Round 7, FOAK: 1982 Kawie KZ550 C3 LTD Restoration Options - Page 6

 



If you want. I wouldn't.


That's a 550 Kawasaki for you. They're all like that. I've owned a
couple and ridden many more.


I'd leave it stock. There isn't that much bottom end in those engines
anyway. Not much mid-range either, come to that.

And now, I will see what KrustyUS advocates. I'll expect a ream of
superfluous info about gearing.

<Checks>

Yup, thought so. At least he tells you to retain the stock gearing, so
that's three or four votes in favour and none against.


--
BMW K1100LT  Ducati 750SS  Honda CB400F  Triumph Street Triple
Suzuki TS250ER GN250  Damn, back to six bikes!
Try Googling before asking a damn silly question.
chateau dot murray at idnet dot com

 




Make that 5-0


--
Dave
ex Motorcycle Maintenance Workshop
http://tinyurl.com/4mhaw  

 

Biker Dude wrote:


Nope. Yup. Maybe.

Kawasaki knew what they were doing when they came up with the gearing. It is
your bike though, so do what you want. If it makes the bike better for you,
if it makes you a happier rider, why not?



Even after all these years of riding Japanese middleweight fours, I am still
in awe of the engine speeds and reliability they obtain.



If the low first gear is a pain, set off in second.


You -may- regret it. OTOH, sprockets aren't vastly expensive.

Providing it fits, try going up one tooth on the front. Ride around for a
bit. Does the bike still pull without having to drop a gear?. Next, drop
two teeth off the back.

One thing to be aware of though is you may end up at, say, 4000RPM in 3rd,
where previously you'd be at 3750RPM in 4th. Just an example, no need to
hit me with maths...



You won't kill the bike. You may make it better for you, you may make it
worse. If you lose instant throttle response, or find yourself flicking
twixt 5th + 6th at motorway/highway speeds, it is a minor task to restore
the gearing.

If the revs bother you, mask your rev counter :)

 

M.Badger wrote:


That is almost always the right answer when someone says their bike revs
too high on the highway.

With stock gearing, a 130/90-16 rear tire and an overall reduction
of 6.25 in 6th, the KZ550 is turning about 5000 RPM at 60 mph, which
is not high at all.  Speed in 1st gear at redline is about 42 mph, so
if the OP is really only getting up to 20 mph in 1st gear at redline,
someone has *really* screwed with the gearing.

 


Looks that way.

They're lovely little engines, those 550s. I lost my licence on a 1984
GPz550, the first ZX model. "In excess of 118mph" it said on the
summons. The police who nicked me observed that I was actually pulling
away from them at the time, but  the police car would go no faster, so
118 was the figure. The bike was indicating just under 130 at the
time.

I also took a GT550 (the shaft-driven one: did you ever get that in
the US) around France once. That had what was basically the engine
from the first GPz550H1 in it, so very whizzy but not as peaky as the
ZX. Still needed winding up, though. That would easily indicate 120mph
solo. Comfy, too: they sold zillions of the things here to despatch
riders.

The LTD is a rare beast in the UK. Generally, we don't do the cruser
thing, and those who do tend to buy ones designed as cruisers from the
ground up, rather than the bastardised roadsters that predominated in
the late 1970s/early 1980s.