Z800 Cafe Chopper Fighter thing...

[Royalratch]

Hello lads. Wanted to get this back on here after the big meltdown mainly because I doubt I could finish it without the forums help with my dumb ass questions.

So we started with a good Z650 frame, an early 80's Z750 Engine and a mid 90's ZX Swingarm of some sort.

Frame - almost no rust at all on this one.




New Original Tank (will be getting repainted I'm afraid)





Used but newly rebuilt Ohlins




Custom CNC yokes clamping 50mm Showa Radial Forks from an '06 Ninja. Yokes have a large drop to help recover stock steering geometry and are deeply pocketed for lightweight.






Clip Ons with Titax GP Shorty Levers. These Clip Ons will be replaced with my own design that incorporate mounts for the headlight,




17" Takasago Rims with S/S Spokes on Talon / KTM Hubs. 300mm Braking Discs. 160mm / 110 Tyres.





810cc Piston Kit and Cometic Graphite Head Gasket going into a fully rebuilt and tuned motor.






34mm Keihin Carbs - Will be fully rebuilt with bigger jets - though some say it's not necessary.




Few rolling chassis, swingarm and parts shots.









The end result will look like this. The goal to myself was to build a retro Zed tricked with modern tech yet totally stripped down with no frills and the geometry, finish and execution to look as factory as possible as if Kawasaki had built a limited edition Z650 Street Fighter in the modern age. It will also have no indicators, clocks or mirrors - I want it super stripped back and clean.


2D Illustration





Photoshop mock-up




Photoshop mock-up with CGI motor and exhaust. I want to raise the tank by at least an inch to get this look, want the top of the tank to be the highest point of the bike - pretty sure it will mess with the steering lock tho and foul the yokes.




And finally, the legend will live under this emblem (if I can find someone to make them properly)




I'm currently at the point where I've got a rolling chassis and am just finalising my chainline, clearances and sprocket ratio selections - I am limited to a 36T on the rear but I think I can get it close to the original spec.

Stay tuned!

[Crofty]

Ratch, I really like the green mock up, it goes well with the gold forks. very nice.

[Royalratch]

Yeh I'm loving the Green - though most people just think the JPS or Gunmetal Grey is awesome but for me that's too easy.

Besides, I have another good tank and side panels to do a another colour scheme - 2 bike for the price of 1 sorta thing.

Am off to the USA next week and have amassed a ton of tasty parts there for collection.

[Pigford]

Good to see this project back on line


.....so whats this "contraband" you're smuggling in

[Royalratch]

Just stuff I need that's cheap to get. DynaCoils, Dyna-S Ignition, New modern generator, new modern regulator/rectifier, ACELL HT Leads. Basically the complete electrical system.

I've also got some MotoGadget stuff here, an M-Unit, M-Start Keyless Start and M-Lock Immobilzer. I'll be making a complete new loom with a 2.5KG Lithium-Ion battery that's the bare bones - there was never any chance of getting a decent original loom - they're all so rotten. Might even ditch the starter motor as it weighs a ton but will have to look at how ugly a kick start is.

Custom Loom Diagram - not running any clocks or indicators so quite simple.

[Pigford]

A kickstart ain't ugly - its KOOL

[lomi]

very nice build mate, an inspiration

[Royalratch]

Cheers lads. Lomi your build is looking pretty sick too.

A kickstart ain't ugly - its KOOL

Totally. What's cooler is saving at least 5Kg between the starter motor and a regular battery.

Does running a kickstart mean I can ditch the starter relay then? And can I still run the keyless ignition? It acts on the coils via the M-Unit I think.

[Ginger Bear]

Ratch,

Starter relay can go........... Keyless ignition should still work fine.

[big green bus]

I would not piss about with the standard carbs on a tuned motor Baz and myself ran RS34's on our GPz750 earlystock bikes and the 34's made a big difference, but it is your call

[Meconium]

yeh like the look of this a lot how about the frame , gonna do any bracing etc

[Royalratch]

I would not piss about with the standard carbs on a tuned motor Baz and myself ran RS34's on our GPz750 earlystock bikes and the 34's made a big difference, but it is your call

I'm staying with CV type carbs as I'm more into rideablilty and smoothness than outright power. That may change though, I'd like to see what some slide carbs are like.

I will brace the frame but not too much, probably only at the shock mounts, front down tubes and above the swing arm pivot.

It's gonna be a summer weekend bike only so won't see much use at all.

[Pigford]

What I think BGB means - dump the CV carbs, they are NOT designed for performance - they are a compromise, restirct the flow & are hard to tune properly They are also over complicated.

Decent flatslides will perform much better as well as earning extra "Street Cred" points

[Royalratch]

Aah.

But aren't CV carbs smoother - Are the Mikuni BS34's flatslides? What model should I be looking for?

[Ginger Bear]

This is what you want Ratch; http://www.allensperformance.co.uk/rs34-d21-k.html

Have a look on American ebay, even with the import duty you should get a set for sub £300.
Just be careful you don't end up with a set from an early GSXR750. They are basically the same carb, but the float bowls are 'angled' to suit the GSXR's 'downdraught' inlet ports. Easy to spot if viewed from the side.