Topic: Terry's NEW big Kawasaki build, the "Lockdown 1428" special.

[ekpent]

 Kawasaki King Rick Brett stopped at my shop coming home north from Florida one spring a couple years ago and among his toys he was bringing back was his 5 cylinder Kawasaki 606. Not sure who built it though. I love those custom hybrids.

[simon#42]

looks like a 6 to me , it also looks like a waste of 2 good bikes .

[Terry in Australia]

Yep, thats one of Alan's creations Eric, I'd love a 1000cc H2 four, but I suppose that for aesthetics, it would need to be a 1250/5? Don't worry about Alan wasting two good bikes Simon, he usually makes his bikes up out of bits. Unlike some other custom bike builders, he doesn't chop up a pristine restored bike, like that idiot who cafe'd a sandcast K0 a few years ago.

[ekpent]

 Looks like I was wrong on the Kaw 606. Its actually a 7 cylinder, knew it was an odd number. Originally built by a company named Hertfordshire Superbike Centre. So it "wasted" 2 and 1/3 engines     Sorry to hijack Terry ---  https://autowise.com/seven-cylinder-kawasaki-kh606/

[Terry in Australia]

No worries Eric, it looks like someone else is doing copies of his bikes? I did a google search of it running and thought straight away, "that's not one of Alan's (or "Allen" actually) bikes, his run way better than that thing.........

[bear]

looks like a 6 to me , it also looks like a waste of 2 good bikes .

Well I know your not going to be impressed with this then Simon.
I have a mate with a three cylinder TZ500.

[ekpent]

 I saw that video also.Sounded like it was only running on 4 or 5 

[simon#42]

i have made a few of those over the years bear , i also made a 3 cylinder 350 for a collector who had a thing about takazumi katayama !
they are not that great but dont tell your mate .

[PeWe]

Terry, your profession is Motorcycle fabricator?
You really have energy to create good stuff, not only assemble!

That Arias cylinder block is not made for longer trips, no cooling flanges to talk about
402, 336 meter

Any cool gadget to keep it cool during a "longer" trip?

[Terry in Australia]

Terry, your profession is Motorcycle fabricator?
You really have energy to create good stuff, not only assemble!

That Arias cylinder block is not made for longer trips, no cooling flanges to talk about
402, 336 meter

Any cool gadget to keep it cool during a "longer" trip?

Thanks Per, yeah, I know, how do you go with your JMR block with no cooling between the inner cylinders? I know a guy with an old RC block that he had sleeved down for 836cc cylinders and reckons  he's ridden it all over Australia with no problems, but I don't think he'd be riding it too hard?

I'll install oil coolers on both bikes, I bought a couple of vintage Kawasaki Z1 cooler adapters from Oink Johnson and I have a box full of new larger radiators that I bought years ago when I was making CB750 and GS/GSX Suzuki cooler kits, and the good thing about big Zeds is you can mount the coolers further up on the frame without blocking air to the top end of the engine, so I'll run an oil temp gauge and see what it's like, but if I can only ride it on cold days here that's fine, with 18 bikes to ride, being a working man means that I'll only get to ride on weekends, so I'll probably only ride each bike around 3 days per year? Well, that's if I can start each of them, some haven't been ridden in 5 years, oops.......

Anyhoo, the mail system is killing me at the moment, I literally have a truckload of parts somewhere between multiple Ebay sellers here and in the US and UK, and even my VFR750 battery that I think was supposed to be delivered yesterday hasn't turned up, which has made me so desperate, I'm gonna try the Epsoms salts trick just to put some sort of charge back into another old battery (out of my SP1) that should fit. The weather is supposed to be pretty good on Saturday, so I want to take it for a 100 mile ride. It'd be nice if the battery turns up tomorrow, but I won't hold my breath.......

What did arrive today though (by courier, not Australia Post) was this little DC TIG/stick welder/plasma cutter. I've got a big heavy AC/DC TIG in the garage, plus a huge MIG for steel and a smaller MIG for alloy, but I just thought the little TIG would be great for welding in the bracing tubes for the frame, plus some 3mm gussets, which hopefully I'll cut with the plasma cutter. Last week I got my quarterly gas bill, ($280) and was pleasantly surprised to see that with my DVA (VA in the US) Gold card concession, "Pay on time" discount etc, it came to exactly $0.00 and I got another discount of $30 off next months bill carried forward, so I wisely told the wife I'd paid the gas bill (that's not really lying, right?) and spent the money on this little welder.

Terry's new welder by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I've been watching heaps of video's of guys using these el cheapo DC TIG welders with good results, so I thought, "Why not?". I'll keep it under the bench in my patio workshop in a waterproof tub with all my other welding supplies, and when the rest of my welding supplies actually turn up (fcuk you, Australia Post Arseholes!!!!!) I'll be able to try my hand at el-cheapo TIG welding. I must remember to install the engine cases and bolt it all down before I start bracing it, or bad things might happen, we'll see!      

[PeWe]

Hi Terry,
The billet block work really fine. There are no sleeves, only bare metal for good heat dissipation.
Metal gaskets too must help to spread the temperature all over the engine.
They have only thin layers of viton. RCS base gasket and MLS head gasket.

I guess old style thick fiber gaskets isolate the heat.

The cooling flanges are extra wide too. I have not seen lighter colored inner plugs. I have had that in my mind for eventual richer jetting on 2-3

Oil thermometer in oil tank to check the temp.

Last trip was in legal speeds, temp in oil tank hardly 90C.

[754]

I am thinking the MReick block cools much better than the Arias block.

[Trevor from Warragul]

I think a large oil cooler will keep it running just fine.  My 1200 Bandit has a big oil cooler.  I decided to change the oil immediately after a long summer ride.  If it was my CBX, the oil would have burned my fingers.  On the Bandit, the oil wasn't that hot at all... 

[dave500]

those cheap welders are getting better and better,even if they crap out after say 5 years youve done it ya self and cost way less than a pro(so long as its a good job),i used an old buzz box for a while and the little inverter dc unit i bought couple years ago is far better!better welds,smooth action and more power,im only a self taught ferrous stick welder but the two machines are worlds apart!

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, I'm not worried about overheating, but the metal gasket thing is interesting Per, I bought copper head and base gaskets (pretty much all you can get for Arias 1428cc big blocks nowadays) so it'll be interesting to see if they transfer the heat. I think a nice big oil cooler will help too. Anyway, we'll find out once the rest of my boxes arrive and I have everything to assemble the engine.

Today I was happy that one box arrived, with 3 cast iron discs. A motorcycle engineer who was doing a lot of CB750 performance engine stuff before a bad marriage pretty much destroyed his business (from memory, his ex-wife actually had control of his engineering shop and sold off everything, including some of his customers bike parts) has moved to the country (not surprisingly) and is doing cast iron disc rotor conversions via Ebay, on an exchange basis. You send him your old discs, and he removes the old rotors from the carriers, and replaces the less than wonderful stainless steel with drilled cast iron rotors.

1428 cast iron discs by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I've got 2 for the 1428 and 1 to go on my Bitsa K2, hopefully with a better caliper, down the track. Anyway, they arrived today and look great, so on Sunday I'll install them on the Lester wheel, and look at making some adapter plates for the big calipers. But not tomorrow, tomorrow, I ride! My new VFR750 battery hasn't arrived as yet.... But using some advice from Dave or Ken, I hooked up my old Motobatt battery that I pulled out of my RC51 in 2018 and was able to breathe new life into it, woohoo! So as the weather is supposed to be pretty good, I'll go over to the storage place and install it in the VFR and hopefully clock up a nice 100 miler. More soon.    

[dave500]

yeah ive always wondered how hard would it be to make a basic cast iron disc for 500s?my machinist mate says its hard to get the cast stock,i guess casting a blank ya need a lot off heat/money and the volume of sales?#$%*?its only a circle?

[PeWe]

Terry, you are the engineering type of man that can make what's needed.  A cooling jacket around the entire block and a radiator connected to it.
If filled with your home made stuff you can have a petcock connected where you can get out a smaller amount of the stronger version after a longer ride.
A real MoonRacer ...

Steampunk look is copper tubing winded and formed tight around the block connected to a radiator. Less risk for a leak.

[simon#42]

that disc looks great , period looking but much better than standard .

[Terry in Australia]

those cheap welders are getting better and better,even if they crap out after say 5 years youve done it ya self and cost way less than a pro(so long as its a good job),i used an old buzz box for a while and the little inverter dc unit i bought couple years ago is far better!better welds,smooth action and more power,im only a self taught ferrous stick welder but the two machines are worlds apart!

Thanks Dave, yeah, as much as I hate giving money to the Chinese at the moment, their stuff is very good. My 220 Amp Migomag MIG welder cost a couple of grand when I bought it 23 years ago (and it's still working great) but the little Chinese MIG I bought to weld aluminium using a spool gun 5 or 6 years ago works great, and I was surprised at how well it does aluminium. I've got oxy/acetylene and a 50 year old Peerless arc welder too, but they're rarely used nowadays. If this little sucker does the job, then I'll be happy.

Yeah, these discs are very pretty, and as the 500 has the same centre as a 750 disc (I only had 2 x 750 discs to send him, so I sent him a 500 disc as well, and he just put a 500 rotor on it) you could get him to make you one, when I bought mine they were $180 each, and I see that he's put the price up to $190 each. I still think that's cheap, there's a ton of work involved, drilling and countersinking one hundred holes alone is bloody time consuming, not to mention drilling out each rivet, and threading each hole for the screws that hold them in place, I don't know how he could do it for the money?

Anyway, the sun is shining, so I better get out there, ride day today, woohoo! It looks like the storage place is closed as it's technically a public holiday today (ANZAC Day) so I might have to try to fix the broken speedo cable on my sportster and ride it. Not happy though, was looking forward to riding the VFR750 with a working battery.  

[strynboen]

yeah ive always wondered how hard would it be to make a basic cast iron disc for 500s?my machinist mate says its hard to get the cast stock,i guess casting a blank ya need a lot off heat/money and the volume of sales?#$%*?its only a circle?

you can turn a old car disc dovn to spec..if you can find one vith that small inner diameter..and bolt it on the orginal disc hub

[dave500]

thats an idea,have to be a solid one non vented.

[Terry in Australia]

Good idea Lars, I threw some solid discs away a few years ago, oh well, for this price, I'd rather just buy them. Dave, if you want one, let me know and I'll send you his details.

Okay, so the big caliper conversion is going well, but as expected, everything takes twice as long as I'd hoped. First thing I did was swap the disc rotors over.

1428 Brake caliper build 26 Apr 2020 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Of course, after I loctited them up and tightened them down, I realised that the bolts would come into contact with the inside of the fork leg, so I disassembled them again, and cut/ground 5mm off the ends of the bolts. It wasn't as obvious until I removed the spacer from the "non-speedo" side. Oh well, when you're old, time isn't that important as not going down the road on yer face..... And yes, I should have cleaned the wheel first, but it's only dusty, so it'll clean up, eventually.

Anyhoo, I took some measurements, and was pretty happy that the disc rotors were far enough away from the Lester's spokes that the calipers cleared them both by a bee's d1ck. Close enough. I made some spacers to go betwixt the caliper and the mounting plate. Due to the spacing of the discs, the spacers on the right (speedo drive side) were 1mm longer than on the other side.

1428 Brake caliper build 26 Apr 2020 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

1428 Brake caliper build 26 Apr 2020 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I made a cardboard template (but forgot to take a pic....) and transferred the measurements to some aluminium plate.

1428 Brake caliper build 26 Apr 2020 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

1428 Brake caliper build 26 Apr 2020 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

But by then the light was going, so I packed up, washed my mitts, and cracked a bottle of ginger beer. More soon.

1428 Brake caliper build 26 Apr 2020 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

   

[PeWe]

When do you start to sell solutions as you make now for your build?
Or complete bikes

It look good!

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Per, well as pleased as I am that you guys like this stuff, and I'm really happy that so far I haven't MacGyvered myself into a corner, I wouldn't feel comfortable making this stuff for anyone else. If I kill myself because I've cocked something up and I get spat down the road, well, no great loss, but if someone else did because of something I hadn't proved to work safely, I'd never forgive myself, and I'm sure the family of the unfortunate customer wouldn't forgive me either.

The other thing of course, is that like CB750's, big Kawasaki's are selling for big money nowadays, so ownership is broken into two distinct groups. Restorers, who wouldn't change anything from Mr Kawasaki's original design, no matter how bad they might handle or stop, and the other guys who think the only way to make them "cool" is to find a donor GSXR/Bandit, and swap both front and rear ends, and sometimes even the engines, so either group aren't interested in building "Specials" like mine.

So bottom line is, I love this sort of stuff, I get a lot of satisfaction looking at something I've made that actually works, and we all know how awful the brakes are on our old bikes compared to modern bikes, so it's a relief grabbing the front brake on a 40(+) year old bike and actually stopping well before you imagined it ever could, without just giving up and using the complete front end off something modern.   

Anyhoo, my smoked/clear points cover arrived today. Spotty alerted me to the Ebay auction, and as I have one on the Mad Max bike I thought it'd be cool to have one on the 1428 bike, as you don't see these things very often. The seller was a guy of my vintage, he had it on his GPZ1100 and had never seen another one. He sent me a congratulatory message to tell me that I'd be the only kid on the block to have one, so I sent him a picture of Max and told him that in fact I'll be the only (60 year old) kid on the block with TWO!

1428 clear points cover by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Mad Max 28 Apr 2020 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

It turned out that he'd had to sell his GPZ to pay his divorce lawyer, which is sad, I'd hate to be in that position. Someone here suggested in an earlier post that I must have an understanding wife. Well that's kind of true, many years ago I explained to her that if she made me choose between her and my mechanical obsession, she'd come a distant second, and to be fair, whenever I bring home another bike or pile of parts, all she asks me is "where are you going to put that thing?" That "thing" being the bike, or pile of parts, I wasn't suggesting anything untoward, but she rarely even says that now, because my standard reply is, "Bend over and you'll find out"........ More tomorrow.        

[PeWe]

I have a tinted point cover like that without text to my CB750.
I'm happy I did not toss it.  It has small cracks repaired with clear epoxy, still functional.

It is easy to see when condensers need to be replaced when riding in the evening with flashing points!