Build your own custom bike at home and you'll save thousands of dollars in labor costs from the shop. SSB ordered parts for a 2010 Kawasaki Z1000 to see if we could build a bike that would be solid at a show and super on the street.
Are you spending yet another Saturday afternoon on the couch? Put down the potato chips and pick up some wrenches-the action's waiting for you out in the garage. Not only will modifying your bike at home give you a satisfying sense of accomplishment, but it'll also save you loads of cash that could be spent on bigger and better things than a shop's hourly labor rate.
SSB's quest to build a custom street killer blossomed out of some loose bar talk that quickly snowballed into the staff rolling up its sleeves and digging in. A stock Kawasaki Z1000 was docked in the stable waiting for a road test, but we decided instead to mod it out. The overall goal was to give it the stance it should have had from the factory in the first place. But why not just build a 'Busa or R1, which both have truckloads of parts available?
We feel that the Z1000 hasn't gotten the respect it deserves; it's one of the most exciting bikes on the market and will hang with any sportbike from light to light-maybe even beat them. Plus, it costs nearly four grand less than a new literbike. Hell it's even cheaper than the current flock of 600s, so the money saved on the bike could be spent instead on customization.
First, look over your bike and determine where it most needs to be improved; for us it was both show and go. On the Z1000 it was immediately obvious that a fat rear tire with a short stretch and slammed stance would make it look more muscular while helping to control the stock bike's tendency to hoist the front wheel everywhere in the first three gears. If you're modding a 600 you could get away with a set of swingarm extenders and a stock-sized wheel, while bigger bikes like a 'Busa or ZX-14 look like they should have been born with at least a 240.
After a quick call to Roaring Toyz it was decided that a four-inch stretch and a 240 rear would keep the bike perfectly ridable while adding huge style points. A 240-swingarm package was shipped out a few days later that included everything we'd need for the upgrade: swingarm, bearings, a brake caliper and line, spacers-the whole nine yards.
RC Components offered the wheel design that seemed to fit the overall theme the best, and after another brief consultation we had wheels and rotors en route. You might choose to go with lightweight performance wheels instead. Either way, pick your theme and stick with it.
If you're thinking that it must be nice to get wheels and a swingarm for free, well, it is. But don't be discouraged-we have to give it all back.
A full custom probably isn't out of your price range, and with proper budgeting you can eventually score all the pieces you'll need to complete your package. While you likely won't be able to buy and build the entire project all at once that's also the beauty of doing it yourself-you can piece it together as the finances and time permit. Don't be afraid to put specific parts on your birthday and Christmas lists either. Surely there's a loving granny in your life that'll throw down for some mirrors or a 520 conversion kit?