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

[RAFster122s]

Wow! Pretty bit of kit by Arias.

Glad to see the update Terry. Glad you are doing better after all the surgeries. Hope work has not been too much of an adjustment.

David

[Terry in Australia]

G'Day David, thanks mate, I'm feeling a little better every day. I've lost a total of 50Kg's now (110 pounds) and am eating solid food again, so even going to work is tolerable again. Yeah that Arias kit is awesome, those pistons are huge! I might have problems matching it to the GPZ1100 cylinder head as the valves may or may not be at the same angle, but if that happens I'll just go back to a KZ1000 head, albeit with some bigger valves and ports, but I'll worry about that when I have to cross that bridge. I think that the big block, mated with the GSXR carbs and that big pipe should make for a really deep, throaty exhaust note too!

Arias 1428cc kit 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[Terry in Australia]

Okay, I thought about how I was gonna bore the engine cases to take those massive 88mm Arias cylinder sleeves (up from 70mm standard) and thought, "Fcuk that, that's too hard for me to do", so I looked around Ebay USA, and of course found just what I need, some Z1R Mk 2 cases that someone had thoughtfully bored for a "Big Block" like mine, for only $130.50, USD! Woohoo! Then I looked at the shipping, $227.85 USD, ouch! Oh well, probably still cheaper than paying someone heere to bore my cases, which I think I'd prefer to keep stock anyway.

The seller is a Kawasaki expert, so told me that apart from gaskets and seals, only one extra part is necessary to allow me to swap the balanced and welded crank and transmission out of my engine into these cases, and he threw that extra part in for free, so that was great. I'm getting excited!

Terry's bored Z1000 cases 9a by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr 

[Tintop]

Subscribed, another fun read Terry.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Brian, as much as I'm "chaffing at the bit" (I thought you'd like that equestrian parlance) to build the monster 1428cc Arias engine I want to try out the 1100cc Moriwaki engine first, and if its as good as I think it will be I might build another engine entirely and keep the 1100 engine intact, for yet another project? Maybe slot one in a CB750? Hmmnnnn.....

[Tintop]

Maybe slot one in a CB750? Hmmnnnn.....

Well at least the frame wouldn't flex as bad as the early K's.

[754]

When I had the shop, that would be 150 bux or so ,  maybe 200..
Pretty easy job, even easier without studs.

[Terry in Australia]

When I had the shop, that would be 150 bux or so ,  maybe 200..
Pretty easy job, even easier without studs.

Thanks Frank, over here it'd be around twice that much, if you could find a shop that would touch it. I do like the idea of building an entirely new engine though, so I think buying the bored cases is still the best way for me to go. It's amazing how much old Kawasaki drag bike stuff there is out there, so once I get some more moola together I'll start looking for more heavy duty engine and transmission components.

[Terry in Australia]

Maybe slot one in a CB750? Hmmnnnn.....

Well at least the frame wouldn't flex as bad as the early K's.

Ha ha, well it's been done before Brian, and I've got another frame that needs filling, so it might happen, we'll see.

[Terry in Australia]

Well the bored out engine cases arrived today, so I thought I'd marry them together with the Arias big block, and I was happily relieved to see that it was a great fit, woohoo! Then I had a thought, hmmnnn, I wonder how hard it would be to shove this engine into a CB750 frame? Well I just happened to have a CB750 frame nearby, so I popped it in, and to my surprise, it'll take very little in the way of cutting and grinding to make it fit!

Terry's Kawasaki Arias Big Block 1428cc 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

The fixed engine mount on the front left downtube interferes with the big Kawasa's case, and I could either grind a bit off the engine case or a bit off the frame, but either way, it wouldn't take much.

So why would I bother shoving a 1428cc Kawasaki engine in a Honda frame? Well I probably won't, but the benefit is pretty much captured by this pic of a stock CB750 piston sitting beside the massive Arias 1428cc piston. Wow, if this engine was just 44cc larger, it'd be the same capacity as two CB750 engines! Sweet..........

Terry's Kawasaki Arias Big Block 1428cc by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[Terry in Australia]

Well I'm kind of jumping back and forth between 3 projects at the moment, finishing off my Troy Bilt zero turn mower that I bought for the bargain price of $100 with a blown engine, which is now powered by the $200 23 HP briggs engine I bought on a whim a couple of years ago, I've spent another $100 or so on some mufflers, a throttle cable and a belt for the hydraulic motors that drive it, and it should be all ready to go. As much as I'd love to keep it, it's too big for my little yard, so I'll sell it and use the moola to buy parts for my other two projects, the Mad Max bike, and my newest project, my Redneck RC51.

Terry's mower adventure 30 Mar 2019 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

RC51 wreckage 7 April 2019 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

RC51 wreckage 7 April 2019 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Anyhoo, back to the Kawasaki. I decided that rather than pull my Moriwaki equipped KZ1000 engine (that actually runs quite well, albeit on Avgas) to build the wicked 1428cc engine, I'd build an entirely new engine. I've got most of a gearbox, so I need a crank and rods, a head, and some cams. No rush, but when I saw a "J" head that'd been ported for a start bid of $18.50 USD, I jumped on it, and for rreasons best known to all the other bidders, I was the only bidder, so for 18.50 (and $150 shipping, dammit!) I've got a nice head for the 1428cc engine. It arrived today, and I was really impressed with the porting, good job and super big ports, I'll have to add a nice set of Mikuni flat slides to my wish list!

Kawasaki KZ1000 ported head 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Kawasaki KZ1000 ported head 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Kawasaki KZ1000 ported head by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr 

[Terry in Australia]

Well with mowers and RC51 rebuilds I haven't had any time to play with the MM bike, but today I rode my CB750K2 "bitsa" to the Broadford "Easter Motorcycle Bike Bash" and amongst all of the beautiful bikes I saw, was this very nice Z1. Nothing over the top, unobtrusive, but as I looked closer I saw a set of CR carbs, and a nice pipe, and some other subtle mods that made it a very nice looking ride. Not that different from what mine will look like, initially at least. I'm looking forward to it!

Broadford Bike Bash 20 Apr 2019 28 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[Terry in Australia]

Oooher and for Per, here's the latest pic of Leo. I find it interesting that as I get smaller, he's getting much bigger!

Terry and Leo 23 Apr 2019 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[Tews19]

Wow! Subscribed!!!!!

Any idea how many Z1s were shipped to Your neck of the woods? Seems like a lot are down there.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks mate, I've been sidetracked with my latest CB750 project, but will get back into the MM bike shortly. We got a few here, great bikes but deadly in the wrong hands, I lost 2 good mates in 1979 on a Z1. I'm glad I survived those years myself.

[Tews19]

Not trying to hijack your thread but this is my new to me 77 KZ1000 i had delivered yesterday.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Terry in Australia]

Not trying to hijack your thread but this is my new to me 77 KZ1000 i had delivered yesterday.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Beautiful bike mate! And feel free to add more pics, if mine looks as nice as yours when I'm done with it, I'll be happy!

[Tews19]

Sounds good Terry. Here are a few more.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[Terry in Australia]

I love that fairing mate, what is it? I've got a Rickman or Dunstall (can't remember which) fairing hanging up in my garage that looks very similar? I love all the CB750 "Garage Art" in the background too!

[MRieck]

Sounds good Terry. Here are a few more.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

That's a Wolf exhaust?

[Tews19]

Yes, it says Wolf. I have no clue about it. The header pipes look hand bent but I may be wrong.

[Tintop]

That's a Wolf exhaust?

Yes, it says Wolf. I have no clue about it. The header pipes look hand bent but I may be wrong.

They were made by Gary Wolf in Cambridge, ON Canada.  Not hand bent, he had a pipe bender that he could program, but he was very knowledgeable about exhaust design.  The frame of my Super 7, and the custom IRS were fabricated in his shop, along with the exhaust.  He later went into building ultralites.  At one time it was a toss-up who made a better Cdn SBK pipe, Gary, or Lang Hindle.

[Tintop]

Tews19, I wonder what other goodies beside the pipe might be there?

[MRieck]

That's a Wolf exhaust?

Yes, it says Wolf. I have no clue about it. The header pipes look hand bent but I may be wrong.

They were made by Gary Wolf in Cambridge, ON Canada.  Not hand bent, he had a pipe bender that he could program, but he was very knowledgeable about exhaust design.  The frame of my Super 7, and the custom IRS were fabricated in his shop, along with the exhaust.  He later went into building ultralites.  At one time it was a toss-up who made a better Cdn SBK pipe, Gary, or Lang Hindle.

Years ago at Loudon I remember riding with a guy from Canada that had one on an early Interceptor....it was friggin loud!

[Terry in Australia]

Well where did the rest of 2019 go? It seems the older I get, the quicker time seems to pass me by. Well to be fair, the CB750 Swamp Rat build took up much of my time and once I had a guy keen to buy it I had to just keep going until it was done. Of course I thought it was done, then the engine blew up, so I had to pull the engine out of my other K2 (Bitsa) and swap it in, then of course I had to install another engine into my bike, which tragically almost killed me on New Years Eve when the gearbox locked up on my first ride, dammit!

Anyway, I don't have enough time to both sort my 750 and get this project back on track, so the 750 can wait. I have two weeks of holidays left, and 3 weeks after that I have to have my big Z "Mad Max" ready for the "Stone" run in in Sydney/Newcastle in early Feb, so my plan (if it was ever a plan) is to strip the bike to the bare frame, cut off the tabs that the PO welded on and weld in the tabs that the PO cut off. There won't be any shiny paint (well, maybe shiny rattle can) or polished alloy, it'll just be a rough old bad mannered beast, probably more "Mad Max" than I originally intended, but as time allows, it will go thru several phases until it looks a lot nicer.

Today I dragged the old beast out from under the tree where I hid it for the Christmas Eve BBQ when the wife made me clean up the patio "workshop" and thought how much fun it would be to fire it up.

Terry's Z1000 Mad Max build 2 Jan 2020 6 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I was pretty surprised that after kicking it over a few times with the ignition off to circulate the oil and get some 2 year old Avgas into it, it fired right up!

OK, so I had to strip it down to the bare frame, and as I removed all of the extraneous parts I decided that the easiest way to pull the engine would be to strip it back to just the frame and the engine, then lay it over on it's side and lift the frame off the engine. It was actually a little more difficult than on a CB750, more bolts, more brackets, more things to get stuck and pinch your fingers. Interestingly, I weighed my CB750 engine when I installed it into the Bitsa last week and it weighed 78 Kg (172 pounds) without the starter motor, the big Z engine (less starter motor) weighs a shade under 83 Kg (182 pounds)

Terry's Z1000 Mad Max build 2 Jan 2020 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Terry's Z1000 Mad Max build 2 Jan 2020 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Anyhoo, the engine is out and the frame is bare, and ready for some modding. It's gonna be close enough to 100 deg F again tomorrow so I'm taking the day off to take the wife and mother in law out for lunch, followed by me and the mother in law doing some gambling while the wife does some shopping. Fingers crossed I won't lose my pants, but just in case I do, I bought a new Delkevic pipe for the big Kawasaki before I run out of money, the one on the CB750 looks and sounds so good, I stretched the plastic and bought another one.

OK, more in a couple of days, cheers!

Terry's Z1000 Mad Max build 2 Jan 2020 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr