Topic: 79" CB650Z (Project)

[speedy gonzalais]

Hi all I'm new to the forum and new to the restorations well part restoration.
I recently brought a 79 CB650Z my intentions were to make a quick buck but I fell for the bike and now here I am.
So far Ive stripped the cam removed the head replaced valve guides and reground them Ive completely stripped the carbs and give them a thorough clean, flushed the engine changed the filters, new plugs, battery checked the electrics they all work the alternator and cdi are like new the bike has only done 11,000 miles and has spent the last 15 years in some ones kitchen so the frames in good shape so is most of the chrome. The down pipes are a bit rusty  I'm not sure if that will polish off or wether they will need re-chroming if any one in the UK can give me a rough price to go by I would be great full. Also the engine is shedding paint I was thinking of stripping the paint polishing the alley and lacquering the thing wether that would be a good idea or not I'm unsure of. And one of the exhausts is bent so that will be replaced as u can see below she ain't the best looker but its mostly cosmetic so a polish and respray is all it really needs a few bits replaced here and there or am I being to lazy I'm open to suggestions also I got her running properly today thanks to the help from you guys on here and I must say I'm very supprised how smooth she runs. Ive heard stories of noisy cam chains and tappets but I cant fault them theres a slight rattle from the clutch when idle but as people on here have said the carbs could probably do with being synced.
IL keep u all updated with my progress and pics as I go along

[scunny]

re the shedding of paint. unless you are going to pull the motor it will be hard to clean up properly

[speedy gonzalais]

yea i am gona take it out but i dont want to pull it apart im limited on space and equipment and you just cant rely on other people to do it these days they just want to much money and cut to many corners

[speedy gonzalais]

also another thing is that the bike is an import and the speedo was in kph and thanks to british laws i had to change it to one with mph so now its got 52,000 miles instead of 11,000 is there an easy way to change this ?

[DarkRider]

not exactly an endorsed practice but you might be able to turn it back with a drill attached to the end of the cable. Its an old trick that some dishonest dealers used to use years ago with used cars.

[speedy gonzalais]

well i will give that a try thanks.
I took her out for a ride today before i pulled the engine out and im very impressed with the performance both engine and handling for a bike so old
Il be stripping that old paint off tomorow and will hopfully have it prepared for lacquer by the end of the day will post pics of the final look

[Hush]

Nice buy, looks pretty much 99% there for you.
Re the speedo, I'd slap the MPH one on for a VIN/WOF whatever British law requires then put the original back on until next time it needs to be legaled.
How many cops spot the KMPH/MPH difference anyway.
Happy rebuilding, sounds like the most important part (the engine) is a good un...........Hush.

[speedy gonzalais]

yea im not sure what road laws are in new zealand but over here its a joke with the ministry of transport wanting to inspect the bike yearly and the police well they hate bikers im just gonna live with 52k on the clock.
ive spent most the day trying to rub the paint off the engine and give up lol i was thinkin of gettin it sand blasted but i dont think that will be a bright idea incase any sand gets inside then i thought of brake fluid cause that strips paint well but then i thought it might rot the alley is there any other substances any one knows of that wont ruin the engine

[speedy gonzalais]

also ive polished the rims and all the chrome shes lookin rather nice (pics tomorrow) ive just been looking at silencers £350 for a pair so ive decided to make my own with stainless steel im keeping 4into2 but going for strait thru a friend suggested changing the main jets (smaller or bigger) he didnt say so any suggestions please.

[speedy gonzalais]

so heres how she looks so far ive yet to change the seat cover and respray the tank and paint the engine im gonna start on the new pipes tomorow

[scunny]

Il be stripping that old paint off tomorow and will hopfully have it prepared for lacquer by the end of the day will post pics of the final look

I thought you'd struggle to get that done, been there done that...sure is hard work doing it by hand.

[speedy gonzalais]

yea we can only try, its especialy hard work between the cooling thins im just gonna get as much as i can off and spray it silver it will only get dirty again as the bike will be used daily

[Hush]

Re-jetting the carbs is an art form, you have to do it if you change from stock exhaust system.
Lots of info on here about that.

[rhos1355]

Het dids, I don't see you sand blasting the engine w/out a complete strip-down. If you do decide to go the whole hog and get it sand blasted, ther's a good sand blaster guy in Newhaven (East Sussex). I had my cyl head, barrels, upper case and lower case vapour blasted as well.  It comes up real nice after vapour blasting. Cost 180 quid. Then a bloke on the VJMC club advised to prime it all and paint it with Simoniz 5 wheel silver paint. So I gave it 2 coats of primer and 5 coats of silver paint. I had the alternator cover, final drive sprocket cover etc polished. Hopefully that should do the trick. There are some good chromers in the Shoreham/Portslade area "The London and Brighton Chroming Company" that have a good reputation. But they aren't cheap.

[speedy gonzalais]

ok thanks for the info im gonna leave the engine as it is for the mo cause im still iornin out a few creases with the engine but i def want the pipes re-chromed they look hidious i got a new seat cover today but the frame fell to bits as i was takin the old one off so a new seat is needed now and i was gona make a start on my strait thru pipes until a friend reminded me that my mig wont weld stainless !doh!

[speedy gonzalais]

So far ive found the engine to be a dog and f***ed so ive put in the spare, before i did i stripped it cleaned it and painted it polished the alloy for hours im in the middle of deciding wether to chop the tail pipes mad max style or not
Ive finnaly decided on the colour im going for matt black with a fine dust of oversprayed gold and to finish a good 5-6 coats of the glossiest lacquer i can find

[speedy gonzalais]

change of plan on the colour, going British racing green now. Stripped the tank filled dents and scratches stripped side panels and re-primed gonna spray the tank tomorow and hopefully make a start on the on the back engines finished looks nice. And i nice tip on carb cleaning, I stripped them and cleaned with brush and thinners but compared to the engine they looked s**t so i brought a big bottle of cillet bang household cleaner and submerged the carbs in that for a few hours and they come out looking like new i was supprised by the amount of crap that was still in them.
Will upload some pics as soon as i find my camera lead.

[Hush]

Brave man, I'm getting my tank done by a pro as I figure it is the one thing I want to look really good ha ha.
You can't get the stripes for our old 79 model Hondas so the painter guy is gonna have to hand do those for me.

[speedy gonzalais]

hush painting isnt that hard its just the preperation you need to give 100% im gonna rattle can the colour and do the lacquer with my devilbiss spray gun, prep and lacquer is all you need to get right, the paint isnt hard unless its metalic like mine lol
but a few coats of lacquer will make it look nice.

[Hush]

Mate I've decided there are two jobs on my bike I aint going near, syncing the carbs and painting the tank.

[speedy gonzalais]

Im with ya on the carb sync thats some thing i havnt really tried yet as for the painting i worked a couple of years in a body shop so painting i must do myself, i hope they do a nice job on ya tank, Im gona leave strips off mine as the colour isnt original i was thinkin of painting in gold strips but i just dont think gold and green goes.

[speedy gonzalais]

before and after pics

[speedy gonzalais]

tank

[speedy gonzalais]

ready for lacquer

[speedy gonzalais]

Ive decided as im putting the other engine in soon i might as well strip her to the frame and get it sanded and powder coated.

[Hush]

Gold stripes look cool, I'm sticking with them cos thats the original colour scheme and the gold/black on the white is awesome.

[speedy gonzalais]

Shes almost finished just gotta put the re-painted engine back in and im ready to hit the road for a few days,
Heres a pic just before i pulled the engine.

[Hush]

Nice project mate, more photos when you finish her please.

[RM81]

I'm loving that green color.  Nice job!