Topic: Terry Bob's redneck F-ing K2 bitsa project!

[Terry in Australia]

Hi Terry,

Loving your posts as always. I am a big fan of a dual disc conversion on the CB750K, it makes the bikes rideable on our congested U.K. roads.

The drilled, cast disc are interesting. Do they pull up significantly better than the Honda OE’s?

Who makes/ sells them?

Thanks mate, as much as I respect everyone's anonymity, it feels weird to call you 71 V12? Is your real name "Jaguar"? But I digress. Hugh Robinson here in Bathurst, New South Wales, Oz, makes the cast iron drilled rotors on an exchange basis (you send him your #$%*ty old stainless rotors, he drills out the rivets, and installs a drilled cast iron rotor, which absolutely pisses all over the OEM stainless steel POS rotor that actually goes faster in the wet when you pull the brake lever, in the rain. 

Are they better than Honda's OE discs? hell yeah! Seriously, the difference is night and day. They're consistently cheaper, more aggressive, and will pull you up much faster than Honda's OEM offerings. Have you ever seen a worn out OEM K0-K6 rotor? No? Me either. They're sold on an exchange basis, so you need to send Hugh the disc "carrier" and he'll send you back a beautifully machined cast iron drilled disc rotor, that will pull you up better than anything you've ever experienced on an SOHC4. I'm about to send him a couple more, after buying three new rotors from him last year.  

[PeWe]

That front rotor would be nice. Only problem for me is the shipping both ways..... $$$$
And customs issues....

My K6 dual front brake match the clutch with Barnett 66 lbs springs (CB500/550). Both hands needs to be strong

[grcamna2]

Hi Terry,

Loving your posts as always. I am a big fan of a dual disc conversion on the CB750K, it makes the bikes rideable on our congested U.K. roads.

The drilled, cast disc are interesting. Do they pull up significantly better than the Honda OE’s?

Who makes/ sells them?

Thanks mate, as much as I respect everyone's anonymity, it feels weird to call you 71 V12? Is your real name "Jaguar"? But I digress. Hugh Robinson here in Bathurst, New South Wales, Oz, makes the cast iron drilled rotors on an exchange basis (you send him your #$%*ty old stainless rotors, he drills out the rivets, and installs a drilled cast iron rotor, which absolutely pisses all over the OEM stainless steel POS rotor that actually goes faster in the wet when you pull the brake lever, in the rain. 

Are they better than Honda's OE discs? hell yeah! Seriously, the difference is night and day. They're consistently cheaper, more aggressive, and will pull you up much faster than Honda's OEM offerings. Have you ever seen a worn out OEM K0-K6 rotor? No? Me either. They're sold on an exchange basis, so you need to send Hugh the disc "carrier" and he'll send you back a beautifully machined cast iron drilled disc rotor, that will pull you up better than anything you've ever experienced on an SOHC4. I'm about to send him a couple more, after buying three new rotors from him last year.

Terry,I will send you a PM about this,if you could.

[71 V12]

Thanks mate, as much as I respect everyone's anonymity, it feels weird to call you 71 V12? Is your real name "Jaguar"? But I digress. Hugh Robinson here in Bathurst, New South Wales, Oz, makes the cast iron drilled rotors on an exchange basis (you send him your #$%*ty old stainless rotors, he drills out the rivets, and installs a drilled cast iron rotor, which absolutely pisses all over the OEM stainless steel POS rotor that actually goes faster in the wet when you pull the brake lever, in the rain. 

Are they better than Honda's OE discs? hell yeah! Seriously, the difference is night and day. They're consistently cheaper, more aggressive, and will pull you up much faster than Honda's OEM offerings. Have you ever seen a worn out OEM K0-K6 rotor? No? Me either. They're sold on an exchange basis, so you need to send Hugh the disc "carrier" and he'll send you back a beautifully machined cast iron drilled disc rotor, that will pull you up better than anything you've ever experienced on an SOHC4. I'm about to send him a couple more, after buying three new rotors from him last year.

Many thanks Terry.

I probably am weird - one of the privileges that come with age😊😊

Kind regards,

Kevin

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Kevin, it's nice to have a name to reply to.

Anyhoo, yesterday I won an auction for a genuine K2 seat, with an aftermarket cover. Now I could have bought a repro K3 to K6 seat, but to me, they're an ugly plank that doesn't look right on a K2. I was surprised then that today, the box arrived, woohoo! I was working from home today, but quite busy, so as soon as I had 5 spare minutes, I replaced the seats, and rolled it out for a pic. Happy days!

s-l1600 (28) by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

K2 Bitsa 7 Apr 2021 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Spotty came over and gave me some money which was good, I need some cash to lose on the poker machines when I take the mother in law out for her 89th birthday lunch on Sunday. I had to show him the tank that I got off my mate Fred on the weekend, after I took my "strip disc" to it to remove the paint, not realising that the bondo under the paint was as thick as 1/2" in places, what a POS. Fred's a good guy, he didn't know how bad it was, so he's told me to bring it back and grab another one, but he lives an hour or more from me, so I have to find a spare day to go to his place, pick out a better tank, and then paint it, and with winter only 6 or 7 weeks away, I'm running out of time.

K2 Bitsa 7 Apr 2021 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Oh well, I did score a very nice 107XXXX frame for my K1's 106XXXX engine, so tomorrow (possibly the last hot day for the next 3 or 4 months) I'm gonna paint it. That way I can build my engine at my leisure and slowly turn them into another motorcycle.

[PeWe]

Good looking seat, Terry!
Bike look as a good survivor!

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Per, if I can ever find a good tank I'm painting it silver!

[PeWe]

Or just press a button....
https://www.yamiya750.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=246_157_271_242&products_id=2657

[754]

Terry, sounds like you should be using the inspection camera on the cable tool. When looking at tanks to buy. .
 You can examine ibside condition , check for dents, rust, etc..
 Instead  of playing the tank lottery......

[Terry in Australia]

Good idea Frank, I’ve a couple of borescopes, I’ll give it a shot on the two tanks that are coming with another K2 I’m expecting to be delivered tomorrow.

Per, yep those Yamiya tanks are beautiful, but if I have a good tank, I quite enjoy the process of painting it myself.

[Don R]

 If you can paint them to your own satisfaction that frees up some parts money. Even better if you enjoy it.

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah mate, I can buy a rough CB750 for the price of a full paint set. I did buy the whole kit for my Kawasaki Z1-B, but there’s 10 times as many CB750’s as there are Z1’s, so parts for Z1’s are sandcast prices.

[Don R]

Yeah mate, I can buy a rough CB750 for the price of a full paint set. I did buy the whole kit for my Kawasaki Z1-B, but there’s 10 times as many CB750’s as there are Z1’s, so parts for Z1’s are sandcast prices.

I have an 80 kz1000 ltd, I'd love to put an Orange and brown tank set and clone Z1 stuff on it. I really overspent on it and I just don't seem to love it yet. I need to do a wheelie and break in the new back tire, that might do it.

[Terry in Australia]

I can’t say too much Don, as soon as the CB750F2 arrived late last year I took a break from my Kawasaki projects, then the K0 took over, followed by the K2 Bitsa rebuild.

I’m waiting to go home so I can paint my 1970 K1 frame as it’s unusually warm today and the weather is only gonna get cooler, and when my newly acquired K2 project turns up tomorrow I have to crack on with it as it’s a “trade-in” on a Harley I want, so the poor old Z1-B and 1428 builds are getting pushed further down the road.

No reflection on Kawasaki’s, they’re awesome, but CB750’s are my comfort zone....

[bear]

I had to show him the tank that I got off my mate Fred on the weekend, after I took my "strip disc" to it to remove the paint, not realising that the bondo under the paint was as thick as 1/2" in places, what a POS. Fred's a good guy, he didn't know how bad it was, so he's told me to bring it back and grab another one, but he lives an hour or more from me, so I have to find a spare day to go to his place, pick out a better tank, and then paint it


Do yourself a favour Uncle Tez, stick a button magnet in your pocket before you go. It will help sorting the #$%* from the clay if your trying to pick a good tank under all that paint.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Brian, when I rang Fred and told him he was running around with a fridge magnet checking all his other tanks. He’s a good bloke and we’ve been horse trading CB750 stuff for years, so he’ll make it right. But I will take a fridge magnet and my borescope next trip.....

[Terry in Australia]

So on Thursday it was 28 deg C (82 deg F) and today was only 16 deg C (60 deg F) and while that's not real cold in the US, Canada, Europe and the UK, it was a real b1tch today, having to suit up in my cold/wet weather gear for the first time this year. But I'm jumping ahead.

First of all, the "Parts K2" arrived today, finally, 3 weeks after I bought it. Due to floods and a 5 day Covid lockdown in Brisbane, it's taken way longer than the usual week or so to arrive, and because I wasn't expecting much anyway, when I saw it in the flesh, I wasn't (too) disappointed.

K2 Saturday 10 Apr 2021 9e by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

K2 Saturday 10 Apr 2021 9b by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

K2 Saturday 10 Apr 2021 9 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

K2 Saturday 10 Apr 2021 8 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

K2 Saturday 10 Apr 2021 7 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I was particularly impressed at how well the (broken) sidecovers were held onto the frame:

K2 Saturday 10 Apr 2021 9c by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

And the gauges look lovely:

K2 Saturday 10 Apr 2021 9d by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I didn't bother taking pics of the 4 into 1 header which had rusted out, been patched (badly) and is super rusty anyway. I couldn't bring myself to throw anything out, because in the past I've found little things can be grafted on to bigger things to make an assembly work again, but there wasn't a whole lot of good to be seen anywhere. It did come with two tanks, one has obvious dents but doesn't have much in the way of putty obvious (badge holes still visible) and the other one will be a mystery until I use Franks suggestion and shove my borescope into the filler cap and take a look at what's lurking inside.

K2 Saturday 10 Apr 2021 6 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I want to say that they don't look too bad, but neither did Fred's tank until I tool my strip disc to it, so I'm not gonna make any bold statements until I've taken a closer look. It would be nice though, if at least one of them was able to be saved. Anyway, feeling a little "Buyers remorse", I decided that a ride on my K2 bitsa was in order.

As previously mentioned, it was cold and wet today, so I rugged up with all the wet weather gear I haven't worn in 6 months or so, and as the sun had made a brief entrance, I wondered if I hadn't overdone it as I was almost sweating as I made my way thru the light suburban traffic before I hit the freeway. By the time I'd hit the backroads though, it started to rain again, and the wind chill certainly removed any doubt that rugging up was a good idea.

Due to the late start I decided that the Heathcote Pie Run was not gonna happen, so chose a new route, and enjoyed visiting places I haven't been in years, including a couple of places I probably haven't been ever. The weather varied from overcast and wet, to patches of sunlight, so I filled the bike when I realised I'd done over 100 miles since it's previous fill on Easter Monday, and was happy that it'd only consumed 9.3 litres, and realised that I'm getting better fuel consumption from this 836cc bike with a lumpier cam than my K0, which probably means I need to drop the needles a notch on the K0, before my next ride.

I then took off again content in the knowledge that I had a full tank of gas, the oil pressure was still sitting at around 55 psi @ 4000 RPM, and the engine was running as sweet as, er, well something really sweet. I stopped and took a couple of pics outside the old Monegeeta General Store, the last time I stopped there would have been at least 7 years ago when I was working out at the Australian Defence Force's Vehicle Test facility nearby, and I wasn't riding a bike, sadly. I was a smoker back then, and I remember sitting at a BBQ table across the road from the store smoking a cigarette and drinking a coffee. I still miss those cigarettes, 6 years after I had my last one.

K2 Saturday 10 Apr 2021 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

K2 Saturday 10 Apr 2021 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I then started to head back for home. I cruised around from behind Melbourne International Airport, and was transfixed by a Qatar Airways airliner slowly descending to land, it was almost if it wasn't gonna make it over the road I was travelling on into the confines of the airport, but it really was amazing watching it flying so low, and so slow, directly overhead. By this time the rain had come back, so the last 20 minutes or so I was keeping a safe distance from all of the car drivers, and allowing myself plenty of braking room, even though the brakes on the K2 are now awesome.

I got home in one piece, parked the bike, climbed out of all my wet weather gear and jumped on Menulog to order some Chinese fried dumplings and some steamed rice to be delivered to Chez Terry, to make up for the pie I didn't have. I ate too much and was in pain, but washing it down with home made Ginger Beer helped, probably. More soon.




 

[BPellerine]

that is one rough looking frame terry!

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Bill, yeah, it looks awful, so I'm gonna ask Dion (the eventual recipient) to take it away and repair it. He's a full time race car builder, brilliant TIG welder, so I'm sure he can cut all the crap out and repair it while I'm building an engine for it. I have a spare K6 frame (with rusted bottom rails) that he can use to cut sections from, so it shouldn't be beyond repair.

The engine looks just as awful, very reminiscent of the "Swamp Rat" engine from 2019, but as long as the cases are OK, I have plenty of "guts" to swap in, as well as a much better head and cylinder block. No biggie, I'll pull the engine this week and strip it down, and witness the carnage within......

[BenelliSEI]

Terry..... I’m sure I’ve already read the answer, but “ what wheels on the K2 Bitsa” ? They look great!

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks John, They're Henry Abe's cast alloy wheels, from back in the day. The rear is a 16", but I have an 18 incher as well if I decide to go that way, but I really like that big fat 150/80-16 tyre filling the rear fender. I've got Lesters for my K1 build, which I'll start once the K2 is done.

[RAFster122s]

Hope you didn't pay a lot for that tepid mess...
I guess one day they will be rarer than hens teeth.
 
The killed pipeline did nothing to stopping the consumption of gas one Iota but jacked up the price of fuel by leaps and bounds doing so and gutted America's road to energy independence. I think they plan to drive the cost of petrol up so much that to buy an electric car will actually "save" you money in their new world order. They will continue to kill the ability to explore for or pump new oil out of the ground to drive the oil and gas industry into oblivion like the perverted view of what is evil and must be destoyed at any cost.  Solar and green energy pays a price at some point in manufacturing or disposal of dead or beyond service life of solar panels or wind turbine blades. Then you have stupidity like in Texas causing destruction and harm when weather prevents the green energy from producing with no backup methods in place.
Insanity runs amuck...

Going to suit up for a ride and pick up a cheap burger at In-N-Out burger and watch the sunset then shake down the bike for a bit to ensure she's ready for a 80 mile jog on the bike tomorrow. I think it is going to get too hot to push past to a longer ride because 90s and black MC gear gets pretty hot. New jacket being partially white should be better.
Besides, much of tomorrow morning and early afternoon is dealing with Tucson city traffic, morning not as much but afternoon definitely will be.
Starting temp will be 60F and by 1pm it will be up to 87f and 89f to 90f.  But, only 5% humidity and winds gust to 13 mph. So, unless it is cloudy it will be another hot day in the desert. It has cooled off to 91F at 6:18pm.

[grcamna2]

that is one rough looking frame terry!

I think so too.That will need some time with someone's vintage-look welding skills to bring it back to look more like the original welds.Terry,did you get papers of ownership with that frame?

[grcamna2]

Hope you didn't pay a lot for that tepid mess...
I guess one day they will be rarer than hens teeth.
 
The killed pipeline did nothing to stopping the consumption of gas one Iota but jacked up the price of fuel by leaps and bounds doing so and gutted America's road to energy independence. I think they plan to drive the cost of petrol up so much that to buy an electric car will actually "save" you money in their new world order. They will continue to kill the ability to explore for or pump new oil out of the ground to drive the oil and gas industry into oblivion like the perverted view of what is evil and must be destoyed at any cost.  Solar and green energy pays a price at some point in manufacturing or disposal of dead or beyond service life of solar panels or wind turbine blades. Then you have stupidity like in Texas causing destruction and harm when weather prevents the green energy from producing with no backup methods in place.
Insanity runs amuck...

Going to suit up for a ride and pick up a cheap burger at In-N-Out burger and watch the sunset then shake down the bike for a bit to ensure she's ready for a 80 mile jog on the bike tomorrow. I think it is going to get too hot to push past to a longer ride because 90s and black MC gear gets pretty hot. New jacket being partially white should be better.
Besides, much of tomorrow morning and early afternoon is dealing with Tucson city traffic, morning not as much but afternoon definitely will be.
Starting temp will be 60F and by 1pm it will be up to 87f and 89f to 90f.  But, only 5% humidity and winds gust to 13 mph. So, unless it is cloudy it will be another hot day in the desert. It has cooled off to 91F at 6:18pm.

Take some fluids with(I use Powerade Zero)you David,stay hydrated.I like how dry it is Out West compared to the constant humidity we had back East,I do need to hydrate more though.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, I sent Dion pics of the horrible frame, and he said, "No worries, I can fix that", so I'm happy, he's also going to paint it with 2 pack paint once he's repaired it, so that's something else I don't have to worry about, I just need to build him a good engine, and he'll be happy. I like building engines much more than I like fixing frames.

Over here we don't have to worry too much about "titles" etc, except for imported bikes, so no, I didn't need to get any papers with it, I can check the frame and engine numbers on a couple of different data bases to make sure the bike isn't stolen (and lets face it, who'd steal that pile?) or an insurance write off, which I doubt as well. The last two CB750's I've registered weren't even on our DMV (called "VICROADS here in Victoria) computer, so the nice ladies behind the counter just added them.

Tomorrow after work (weather permitting) I'll pull the engine out (actually I'll jack the bike up, remove the wheels, forks, swingarm etc and lay the thing on it's right side on a big piece of foam and lift the frame off the engine) and see how disgusting the internals are. I'm not expecting much, so I'm sure I won't be disappointed!