Photo: Jani Nendl
From tasteful cosmetic mods to numerous performance upgrades, the Red Rooster has it all.
It’s been a while since we’ve last heard anything from Krakenhead Customs, but we do hope that co-owners Luka and Rok are still active. I mean, it would be a real shame for the custom bike scene to lose such talents, and you should look no further than the bike they call Red Rooster to understand why that’s the case.
Were you to have met this 1981 Kawasaki KZ1000 in its previous incarnation, you’d be looking at a beat-up pile of rust with repairs that could, at best, be described as questionable. The Slovenian workshop didn’t mind a challenge, though, so Rok and Luka decided to rescue the old Kawi from the farm where it had lain abandoned for many years.
Once the donor was on their workbench, Krakenhead kicked things off with a thorough inspection of its inline-four powerhouse. Surprisingly, the engine internals and transmission were found to be in pretty good shape, but the same couldn’t be said for the carburetors. These have, therefore, been cleaned, rebuilt, and fitted with a modern set of K&N air filters.
The clean-up procedure made its way onto the engine covers too, making them look even better than new. Rounding out the powertrain-related mods is a stunning four-into-two exhaust system, which was fabricated from scratch using 316-grade stainless steel. With the plumbing work taken care of, the Krakenhead duo moved on to the suspension sector.
At the front end, they installed upside-down 43 mm (1.7-inch) forks from Kayaba, but we’re far more impressed with what’s going on out back. There you’ll see a custom-built monoshock arrangement that’s been fashioned in-house, and the fully-adjustable Showa part it employs is connected to a handmade aluminum swingarm down low.
In the footwear department, this reborn KZ1000 features a pair of laced BEHR hoops that measure 17 inches in diameter, with Pirelli’s grippy Phantom Sportscomp rubber hugging their rims at both poles. Abundant stopping power is made possible thanks to a 320 mm (12.6-inch) disc and a beefy six-piston caliper up north, along with a smaller, drilled brake rotor and a twin-piston caliper out back.
The front caliper is a Tokico item, while the rear unit and both master cylinders were ordered from Brembo. Turning their attention to the cosmetic side of things, the lads proceeded to shorten and loop the motorcycle’s subframe before topping it off with a tailor-made saddle.
Further ahead, the Red Rooster carries the repurposed fuel tank of an earlier KZ1000 model, as well as a bespoke headlight housing complete with built-in warning lights and aftermarket instrumentation. Clip-on handlebars round out the cockpit area, and Krakenhead’s one-off gem attained its current form in late 2015. Then, it was finally sold for €10,000 around 2018 – an absolute bargain for the buyer, if you ask me!
Were you to have met this 1981 Kawasaki KZ1000 in its previous incarnation, you’d be looking at a beat-up pile of rust with repairs that could, at best, be described as questionable. The Slovenian workshop didn’t mind a challenge, though, so Rok and Luka decided to rescue the old Kawi from the farm where it had lain abandoned for many years.
Once the donor was on their workbench, Krakenhead kicked things off with a thorough inspection of its inline-four powerhouse. Surprisingly, the engine internals and transmission were found to be in pretty good shape, but the same couldn’t be said for the carburetors. These have, therefore, been cleaned, rebuilt, and fitted with a modern set of K&N air filters.
The clean-up procedure made its way onto the engine covers too, making them look even better than new. Rounding out the powertrain-related mods is a stunning four-into-two exhaust system, which was fabricated from scratch using 316-grade stainless steel. With the plumbing work taken care of, the Krakenhead duo moved on to the suspension sector.
At the front end, they installed upside-down 43 mm (1.7-inch) forks from Kayaba, but we’re far more impressed with what’s going on out back. There you’ll see a custom-built monoshock arrangement that’s been fashioned in-house, and the fully-adjustable Showa part it employs is connected to a handmade aluminum swingarm down low.
In the footwear department, this reborn KZ1000 features a pair of laced BEHR hoops that measure 17 inches in diameter, with Pirelli’s grippy Phantom Sportscomp rubber hugging their rims at both poles. Abundant stopping power is made possible thanks to a 320 mm (12.6-inch) disc and a beefy six-piston caliper up north, along with a smaller, drilled brake rotor and a twin-piston caliper out back.
The front caliper is a Tokico item, while the rear unit and both master cylinders were ordered from Brembo. Turning their attention to the cosmetic side of things, the lads proceeded to shorten and loop the motorcycle’s subframe before topping it off with a tailor-made saddle.
Further ahead, the Red Rooster carries the repurposed fuel tank of an earlier KZ1000 model, as well as a bespoke headlight housing complete with built-in warning lights and aftermarket instrumentation. Clip-on handlebars round out the cockpit area, and Krakenhead’s one-off gem attained its current form in late 2015. Then, it was finally sold for €10,000 around 2018 – an absolute bargain for the buyer, if you ask me!
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