What constitutes an XZ550?? Updated

[treedragon]

I was sitting back, (wine in hand), pondering how I might "adjust" the bike next  ::)  ::) and it occurred to me that asking what everyone thought of as the defining factors that make up an XZ could be an interesting topic, time to give the stators a rest methinks............

I was part way through putting the radiator under the tail section for cosmetic reasons as much as anything, it's a V and you can only see the rear cylinder on the fully faired model, when I realized the gains visually would be minimal I binned the idea and ditched the lowers instead, well most of them.
I should have created a mock up first and saved me some work.
So for me the fact it's a V is part of what makes an XZ.

The tank, that's distinctive, Plan B shows more tank.

Shaft drive, has to be in there somewhere.
We were looking at a chain drive conversion as part of the upgrade and then I remembered the wallet hit and mess on the previous bike............... and besides the current gearing (euro) with a decent extra dollop of horsepower and torque will turn this into an awesome point to point bike in this land of luuuuverly corners  ;D  ;D  ;D


Okay so below is where I am at now with the look of the steed, I will go for a more refined cowling around the radiator, in this pic you can see the new location of the foot pegs, junking the old ones and their mounts saved a lot of weight. I have previously mentioned about adding a different fairing blade that I had scored but the mockups looked like a cross between a cone head and a rabid alien cat, binned also. I do believe I might be getting close to the point of believing a paint job wouldn't be wasted..............

We have the race bike here at work, partially finished (probably never truth be known), it has a single sided swingarm modern suspension, wheels etc etc utra light trellis frame but...........
it is NOT an XZ550 despite the motor!  

Okay then what do you think? What makes an XZ???







Looking at the pic I can see it definitely needs the bigger discs!!

[Re-Vision]

Back in the winter of 82-83 I was looking for some type of bike that wasn't designed by a committee like the Hondas were. When I saw pictures of the Vision and the shape of the tank I thought this machine looks different than all of the other Japanese clones.  Everything at that time had round headlights, so the rectangular made it appear cutting edge.  When I learned that it was a water cooled V-Twin (Everyone was sick and tired of inline fours) and shaft driven is when I decided that I had to have one, I hate messing with a chain.  Volkswagen taught me to hate air cooling, its okay on lawn mowers though. I think some of you guys have done a good job of changing your bikes to suit your own personalities.  If it was economically feasible I would like to make some changes to my Vision but I would never touch the tank (except to make it of stainless steel),  handlebars, or engine (Frame yes). I've had people say that the tank is ugly but I believe they have no sense of style and lack appreciation for a truly beautiful machine. If I've stepped on any toes, I do not apologize. Long live the Vision! Rant.Rant.  BDC

[akvision]

Another teriffic example, nice work.

[akvision]

XZ-XZ essence!

[ironb12s]

The XZ is just in a long line of forward-looking motorcycles that Yamaha saw fit to take off of the drawing board and put on the road.  I can't really say what it was that made me fall in love with it, but the first time that I saw it, it was hiding under a cheap green plastic tarp.  I'd gotten it to be an easy one for the then lady friend to learn on, and she didn't end up hanging around for very long.  No matter, the Vision did.  It has it's quirks, and it can be very cantankerous at times, especially when one is elbows deep in working on one.  The scooter has character, and anything done to them just increases that.

What other motorcycle is endowed with such qualities?

[treedragon]

Okay then, I've been "adjusting" again..............

I wasn't happy with the front fairing side view, the line in relation to the tank etc didn't seem right so after much tooing and froing decided I would leap in and chop it a little, create a lighter look etc and so forth, I was limited by the subframe but this is what evolved.

Yes well the cutting was okay, it was the mess the surplus fairng was covering that had to be organized, it entailed a lot of wiring organization, and a new home for the water overflow bottle. I took a section out of the clip on's to lower them, for looks and improved ergonomics, which meant moving the choke as it hit on the upper clamps.

A new dash panel was needed along with lining the newly exposed fairing insides, glassing on some new sections on the fairing lowers near the radiator and having brought my attention to this dept I decided it looked bulky so I removed the cowling and added some mesh and while I was about it I replaced the fan with a lightweight unit off a Ducati 999.

Verdict..... subjective of course, well it has a better line to it I feel, and the bike has lost more weight, (unlike self). Ergonomically I love it!! shame about trashing my knee cartilage hanging off the side of it on a trip down south but I'm having more fun with this machine than any of the previous bikes I've owned and that includes the hotted up FZR1000 I owned for many years (yup I fiddled with that one to).

The airflow over the fairing is excellent despite it being so radically cut from the original standard fairing, with just enough pressure from underneath to create a very still air pocket around me, hands are completely out of the wind. It's interesting that with this arrangement the division between still air and a jet stream is about an inch, quite laminar.






Found a cool place for the water overflow bottle, the choke fits directly on the bolt holding on the lower fairing on the left side

[Kevin]

I really like the tailpiece. Have you explained this somewhere?

[treedragon]

Tailpiece is a Ducati 916 fibreglass replica, cost NZ $100.

I cut the front off it and re-glassed it to mold into the tank, I had to tuck in the back flange on the tank to get a nice flow. The tank hold down bolt also now anchors the tail piece in position.

The seat is made from a old cut down 916 seat base and built up with some dense foam sheet, you can heat it and bend it so that when it cools it pretty much holds the shape.

The tail light is actually the original XZ rear light unit, I found that if it was turned upside down I could get it to fit and look good. Made brackets by glassing in some alloy strip.

I cut the rear section of the upper sub-frame off, (saved a lot of weight), created a new alloy upside down U shape bolted to frame for the tail piece to sit on, reshaped the original battery box and mounted a gel battery on it's side under it. Regular, CDI, relays, fuses etc under there also.

I cut off the original rear support and moved it forward for a better look.

[Walt_M.]

Very nice looking bike, still.

[Lucky]

I'm allways impressed by those who can look at something, see in their mind how they want it to go, & start cutting & welding & glassing & end up with some fantastic mods...

I hate doing bodywork! lol

anytime you want to come to Tennessee & do Kittys bike like that, let me know,  :>

[Rikugun]

That is really sharp. I particularly like the fairing and tail section. They seem to go with the overall look, tank shape, color scheme - I'm not sure exactly other than it appeals to me. Even the fork gaiters work in your application quite well.

To me, the swingarm, as a result of being monoshock, is one of the defining features. Would you consider doing something to accentuate it? It seems lost in all the black. Maybe some red to pull together the wheels and tank pinstriping?

Are the tires oversized? It looks like the rear would hit the ground without the board under the centerstand.

[treedragon]

"I'm allways impressed by those who can look at something, see in their mind how they want it to go, &"

I wish!!
I'm more of an mentally blind opportunist who has to "evolve" things because he can't visualize a final result. I end up adjusting everything into a possibly finished form. Good thing I'm a firm believer in "it's the journey that counts rather than the goal", that and the fact I never have the coin to really get into it in one hit.

Rear tire is a Shinko 120/90-18. The tire looks close to the ground because I have the length adjuster on the rear shock set to raise the rear end a bit, (it's a YSS unit built for these bikes), as part of the steering geometry changes.
Swingarm well now you mention it......... yes it could use a little something but the appropriate brain cells haven't met yet, and indeed red might be the answer, I will have to do a little photographic trickery on the puter to see what it looks like first.

The paint scheme in general is black because that was the color of the original bike, seemed easiest to just spray any changes/additions the same for now, have this habit of fiddling with things you know, dare not do a proper paint job yet.

Here is the tail section, well the current version anyway. Still have to put some mesh in the vents, probably red,





And here is my last bike, it was an Yamaha FZR1000, and again I just fiddled with what I had. Possible family resemblance......
Not exactly beautiful I admit but it was the first bike I got 300kph out of back in the late 90's. The "mouth" was a force feed direct into the airbox. The problem with that bike was that it was too distinctive and I did a lot of k's all over the country, it was fast and that led to friendly heads up from the local policeman  :police: that "next time" they would just lock me up, I was "known"............ didn't seem much point in hanging onto it after that.

[Cdnlouie]

Glad I saw the followup of your previous post. Yes...the open engine look is well done. Nice lines all along the bike.  Finish it with a beautiful gloss black paint job...polished engine cases...and you are rocking!

Well done!