The Kawasaki KZ440 is the larger bore brother of the Z/KZ400, offering a 443cc air-cooled parallel twin instead of the smaller sibling’s 398cc engine. Unlike the mighty Z1 and other KZ Series brethren, the KZ440 never had much in the way of sporting pretensions — these were built to be tough, utilitarian bikes for riders across the globe. Trim levels included the C1, C2, and top-of-the-line LTD.
Enter Anton White (@Psycho_Chopps), a custom motorcycle builder working out of Russia’s Gad13 Garage. Anton wanted to build a “skrambler” for his own private use, turning this 1975 Kawasaki KZ440 LTD into the type of down-n-dirty, hard-as-nails scrambler we love.
Below, we get a few more details about this build.
KZ440 LTD Scrambler: Builder Interview
Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop?
Since childhood, my passion is motorcycles. I work in workshop gad13 castes.
What’s the make, model, and year of the bike?
Kawasaki KZ440 LTD, 1985 year
Why was this bike built?
There was a strong wish to construct a skrambler. I built for private use.
What was the design concept and what influenced the build?
Specially I didn’t paint the gasoline tank and I didn’t smooth out seams on aluminum.
What custom work was done to the bike?
The frame rear and seat was remade. The back wheel of 19 inches was installed, the brake drum left — gives a retro a look. Titanic exhaust pipes. Retro gasoline tank. LED light. Protection of the crankcase of the engine. Wings.
Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?
I am proud of everything that made in this motorcycle.
Photos by @dmitriev_leonid
Nice bike. I admire this kind of work, utilitarian, begs to be used. Not the kind of thing one worries about getting dirty. Bravo! Would have preferred hearing the music of the motor over some generic guitar picking.
nice bike, great information, it just happens to be a Yamaha
Just a Yamaha tank! 🙂