Cafe Project

[Rich]

Hello,
Just joined here. spent most of the day looking through the ''weird bikes'' thread. i have seen several of those first hand. Anyway, I figured i would post a Project thread...

about a month and a half ago i bought a 1984 Kawasaki KZ550. found it on ebay for a grand total of $10

This is the day i got it-






I decided to go for a sort of Cafe/street bike look. first thing I did was remove the motor (not that easy with a shaft bike) cleaned up the frame, and painted it red-





Also did some red detailing on the wheels (after i painted them black)



Next step was cleaning up and painting the motor Flat Black-

BEFORE-





AFTER-







Got the motor back in the frame (all by my self!)



I spent a good while deciding on a style of tank to use. I wanted something that would give it that Cafe look, but i didnt want it to just llok like a stripped down Kawasaki. So i decided on a Honda tank. Found a 1968 Honda CB tank on ebay for $1.



the only mod i had to do on it was to fill in where the Honda Logo goes-



The tank is now black, and on the bike. the bike has a set of drag bars, and i am currently working on a custom removable trunk. the trunk was (in a previous life) the center console from a 2007 Cadillac Escilade.

I will post more pictures as soon as i figure out how to load pics from my phone

Let me know what you think.

[Rich]

did i mention that i am doing all this in my UPSTAIRS apartment!!   HAHAHAHA

[dt]

did i mention that i am doing all this in my UPSTAIRS apartment!!   HAHAHAHA

That's awesome. 

Welcome to the forum. We like these kind of threads!

[Rich]

in that case ill be sure to get some more pics up asap lol

[bagobones]

Yeah man, REAL nice start. Keep us posted. I love bikes that are EARNED.

[Scoobyroo]

This should be awesome, have you sorted out the missing engine bits yet?

[Rich]

This should be awesome, have you sorted out the missing engine bits yet?

i still need the electronics to run the motor (all of them, lol) i think it might need a new clutch before its done... i actually need all the electronics for the whole bike. lucky, due to it being a cafe, i am keeping it very minimalistic, if it doesn't need it to run or be legal, it wont be on there

[mrbones]

$10 bikes, gotta love that. I look forward to seeing it going down the road!

[Scoobyroo]

theres one of these in the local junkyard, semi stripped though, the coilpack was still on it, engine was there but no carbs. Im going back tomarrow if theres anything you want me to check for. I didnt see the CDI though

[Rich]

sweet, check for the stator, that, so far as been a hard part to find, also need headlight, side covers, and tail piece (the longer boat tail one, not the short one) if they have tose things, can you ask them how much they want? where are you located at?

[Scoobyroo]

Its in opsrey FL. There are no body pieces on it, got a picture of the stator and tail thing?

[Rich]

here is the style of tail fairing i am looking for


and this is what the stator looks like, its located inside the cover of the left side of the crankshaft ( i need the cover too if its there) the stator should actually be connected to the cover.  also need the starter if its there

[Rich]

i just remembered something else (sorry about the shopping list, lol) i need the flanges for the exhaust

[mrbones]

Where's the faring on that pic? Am I missing it?

[Rich]

i couldnt figure out how to re size it, you have to scroll over, the rear tail peice between the seat and the tail light... maybe its not called a fairing, lol idk

[Scoobyroo]

I checked the bike out again today, stator cover is still there, stator too and the exhaust flanges.

[Rich]

whats the name of the salvage yard? i need to call them and ask how much they want for those parts, and you said the coils are there too right?

[mrbones]

i couldnt figure out how to re size it, you have to scroll over, the rear tail peice between the seat and the tail light... maybe its not called a fairing, lol idk

The rear seat cowl I think is what you mean. Honestly though, that bike with a stock seat doesn't really look like a cafe racer. You need one of those "bee" type tails. But, the seat will be as comfortable has a 2x4. But that's the price you pay for the look. I'm using one on my CB360.

[Rich]

i not going to me using the stock seat... im making a custom seat and using  the stock rear cowl to make a custom tail piece. i myself am not a fan of that stock seat

[mrbones]

Ok, cool. Got it.

[Rich]

unfortunately... i was forced to sell the bike today, due to bills. but the good news is, i kept the tank, which was the hardest part to find. and my handle bars

i only put a total of MAYBE $50 into the bike (including actually buying the bike) and i sold it tonight for $200

can some one say profit? lol

after things are more settled, financially, i will be buying another one (this time one that's more complete, lol)

[mrbones]

That's a bummer, but at least you made a profit on it!