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

[Terry in Australia]

So it's Tuesday here in the land of Oz, but I fell asleep yesterday after doing my brewing, and after transferring my latest brew into my fermenter tonight after work I sat in my comfy chair, opened a Ginger Joe, started watching youtube vids and fell asleep immediately.

Anyway, on Saturday I fixed all my wiring issues, well all except one, I've just noticed tonight that the kill switch is no longer working, so I might have to lash out and buy a new handlebar switch and just put the other one in a box for a spare for later, we'll see.

On Sunday I installed the oil pressure gauge, and a voltmeter. The oil pressure gauge was a piece of cake to install, as long as you've got a roll of plumbers (teflon) tape, just to make sure you don't create a leak point that Kawasaki didn't intend. The bracket came with an O ring that isn't recessed into the back of the bolt head like the OEM bolt, so when you tighten the new bolt the O ring just stretches in every different direction, which I thought pretty unprofessional, so I wrapped the threads in teflon tape just to make sure that if the O ring does eventually fail, the teflon should stop the thing from leaking. The good thing is that it works fine,and while I couldn't run the engine up to operating temp because the wife said I was scaring the cats (fraidy-cats!) the engine was probably idling well below 1000 RPM and so I was happy that it showed anything at all on the gauge.   

Monday Zed meandering 24 Feb 2020 6 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

The VDO gauge is also tiny, so if the bike was dropped on the right hand side, it'd probably survive, not that I'd be any less pissed off if I dropped the bike on it's side regardless, especially if it broke my plastic points cover.

Monday Zed meandering 24 Feb 2020 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

The volt meter presented a minor problem, in that I didn't have anywhere to easily mount it. I was going thru my tubs of junk and found this new old stock 1970's era ignition switch relocation bracket, so just drilled it out to 18mm with my massive 60mm step drill, and the new gauge popped straight in. The wiring was dead simple, and I thought that the best place to take the power wire from was the power wire to the coil. I connected the wiring up, turned the ignition on, and was happy to see that I had 12.5 volts. I switched the ignition off again, grabbed my phone to take a pic, and this time the gauge started at 6 volts, then slowly crept up to 11.8 volts? Hmmnnnn............

Monday Zed meandering 24 Feb 2020 7 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Well that was weird? Ok, I kicked it in the guts (I'm becoming quite adept at kick starting this thing, even with the 13.5:1 Moriwaki pistons, lucky for me it usually starts on the first or second kick when cold, and usually first kick when warm. I kickeed it in the guts, the engine fired up, and the voltmeter went blank. WTF? I switched the ignition off, switched it back on again, but no, no volts? I kicked it in the guts and the engine fired straight up, but the volt meter didn't do anything? Well that's fcuking disappointing! I've ordered a couple more, very similar to this one (only they have a green LED readout, rather than blue) so I'll hook one up to the same wiring, and if it dies again, I'll move the power wire to another switched wire (lights or blinkers, perhaps) but I really don't understand why it sh1t itself.

I ran out of time without installing Nic's electronic tach, I'm still "Umming" and "Ahhing" about using it as received, or replacing the wooden block (Nic makes guitars) that it's mounted on with a nice piece of machined aluminium, Even though you can't see it when it's mounted, I'm just not big on wooden fixtures on motorcycles built after the 1920's............ Hmmnnnn, my son just bought a big arse 3D printer, maybe I should get him to make me one from plastic? We'll see.

Today my new rear sprocket arrived. If you remember, the gearing is so low at the moment that it's pulling around 6-7K RPM (my guesstimate) at 60 MPH in 5th gear. Probably OK on the strip, not so good on the road. I found a 33T rear sprocket for that wheel (supposedly a 1978 KZ750 rear wheel) which is currently fitted with a 46T rear 530 sprocket. I opened the packet, and it looked good.

Tuesday Zed misery by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Only problem was, when I held it against the rear sprocket already on the bike, the 33T sprocket looked pretty much the same physical size as the 46T sprocket already on the bike? WTF? Shouldn't it be 2/3 the size of the current sprocket? Then it dawned on me, it's a fcuking 630! Fcuk!Hmmnn, not happy Jan, I found a good 15T 630 front sprocket in one of my piles of crap and I know I've got a half decent 630 chain sitting in a tub somewhere, but I'm not happy, I WANT a 530 rear sprocket.

Tuesday Zed misery 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I think I'll take a run over to Jeff at Ace Motorcycles and have a rat thru his new sprockets and see if there isn't a 33T 530 sprocket I can buy from him, it'll still be cheaper than buying a new 630 front sprocket and quality chain, that I don't need, or want. 630 chains went out of fashion with capes and buckled shoes, and if a modern Hayabusa can get away with a 530 chain with 200 BHP, my 140 BHP Kawasaki isn't gonna hurt anything.

That's the problem with building "specials", there's always one fcuking thing going wrong, after  another. It's no wonder a man drinks so much, and takes sweet, sweet drugs.............      

[spotty]

you can add that to your long list of reasons for disliking K7's, they have to make do with a big old 630, which i personally thought was one of their better points, i don't like chains in the first place so the stronger the better i say

on the other hand you might like one of these to compliment the corporate affiliations on the big Z

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/530-Green-Motorcycle-O-Ring-Chain-150-Links-with-1-Connecting-Link/222121230303?epid=6006133451&hash=item33b774ffdf:g:J4MAAOSwAaJaA4Dv&frcectupt=true

should i ever get the zzr going and inevitably wear out the chain i will be strongly tempted by one

on that matter i have been liquidating some assets and by the end of the week have enough paypal dollars to buy that tank i've been yearning for 9 and maybe a handlebar conversion to put mx bars on it

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah, back in the day the metalurgy was so bad Honda's 530 chains were breaking with 60-odd BHP, so they put bigger, heavier power robbing 630 chains on the last of the SOHC750's.

Totally unneccessary now that any quality 530 can handle 200(+) BHP, so I don't wanna waste big bux converting my old beast back to 630. Losing a few BHP isn't really an issue, it's just a backwards step.

Have you seen the minty ZZR1100C going on FB for $3K? Never been dropped, one owner, and it comes with almost a complete bike in spares? I almost bought  it,  but then my brain came back, so I opened another Ginger Joe and went back to sleep.......

[spotty]

there was a complete one in qld last week for $600, it was almost going to be the only way i was going to get a tank

[Terry in Australia]

Well I had a great box opening session when I got home from work today, my hot Z1 head had arrived, and I was keen to see what's been done. I only had time for some quick inspection, but the ports are mad, a couple of valves were open and it looked like a tunnel straight from the carb boot to the valve on one side, and from the exhaust port to the valve on the other open valve.

Wednesday Z1 head joy 26 Feb 2020 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

The Web cams look massive, but in fact they're probably on the milder side of wild, looking at the specs in the schnitz racing catalogue. I'd gone to the trouble of measuring the lobe height and subtracting the base circle to get the lift, and I impressed myself that I got it perfect. They're Web 60-242's according to the specs on the schnitz site, "Suitable for Street or turbo. Broad overall power range" I realised eventually, that just like the Yoshi cams in my old Suzuki GS1000, the inlet cams and exhaust cams were exactly the same spec, so the slight variations on my hand written spec card, (below) were probably just my finger pressure on my cheap $20 electronic vernier (one of my favourite tools)

Wednesday Z1 head joy 26 Feb 2020 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I also had a bit of luck (kind of) with my sprocket dilemma, I found an "as new" DID O ring 630 chain with not one, but 3 new joining links in a tub of parts, maybe a leftover from either my F2 or perhaps one of my old GS1000 Suzuki's, but either way it's perfectly serviceable, (and hopefully long enough) so I dug a little deeper and found an "as new" GS1000 front sprocket too.

Wednesday Z1 head joy 26 Feb 2020 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Not in the same tub, but on the other side of the garage, so probably not related. Good thing is, it has the same spline as the sprocket that came with some other Kawasaki parts a few days ago (from the same guy I bought the head from) except the Suzuki item is much wider as it has an inbuilt cush drive "anti-vibration" device. I'm just hoping I can fit it on my engine, and if I can, with a 15/33T sprocket combo as opposed to the 530 17/46T(from memory) current combo, I will have upped the gearing by a whopping 33%, or close enough for a kid who dropped out of school at the ripe old age of 15.........   

Anyhoo, I also "yeasted" my latest batch of ginger slut hooch. I got a bit carried away when I was filling the fermenter yesterday and filled it right to the top (30 litre mark) so I'm hoping that when the yeast and the sugar start their battle to produce massive quantities of alcohol, it doesn't start spewing ginger beer out through the bubbler, or my wife will probably ban me from making any more.

Still, I've got 52 pint bottles full out in the garage with a week or so before I can start downing them, plus another 60 (well, 50 imperial pints, in the ancient measurement of the fluid druids) in the fermenter now, so it'll be at least a month or so before I need to head to the pissed off thread, complaining about being continually raped in the showers in jail, and the overly restrictive penalties for accidentally murdering my wife of 38 years, in a fit of Ginger Slut fuelled passion...........

Wednesday Z1 head joy 26 Feb 2020 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr     

[bear]

Sooooo.....It would appear the suburb's of Melbourne are not only struggling with a meth problem, there is a "ginger slut" problem rearing it's ugly head as well.

[PeWe]

I think it can be called Bike restorer fuel!

[spotty]

You obviously haven't tasted it.....

It could pass for actual bike fuel, especially made for a drag bike I'd reckon

Don't get me wrong, it's a good drop but fcuk me it's falling over juice

[Terry in Australia]

Yep, the only "meth" you'll find around here is methylated spirits Brian, or Avgas, perhaps. I did see a guy in his 50's staggering around in only his underpants, a T shirt, and a hat, in my street yesterday at 5am, and was careful not to run him over, he may well have been on the meth (or methanol, or avgas) or maybe he'd found his own stash of ginger slut, but whatever, I just kept  going, hoping that he wasn't a neighbour, but some freak who'd staggered into our street and wouldn't be seen in these parts again.

I discovered that 2 year old avgas is a really good degreaser this afternoon. When I bought the old black drag bike, the PO gave me a 4 litre container of filthy sump oil, with what looked like some gears and stuff. As I now have a NOS Eagle crank, bored cases, Arias 1428cc big block and pistons, and ported Z1 head with big web cams, I thought I better see what else I needed. Obviously a gearbox would be handy, so I pulled all the greasy crap out of the tub.

Thursday Zed Gearbox find 27 Feb 2020 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I filled another tub with the old avgas (which still smells quite nice) and got my brush out, and gave it all a birthday. It looks a bit cleaner now, with a light coating of WD40 to keep the rust weevils away.

Thursday Zed Gearbox find 27 Feb 2020 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I did buy a clutch and an oil pump, along with an oil pan, oil filter cover and a few other bits and pieces from the same guy I bought the Z1 head from, and a big bag of screws, nuts, washers, tabs, a gear selector shaft assembly that mostly arrived after good ol' MyUS.com did a shiit job of re-packing it, and some smaller pieces fell out of the box, never to be seen again. In a fit of madness I bought yet another Eagle crank today, and another complete gearbox, so hopefully I'll have most of the bits to fill the cases.

I've also got a factory parts manual coming from New Zealand (if it ever gets here) which will help me to identify what I'll still need to have another complete engine. Whew, this is getting expensive, but the good thing is that I'll put one of the new cranks in my 1100cc engine, so I can run an alternator and do some of Franks Mandated 100 mile rides this year, on the ol' black beast. Should be good..........  

Monday Zed meandering 24 Feb 2020 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[Terry in Australia]

Well it's Saturday morning here, and plans are afoot. Friday's have always been my favourite days, days when I made my plans for the weekend, and Saturdays have traditionally been the days where everything turns to sh1t. Oh well, that's life of a working(/drinking/drug taking) man. I got home and as is quite usual nowadays, my wife gave me an exasperated look and pointed to a large plastic tub filled with rusty gold, in this case, the Luftmeister turbocharger kit that Ted sent me for my 1989 BMW K100RS SE. He'd packed it beautifully, and apart from a few important items, it's mostly complete.

https://www.rbracing-rsr.com/bmwturbos.htm#k100

I did some research after I bought it from him, the owner of Luftmeister was a shyster called Matt Capri who contracted RB Racing in the US to design and develop the kits to be sold under the Luftmeister brand. RB Racing built 200 kits before they had a major falling out with Luftmeister (who weren't paying them) but the kits were very good, and one bike was especially built to attempt a land speed record at El Mirage, which recorded a speed of 206 MPH. Speeds in excess of 150 MPH for bikes fitted with the standard kit (mine) was the norm, which will be nice, because I remember that one reason I put it away was that I bought my Yamaha FJ1200 around the same time, and the big Yamaha was wickedly fast, compared to the "flying brick". Anyway, when I get time, it'll be another project which will involve replacing the clutch (which was slipping, last time I rode it) and thee oil/water pump impeller assembly, because it dribbled a little oil too. Anyway, more on that, in the future.

TGIF 28 Feb 2020 Terry's BMW Turbo kit. by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr       

I've been buying more Zed stuff. I bought another NOS Eagle crank that's been balanced, indexed and welded, so that now, both engines can run alternators and I don't have to rely on battery power alone to keep the beast running. Also, along with thee head I bought, there were some other bits which I pulled out of my tub of parts, and took a look at.

TGIF 28 Feb 2020 More ZED stuff. by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

As you can see from the pic, I'd opened a bottle of my home brewed "Ginger Slut" alcoholic ginger beer which I'd only bottled last weekend, but I was delighted with the result. I must remember to shove a few more bottles in my beer fridge today to meet the rigorous demands of working in warm temps, keeping hydrated is apparently very important, so I'll down as much of this healthy elixir as I can before I inadvertently collapse and drown in a pool of my own vomit. 

Also, the new volt gauges I bought arrived, so I immediately hooked one up, and was happy that the cool green led digits somehow seemed more calming to me than the blue lights of the old gauges. Maybe it's a psychological thing, in the old days cop cars had just blue lights which I saw probably too many times in my rear view mirrors as a young motorcycle maniac, whereas green lights mean "go", which is much more comforting, unless you're jumping out of a perfectly good Hercules C130 @ 5000 feet, when green lights are things best avoided. Regardless, it works, so that's good.

TGIF 28 Feb 2020 More ZED stuff. 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I've also realised that I need a female plug for my battery charger fitted somewhere on the bike, and that voltmeter bracket might get a drilling today as well, for the installation.

I'd also bought a set of used APE heavy duty engine studs, for both the cylinders and crankshaft, which I think came out of the same engine the head came off, so they'll come in handy, shortly.

TGIF 28 Feb 2020 More ZED stuff. 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

You'll also notice a piece of tin in amongst the parts I bought, which is apparently a "Windage Tray". I don't think I've seen a windage tray in a bike engine before, but I understand the theory, so I'll install it in the 1428cc engine. Speaking of the 1428cc engine, I'm having second or perhaps third thoughts about using it as a replacement for my current engine, but rather, build another bike. Did I say that before? Quite possibly, I drink a lot, and take too many drugs, but I do like the idea of two big zeds, so if I can secure another frame, I think I might, and just swap the license plates between them, depending on which bike I want to ride. More on that later........

Terry's nightly drug intake by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[754]

I stopped at Luftmeister in 87 I think.
 There was a dry erase board, that said new records set, and they were breaking records like crazy right then..

[PeWe]

Colorful additives Terry!
Medicine after body part replacement? Like big bore for horse power!

You upgrade yourself parallel to the bikes you build and encourage others working with bikes.

[web]

Well with the other crankshaft purchased it looks like the choice to build another bike has almost been made 

Or maybe you bought it just to make the current engine more saleable?? Probably not

If only bike storage space could be had in unlimited quantities,for free...

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, I'll start a thread for the Luftmeister turbo conversion when I get to that project, but there are a few others in front of it, including selling one or two off to raise funds for ones that I actually want to keep. No biggie, you gotta raise money, to spend money.

Yesterday I did the chain and sprocket swap, and some wiring. Actually, I did some wiring, then the chain and sprocket swap. This is important, because the wiring took much more time than the chain and sprocket swap, which I found surprising. Firstly, I wanted to wire in a charger port so I can leave the trickle charger plugged in when not in use, without the alligator clips attached to the battery method, which I find untidy, and even possibly dangerous. I drilled another hole in the volt meter bracket, and installed a "Narva" female adapter plug.

Saturday Zed James Bonding 29 Feb 2020 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I wired it straight to the battery, I did think about just hooking it into the wiring for the voltmeter, but realised that I could only use the negative wire anyway, unless I left the ignition on, to charge the battery, which seemed counter-intuitive, or maybe just stoopid, depending on whether I'm being a bit hard on myself, or not.

Sunday Zed Too Far Away 1 Mar 2020 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

When I measured the wires from the plug, somehow I fcuked up and made each wire too short, by a comfy 4 or 5 inches. I'd already crimped on the connectors, so I had 2 useless wires, to add to my useless wire collection. Then I had a light bulb moment, or perhaps just a brain fart, but I remembered my last outing on the beast in black,and remembered that when all the wirig failed, I had to hot wire the ignition directly from the battery to the coil. Hmmnnn, if I just had 2 wires that were a tad short for my battery charger receptacle, and a sneaky switch that I could hide behind a sidecover, if my main wiring harness took a sh1t, I could just flip the switch, and ride home. No lights or blinkers etc, but that's OK, as long as I can get home I don't give a crap, and as everyone knows, "safety" is my middle name. (no one, except serial killers, are ever referred to by their middle names, have you ever noticed that? Lee Harvey Oswald? How many folks ever called him "Harvey" until he (apparently) blew JFK's (did Marilyn Monroe ever say "Give it to me "Fitzgerald" when he was practising hyperthermia drill with her?) brains all over the occupants of his Ford Lincoln? Wow, I've got more questions than answers today, must be time for my meds? Anyway, here's my sneaky switch:

Saturday Zed James Bonding 29 Feb 2020 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Yes I know, it looks large in the pic, but in reality you need to pull the sidecover, then feel around under the seat frame to find the switch. Very "Jane Blonde"............ Ooh, I also wired in a 15A circuit breaker (not fuse) into the one power wire that actually feeds power from the battery into the harness at the moment. Looks good.

Saturday Zed James Bonding 29 Feb 2020 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

 OK, so I checked it all, it all worked, I kicked the spawn of satan in the balls and it fired up, (more on that later) then moved the bike a whole 3 feet so I could access the rear wheel. I put jack stands under the rear footpeg hangers (no centre stands on race bikes) unclipped the chain, and popped out the rear wheel.

Saturday Zed James Bonding 29 Feb 2020 8 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Removing/replacing the sprocket took no time at all, same/same for the front. One problem though, is the chain. Too short. Ever the scrounger, I found a new, unused section of "Non O Ring" chain and used 2 joining links just to make it all work so I can move it around.

Saturday Zed James Bonding 29 Feb 2020 9 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Saturday Zed James Bonding 29 Feb 2020 9a by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I've ordered a new 50 dollar (US) chain from the US, so when it arrives, this one goes. It was only when I walked past Spotty's K7, still under a bike cover on my trailer and realised that it probably has a perfectly serviceable 630 chain on it, but what the heck, I'd rather have a new one anyway.

While I had the sprocket cover off I swapped out the clutch pushrod. I compared it to the one that came with some spares I bought, and they look identical, but what the hell, I swapped 'em anyway, and suddenly I had to take all the slack out of the cable (I'm talking maximum slack here men, it was like the new clutch cable was pre-worn out) and now it appears to be working better, although, I still couldn't shift back into neutral?

It reminded me of my POS 1979 Ducati 900SS, it's gearbox was fcuked, when it was pulled apart, it was so bad after 20,000 miles all the bearings were fcuked, and the hard facing was worn off all the gears. I don't think the Kawa box is fcuked, it changes up and down fine, just won't change into neutral with the engine running? Maybe all the gears have been back cut? (when I had the gears in my 836 back cut, the engineer didn't do 1st and 2nd, because he said it'd be harder to change from 2nd to neutral, or from 1st to neutral. I guess we'll see when I pull it apart to install the new crank. And head..........  
 

[PeWe]

I have a charger quick connection on both my CB750 and my car. No need to open the seat when battery need a refill.

https://smartercharger.com/collections/accessories/products/ctek-comfort-connect-m8-1?variant=18733954400356

[Terry in Australia]

Well with the other crankshaft purchased it looks like the choice to build another bike has almost been made 

Or maybe you bought it just to make the current engine more saleable?? Probably not

If only bike storage space could be had in unlimited quantities,for free...

Ha ha, I have no interest in selling either of these beasts mate. I've got a lightly crashed VTR1000R (RC51) SP1 I don't need as my other one is perfectly serviceable, they're starting to become valuable (Honda had a special event for their 20th anniversary at Phillip Island's WSBK event yesterday, and the prices people are asking for them now is almost sand-cast-ish here in Oz) and all the busted plastic is still available from Honda if your pockets are deep, or China if like me, you're not a rivet counter. That'll just about cover this/next Kawasaki build, I don't mind owning two, even if I can only ride one at a time........

[Terry in Australia]

Well it's been a few days since I updated this wonderful thread, the posts may have stopped, but the work has gone on. Firstly, I fixed the chain issue with only minor work required, and it's now perfect, so I've wasted over 100 bucks on a new 630 chain that I don't fcuking need, but hey, I'll file it for a future project. I then forked out 80 bucks for a new cam chain, only to remember afterwards that I'd already bought a NOS Heavy Duty chain for 25 bucks, fcuk it.

My health is pissing me off a tad, yesterday I took the day off from work as I had to have an ultrasound of my guts to see if I need to have yet more surgery, plus an X Ray of my spine, and a CT scan of my spine as well, so that next week they can conduct a CT guided injection of steroids into my spine, to see if that somehow reduces the pain. I'm not a fan of injections, and am a tad concerned that the new orthopedic surgeon gave me a sheet to mark from 0-10, hour by hour, the severity of the pain once the local anaesthetic wears off. Not really my idea of fun, and the fact that it's being done on Friday the 13th hasn't escaped me either.........

Worse again was that I had to "fast" from 8pm the previous night to 11.30 am when my scans started, and so by the time I got home at 2pm I needed some sustenance, so cooked me up some tasty vittles.

Friday Zed calm 6 Feb 2020 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Anyway, two books arrived from New Zealand this week, the factory workshop manual (pretty useless for a modified bike) and the factory parts manual, which is way more important when rebuilding a bike, but in my case, for completely building an engine from parts that I buy on Ebay. It details what I need, the part numbers, and the order in which everything is supposed to go back together. A factory parts manual is the bible for motorcycle builders, and that religion works for me.

Friday Zed calm 6 Feb 2020 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

This week a lot of boxes has arrived, mostly containing Kawasaki parts but yesterday this thing arrived. It's the replacement crank, S&S rods and flywheel assembly for my 1973 Harley Sportster that I bought from my hospital bed in October last year. Due to the crank issue (the "drive" side of the crank should be fixed in the flywheel, but instead is turning, which is not good at all) it hasn't fired a shot in anger in years, so once this Kawasaki is outta the way, the ol' black Hogley is going up on the bench for some loving.

Friday Zed calm 6 Feb 2020 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Yeah I know, Harleys are loud, and they're slow, and they don't handle, and they leak oil, but dammit, I love 'em anyway, and I particularly love this one, so am looking forward to putting some miles under it's tyres.

Terry's XLH1000 14 Oct 2019 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Speaking of tyres, I need to get some put on these Lesters.

Terry's Lesters by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I decided that as good as they would have looked on my CB750, they'll look just as good on the second Kawasaki Z1000, and will allow me to install some big brake calipers on the front again, to help slow the 1428cc powered beastie. The rear one is actually for a CB500F, and one problem with installing it on a CB750 was that the biggest rear sprocket I could find for it was 38T, which is too steep for a 750, but the gearing will work perfectly on a Kawasaki due to their lower final drive ratio's. Not sure what brand/model of tyres to use, but the 2.50 inch rear rim will allow up to a 140mm wide tyre so maybe a 130/90, or even 140/90 on the back might not be too much of a bad thing? The wheel has a brake drum as opposed to a rear disc, but I still have the swingarm that came off the drag bike, which I believe is a Z1 swinger that's been braced, so will work fine, and a drum rear brake will give it more of a Z1 look.

Anyhoo, this CBD oil turned up in the mail today, and it might just be psychosomatic, but mixed with home made Ginger Beer it's making me sleepy, so I might turn in for an early night. Tomorrow I'm driving the 200 miles to visit my 91 year old mother who's still living at home, still studying, and still being interviewed on the radio about the benefits of music for dementia patients, so she's graciously making time for a visit from her uncouth baby boy. I turn 60 next Wednesday, so hopefully she's made me a cake. More later.

CBD oil by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr 







 

 

[mick7504]

Well Terry
I was going to send you a bottle of Glenfiddich for your birthday, but seeing that you've been a very naughty boy and buying oil that isn't engine oil, you'll just have to settle for this.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

[spotty]

On an oily but unrelated Matter, I did see a report from CV infested Iran today where a local cleric recommended the application of pansy flower oil to the anus before bedtime to combat the virus

I shall leave you with that to reflect on, just wondering though...
How did he work that out ? Personal experience or divine guidance ?

[Terry in Australia]

Hey thanks Mick, you are the man, and while I'd love to catch up and share some booze with you soon, that cylinder block will come in extremely handy, when I install the Z1 head on the 1100cc engine. Thanks again mate!

 

[Terry in Australia]

On an oily but unrelated Matter, I did see a report from CV infested Iran today where a local cleric recommended the application of pansy flower oil to the anus before bedtime to combat the virus

I shall leave you with that to reflect on, just wondering though...
How did he work that out ? Personal experience or divine guidance ?

I'm wondering what "pansy oil" is Spotty, is that some sort of coded lube preferred by our heroic shirt lifters that we are forced to not just accept, but put on a pedestal for their bravery and diversity? Or maybe I've just consumed too many drugs tonight, and I'm just dreaming this? Hmmmnnnn, time to jump on the train to the land of nod...........

[PeWe]

On an oily but unrelated Matter, I did see a report from CV infested Iran today where a local cleric recommended the application of pansy flower oil to the anus before bedtime to combat the virus

I shall leave you with that to reflect on, just wondering though...
How did he work that out ? Personal experience or divine guidance ?

I think that procedure is to keep the flies away
Or pre-lube for nightly adventures while sleeping!

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks men, I'm just struggling to get my breakfast down, then shortly I'll jump in my poor un-driven Ford (hasn't turned a wheel since last September) and drive to Bairnsdale to visit my Ma, and catch up with a couple of mates. Before I do though, I thought I'd post these pics of a set of Mikuni 33mm smoothbore carbs I scored on FB yesterday. The seller's just sent me the shipping slip with tracking details, so in a week or so, I should have them in my hot little hands.

Terry's Mikuni 33mm smoothbores 7 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Terry's Mikuni 33mm smoothbores 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Once the new crankshaft arrives, I'll strip the 1100cc engine, replace the crank and install the ported Z1 head and web cams on Mick's cylinder block, and I'll install these carbs, with pods. I had these on my GS1000 based drag bike with a yoshi top end and apart from a heavier throttle pull than the CV's, they worked very well.

I'm waiting on another FB guy for some more useful parts like an alternator and stator etc, so I'll also install the Dyna ignition and coils. I have a fear that I may have done some damage to the coils on the bike when I had that electrickery issue on ride #1, as it's a lot harder to kick start now, and the engine breaks down at higher RPM's. I know it's not carbs as I'm running two filters and cleaned them thoroughly before the ride, but it missed and farted somewhat on the ride home.

Once that's all done, I'll take a short break from big black Kawasakis and install that crank in my old black sportster, then by that time the rest of the Kawasaki parts (including another frame) will have arrived, and I'll be in a position to build bike #2 with the 1428cc engine. More when I come back!

 

[Terry in Australia]

THere's a time for building bikes, and a time for riding bikes. Sometimes I get that carried away with one, I forget about the other. Today I drove the 200 miles back from my Ma's place in my big leather armchaired Ford, and when I got home around 1pm, I felt like either having a snooze, or going for a ride. My desire for a ride was the winner, so I grabbed my nearest bike, my old Sportster, and wound the odo back to zero.

Sunday, bloody Sunday 8 Mar 2020 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I ran the fcuking thing out of fuel on my way to the gas station because I have always left the petcock on "on" (doesn't have the same problem with cylinder filling/leaks like on our old fours) so to turn it to reserve, I had to get out my pliers to turn the petcock lever to "reserve". It fired right up again, and I put 11.2 litres of 91 RON in the 12 litre tank.

This confuses me somewhat, because it "pinged" on acceleration on 91. I never put 98 in it because it's not running high compression (carb, not EFI) and the ignition timing is fixed in the factory, but anyhoo,, apart from the pinging, it still went like a cut snake, and I had a ball dodging cops (everywhere) pizzling baggers and Yama-harleys, and annoying sports bike riders who had to lift their game to get away from me in the corners. Sporty's also love dirt riding, so I did a little "Adventure riding", where only BMW and KTM riders woould fear to tread.

Sunday, bloody Sunday 8 Mar 2020 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

The other side of that hill is a drop steeper than Spotty's driveway, all gravel, and only used by 4 wheelers, so I left my hand off the front brake, and only used the back when necessary. No biggie, it took it in it's stride, and I had a great ride thru Whittlesea, King Lake West, and on to Yea, where I stopped for a delicious chicken and vegetable pie and a cup of coffee.

Sunday, bloody Sunday 8 Mar 2020 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

The day was getting on, it was cooling down some, so I bolted for home, refilling the gas tank in Whittlesea rather than fighting the reserve tap if it was getting close to empty, after 230 Km (143.75 miles) of fun in the sun. This time I filled it with 98 RON, and no pinging! Ran like a top, and felt like it had more mumbo, according to my "seat of the pants dynamometer". I'm having CT guided injections into my spine on Friday, so probably won't be in a position to do a lot of miles next weekend. Such is life, I'm 60 on Wednesday, so it's not getting any easier.

Sunday, bloody Sunday 8 Mar 2020 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[PeWe]

You can ride all year around Terry!
I'll be soon back on the road, only 2-3 weeks left I hope