8. Going, going, gone... The Finished ZX9 Front GPz900R Streetfighter

Well...

After a long stint, I have not updated the last few Steps in Damo's Streetfighter rebuild, but I might just put a few more steps in this blog.

He put on a ZX9 Front end. Respray. Seat. And Termagoni Muffler, and Removed the bar-end mirrors.

You can see the fnal product here...

But now it's Gone to a New owner in Queensland !

***

7. GPz900R - Streetfighter - Update

This is just a mini update, to be finalised soon.

Damien's GPz900r now has the rear wheel offset corrected - details soon.

It has been freshly painted. As we know aging paint and plastic fairings dont mix.
Looks really good now though.

Also a brand new Termignoni muffler welded to the 4-1 pipe.
These are used on Ducati.
It now has a nice deep note.

And Bar-End mirrors have been installed.
"These mirrors came off my old zxr 750 fighter, they are awesome as they are convex so give a huge visual image." - quote.

You will also note the middle fairing and the lower belly-pan fairing have been re-installed.
This may be temporary, as Damien prefers the 'naked' Streetfighter look.

6. GPz900R - Streetfighter - The Seat and Indicators

The seat was re-covered and built up by Wall & Son - Brookvale NSW.

"My indicators are zxr750 – they are exactly the same shape as the gpz ones, but smaller, the fronts go straight on, the rear needs to be modified – you need to change the stem that holds them."

"It is an easy job, but if you don’t know how to do it you will "root" your indicators, both gpz/zxr, when removing the stems."

"I can tell you how to do it if you like, or people can just contact me directly, up to you." - Damien.

So, you can contact Damien via email at Damo@mycarrrepairs.com.au , for any advice on your GPz900R and mods you may wish to do.

Also check out the website  http://www.mycarrepairs.com.au/customers/home for anything else.

Thanks Damien.

5. GPz900R - Streetfighter - The Bars and Handling

The Bars...

Why Change ?

"I have been riding streetfighters for years and love the feel of the wider bars, and after
a lot of research and looking at “hot gpz’s”, they all run different higher bars. Check out
AC Sanctuary GPz900R’s, they are real tough highly modified GPz’s in Japan." - Damien.

So, I had a look at the AC Sanctuary website. You should have a look.
Some pretty Nice machinery.

Well, the New bars are a Good Look on the GPz.  Nice Touch, I reckon.

"The other reason was to get back the handling that was lost after the rear wheel swap.
You think about the tyre height of the old 18”, and the tyre height of the new 17”, and the
profile is about an 1” difference, and then add in the actual wheel diameter and its
another ½“, so your talking about  1 ½” (30 mm), so I had always thought of slipping
the forks through the triples to gain some of this back."

"You cant do that with the standard bars fitted over the fork legs, so they had to go.
I purchased a set of fat bar riser’s from my mate at APW motorcycles in Brookvale
(Sydney), and picked up a set of chrome fat bars to match the old school look of the bike."

"The risers you need to drill your top triple to fit, and that’s it, simple!  I only run 1
throttle cable, and don’t run a choke cable. I just have a looped cable-tie in the end of
the choke bar. (the choke cable will not reach if you put on higher bars)"

"The throttle will, but you need to run it out the other side of the headstock (right side,
not left). The reason I only run one throttle cable is it makes the throttle heaps lighter
at your hand. I have been doing this on all my bikes for years."

"So, I have slipped the fork legs through the triples about 22mm from standard height, and
also flipped the rear concentrics. The bike handles awesome. It feels like my old zxr750,
light, sharp, and changes direction quickly."

"I would recommend it, especially with the rear wheel swap, because you have actually
slowed the steering by doing it , it changes the rake angle." - Damien.

Well... after Damien's comments, I really dont need to say anything more.

Oh... And can you see the Boss ?

4. GPz900R - Streetfighter - The Wheel and Brake

The GPz rear wheel had all the bearings removed, and installed into the ZZR wheel.

Then a mix of ZZR and GPz spacers were used for the internal spacing, and the external
spacers were modified from the GPz external spacers.

At present the rear wheel centreline has a 2mm right offset, which is being addressed.
I guess this is normal practice when fitting a new rear wheel.
That is why I mentioned the 'centreline' as being something to measure in your
conversion process, in the original blog.

See how it looks.
Not a bad effort I reckon.

From the Left...

From the Right...

Damien likes the style of the 2003 wheel Spokes over the Original wheel spokes.
You can see below. Nice rolled look.
Have a look at my Spokes in the Original blog for a comparison.

For reference, the wheel was sourced from MotorCycle Disposals for $140 complete.
Great price.

Next, the brake bracket was completely fabricated to purpose.
The inner spacer from the original brake bracket, remember I called it the sleeve-spacer,
was welded to the newly fabricated bracket.
Then the original single-piston rear caliper was measured and fitted.

Note: Damien is looking into making a new bracket, to fit the twin piston rear caliper in the future.
So when this is done, I will update the info here.

3. GPz900R - Streetfighter - The Bike

To start the new Blog we have a GPz900R Streetfighter.

So thanks to Damien for the info on his bike, the 17" rear wheel conversion,
and other modifications.
I will add Damien's direct comments about the handling modifications as part
of this write up.

The Basics:

The bike is a 1992 A8 model.
The rear wheel is a ZZR600 2003, 17"x 4.5", running 160/60/ZR17 Dunlop Sportmax tyre.
The front is still the A8 17"x 3" GPz900R wheel, with 120/70/ZR17 tyre.
The A8 front-end has the 41mm forks and no anti-dive.
The A8 also has 300mm full floating front discs, and twin-piston calipers.
In this case, the earlier GPz900R single-piston top-mounted rear brake caliper is used.
Wide Chrome Bars have been installed.
Forks lowered through triples to compensate for the lowered rear, and for better handling.
Rear Wheel Concentrics spun 180 deg, to raise the rear and sharpen the steering.
And CVK34mm Carbs from 1986 GPz900R,  DynoJet Stage 1 with 137.5 mains, and
individual Uni-filter Pod filters fitted. Main Jet Needle is on the 4th groove.

 

 

This is a really neat and well sorted bike.
It is an example of what simple steps you can take to make your bike better - period.

Read on...

2. Where Do you Find Parts ?

This chapter will just list some places I and others have found GPz900R parts.
There is No favouritism shown here.
Just places I have found useful for Spares. Note they are in Sydney Australia.
Feel free to advise me of your preferred spare parts dealers.

You can see from my previous Blog there are some sources for NEW parts mentioned.
The ones below may have been missed.


*** GONE ***

1) www.kelenkawasaki.com.au
York Rd, Penrith, NSW.
(02) 4721 4439
- These are my local dealers.
Nev owns the place.
You dont meet a better class of gent.
Very helpful, good advice, and gives you time...





*** The New number ONE ***
1) www.collideascope.com.au
Unit 11 45/47 Salisbury Road, Asquith (Sydney NSW)
(02) 9482 8335
Email. info@collideascope.com.au
- Lawrence is the guy to see.
I found this place while looking for TANK repairs - mainly rust, lining and restoration.
Most places wont touch a tank, but these guys specialize. They have all the equipment set up ready to go. And if you know anything about tanks, if you have a go a doing the lining yourself, and it goes wrong, it is generally a ONE chance at doing it correct kind of thing.
I have my ZZR1100-D7 tank repaired.
It had pinhole rust in a few places under the bottom, and then got a complete POR lining put inside.
The paint job was preserved !!!
Cost me under $400 AUD.
That was fantastic.


Thanks Lawrence.


PS: They do all smash repair work for bikes too. Check out website.



2) www.oldgoldmotorcycles.com.au
Carrington Rd, Londondary, NSW. (North of Penrith)
(02) 4574 2885
Email. sales@oldgoldmotorcycles.com.au
- This guy Steve sources parts from everywhere including England.
Very helpful, great prices, and a good gent.
This is where I bought my A6 carb rack.

3) www.motorcyclewreckers.com
Silverwater Rd, Silverwater, NSW.
(02) 9748 7400
- The guys here have some great stuff. This is where I found my ZZR600 wheel.
I have bought blinkers, and carbs, etc off these guys.
They are in Silverwater in the middle of Sydney, known as Metropolitan Spares.
Prices good, and easy to deal with.
Certainly worth a phone call.

4) M&W Motor Trimmers - Peachtree Rd, Penrith, NSW.
(02) 4732 1459
Mob. 0414 321 459
- Jim is the upholsterer here.
Doesn't have a website.
But is only a phone call away.
He can do your seat ! He fitted the Leather to my ZZR seat.
I will get the 900 done here at a later stage.

5) Tony Dale at Full Exhaust Shop can get a really good Exhaust for your GPz.
www.fullexhaustshop.com.au/Barracuda_Exhaust_Systems__Kawasaki__GPZ900_R__GPZ750_R_--product--2198.html
I bought mine when the Aussie dollar was pretty good.
The Stainless Steel 4-1 Complete system cost under $700 delivered to my door.
I thought that was a pretty good deal. Made in Germany.
Have a look. Tony was easy to deal with and answered all my questions about the system and the various types of Mufflers available. Alloy, Carbon, S/Steel. And different lengths.
The contact is on the website. Location is Palmerston, NT (Australia).

6) APW Motorcycles at Winbourne Rd, Brookvale. (Sydney)
www.apwmotorcycles.com.au
(02) 9905 3748
HandleBars and Riser's for GPz Streetfighter purchased here.
Parts and Service - Might be worth checking out if your in the Area.

7) Craig Wall & Sons - Motor Body Trimmers
Powells Rd, Brookvale (Sydney) NSW
(02) 9939 6214
Dont seem to have a website...
They can do Bike Seats. (also Cars !)

8) Motorcycle Disposals
Prince William Drive, Seven Hills (Sydney), NSW
www.motorcyclesdisposals.com.au
(02) 9674 3844
You can find Parts, Full Bikes, etc.

9) Ron - crystalcreek@internode.on.net
Mob. 0427 791199
Lots of GPz parts.
Ships from overseas and Buys old stock.
Great prices, and ships to anywhere.
Good service too.

1. GPz900R - Making the Old Bike New

Well I am glad to say that due to some interest in the "Nice Rear End"
Blog about converting the Kawasaki GPz900R Rear wheel to a more
modern 17" wheel, I am going to start this supplementary Blog to showcase
other GPz900R Owners bikes.

I would like to post the information about other conversion processes, and the
choice of wheels used in other conversions.
As a consequence, I will also include the handling modifications and
other updates the Owners have done to make their bike work with the new
setup, including brakes, tyre choice, and fork mods. And of course any
tricks that the owner has done to complete their bikes, such as fork oil
choice, chosen tyre pressure, handlebars, and fuel systems.

So, thanks again for the responses, and I'm sure this additional info will
also be useful in helping all GPz900R owners.

Muz.