Topic: Terry's Kawasaki ZZR1100 "Bring it back to life" project.

[MoMo]

Maybe you can use the 77 as a pencil holder? or artist brush holder? or kitchen utensil holder?  ....Larry

[madmtnmotors]

Just get bigger pistons! 

[mick7504]

Ha ha, I did think about that Mick, just for a moment though, I'm trying to get out of the habit of hotting up bikes, you can spend a lot of money on something that you'll never need, bragging rights aside, of course. Anyhoo, I did an Ebay search and found a shiny new genuine Kawasaki 76mm sleeve for cheap, and did the "buy it now" thing, so no biggie. Don't ya love Ebay?

ZZR1100 Cylinder Liner by terry prendergast, on Flickr

That's perfect mate.
Make sure that you've got a pair of welding on when you heat that lad up to remove the old sleeve.
I've had them move out at about 200 deg C before and I don't know how many times I've burnt the ol' maralingas from being brave and doing the job with bare hands. 

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Larry and Wilbur, Maybe I should have just bought one 79(?) mm piston? Back in the 70's I "inherited" my older brother's BMW R69S, which had a chrome frame and loud pipes, and when he burned a hole in one piston due to an ignition timing/mixture issue it was rumoured that the bike shop had only bored out one cylinder, and so had one stock piston and one oversize?

It seemed to go OK, in a BMW R69S kind of way.......... I joined the Army in 1977 and my parents moved house, so all my bikes and junk (the BMW, a Honda 305 Dream and some Royal Enfield 350/500s) were sold or given away. I wouldn't mind having all those bikes again!    

[Terry in Australia]

Ha ha, I did think about that Mick, just for a moment though, I'm trying to get out of the habit of hotting up bikes, you can spend a lot of money on something that you'll never need, bragging rights aside, of course. Anyhoo, I did an Ebay search and found a shiny new genuine Kawasaki 76mm sleeve for cheap, and did the "buy it now" thing, so no biggie. Don't ya love Ebay?

ZZR1100 Cylinder Liner by terry prendergast, on Flickr

That's perfect mate.
Make sure that you've got a pair of welding on when you heat that lad up to remove the old sleeve.
I've had them move out at about 200 deg C before and I don't know how many times I've burnt the ol' maralingas from being brave and doing the job with bare hands. 

Ha ha, yeah, been there and done that Mick, I've swapped heaps of CB750 and GS1000 liners over the years, the industrial oven is the go to heat the block up, then (wearing my welding gauntlets) I just tip the liners out on to a sheet of masonite on the garage floor. In this case I'll lay the heated block on the wood and just tap the old sleeve out with a wooden mallet, and quickly shove the new one in the hole, then just let it cool down before I touch it again.

Mark Kovach in the US (cyberbiker1 on Ebay) just messaged me with pics of the box to say he'd just sent the new liner which is excellent service, he seems like a nice bloke, I'll have to check out his store and see what else he's got, he seems to have a lot of nice NOS parts for various bikes, especially old Kawasaki and Suzuki stuff. Cheers, Terry.  

[madmtnmotors]

Maybe I should have just bought one 79(?) mm piston?

LOL! That was almost what I was going to suggest! I had an outboard motor that was designed to be serviceable by replacing just one (or more) pistons with a larger size without issue per the service manual. Not sure the Kaw is designed for that though...   

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah Wilbur, probably not a great idea. I went out and re-measured the cylinder liner, it's definitely only 77.75mm, so not really sure what it's for? I did a search for 79mm pistons and nothing came up, Wiseco do a 78mm big bore kit, but those sleeves are too small, unless they're supposed to be finish bored? Weird.

[Terry in Australia]

Anyhoo, it was a great day today, sunny and cold (57 deg F) but nice enough in my little patio workshop to do some wrenching. I love that little Dewalt battery rattle gun, it sure makes this sort of work easy. I took lots of pics of all of the assemblies, some of the older guys here will remember sitting and drawing pictures back in the day, but once again, with modern technology, snapping pics with your iphone make it easy to take as many pics as you need to help when it comes time to reassemble everything.

ZZR1100 Engine Cases Split by terry prendergast, on Flickr

I'm impressed by this chain tensioner, way more "Heavy Duty" than anything I've seen on a Honda, looks more like something you'd see in a car:

ZZR1100 Engine Cases Split 3 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

Deep dish front sprocket is original, maybe Kawasaki decided on a wider rear wheel mid-design? I couldn't get it's nut off with my 1/2" air powered rattle gun all those weeks ago, but my little Dewalt 1/4" battery gun ripped it off today!

ZZR1100 Engine Cases Split 5 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

ZZR1100 Engine Cases Split 6 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

This looks a little familiar:

ZZR1100 Engine Cases Split 7 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

The crank bolts were too much for the little rattle gun, so I had do a little exercise to crack 'em.

ZZR1100 Engine Cases Split 16 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

ZZR1100 Engine Cases Split 18 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

The remaining pistons are all in great condition.

ZZR1100 Engine Cases Split 20 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

And finally, ta-dah....... it's open for business!

ZZR1100 Engine Cases Split 23 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

The gears all look great. I've got all the original documents for the bike, and was a bit worried when I saw a quote to repair it back in 1996 when the PO, Charlie, blew second gear at 30,000 miles. Obviously Charlie had that problem fixed.

ZZR1100 Engine Cases Split 24 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

ZZR1100 Engine Cases Split 25 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

Hows this for occluded oil holes? This was the only one, I didn't think to look at it's mate, but I wonder if the problem is that they but the top bearing in the bottom case? No damage to the cranks bearing surface though, so obviously not too much of a problem really. Apart from this, all the bearings looked great, and there was virtually no wear showing on any of them.

ZZR1100 Engine Cases Split 26 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

Good news was that I couldn't find any other damage, so now I just need to order some new crank bearings, piston circlips, and probably some other stuff that I've forgotten. Tomorrow I'll either replace the fork seals, or take one of my other bikes for a ride. I'm leaning towards the latter..........

[mick7504]

I had a premonition about that crank shell Terry.
Don't ask me why.
That's fcucked as far as Kawasaki's QC goes.
I'd be be getting Big Pauline to ruffle some feathers and to PLEASE EXPLAIN. 

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah that's a bit of an X File Mick, you must have ESP! Hey when you get some spare time, do you reckon you could concentrate on the Powerball numbers for next Thursday and send me a PM mate? I'd really like a new Indian Chief and a big garage to park it in!

[mick7504]

Well I bought some tickets in a syndicate for tonights $4m lottery.
There's every chance that the results will see me basking in glory on Monday morning on the way back to the Salt Mine. 

[Terry in Australia]

Well I keep looking at my crank bearings and they look like new, so I posed the question in the ZZR1100 forums about installing new ones with the new(ish) crank, and the consolidated response was basically, "plastiguage the new crank in your current bearings and if it's within spec, bolt it back together", so I thought, "why not"? More than one guy said that he'd bought the "correct" bearings only to find when he plastiguaged them they were too tight, so I'm hoping mine are fine, the standard specs for crank bearing clearance allows .0007 - .003, so there's a fair bit of scope for some fudging. 

In anticipation of getting it back together as early as this weekend, I bought a 6 Sigma jet kit. This isn't just new jets, but a kit designed to recalibrate the carbs to work best with a freer flowing exhaust, freer flowing air filter, hotter ignition etc. I installed a Dynobike jet kit to my Suzuki GS1000S' CV carbs many years ago and it ran way better with the 4 into 1 pipe, Dyna ignition and K&N air filter, so I'm hoping this will work just as well.

When I cleaned the ZZR carbs all the pilot jets were blocked, and I had to use a jet drill to clean the pilot jet in #4, and even though I don't think I enlarged that jet by doing so, I just felt uncomfortable with putting it back together with what might be one different sized pilot, so I was looking to buy new ones, but due to the stupid prices and ridiculous shipping, it was almost cheaper to buy the 6 Sigma kit which includes new pilots, mains, drill bits and all sorts of good stuff. I'm looking forward to modding the carbs.

s-l1600 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

[BobbyR]

As usual you are not doing a half assed job. I am sure at the end this machine will be as good as it can be. I am watching this with great interest.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Bobby, I'm currently dying of the flu at the moment, coughing and spluttering, headache, achey joints, etc etc, fcuk I hate winter!

Anyhoo, it's the "Queen's Birthday" long weekend this weekend, the plastigauge arrived on Wednesday so I'm keen to drag my dying carcase out to my patio workshop and get some stuff done.

I'll plastiguage the main bearings, and all going well, install the new crank and get the bottom end back together while I wait for that new sleeve to turn up. More tomorrow!    

[BobbyR]

Take some time to get over that flu, it will be headed this way soon enough. I will get my flu shot which will probably turn out to be the wrong strain. Take it easy so you don't get some secondary something or other. I suggest strong drink to ward off complications!

[Terry in Australia]

Ha ha, thanks Bobby, I woke up this morning (always a good start) and feel pretty good, apart from my left shoulder, which is fcuked.

Bursitis and adhesive capsulitis is killing me, I've got an appointment to have an ultrasound guided steroid injection into my shoulder joint on Wednesday, and normally I'd keep well away from anything like that, but it hurts like a motherfcuker, so I'm actually looking forward to it!

Sadly though, my right shoulder is now giving me some grief too, so I guess all those pushups, heaves, rope climbs and parachute landings have taken their toll. Oh well, as long as they keep giving me drugs (washed down with good whisky/whiskey) I'll be happy.

The sun is shining outside, but I can see that there's still ice on the hood of my Ford, so I'll wait another hour or so before I venture out into my patio workshop. I'm looking forward to playing with that plastiguage, I've never used it before, so it should be interesting.

[Terry in Australia]

Well what a great day! Sun was shining, birds were probably singing, (with 3 cats at my place, birds keep a very low profile) the wife had just bought me a fresh bottle of gut rot, and it was quite pleasant sitting out in the patio playing with the big black engine.

I thought that before I started measuring clearances I better clean off all the case sealant. The engine's been opened before, when the PO replaced 2nd gear, and whoever did the work did a great job, but it did take a little while to clean the old silicon case sealant with a 3m abrasive pad, and a sharp knife to remove all the excess inside each screw hole. While I don't think a layer of sealant a poofteenth of an inch thick will make any difference in the grand scheme of things, it has to come off before I re-assemble the engine anyway.

The ZZR1100 engine's design is a little odd, in that it has one bearing cap separate from the bottom case which combines all the other ones, like a CB750, and needs to be bolted and torqued down before installing the bottom case. I decided that this would be a good test for the plastigauge, so I torqued it down to 24 foot pounds, then removed it, and was happy when I compared the gauge against the squashed plastigauge to see that it was a smidgeon under .002", right where it should be.

ZZR1100 crank plastigauge by terry prendergast, on Flickr

I cleaned the plastiguage off that bearing and shell, then put a piece on all the other bearings, and carefully lowered the bottom case back on.

ZZR1100 crank plastigauge 1 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

What I found interesting is that cast in the cases beside each crank bearing bolt was the number 1-9, in the correct tightening sequence, which I thought was a nice touch.

ZZR1100 crank plastigauge 5 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

I carefully removed it again, and was happy to see that they were all around .002". It was a bit hard to measure the inner bearing clearances, so I set my vernier to the .002"mark on the plastigauge packet to measure them, and was happy that they were all slightly under .002" as well. 

ZZR1100 crank plastigauge 6 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

All good, so tomorrow I'll go buy a new tube of case sealant, and stick it back together. I found a bucket of Redline assembly lube that I bought for my (still hasn't happened) Harley Sportster big bore kit and hot cams, so I splotched a little on the main bearings before I re-installed the crank in the top case. Before I re-seal the cases I'll also pump some oil thru the crank itself, to ensure that there's plenty of Texas Tea flowing thru it on startup. More tomorrow.

redline by terry prendergast, on Flickr

[MoMo]

   a good fit plus time and money saved

[MRieck]

Good luck....

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks men, I'm just waiting for it to warm up outside before I venture out and start again, I drove over to my "Autobarn" store this morning and bought a tube of Permatex "Ultra Black" silicon gasket sealant, I was a tad nervous about using anything with silicon in it, but the Kawasaki factory manual actually specifies silicon sealant for the cases, and the stuff I removed yesterday was definitely silicon, so considering that it will be fully cured before it comes into contact with hot oil (I haven't received my new cylinder sleeve as yet, so it'll have plenty of time to cure) I'm confidant that it'll be fine, as long as I use it sparingly. I'll make sure it doesn't go anywhere near one of my CB750's though............

[Terry in Australia]

Well I finally got off my butt and got stuck into putting it back together, and I'm happy to report that so far, so good. Unlike a CB750, the ZZR has a contra-rotating balance shaft geared to the crank, so you have to first position the crank so that #1 & 4 are at TDC, then as you're carefully lowering the bottom case back onto the top case, you're also positioning the three gear selection forks, while lining up the mark on the balance shaft. Another set of hands would have been good, but after a couple of corrections, I managed to get everything back where it needed to be.

ZZR1100 engine Reassembly Monday by terry prendergast, on Flickr

I let it sit for a little while for the sealant to "skin", then torqued everything down, flipped it over, and torqued down all the top bolts as well.

ZZR1100 engine Reassembly Monday 1 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

Time flies when you're having fun, and time got away from me before I could break out the new gasket set, so I busied myself reassembling the starter chain assembly. I'd taken a pic when I pulled it apart, which proved handy when putting the tensioner assembly back together, as even though I had a vague memory of how it went together, it took a few goes to get it working right.

ZZR1100 engine Reassembly Monday 2 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

By this time the light was starting to fade, and and I needed to do some gasket scraping before I could go any further, so I packed up my tools and came inside. Back to work tomorrow, then I have Wednesday off to get that ultrasound shoulder injection, so depending on the weather, I might get some more stuff bolted back on. I'm actually quite happy with the ease at which it's going back together, so with luck I'll get the rest of the engine buttoned up, and start thinking about shoving it back in the frame. Good stuff!

ZZR1100 engine Reassembly Monday 3 by terry prendergast, on Flickr

[RAFster122s]

You over that flu yet? Or, are you giving your coworkers their turn with it so it spreads effectively? Several strains here were lethal and the vaccine was stuffed as they misguessed which strain to counter. Why can't they do one for more strains and give it for those that are more lethal ? If it were not expensive to make they could do multiple versions.
You guys use something that counters the flu down there? Here it is called Tamiflu and it can radically limit the duration if it is caught in first 48 hours of onset.

In college I had a case of mono so bad they threatened to hospitalize me and my white blood counts were through the roof. I took steroids and 2 wks off & bedrest to get over it. It was bad enough to do some light damage to my liver, which healed...I had dropped 25 pounds in a month (175->150). Had I kept pushing it instead of taken the time off I would have been hospitalized in another 2 weeks anyway.  So, hope you are feeling better.

[Terry in Australia]

Hey thanks David, the headache, runny nose, coughing, fever and chills had me assuming that I had the flu, but by this morning I was feeling fine (apart from the shoulder, which is killing me) so I don't think I've got the flu, it's just that my manager and supervisor were both coughing and splurting everywhere last week, so I assumed that they'd infected me, maybe not.

We had that problem with the different strains of flu messing up the flu shots last year, heaps of old folks in nursing homes died, it was pretty bad. This year the government decided to give all nursing home workers free flu shots to give the inmates, er, residents a better shot (pardon the pun) of survival, and I was surprised at how many complained, unions got involved, etc etc?

I meant to get a free company sponsored flu shot but then I forgot, not that it matters, it's always someone else at work infecting me anyway, I can never understand why if folks are so sick that they've got snot coming out their eyes, why the fcuk do they go to work?

I had to google "Mono", I have heard of it before, but from a US source, so not sure if it's a problem here? Whatever it is, it doesn't sound good. Glad you survived it.

[bill440cars]

      Whoa Terry, That is pretty wicked looking! I hadn't ever heard of that one, I feel pretty good, just having my 1983 GPZ1100, which I thought was pretty bad, but the one You picked up on, LOOKS Bad, just sitting there. Congratulations, can't wait for you to get it out and post up about That riding experience. Take care Terry, & watch out for those sharp edges or you will have to fab up some more bandages.   

[Terry in Australia]

Hey thanks Bill, I really wanted one of those GPZ's back in the 80's, they were the fastest bike on the road back then, and I've always loved their big air cooled engines, they were more like sledge hammers than surgical tools, but everyone loved them because they couldn't break them!

Yeah I'm really happy to have made it over the hump and am on the home stretch now, this bike has been sitting unloved and unused for the last 18 years, so I'm happy to bring such a worthy example back to life. All going well I'll get it back in the frame without further personal injury!