My frame already has a lot of that bracing in it... Did they stiffen up the frames in the early 80's?

Thanks!

lets see a pic of your frame. the kz1000's had poor frames. if u look at a kz650or later gpz frame u will see a lot more bracing around the neck and other areas.
i dont know anything about the shocks u have exept that they are over 20years old, and that doesnt bring quality to mind.
How long are they? eye to eye?
if you would like to add gussets to the frame i can send u some pics that will put u on track about what to think about. just say so bud.

does that swing arm have a side load thrust bearing? this is so u can torque the pivot bolt tight and it will not interfere with the swingarms pivot ability.it wont bind so to speek.

That is true Mark, I agree with that. I could tack things in place but I'd have to farm a bit of it out. I think I'll stick with the dual shock setup. Any opinions on those CB900 Air shocks I have? Worth it or are they just as bad as the KZ "pogo sticks" as someone called them? :laugh:

I didn't find any ZRX shocks yet, I'll keep my eyes open for them though. I don't have any real good motorcycle yards around here, so a lot of parts I need online.

Also, I was takinga look at Testrossa's thread on his build and say some of his bracing. My frame already has a lot of that bracing in it... Did they stiffen up the frames in the early 80's?

Thanks!

freebyrd24 wrote:

What do you guys think about 80's CB900 Air assisted shocks? I have two pairs of them from a couple parts bikes I parted out. I don't think they are anything that great, but the thought had crossed my head. I think the technology of those is too old too. Probably worth it to get ZRX shocks?

Would the mono shock be worth it over the dual shocks? It would be a lot more work, but would it pay off that much more? I prefer the dual shocks, but just thinking out loud here...

as far as performance goes, i dont think u will be able to notice on the street. if u take it to the track , maybe. it would depend on your skill level. u would need a skill level to exhaust the limits of duals before a mono would help u.
i think the moding of a bike is all about personal aesthetic preferences. unless of course u need performance upgrades for the track.
if u can gain both at the same time thats great, but most of these alterations are about aesthetics.
keep in mind that if u improve the front and rear, u will not really feel a performance upgrade until u gusset the frame.
since u were reluctant to move the top shock mount, u may want to steer away from a mono. the mono involves a lot more frame work and cost if u need to farm the work out.
i have to farm my work out so i went dual shock to save money.

What do you guys think about 80's CB900 Air assisted shocks? I have two pairs of them from a couple parts bikes I parted out. I don't think they are anything that great, but the thought had crossed my head. I think the technology of those is too old too. Probably worth it to get ZRX shocks?

Would the mono shock be worth it over the dual shocks? It would be a lot more work, but would it pay off that much more? I prefer the dual shocks, but just thinking out loud here...