Bike of the Month Aug 2011.
Owner: Kano's KZ1000J1, NH, USA.
This is my bike it’s not that great but I love her.
Due to the lack of ppl submitting their bike's i've had to submit my bike again!
in 1990 I bought a gpz1100b1, the funny thing was I was under the impression it was the A1
I was going to buy but when I got there I decided to buy it anyway I really don’t remember why.
That year I got the z1000r2 chassis from a friend while working at z1 city in Kent.
where over the years was able to collect together a collection of spare's that I brought
with me to the state's much to the horror of my wife lol.
I cracked the frame behind the side stand and welded it but that broke a few months later
so I decided I’d use the gpz as a donor for the elr chassis id picked up a few yrs before but
real life got in the way for a good few yrs as it has a way of doing.
Before I moved to the states I decided I wasn’t going anywhere without my bike
so I wheeled it in the kitchen and I kept on adding bits too the Eddie Lawson frame until
the b1 was stripped down and the z1000r was whole,
crated it up and shipping company picked it up with my other belongings,
At this point I should stop and tell a small funny story the boat that it was shipped over from England
to Boston on so I was later informed was the Atlantic conveyer it was sunk during the Falkland’s war!
Re floated repaired and renamed the Atlantic companion kind of funny really.
(I have never confirmed this story to be true or not)
Atlantic companion brought it to the states in 2000 after which bike sat in customs for a couple
of months while I waited for Kawasaki to provide a letter stating it conformed to us emissions,
letter came we hired a truck went to pick it up, on Martha’s vineyard I garaged it because the
fuel injection wouldn't Settle into the us grade fuel, or so I believed,
turned out the advance and retard mechanism was siezed!
in 04 I bought a set of BS34 Mikuni carburetor assembly for a Kawasaki kz1100 Police motorcycle
(like in chips) but never got round to fitting them, moved into a new place and out of the in laws,
moved the bike to its new home where it sat patiently for a few more years, then we lost our house
due to a old injury I got over 20 yrs ago in a military helicopter crash and I haven’t been able to work since then.
I decided to turn my hobby of fixing computers into a full time job to help with the cash flow a few yrs before
and this is where money came from to pick up this project once more.
Taken the day i had started to work on the bike again 2006.
Have spent most of my time totally stripping it down and restoring it mechanically to ride in a shed my
father inlaw let m use.
First day running!
Started to mess around with the bikes looks.
I Cut 10 inches out of mid section of my laser exhaust,
I didn't like it's previous position and I am at last happy with where it sits.
I had to Fabricate a new mounting bracket for exhaust
kz1000j1 body work arrived.
Busa forks installed for the first time.
For a while i had a deep sump on the engine but i was forced to run a sidewinder header.
Then one day I stood there and said what have you done to the z1000r,
luckily a member here joce had a kz1000j1 frame.
All the parts where hurriedly moved over to that frame so the z1000r could be restored another day.
GSX rear wheel and swing arm fitting.
If you ever do a rear end conversion be prepared to regret what you started!
full rolling chasis
.And for the most part I am happy with what I accomplished,
Especially the custom made billet triple tree's,
The bike handles like a modern sports bike with the Suzuki front and rear ends,
I used it every day over this summer as my primary transport and I got nothing but complements
from everyone wherever I went even though it's not in show condition,
I built this bike to ride and that's what I've been doing with it every day!
Make Model Kawasaki KZ1000J1 Year 1981
Engine Air cooled, four stroke, transverse four cylinder, DOHC, 2 valve per cylinder.
Capacity 1170 Bore x Stroke 75mm x 66 mm Compression Ratio 10.25:1
Exhaust Laser 4 into 1,
Carbs KEIHIN RACING CARB'S 33MM CR SPECIALS.
135hp @ 8500 rpm Last time on the Dyno.
Front Suspension Inverted telescopic, coil sprung, oil damped,spring preload fully adjustable
rebound damping force 14-way adjustablecompression damping force 13-way adjustable.
Rear Suspension 13 1/2 inch Dual gas charged Ohlins piggy-back spring preload
shocks, 100mm wheel travel. (being rebuilt at time of photo's)
Front Brakes 320mm Disc Tokico - Front twin 6 piston caliper
Rear Brakes 240mm back single 4 piston caliper
Front Tire 120/70 ZR17 Bridgestone BT56 J Spec
Rear Tire 180/55 ZR17 Bridgestone BT56 J Spec
Dry-Weight 222 kg
Fuel Capacity 21.4 Liters
Fuel Consumption average 36.6 mp/g
Standing ¼ Mile under 10 sec
Top Speed 147 mph
Other interesting additions.
Goodridge stainless clutch and brake lines,
hydraulic clutch slave off a zx,
Zx11 clutch and brake resevours (02),
ELR custom made billet tree and riser,
Aluminum alloy swing arm off GSX-R 1000 (02),
Hayabusa inverted forks (09),
Hayabusa wheels (09),
Coerce Racing Carbon Fiber Front Fender,
PMFR Clutch release kit installed.
Gimble rear sets,
ZX10 Push pull throttle (08),
APE cam chain adjuster, ape clutch springs,
APE billet breather cover,
530 chain and sprocket conversion,
Quadflex gel battery,
CB900 Starter 0.8kw,
We will be featuring a different bike each month on kz1000r.com
that we feel is deserving of the title "Bike of The Month."
Check back often to see what our pick is.
To nominate or submit your own bike for "Bike of The Month."
Send some info on yourself your bike and loads of pic's bigger the better.
PLEASE SEND IN YOUR INFO IF YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO OWN ONE OF THESE BIKES!
I really want to bring THIS Registry up to date so accurate number's left in circulation can be made available,
this will intern help us get a true market value for insurance purposes.
Please include the chassis number and the month of production printed on the headstock of your bike.
Your name and location. and most importantly a picture's of your bike.
E-mail me at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.