Wet to dry clutch conversion KZ550 (american)

My on going project is a now turbo charged kz550 and i want to convert the motor to a dry sump system and dry clutch.

I remember atp or somebody making a turbo kit for a 550 back in the early 80s,I don't know what to tell you about the the oiling mods.

I pretty much have the turbo problems delt with im more interested in converting to a dry clutch. I was wondering if the dry clutch convertions for the z1000 and later models would fit the shaft or basket

What's the benefit of going to a dry clutch?

There are some good videos on YouTube of a zr550 turbo doing timed 1/4 mile runs. Most runs were in the low 11's. Couldn't use much boost because their clutch kept slipping.

How, what?:huh:
Steve

Before I made a firm decision to try to install a dry clutch I would take a look at what the modified 750 turbos are using. I believe you will find most, if not all, are using wet clutches. Keep in mind that their bikes are putting out way more power than that of a turbo 550. Take a look at the link below. You’ll see that some of these bikes are making more than 270 horsepower, some are running the ¼ mile in well under 9 seconds, and a couple run more than 200 miles per hour. I seriously doubt that a 550 turbo will put more stress on a clutch than these bikes. I believe these folks have figured out what works, so it’s probably worth picking their brains a bit. Ed

www.750turbo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9...f51c1956060ca2366de2

With a dry sump system, a dry clutch makes some sense, and would be an interesting engineering and fabrication problem.

Moreso than the clutch, I am curious about what advantages a dry sump would have in this application, and how a sufficient supply of oil for the trans gears would be provided.

dry clutches give you more torque capacity for same size/weight, or a lighter assy that can hold the same power.
that said all the latest 200hp crop of supebikes have wet clutches

it's not very well known, but kz750 and KZ/GPZ550 share the same shaft distance and you can do swaps
would simply install in your 550 a 5 speed 750 tranny with its larger clutch that is much stronger, the 5 speed gears are also beefier and with a turbo, a 6 speed is a bit redundant, you want to ride the turbo torque so a wider spaced 5 speed better fits

turboguzzi wrote: dry clutches give you more torque capacity for same size/weight, or a lighter assy that can hold the same power.
that said all the latest 200hp crop of supebikes have wet clutches

it's not very well known, but kz750 and KZ/GPZ550 share the same shaft distance and you can do swaps
would simply install in your 550 a 5 speed 750 tranny with its larger clutch that is much stronger, the 5 speed gears are also beefier and with a turbo, a 6 speed is a bit redundant, you want to ride the turbo torque so a wider spaced 5 speed better fits

Ah, that's helpful info. I bet the zr550 turbo guy on youtube would be interested in hearing that - they were struggling with the 550 clutch slipping, even with beefier springs. I'll get in touch with him to let him know. I'm assuming the same would be true of zr550/zr750, not positive though.