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Project ZED
Take a 1970's Kawasaki Z900 frame and engine, add the best handling
improvement components from a 1998 Kawasaki ZX900r including forks,
wheels, brakes and mono-shock swing arm
(not my Z900 but similar)
(the ZX900R I bought in 2001)
then give it a drag bike rake and re-enforce the cradle to improve the
original design,
   
(these pics June 2002) then
suddenly the project starts to take shape. Next is to do a
few hundred hours of polishing and some powder-coating and it
starts to look nicer...
  
(these pics 2002) The next
step in the project is to leave the half done project in the shed while
you change jobs, move house and have more kids. The last three
things will keep you broke for a few years and way too busy to do what
you want to :) Eventually you will find the time, money and
motivation to get going again.
(these pics Dec 2004)
The good looking bloke in the above picture
(ZED FREEMAN) didn't exist
when I bought the ZX900R to start this project
After stepping over the bike in the shed for so long I realised what was
needed next. The seat height still needed even more lowering (in
keeping with the drag bike style) and I had gone "off" the ZX9R blue.
Ashley Martin was given the bike, sub-frame and ZX9R foot pegs and he has
done an awesome job of getting it all to work. The pegs look like
they should have always been there (raised for ground clearance and
slightly rear-set). The flowing lines from the tank to the
king/queen seat and the ducktail look sweet now.
   
(these pics Jan 2005)
The next step is to get the side-covers to fit the
modified frame and decide where to stuff the electrics. I need to
remove some brackets, add some brackets, make a battery-box and
mounts for the tail-light / number plate.
So this is where I'm up to at the moment.
(January 2005)
Future plans include things like paint, engine
work and I might even get to go for a ride one day!
I have sourced some great parts from
Z Power including a bikini
faring, Z1000 side-covers and all those rubbers that perish over time
(grommets, fuel cap rubber etc).
Having carried the nickname "Frog" for most of my
life the best bike to copy could ONLY be Hugh Keays-Bryne's "TOAD" bike
from the 1974 Sandy Harbutt cult classic "Stone". Below
are a couple of screen grabs from the DVD [Copyright Sandy Harbutt. No unauthorised use permitted] Paint by Dave Hart 02 99794016
[Copyright Sandy Harbutt. No unauthorised use permitted]
Paint by Dave Hart 02 99794016
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