Kawi2strokes.com Forum

well, at least Ive done 2 of them^^^^^^

would love love love to do an Ape 125 front end, but Im using what Ive got...and you wont be happy to hear Im using a KZ650 frontend lightened as much as humanly possible.

starting with the hub.
The kz650 hub (no spokes or wheel) with my thinned/drilled disc is 4lbs 8oz LIGHTER than an H-series hub/disc and just shy of 2lbs less than a stock s-hub and disc... So, thats a good start right?

I weighed the assembled forks for an S-3 and they are about 13lbs 8oz and I think there is oil in them.
The assembled KZ650 forks (no oil) are 18lbs 1oz currently (before lightening)...... .... Holy Crap.

There are 3 reasons Im using the KZ650 front end.

#1 I have it and its in superb condition (perfect tubes, etc) If money was no object, I'd do something different...
#2 KZ650 fork tubes are longer by about 1.5 to 2 inches (cant remember off hand). This allows me to mount the clip-ons on TOP of the top triple clamp so Im not riding a torture chamber around and without dropping the front of the bike.
#3 Tarozzi does not make a fork brace for the H-Series lowers, but does make a bolt on brace for the KH500/KZ lowers.
I'll be hanging an ultra lightweight fender from the forkbrace.

Ive lightened the front hub further by eliminating the speedo drive and making an aluminum spacer in its place...saved 4 ounces.
I am now tempted to make another aluminum spacer to take the place of the one between the bearings..that would save a couple more ounces.
I'll be cutting all unnecessary lugs(disc mount on one side, fender stays, etc) off the KZ fork lowers....saved at least 6-8 more ounces
I'll be lightening the upper and lower triple clamps......save 4-6 more ounces
Front wheel will be aluminum 18" with light gauge (as mentioned above) spokes.

so in the end, the front end (at least the unsprung portion) will still be within 1lb of a stock S3. Digital speedo, small headlight, etc will all help as well.

and finally, will be running helium in the tires as this will actually fight against gravity reducing even more weight. Right?

Absolutely, but you'll have to refill regularly, since helium finds its way out of rubber fairly well. I fill my frame with helium. You might want to try that.

Riding a torture chamber?

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.

Damn...how did I miss this thread. *subscribed*

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They always run best right before they stop for good...and it was just running great...

I was going to ask this in a different thread but since it came up. Does the h front ends benifit from a fork brace? I never really see any builds that guys are running them, but maybe after reading this it is because of availabilty. It also seems like you would have to remove the rubber dust shields to run one.

Here's my opinion on fork braces.... You dont need them...

BUT, You will notice less "fork twist" (if that is a term?) during hard braking on a single disc application if there is a metal fender (acting as a brace) or an aftermarket fork-brace in place.

Ive run straight fiberglass fenders (with no metal bracing whatsoever), but in my experience...you HAVE to use rubber grommets/spacers because the fender will crack eventually at the mount holes.

As for the dust shields.. Whats cool about the Tarozzi's is the tops of the brace are cast to accept factory dust boots!

Makes sense when using the fiberglass fender. That is pretty slick that you can still use the factory dust boots.

Normal, unmodified KZ650/KH500 Fork lower on bottom, Top fork-lower after some cleaning...(removing caliper lugs and lower fender tab)

After removing the other small tab at the bottom of the bottom fork (marked with black marker in pic), the weight loss was 5 whole ounces...

I decided against removing the fender lugs. Just incase I need them if the fiberglass fender doesn't work with the brace...we'll see

Have you weighed the frame before and after filling? Curious minds wanna know.

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74 H2B with reeds and 34mm carbs
75 S3A Ram Air with reeds and 30mm carbs
73 S2A (wife's bike)
71 Yammi RT1B
83 HD Sportster
03 Yammi R1
06 Kaw 750 Vulcan (wife’s bike)
12 Yammi vstar 250 (wife’s bike)

I was responding in kind to Cody's joking about helium in his tires when I suggested putting it in his frame.

(Actually, evacuating the frame would be make it lighter than putting helium in it. )

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.

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