Lowering 1982 KZ550 Shock

Hey all,

Still a newbie with all this and on my first build. I have the bike basically apart and ready to be reworked to where I want to get it.

I've been looking here and other places and am curious about how to lower the rear end of the bike a bit. I've read up on "lowering blocks" (i think that's the right term) that can allow you to keep using the stock shocks and lower the ride height and profile in the rear. I've also read that because of the compression ratios in the shocks, trying to lower it with a 1" block can actually lead to it being much lower on the road.

I'm attempting to go for a cafe bobber style look (not cafe racer) and want to bring the back of the bike down a bit. But, I'm not sure which is the right way to go. I know getting shorter shocks is an option but is a little out of my price range and changes the angle that the shock is set at from stock meaning it may not work nearly as well or get bending in the piston as the shorter shock just may not be setup to work at the stock angle when the bike comes down. I'm willing to go that route if someone can suggest a way to do it or a type of shock that might work with my model and give the lower profile in the rear. I also, if possible don't want to make any changes to the forks as I don't want to whole bike to be lowered, just the rear and again just a bit to get the profile look I'm going for.

Does anyone have suggestions on this? Is it possible to find lowering blocks that work with this model? I'm having a hard time finding ones. Do need to find a way to machine them myself? Is this just a horrible idea and much more trouble than I think it is?

Any input would be great.

Keep in mind that as you lower the rear the tire will move closer to the fender and may kiss it if you hit a pothole. Ed

Ed,

I'm aware of that as well. That's also one one of the reasons I'd like to stick with the stock shocks as they are adjustable and will allow for some fine tuning depending on the ride. I'm also considering completely removing the rear fender which may help with this.

Thanks for the note though.