When I first got my Zephyr it seemed to handle like a truck compared to my KLX650 dual sport. I really didn't enjoy or like it particularly. Past experience and a percursory look at the bike gave me what I needed to know to make it work how I intended it to. In addition, I needed to "compensate" for the reduced sag in the front fork when I put in the Progressive Suspension springs while changing out leaky fork seals.

First, the zero cost change - rotating the chain adustor eccentric the opposite way, raising the rear rather than lowering it. I figure that might have been good for 1-2" depending on the chain condition. This is a pure freebie. The adjuster marks aren't work jack to me, I measure from the swingarm pivot to the axle centerline to make sure the wheel alignment is right, so there is no loss there. This just made sense to me. I've seen pictures where guys have obviously bought or made blocks to jack up the rear at the lower shock mount - yet not have the chain adjuster eccentric rotated to lift the rear. Kind of goofy in my book - pay money for what could be done with the stock setup. By the way, the other reason for raising the rear was "the look". I love the old late 70s early 80s Superbike look.

My second change came about by three avenues; previous experience, convenience, and lack of money. The change was going to a lower profile front tire. First off, I had previously ridden an 1100 Gold Wing standard (no bags and crap) due to riding double a lot and a friend with a similar 1200 version. I really like the bike with that big lump of motor and kind of thick appearance, but I wanted it to turn in quicker than an 18 wheeler. Previous experience with putting a larger profile tire on my old MotoGuzzi made it turn in like an 18 wheeler, so obviously the trick was to go smaller. On the Wing I dropped from a 120/90 to a 110/90 to get that change. In addition to this experience, I had two other contributors - being mostly broke and conveniently having a 110/70-17 BT45 laying in the garage. Since I didn't really want to lose much width I didn't want to go narrower like on the Wing, but I did know going lower profile would quicken the turn in as well. And since I just happened to have a good tire laying around, I took the chance and mounted it. I think the biggest risk was that it might look a bit goofy in the front fender. It really doesn't look bad though, and it does help turn in. It is a few mm smaller in width, but not much. The worst effect is that it makes the speedo that much further off than stock. It is now about 10% or so. I'd love it if anyone has a fix in mind. I wondered about using another gear drive at the hub if there was one that would be similar - maybe the EX500 uses the 110/80.

The change was exactly what I wanted. Much quicker for me, much to my liking. Not had any negative experience up to around 90 mph. I don't run that fast, just like hammering corners. Combined with the new springs and 10w oil, this made the bike virtually perfect for me.

There it is: rotate chain adjuster eccentric to raise the rear, pulling in the rake and shorten trail a bit, then drop from the 110/80 profile to the 110/70 profile front tire. This picks up the handling quite a bit, not quite supermoto, but way better than the original "truck-like" handling.

I will say I've thought about doing a 120/60 to get a wider tire for braking and maybe for looks. I've not looked at the actual height on Bridgestone's web site though so I don't know how it would compare to the 110/70. I don't want to slow the handling and the braking isn't bad as is, so it's a small thought.

Now all I need to do is either refresh or rebuild the rear shocks. I'm not sure what I plan there yet... it's a money thing again.

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Mark - klx678

Delaware Ohio

1990 Kawasaki Zephyr 550 mostly stock - if I wanted faster I'd have bought faster
1995 Kawasaki KLX650 with a big bore Vulcan piston 678cc, a pipe, and Dial-A-Jet
1978 Yamaha SR500 eventually to be a 60's style flattrack look street tracker
1967or so Bultaco M27 Sherpa T - first bike I bought, 1971.

Yeah, the KLX is fun for sure. Going to ride back roads in West Virginia this next weekend Thurs-Sun. Staying at I think Snow Shoe ski resort... friends know the area and dirt roads. The Zephyr came about foor more comfortable riding here in the flat lands of central Ohio. I just got to run it a few times east to the parents home and back. The whole thing handles exactly how I wanted it to work.

I agree with your notes on tires. That's why I usually mention to go to the manufacturer's site to get real numbers and recommended rim sizes. The BT45 110/80 is maybe 3-5mm wider than the BT45 110/70. Both work for the rim size on the Zephyr. Now I'm going to be looking at the rear wheel. I think I'll probably stick with the normal recommended BT45 back there. I don't want to lose the gearing changes I made. If I was doing a chain and sprockets I might look at lower profile just for looks, but for now that's out of the picture.

That brings up the gearing change - the best thing I've done for the road use. It may not have the quicker acceleration with the 17T sprocket, but it cruises great at 60-70 mph. Tap down a gear or two for a pass if needed. No downshifts needed to simply speed up or hold speed on hills. I think it did add some MPG, I did about 145 miles and put in about 2.5 gallons which equals almost 60 mpg doing most of the riding near 65-70 mph.

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Mark - klx678

Delaware Ohio

1990 Kawasaki Zephyr 550 mostly stock - if I wanted faster I'd have bought faster
1995 Kawasaki KLX650 with a big bore Vulcan piston 678cc, a pipe, and Dial-A-Jet
1978 Yamaha SR500 eventually to be a 60's style flattrack look street tracker
1967or so Bultaco M27 Sherpa T - first bike I bought, 1971.