kz440 superbike STOLEN

My bike was stolen sometime between the 31st of July and the 9th of August. It was in a storage shed in Prairie Grove, AR near S. Summit and E. Cleveland.

Here's some of the details I can think of that are kind of distinctive:

Had Arkansas antique plate number I300
77 kz400 frame
81 kz440 LTD motor, front forks, and wheel
kz440 2-1 factory exhaust with Emgo megaphone muffler
79 kz400 rear tail piece and seat
80 kz550 rear 18" mag wheel with drum brake
70 cb350 tank
72 cb350 cv carbs (3-D stamped on the sides)
Emgo superbike bars
Oury grips

I just want my bike back. It's worth more to me than anyone else. If you did it or know someone who did it, please put it back and email me or something so I know it's there. I really don't care if the police get involved or not, just want it back. If I can drum up some cash I may be able to pay some sort of reward as well. Here's some of the most recent pics. It has a metal flake silver gas tank and tail piece. The sidecovers are a faded red or orange with OHC 400 emblems. The last pic is older, but it shows the exhaust that's currently on it.

Please email me at hatchethairy@yahoo.com or call/text 479.621.1327 for any details or information. Also feel free to share or social media the shit out of this, I really want my bike back.

tt500 build : part 20

So the motor is back in the frame, and I'm slowly getting the little details buttoned up. Was hoping to have it running by now, but whatever.

tt500 build : part 19

It's been a while since the last update, so here's the most recent progress.

Ignition switch located and bracket welded in. 8N3679C is the switch part number usually intended as a replacement for Ford tractors.



Headlight mini toggle mounted in the headlight bucket. 275-0325 from Radio Shack. This switch will require a relay.





12v voltage regulator from a cb350 mounted to the seat pan.



The frame, triple trees, shocks, and exhaust have all be painted. Things should be going back together very quickly now.

Ozark Mountain Scramble 2015

Need a little adventure in your life? Put together a cheap bike and join us. It's fun. It's happening soon.

tt500 build : part 18

With the seat pan finished it's time to move on to padding. I bought this foam camping mat a while back with a seat in mind. It's rubberish and seems like a better match for riding than the closed cell overly dense crap I'm using on the kz440. I want to say it was around $20 but should be enough to make another seat.



A quick spray of some gray paint I had laying around before gluing pieces of the mat down.



Rough cut with a hacksaw blade after gluing 4 layers on. I should have got out the turkey carver instead as it would have done a much cleaner job of things.



Then I used an angle grinder with a somewhat worn sanding disc to do final shaping.







I got a quote from a local upholstery shop to cover it in vinyl, and it's just not budget friendly for the OMS. So, I ordered up some inexpensive diamond quilted black vinyl and some matching material for the sides. I'll post up my crappy attempt when it all gets in.





Also I want to note that I apparently welded the baffle the wrong direction for good flow. It has since been flipped and finish welded in. Just needs scuffed up and a coat of high temp paint.

tt500 build : part 17

I made a baffle and end cap for the exhaust today. Unfortunately I ran out of wire and won't be able to pick up a new spool until Thursday evening. In the meantime I will shift focus to things I can work on without the need for a welder.

Cut slits in tubing and hammer a screwdriver in the middle of the cut.









Ready to weld in.

tt500 build : part 16

I've been dragging my feet figuring out how I wanted to properly finish the shock mounts. Luckily when a project stalls for a while new ideas pop up that eventually make the cut. I decided to cut some of the old mounts up and re-purpose them on the new section.

The outer shell for double shear, and the threaded internal bung.



All trimmed up and ready to tack in place.



Not bad at all.





And the other side. They have since been tacked in place ready to finish weld.



I then moved on to making a headlight bracket. It still needs some trimming, but I couldn't make much more noise for the evening.



Mounted to the tree.







On to the seat pan. I cut out a chunk of a spare fender, and went to doodling making a template for the base.



Then made from metal.



Now with mounts and a cover for the tank mount. Just needs some foam carved out and covered.







I'm going to get all of the finish welding done, and then start putting everything back together. Hopefully it will be rolling down the road in a week or two.

tt500 build : part 15

Motor is back together.



Time to do work on the frame. I got the welds on the loop nice and smooth. Front tank mounts removed.



Lower triangle gussets tacked.



The cb350 tank just wasn't working out how I had hoped, so I found a decent steel early model xt500 to use instead. Unfortunately the mounts are in a slightly different location for the aluminum tank models. The rear tank mount has been moved forward using part of the old bracket and some 2" flat stock.





Front tank mounts were made with these fancy base mount metric nuts. I sleeved them in some 1/2" tubing and tacked to the frame resembling factory mounts.





Tacked in place.







Mounted up it looks like this.





On to the rear fender mounts. The front mounts are rubber bushings from the help section at the auto parts store. They are sitting on 1/2" tubing stubs.





Then a simple flat stock bracket for the rear mount.



The brake light I got a while back fit the profile of the duckbill just right. I welded it to the inside of the fender, just needs a little bracing to make sure it holds up to the vibrations.





The to do list is getting shorter, just need to do some finish welding on brackets and figure out the seat pan. If I keep at it, this will be my Ozark Mountain Scramble ride for next year.