Bent frame or offset wheel???

Hi I have a 1981 kz750e i am rebuilding, the back off the frame where tail light mounts is offset to the centre of the tyre by nearly 1/2 inch. Is the frame bent or are they like this?? Any comments greatly appreciated!!

adza wrote: Hi I have a 1981 kz750e i am rebuilding, the back off the frame where tail light mounts is offset to the centre of the tyre by nearly 1/2 inch. Is the frame bent or are they like this?? Any comments greatly appreciated!!

Am guessing there's not supposed to be an offset, and that the centre of the tyre is supposed to align with the centre of the back of the frame where the tail light mounts. And that when assembled, the centre of the tail light should be located directly above the centre of the rear tire.

Possibility that frame is bent as a result of impact damage.

Any earlier modifications to the bike (rear wheel, swing arm, frame, etc?)

Are rear wheel and frame in the same vertical plane?

Possibly the swing arm is twisted?

Are the wheels aligned with each other?

When pushing the bike forward in a straight line, does the centre line of the rear tyre track directly over the centre line of the front tyre?

Does the bike pull toward either direction while coasting with hands off the handlebars?

Pic of area in question?

Good Fortune!

Missing wheel spacer or wrong spacer ? As mentioned pics would be good.

The 750 E's have a slightly offset wheel. It's a little strange, but my E3 was the same way. I never really understood why they did this...


EDIT: BTW, that is one of the main reasons I swapped out my 18" for a 16" rear wheel. No offset on the 16's

I had'nt thought of swing arm being twisted, i think it might be the rear of the frame section where the shocks mount to. it tracked pretty good but seemed to like right hand corners better than lefts.
I want to make sure before i send it to a frame straightening guy because if its meant to be like this i'll make it worse. I got the motor on the bench doin a top end rebuild and making it an 810 then when thats done it can go on a jig to straighten the frame (maybe??) cause he needs the motor in it to do.
i'll gets some pics up and show ya.
Cheers

Got some pics. first time done this, see if it works?

If not already done. would assure rear wheel is properly aligned in the swing arm by using the two chain adjusters.
Don't rely on the indicator marks.
Measure the distance on both sides to assure they are exactly the same from centerpoint of the swing arm bolt to centerpoint of the rear axle.

When completed, the drive chain should leave the rear sprocket and mount the countershaft sprocket without any noticeable turn in the full length of the chain when sighting down the chain over the rear sprocket to the countershaft sprocket.

To assure the swing arm isn't warped (such as one side being higher than the other), it may be necessary to remove the swing arm and place it on a flat surface.

Bottom line -- When assembled, both the rear sprocket and the countershaft sprocket must be in the exact same geometric plane (see illustration below).

Good Fortune!

yeah i did that when the motor was in the frame and it was ok. i also ran a string line from the front wheel to the back and dropped a plumb line from the axles to centre lines i had scribed on the floor. all ok but the mud guard still sat off centre

From the pics, your wheel looks misaligned to me. With the wheel properly aligned on my 750 e3 (with the 18"), it sat slightly to the right of center.

yeah it's just sitting in there at the moment but even when aligned it sits to the left of centre. I think i'll put it on a jig when the motor goes back in and have it checked

Interesting...

Kawasaki.com lists the e2/e3 together. If this link doesn't work, go to '82 on their parts diagrams and the 750-4 standard (it doesn't list any 750's for 81)

www.kawasakiepc.com/SystemSearch_Frames....208&CFTOKEN=35713243

It shows only two spacers/collars, and both go on the left side (EDIT: I think one is between the wheel and the sprocket carrier). The caliper mount acts as the spacer on the brake side. Double check the parts diagram to make sure everything is installed correctly, and let us know what you find.

I was wrong...finally found a pic of the bike with the 18" wheel still on it. Mine was offset to the left, not the right.