Z900 A4 Fork ears dont fit?

[Gray17]

Hi Guys having a nightmare on this rebuild everything you do theres always something else wrong?
In this case its the Fork ears.
My original ones had been painted probably as the chrome was pitted so as part of rebuild ordered a good used set from ebay from an A4, they arrived i checked them and looked good, so put them back in box to prevent damage.
Now 6 weeks or so later ready to fit, find they are shorter then the originals by about 30mm cant understand it as they are for an A4, yes i know should have checked but they looked the same.
So question which are correct for my bike? See photo
Any suggestions on how i could fit these ie sleeve or chrome pipe etc
Or am i going to have to buy new ones argh!
Thanks

[warren3200gt]

Not sure the chrome one in your pic is a4. The top and bottom edges of the tube should be straight and parallel to each other. The bottom of the chrome one looks to be angled?
Have you got all the other rubber and chrome bits?

20210929_115513.jpg (51.55 KiB) Viewed 2820 times

[Gray17]

Thanks for reply, just re checked ebay listing, it was listed for Z900, Z1 Z1000 fork ears, hence why i bought them.
Just re checked sizes originals are 25mm longer and 35mm in diameter, new ones are only 30mm so dont even fit over fork tubes.
Annoyed at myself for not checking better.
But i went by the listing and had stripped forks as original stanchions thick rust so was awaiting new ones arriving.
Not sure what i can do about it now as def wont fit my A4, i could prob have returned them as listed wrong but not now!
I could have originals re chromed but again thats mega bucks these days!

[Philippe]

Hi Gray

I woud suggest you buy a pair of replicas from Z-Power. They'll certainly fit and have the correct dimensionn and once mounted you can't tell they're replicas or you must run up to a rivet counter like me
GrtZ
Philippe

[Gray17]

Hi thanks for the reply, yes seen those at Zpower, its just another cost on top of the cost ive already paid for the set i bought from ebay, and they dont have the seam, remember thinking they were a bargain at the time, but of course their not when they dont fit!
Not sure what model their from do look like Kawasaki ones
They are 152mm long and 34mm in diameter perhaps the older 2 stroke models or maybe Z650 B??? Def dont fit the Z900 thats for sure.

[warren3200gt]

Not 650 Graham. 650's have 36mm forks same as 900/1000.

[Gray17]

Ok Warren thats another they dont fit, its strange as they definately look Kawasaki orientated,and were advertised as such, wishing I'd checked better when i recieved them, but didnt have Frame or Yokes at the time they were away getting blasted then straight to powder coaters so didnt get chance, even stanchions were thick rust under fitted bellows, just opened box checked they looked ok then put away ready for rebuild.
Another lesson learnt dont trust ebay sellars, just because it states its 1 thing doesnt def mean it is!

[warren3200gt]

The bit that looks odd to me is the apparently angle bottom edge unless it's trick photography. Don't know of any khi bikes that had that.

[Gray17]

Sorry Warren not sure what you mean, to me they look very similar to your photo ones but just a bit shorter. How do you mean the bottom curves wrong?
Are you talking about the green original one or the Chrome ones i bought?

[warren3200gt]

If you look at the green one both the bottom and top of the 'tube' look parallel to each other.
The chrome one doesn't. The bottom looks to be cut at a different angle.

[Gray17]

Ah Ok now you point it out i can see, yes they are at different angles but both are sloped not parallel but not the same angles. I assumed it was just from a different year model or green is pattern and chrome original, didnt realise the chrome one wouldnt fit till i tried it today.

[marmck]

Strip the paint off originals ,see what they look like ,you never know .They may have just been painted & not rubbed down . Good luck

[warren3200gt]

Bit mangled though aren't they.

[Gray17]

Agreed their not the best, hence why i bought replacement ones, besides getting green ones rechromed more expensive then replacement. Its always a fine balance trying to restore a 40+ year old machine, but retain its originality, especially when its had 40+ years of being fiddled with not always for the better either.
May strip them and see what their like, but suspect they were painted tohide the rust like the fork legs, having Hodna style bellows to cover them up. Cost for me is now the big issue as overspent by loads with all i keep finding.

[warren3200gt]

As I'm sure you know Graham, Zpower do repops which would be lower cost than straightening and re chroming the green ones.