Topic: Terry's Kawasaki Z1000 Mad Max Bike, my er, 2020 summer project.

[spotty]

Whatever the rest of the world calls 'em they'll always be kwaka thou's to us, just like their predecessors will always be a kwaka noine

[Terry in Australia]

Whatever the rest of the world calls 'em they'll always be kwaka thou's to us, just like their predecessors will always be a kwaka noine

I get the Kwaka part, but "Noine"? Is that a regional dialect?

[spotty]

Must be from hanging around with western districts folk too long

[vik351]

Us civilised folk over called em Kwaka Nines...

vik...

[Terry in Australia]

Yep, same here Vik, I still remember sitting on one in the showroom of "Doyle and Shields" in Bairnsdale in 1972, and staring at that 160 MPH speedo in awe.

I still remember when one of my neighbours bought the first one in town, and I could hear him riding it all over the town, back then you could tell the difference between a Kwaka 9 and a Honda 4 by the whine of the Kawasaki's primary gears.

Ironically, that was the same bike I sat on in the dealership, and the same bike two of my friends were killed on, in 1979. They belonged to a local club whose members broke into the town dump after hours, and used an excavator to bury the bike, which was apparently still in very rideable condition, but one of the dead boys mums was worried that some other mothers son would fix it and then kill himself on it.

[vik351]

Yep, same here Vik, I still remember sitting on one in the showroom of "Doyle and Shields" in Bairnsdale in 1972, and staring at that 160 MPH speedo in awe.

I still remember when one of my neighbours bought the first one in town, and I could hear him riding it all over the town, back then you could tell the difference between a Kwaka 9 and a Honda 4 by the whine of the Kawasaki's primary gears.

Ironically, that was the same bike I sat on in the dealership, and the same bike two of my friends were killed on, in 1979. They belonged to a local club whose members broke into the town dump after hours, and used an excavator to bury the bike, which was apparently still in very rideable condition, but one of the dead boys mums was worried that some other mothers son would fix it and then kill himself on it.

Bloody hell, bet ya was tempted to find X marks the spot and find it...
A pair of numb sculls killed themselves here the other day racing each other
Even took out a tree in the process 
Both on bikes... 

Glad I survived my teen need for speed days, do it on a track if you must FFS...!!!
Brought up my two sons with gocarts on a track, then the XY at Mallala track here
And I'm proud to say they neither has even had a speeding ticket

vik... 

[CaseyH]

In Canada it is a  Zed 900
My 76 is a K Zed 900

[Terry in Australia]

In Canada it is a  Zed 900
My 76 is a K Zed 900

Nice, my only other Zed was a 1976 900, built in 1975. The same as yours, but brown. I'll find an old pic tonight and post it. It was a great bike, like many I've had, I wish I still owned it.

[Terry in Australia]

Yep, same here Vik, I still remember sitting on one in the showroom of "Doyle and Shields" in Bairnsdale in 1972, and staring at that 160 MPH speedo in awe.

I still remember when one of my neighbours bought the first one in town, and I could hear him riding it all over the town, back then you could tell the difference between a Kwaka 9 and a Honda 4 by the whine of the Kawasaki's primary gears.

Ironically, that was the same bike I sat on in the dealership, and the same bike two of my friends were killed on, in 1979. They belonged to a local club whose members broke into the town dump after hours, and used an excavator to bury the bike, which was apparently still in very rideable condition, but one of the dead boys mums was worried that some other mothers son would fix it and then kill himself on it.

Bloody hell, bet ya was tempted to find X marks the spot and find it...
A pair of numb sculls killed themselves here the other day racing each other
Even took out a tree in the process 
Both on bikes... 

Glad I survived my teen need for speed days, do it on a track if you must FFS...!!!
Brought up my two sons with gocarts on a track, then the XY at Mallala track here
And I'm proud to say they neither has even had a speeding ticket

vik...

Thanks Vik, it was a great time for me, the dawn of the Japanese Superbike era, I remember a couple of shops that sold Triumphs and Nortons quickly became agents for Suzuki and Yamaha.

It was a bad time for a lot of families though, I lost 13 friends to bike and car crashes between 1973 and 1980, and a couple more in recent years. Back then bikes and cars didn't handle, roads were far worse, and drink and drug driving was pretty common.

A lot of my friends and family were surprised that I survived, I wasn't as well behaved then, as I am now.

[Just John]

Ten years ago the county dump had just started making an attempt at recycling and had installed a couple of slide off metal recycling bins.  They were placed just below the parking lot level and you could look down into them. I had a bit of metal and when I threw it in, there appeared to be a complete Z900 in one of them. It had just been pulled apart, I'm assuming for ease of transport. I have always wondered what was the story behind it. Stolen, grief from the situation you described or just plain got tired of having it in the garage.  Rules and an observant attendant kept me from retrieving it. However, I managed to use a piece of 1/2" electrical conduit to grab the carbs. Sold them on Ebay the next week for $200. 

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah, that does make you wonder, these bikes are going up in value, even old rats like mine. I missed out on a free Z1 a few years ago, a mate was given one, but thought I wouldn't want it, so gave it to his brother, who quickly sold it. I would have loved it.

[Terry in Australia]

WEll it's Friday, and a man should be working feverishly on his big K project, but it's hot, damn hot. It got to 45 deg C in my suburb today, (around 113 deg F) and now, at 8pm, it's still 35.3 (95 F) and so no bike work for this little black duck.

Yesterday though, I got a bit done. I bled the front brakes with no issues, all went well, no leaks, and a nice lever feel. I also painted the Z1000 sidestand and swapped it out with the longer Z1 stand, so now the bike has a decent lean when on the stand. I didn't even need to rely on one of my musclebound sons to stretch the spring, I used old man cunning instead (no coins or washers required) and had no problems installing it, even though it needed to be stretched further than the Z1 stand did.

Thursday Zed enjoyment 30 Jan 2020 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I re-installed the carbs after making a "carb installing device" from a big woodworking G clamp, and was lucky that a CB750 throttle cable was a perfect fit. I didn't have a throttle sleeve so I hunted through my box of K0 parts and found a new single cable tube with new grips, so they went straight on, with new repro Z1 switchgear.

Thursday Zed enjoyment 30 Jan 2020 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

On the other side, the old manky clutch cable was looking pretty crappy, and I'd bought a new one, so I installed that too, along with repainted lever bracket, and new Z1 left switch block.

Thursday Zed enjoyment 30 Jan 2020 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

There's still a heap of slack in the cable that I'll adjust out tomorrow, but it's coming along, and tomorrow I'll think about installing the shiny new Delkevic exhaust, some wiring, lights, blinkers, gauges, etc etc. Getting closer...........

[mick7504]

Looking good mate.
There's something about new switch gear on the handlebars that stand out.
In 3 words.
The Ducks Nuts. 

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Mick, while I prefer bikes with some patina, or character, or history perhaps, I do get a certain enjoyment when I've stopped bolting old parts on, and start adding a little 'bling". It's still an old bike, and will stay an old bike, but was missing so much that I feel justified in adding what it needs to put it back on the road, looking like it should. But I have been drinking...........

[mick7504]

I heard that you'd been having a bit of scorcher with the weather on the early morning news this morning Terry.
Just that in itself entitles a man to several cold drinks.
I do know for a fact that pondering over the next move with a few coldies brings out some marvelous ideas.
The new Delkavic exhaust will certainly bring out a big grin. 

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Mick, well it's Saturday morning and the missus is packing up the christmas tree, much to the disgust of Emily, our big hairy Maine Coon cross cat, who likes to sleep underneath it. That's good for me as I can set up my "bottle tree" which I store my empty Ginger Joe bottles on while I'm waiting to make another batch of delicious home made alcoholic ginger beer.

I'm not sure why, but my back feels better today, so I'm guessing the endone/tramadol/panadol osteo/diazepam that I took last night has worked wonders, and once I've had some breakfast I'll be back into it on the big zed. The paint hasn't arrived for the tank yet so I might have to instal the old one if I want to take it for a blast, or I suppose I can wait, but I am keen, as I've never actually ridden it. I must remember to install the front axle assembly I bought, with a speedo drive assembly. Not sure what to do about the tacho though, it seems the PO welded the port for the cable in the head, so I might have to instal an electronic tach. Anyway, time for breakfast, so back later.

[vik351]

" it seems the PO welded the port for the cable in the head, so I might have to instal an electronic tach. Anyway, time for breakfast, so back later. "

Remember the wop ad for Ducati ...

"Isa no tac, Youa ridea bya da feel "

Like my bomb, no tac... Honda left it off being only a two speed, would give ya the sihts seeing how high the revs would be on the highway...

vik...

[PeWe]

My K6 lost its tacho 1982, new tacho 2013.
I made all my holiday tours without one. I think it was too expensive back then. I drove by feel. I remember I shifted to 4 at 160km/h with 17:48 gearing when accelerate max. Afterwards calculation +9000 rpm.

It look much better with both gauges though.

Maybe too late for restire that welded hole with engine in frame.
I guess your 1100 head is not using this part
https://z1parts.net/tachometer-gear-guide-tach-z1-kz/


https://www.google.com/search?q=kawasaki+z1+900+head+%2B+tacho+gear&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwidzsTV2K_nAhXLPpoKHZrJDDQQ2-cCegQIABAC&oq=kawasaki+z1+900+head+%2B+tacho+gear&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-img.3...3015.11542..12293...0.0..0.80.378.5......0....1.........30i10.mUiHSAUwi-c&ei=PhY1Xp23Nsv96ASak7OgAw&bih=620&biw=355&client=ms-unknown&prmd=isvn#imgrc=CVZFVpgiZiqzCM

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, I reckon I may be able to re-establish the tach with some careful drilling, but if not I'll make sure the 1428cc engine has a working tach. I've just bought a welded and balanced crank for that engine, so all I need is a gearbox and clutch, some cams and valves and it'll be good to go.

But back to today. I decided to install the shiny new Delkevic exhaust. I loved the one I installed on my K2, even if I had to chop 20mm off one of the headers to make it fit.

Saturday Zed exhaust saturday 1 Feb 2020 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

The first problem I had today, was I had to make longer exhaust studs.

Saturday Zed exhaust saturday 1 Feb 2020 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

That's OK, with a GPZ1100 head and Z1 footpeg hangers welded onto a KZ1000 frame, it's kind of to be expected.

Anyway, while all the studs were out I removed the old exhaust gaskets and cleaned the carbon out, and installed the new gaskets that came with the pipes, and some high temp silicon to hold them in place.

I'd assembled the system before installing it, which I later found out (by reading the instructions after I'd put it together, duh....) that I should have assembled it on the bike, piece by piece. Personally I think my idea was better, as it would have been a pain in the arse doing it while laying on my back on the concrete. Anyway it all went on fine.

Saturday Zed exhaust saturday 1 Feb 2020 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

As expected, the bracket that secured the muffler to the frame didn't fit, once again because the original mount had been removed by the PO, and I'd installed Z1 footpeg hangers (also used on another Z1000 model, the LTD, from memory) but it was easy enough to make another bracket from stainless steel strap.

Saturday Zed exhaust saturday 1 Feb 2020 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

It hangs a little lower than I wanted, but being that it doesn't stick out at all, it won't grind when I'm leaning around corners. If I'm not happy with it as time goes by, I'll jack it up and install a smaller bracket. Overall though, I'm happy, and it's one step closer to getting it back on the road. More later.

Saturday Zed exhaust saturday 1 Feb 2020 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
 

[ken65]

Great job Terrance.  How loud do you think it will be?

[754]

That is one fully master cylinder.. part if the reason I don't like Japan bikes after the start if the 80,s.

[Terry in Australia]

Great job Terrance.  How loud do you think it will be?

G'Day Ken, thanks mate, well the K2 that I installed the other Delkevic on is quite "legal" but has a nice note, so I don't think it'll be too obnoxious, at all? Frank, you're right, they're not all that attractive, but I think that it's actually a Brembo MC made under license to Yamaha, so should work really well with those big calipers. If it works good, it looks good. 

Today I got all artistic, and laid some color on my tank. Now the $39 can of paint hasn't arrived yet, but damnit, I was sick of looking at primer, so I used one of my Supercheap Auto $11 cans of black laquer, and I have to say, it looks pretty good. Does black make me look fat? I haven't looked this wide since 2018............

Sunday Zed surprises 2 Feb 2020 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I installed the headlight and rear blinkers (front blinker positions are still being decided) and discovered that I can't install the Z1 gauges on my Z1000 top triple, so I ordered a Z1 top triple, I hope it fits the Z1000 bottom triple.......... Z1 top triples are like Sandcast parts, I hope the wife never sees my credit card account, or I might be living in my garage, which wouldn't be all that bad.

Sunday Zed surprises 2 Feb 2020 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I finally summoned up the courage to take off the alternator cover. I had hoped that I would be able to buy a rotor, stator, starter motor idler gear and starter clutch, so I could produce electrickery and start my bike with a press of the button. No such luck, the PO had chopped the end offa the crank when he had it indexed, balanced, and welded, so it's "race only" now. No biggie, I should be able to get a couple of hours riding out of it using "total loss" electrics, and I'll just refrain from romantic midnight rides. The benefits should still outweigh the negatives.

Sunday Zed surprises 2 Feb 2020 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

The bike was running points when I got it, with a dyna S in a box, running one Dyna 3 ohm coil, and one AI coil. (unknown brand) My initial temptation was to install the Dyna, but knowing that they rely on a good supply of volts compared to points, I elected to reinstall the A1 coils with the points, for the time being. I do have an ARD magneto ignition that I may install, but I'll see how I go. It's all part of the fun, and I've got plenty of bikes I can ride in the dark, including this one when I build the 1428 engine, it's crank has been indexed, balanced and welded, but not chopped, so I can put an alternator on it..........

Sunday Zed surprises 2 Feb 2020 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[PeWe]

Terry, I understand your shopping! 

I have also new investments my wife is not aware of. We have plans to save money to an apartment where the climate is better.

Got an empty late K2 (1975) block home last weekend.
All covers, starter motor and alternator a few days ago.
A good crank and trans from a 75 F a few months ago on eBay.

Super rods and all HD studs soon here too. I have refurbished an old ported head earlier this year. 900cc cyl w Wiseco 67.5mm pistons on the shelf since a few years ago.

My old dirty K1 low end to stock K1 project must wait....
(My old head for the K1 needs new guides and valves, though. Will do before summer when the local shops mechanic will retire. No other around here that have that experience with these bikes since early 70's.)

I have all parts for a new 3rd bike, only a registered frame missing.
Wife will probably be not happy with a 3rd bike in the small garage when we have agreed about a plan for future retirement.

I might put that engine in my brown K2 when ready for tests when I have decided which cam to use.
 Smoothboore 29mm carbs to be used again. I think another frame is better alternative so all junk in the garage can be gathered on one rolling place, a bike!
It is also very relaxing with a stock CB750 with "No numbers" 4-4 nice song.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, the Delkevic on my K2 sounds great Ken, not too loud, but a healthy bark, none the less. Frank, you're right, MC's have gotten bigger and bulkier, but they're better too. Interestingly the lid has what appears to be the Brembo symbol cast in, so maybe it's made under license, like Ohlins shocks, which I think Yamaha own? You're building a third CB750 Per? Well why not, it's always good to put another bke on the road, especially if that bike never existed, I love building my frankenbikes!

Speaking of which, I intended to do a lot after work today, but by the time I got home I was keen to open a Ginger Joe and do nothing, but my bag of ridiculously expensive Pro Bolts had arrived, so I had to remove the unbrako's that had already started to rust from where I washed the brake fluid off last week. They do look good, even though I would have preferred internal hex heads.

Monday Zed magic 3 Feb 2020 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

My son had brought my freshly painted tank in because it'd started raining last night. I wasn't worried because I knew it was dry enough, but regardless, it was nice that he thought of me. I did think about cutting and buffing it, but it was shiny enough to just screw the badges back on. Eventually I'll probably cut it back and buff it. No worries, I'm loving the look, I hope it goes as good as it looks, I'm getting really excited! ;d

Monday Zed magic 3 Feb 2020 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[PeWe]

Difficult to resist when finding a small part. "Here is a bolt to a CB750, lets find all other parts!"

Z1000  parts not that common here. I know an Z1-900 in the today horrible 80's style.
Minimum 6000 USD to get it to look as it should.

You are really working hard with progress, Terry.  Soon on the road with this bike.