KAWASAKI ZEPHYR
– NOVEMBER CUSTOMS’ LATEST CREATION
Aside from appearing in these pages, the old skool endurance-styled bike also appeared at, amongst other events, the sadly missed Motorcycle Social in Leeds, where it was spotted by one Kevin Peshke who had, by some coincidence, just bought a mildly customised Kawasaki Zephyr himself, and found it difficult to get his head around the fact that that machine was built from the same stock as his own Zephyr.
After chatting to Lin and Paul about their bike, he realised he wanted his Kawa’ to have the same attention to detail, so commissioned them to take it on and make something exciting that he could both show and be an everyday rider. He gave them a free reign, but Paul called him regularly with updates and ideas they’d had, but one thing he was firm on was wanting a monocoque body kit
(albeit without the cockpit fairing, and a larger tail piece than the original
NC Zephyr). To keep the financial aspects under control, they decided to retain the standard forks, yokes and wheels (the forks were stripped and rebuilt with HyperPro springs), with a pair of YSS shocks bolted to a tubular
ZRX1100 swingarm. The brakes were uprated with
Brembo calipers, sourced from an Aprilia RSV 1000, with a matching radial master cylinder.
The original subframe was lopped off and replaced with a svelte alternative that incorporates the electrics box, allowing that all-important empty space below the seat, and Kev loved the over-centre mechanical fuel cap on the original bike, so a similar item was fabricated to suit, and it came out so well they’ll be making a small run of them. The engine remains internally standard, with just freeflowing air-filters and a set of Delkevic exhaust downpipes mated to an aftermarket end can, which provide the perfect sound-track for a four-cylinder café racer!
Paul and Lin cite Kev as being “a dream client”, and the feeling was reciprocal – as he says: “They brought me on a journey full of anticipation and excitement.
I’ll always be grateful for their patience with me, and they’ve become good friends, which is testament itself to the whole process!” It’s clear that Kev’s very proud of the bike, so much so that he’s used it in his paying job – he’s a pro’ photographer (the pics here’re his), and one of his clients is the Joe Brown fashion brand, and the eagleeyed among you may’ve already spotted the
Zephyr in the catalogue that was enclosed with
BSH subs copies a few issues ago!