TOPIC:

Gentlemen-

I have what i believe to be a 1982 KX1300 B4. That is, it came to me with a full "Kawasaki by Vetter" fairing, bags and trunk. I'm a "naked bike" guy, so I'm looking to return the extra bits to people who will appreciate them.

Today's issue is that after removing the full fairing, I have nowhere to attach a conventional headlight. Anybody who cares will know that this means I have a pair of "blank" upper fork sheaths without any "ears" to attach a headlight. I would like to connect with a fellow KZ1300 enthusiast who would like to trade, or even more, to find out that the KZ1300 forks are the same dimensions as more common bikes, and fork ears are as common as dirt if you only know what to ask for.

In any case, if you can supply me with a decent set of fork ears, I'd be happy to trade you what I have from a fully-faired bike straight across, or even present me with a good aftermarket alternative, likewise.

Any takers?

Richard

It will be nice if someone is able to help you out by trading some parts - but don't be disappointed if they don't.
The situation you find yourself in is rather common today , as most owners want "naked " bikes. The exact opposite of what was popular during the early eighties- everyone wanted a tourer, especially here in North America. Naked bike sales fell off really quickly once touring equipment became available. !980 saw Kawasaki bring out their first factory tourer - the B2. Individual dealers bought aftermarket fairings and bags , as yours has, from the likes of Vetter , Calafia etc and converted them over . Now there maybe a huge stash of fork ears and headlight buckets out there somewhere , but nobody has found them yet - other than the B2, bikes came from the factory with them and modified by the dealer as they installed fairings and bags.
But now it's all supply and demand- headlight buckets and ears are hard to come by. They are available at the German shop- for a big price. Put another way - the tourers are much harder to sell and fetch less money than the naked bikes . The naked's are where it's at , at the moment . The forks you have are the same as the naked bikes. But they ( the ears ) come in two lengths. Check the German shop as they sell both sizes.

Lare’s friend used to make headlight ears in stainless steel. I wonder if he still has any?

Ari is not manufacturing any more. He is out of stock and the webshop is closed. Happily retired and concentrating on riding and maintaining his 1300s.

LareNurminen wrote: Ari is not manufacturing any more. He is out of stock and the webshop is closed. Happily retired and concentrating on riding and maintaining his 1300s.

Perhaps Ari needs a hobby in his retirement. I would suggest metal fabrication - perhaps Z1300 parts
His work was fantastic - shame it's over

Yes, Ari’s workmanship was of astounding quality. I wish there was somebody to take over the manufacture of the parts he made.