Topic: Maui Z1 1973

[MauiK3]

Ok, I started it today.
Recap.
This bike belonged to the brother of a former neighbor of mine, he moved on to Harleys and left this parked which is bad here in the tropics. I saw it running once several years ago. When I got the urge to do another bike I found a 74 package in various pieces which I still may get and then I happened to ask the owner of this one if he wanted to sell and he did because he wants another Harley. I brought it home yesterday. Frame 01886, engine 01784.
First thing I want to do is hear it run, the carbs were so stuck I thought I’d break something so off they came. Parts are in the ultrasonic getting cleaned, lots of corrosion. The shaft was really stiff. I had to drill out the choke lifter set screws, the only way I can see to get new ones is a package of 100 from Grainger. I’ll have 96 extras! I’m thinking I’ll be setting up a small plating tank for some of the small plated parts.
Main jets are 117.5, I’ll leave them in but later when the breathing is back to stock I expect to need to change that.
More to come.
This bike will take me some time, my K3 750 took 10 months. This may take a year.
I included a photo of the original tank which the PO said suffered during a past divorce.

[Stev-o]

Ouch!   Looks similar to a buddy's tank whose psycho wife took a chain to.

This is a major project, I see no reason to rush it, you have your K3 to ride. 

[MauiK3]

Yes, it will take some time.
I noticed that the “ throttle wheel” or bell crank as I would call it, where the cables hook up, is painted black. I’m wondering if that’s how they were made. It’s good if that’s the case, don’t have to worry about re-plating. Some of the other small steel parts on the rack assembly are also black. The ultrasonic took it all off.
I need a bowl drain plug to make a clear tube float check device. Have not found one yet, I’ll keep searching.

It’s a fabulous bike but I notice that some of the fit and finish is not quite Honda level.

[desertrefugee]

Good luck on it! I agree with Stev-o. Take your time on it! It deserves it.

[MauiK3]

Bowl drain plug for a 73? Yikes, found two on Ebay, ordered them, I'll be sure and guard them carefully.
I looked at some photos, time to set up the little bench top plating tank, the linkages are not black, I'll plate them.
And the bowl overflow Tees? They are unobtanium, good thing mine are in ok shape. They assemble kind of funny, they join one carb with a piece of rubber hose and the other side has a brass nipple.
The fuel Tees are easy to get thankfully. Mine were plastic and seem pretty loose, I'm going to get metal, it seems more secure for such an important and hard to get to part.

[ekpent]

If you wanted to check out the electrics and or see if its getting spark the battery from your K3 should be a direct fit ,or at least it is on my 75 Z1B.

[BenelliSEI]

Nice find! Take your time and enjoy it!

[Terry in Australia]

10/72? You've hit the jackpot Steve, that is one very rare bike indeed! You've done very well, as has been said above, take your time and try to refurbish all of the original parts, a 1972 build Z1 is probably rarer than a sandcast CB750.

I'll be interested in your home plating too, I've been thinking about buying a caswell plating system for awhile now, so I can re-plate the spokes and fittings on my K0 rear wheel as like Maui, Brisbane, where my K0's larger parts came from, is very humid, so rust and corrosion is terrible, the engine cases came with the gearbox, but everything was so rusty I couldn't use it, even though it had been stored under cover.

[MauiK3]

Not a lot of progress today but I did set up my small zinc plating tank and broke out the chromate I have from the K3 project. I plated one random 3/8” hex head bolt and it was ok but my solution was too new, not enough ions in it yet, by tomorrow it should be better. I know it didn’t happen if there are no pictures, I’ll get some tomorrow. I used washing soda, RO water, vinegar and a little Karo Syrup in the solution. The corn syrup supposedly makes the plating prettier. I’m using a 5v dc 1000 milliamperes power supply I had here, it may not be big enough for larger parts but we’ll see. I’m mostly concerned with the small parts on the carb rack. They are in good shape but ugly and starting to rust. From what I can see they came zinc. Of course a regulated dc power supply is the best because amperage should be adjusted for surface area.
The carbs are in good shape physically, they were a bit dirty. These carbs are a more complicated than the K3, I think, more parts. I found the 4 dust covers I need on a German site, ordered them.
I went through the paperwork that came with it. The PO lived in Kelowna, BC when he bought it, he had it for about 40 years, I think it came to Maui with him in 1987. In 2009 it got the top end done by a fellow here that I spoke with today, he’s retired now. It got valves, guides
, springs (heavy duty), .020” over pistons, head resurfaced, cam chain and tensioner, cam bearings, stator, rectifier and a bunch of other stuff. I will need to restore the paint on the engine so I’m debating trying to seal it up and just work with it that way or take it apart to prep it right. I’ll probably take it apart after I run it some.
I’m going to try to re chrome the fenders and rims and anything date stamped. I may put stainless spokes on it though, this is Maui, land of salty air. At least that’s not an irreversible change.
Anyway, I’ll get some more photos maybe tomorrow.
Aloha
Steve

[Terry in Australia]

Good work Steve, I'll be interested in your plating setup, make sure you post some pics? 1000 milliamps is 1 amp, so not sure if that'll be enough for plating bigger pieces, but as I've never plated anything other than copper plating a pin with my son when he was a little tacker, I don't know? I really wouldn't pull the engine apart if it was me, until you've at least run it. If it runs like #$%* then rip it apart, but if it's a good runner, leave it alone and soda blast it, and repaint it.

Frank will be excited, he's from Kelowna, BC, so that bike probably came from his local bike shop.

[Alan F.]

Seems like an ongoing thread for DIY plating might be a good idea. I don't want to post about plating on your build thread.

[MauiK3]

I think 1 amp won't be enough.
Yes, a thread about plating would be good, I'm sort of stumbling around with it with mixed results, I hope to refine it and get some good stuff done.

[MauiK3]

I plated some of the small stuff on the carb rack today. I kind of wanted to get the rack put back together before I lost track of how it goes, although the illustrations are pretty good. The stuff was pretty corroded, I’ll get some photos later, not pro plating shop level but it will resist further corrosion. I changed my electrolyte mix. I used Arnold’s Design video. Straight vinegar, 4 liters, 200g epsom salt and the zinc of course. I had one part that just would not plate, even though it looked stripped after an acid bath. I went and got some paint stripper and sure enough there was a film on it. I’m using my 1 amp 5volt little dc charger for power, it gets there, eventually.
I checked out all the holes in the carbs as well. Did not find any problems.
I ordered some hard to find parts for the carbs from Z Fever in Germany, seems like a good shop.
After I get the carbs together I’m going to work on getting it started.
I have to media blast the frame because it’s gloss black, ugh. I’ll POR15 it in their Chassis Black, just like my K3 project.
The jars contain muriatic acid, RO water for dipping, zinc chromate (blue stuff), the spray bottles are RO water and alcohol.
More to come.

[Jeff.Saunders]

Incredible find.

In collector circles, these early bikes are considered 1972 models, although they were imported into the USA as 1973 models.

These bikes are VERY collectable - and worth very good money unrestored. 

The key with any restoration is to do it correctly - and that will get the most value.  There are so many unique parts on the early bikes that you are really forced to restore those parts as there's little hope of finding the correct ones.

Parts from the later Z1's will fit, but...  those parts have a different look.  No matter what you do, never throw away any of the original parts - those are like gold dust.

Some of the parts that are unique to the early Z1's:

• RH switch block.  On the underside is a thumb screw that acts as a throttle lock.
  Fork lowers.  The casting around the fender mount is more pronounced - and is a raised 'blister'
  The cam chain tensioner casting doesn't have reinforcing webbing found on the later bikes.
  Rear brake arm - the pinch bolt threads in from the wrong side (a part originally designed for the H2).
  The carb bodies are smooth on the back - missing the reinforcing rib found on the later carbs.
  The early tanks have move of a 'V' shape in the neck area.  This was changed to a 'U' shape on later tanks to avoid wires getting pinched.

Many parts are date coded:

• Swing arm - the date is close to the grease nipple
  The rims - each rim will have date codes
  The handlebar switch blocks.  The date code is stamped on the flat side where the grip butts up.
  From brake rotor

Post pictures when you get a chance.

[754]

 Good post.. interesting  find.... and really high chance it was sold here in our town..
 A buddy bought a red 70 500 at that local dealer in 1970,still has it.lits minty, but with over 40 K on it..
 I found a low number  750 sandcast  35 miles from here .. #572... .
 

[MauiK3]

I’m still diving in slowly but I think the previous owner may have changed some of the stuff and not saved the original. This bike might be a good find but I think it won’t be all original because of previous work, sadly. It will still be nice when done. I don’t see a date stamp on the rims.

[Alan F.]

Just took a look on eBay at old Z1 wheels, I'm not sure how the date code is structured but the stamping I'm finding looks like this:

[Kelly E]

Here's the front rim on our 75' Z1-B

[Jeff.Saunders]

Just took a look on eBay at old Z1 wheels, I'm not sure how the date code is structured but the stamping I'm finding looks like this:

The 4 is 1974, The H is a sequence code - roughly aligned to month - so that rim was manufactured in the July/August 1974 timeframe, and would appear on a bike made a little after that - probably August or September of 1974.

[Terry in Australia]

Yep, I'm glad Jeff posted, and as I said before, 1972 built Z1's are rarer than sandcasts, and worth restoring correctly. I'm sure those "unobtainium" parts are out there, and Jeff can probably help you find them.

[MauiK3]

Right now I'm looking for a complete cam chain tensioner, the PO put on a manual tensioner and did not keep the stock one. Additionally, the manual one is anodized blue, not quite the look the bike needs. They seem to be hard to find, I'm looking at Ebay and other places but have not found the right part number. The parts book I have says it's:
12047-001 or 12047-003 with the Rod 12054-001, spring 92081-107.
I may be able to find some parts but I really need the holder.

As I am going through the carbs I found one of the passages in the #1 bowl for the choke circuit cemented shut, I got it drilled out, it seemed like a mineral build up. No wonder the PO said it started hard!! There are also some cracked vac port caps.
One good thing is the jets I have were all in Mikuni bags. Good to know.
This is the best forum on earth!!

[MauiK3]

Just to be sure, I bought a later tensioner that should fit just to be sure I have a proper tensioner, I got it on Ebay. I'm still going to try and find the right one. Ugh.
It won't be a totally complete original bike but at 48 years old I guess that's too much to ask, just have to do the best I can.

[Stev-o]

Just took a look on eBay at old Z1 wheels, I'm not sure how the date code is structured but the stamping I'm finding looks like this:

The 4 is 1974, The H is a sequence code - roughly aligned to month - so that rim was manufactured in the July/August 1974 timeframe, and would appear on a bike made a little after that - probably August or September of 1974.

For those of you that dont know, Jeff is the utmost Z1 expert.

Reposting the link to the VIN code details from his website....


https://www.z1enterprises.com/blog/kawasaki-z1-kz900-numbers-guide/

[MauiK3]

A few photos
I think the gauges may be correct. At least from a few things I’ve read. Anyone is welcome to set me straight.
I didn’t know they used 630 chain.
Forks are painted, as well as the rear hub and brake panel. Looks like a lot of work removing paint and doing some buffing is in store. From photos I’ve seen a high sheen buff is not what they had, it was more brushed looking. Anyone chime in to contribute.
I can’t find anyone to vapor hone so I think I’ll set up a baking soda setup, it means I need a larger compressor, I hope it works, the cases look pretty rough. I want to restore the engine to as close to stock appearance as I can.
My book by Marsden? Is coming for reference.

[MauiK3]

The carb holders are wrong and I have not found the right ones. I’ve read that I can remove the vac ports in the holders and make them look correct. The ports are in the head in 1972 -73 and I have them, they just need new caps.