Topic: K2 frame but not forks.

[Davo]

Hi all
I am currently repairing / rebuilding a K2. I knew the forks were not original. Started dismantle to install new fork seals but noted the seal is retained by a wire spring clip not the normal washer/circlip arrangement. Does anyone know what model had this type of clip. The bottom section of the forks seems same as K2, the top section is chromed and does not have the normal fork boots. Appreciate any help.
Davo - Melbourne ,Australia

[Terry in Australia]

Hey Davo, where are you in Melbourne? I can take a look and tell you what they are, (or aren't) I'm in Mill Park. 0409 425 399 Cheers Terry.

[Davo]

Hi Terry - I live in Jindivick. Rural area off Princes Hwy past Pakenham. Work around Melb suburbs. Maybe I can email a photo if I can get something good enough. Haven't stripped the forks down yet, just lifted the dust seal up last night to have a look. My bike is a bit of a hybrid, K2 frame, K7 motor. Has been built up by someone in the past, did some shoddy work. The more I delve, the more I find.
Davo

[Terry in Australia]

No worries Davo, send me a pic if you like, my email address is sherriffbuck@yahoo.com Jindivick eh, whatever happened to "Flash Nick"? Cheers, Terry.

[Davo]

Terry - Will see how I go getting some pics. Doing major overhaul at present. Lifting engine out tonight(if I can get someone to help) for top end overhaul. Plan to have all back on road in 3-4 weeks. Prefer to spend evenings on the bike rather than watch the wife's crappy blood & gutsers on the box. Will keep in touch. What are you riding at present
David

[mutters]

Terry just beat me to it ,I was going to ask about flash nick but I thought it might confuse all the foreigners.

[Brookesy]

Mutters, Terry...

Who / or what the Flock is Flash Nick?

Davo
Rip into that bike mate - it's riding season...

[dusterdude]

im confused 

[Brookesy]

Why are you confused??

Confusion is just a state of mind (sorry)

[Davo]

G'day Brooksey. Hope all's well up north. How is the K1 project going?
Mutters - If you watched the ABC as a young bloke you might remember Auntie Jack and "Flash Nick fromJindivick". Well I live there but still haven't come across the bugger. Think I might take on the roll.
Apologies to Dusterdude for ramblings on local stuff.
Lifted out the engine last night with a mates help. Can't turn back now.
Davo

[Terry in Australia]

Terry - Will see how I go getting some pics. Doing major overhaul at present. Lifting engine out tonight(if I can get someone to help) for top end overhaul. Plan to have all back on road in 3-4 weeks. Prefer to spend evenings on the bike rather than watch the wife's crappy blood & gutsers on the box. Will keep in touch. What are you riding at present
David

Good idea mate, watching those shows will make your brain dry up, and after awhile you'll forget your bike (or even your shed) ever existed, and you'll ask your mates questions like "Do these King Gee's make my bum look fat?", ha ha! I'm currently riding my 1981 Suzuki GS1000S because it's the only one I can afford to keep registered, but I've got some "spare" number plates, so now and again I sneak out on my:
a. CB750F2
b. CB750K2
c. CB750K1
d. Suzy GS750E
e. Suzy GS1000G

I've also got most of the bits for my K2 based "racer" project, with lots of trick bits that I've been collecting over the years, and that'll keep me entertained over the next couple of months, I'm just waiting on Mike Rieck in Boston to send me an M3 racing cam chain tensioner and adjustable cam sprocket so I can assemble the 836cc F2 engine with one of Mike's much modified "Mister Head" heads, topped off with a Megacycle 125/75 cam.

The running gear includes 37mm Suzuki GS1000 forks, alloy forkbrace and modified Katana alloy swingarm, Suzy hubs and discs with new wide alloy 18" rims, Marzocchi Strada shocks, Brembo brakes working off lockheed M/C's with braided lines, braced frame, Peter Allen race pipes, Dyna ignition and coils, telefix adjustable clipon bars, GSXR1000 rearsets, 32 litre alloy tank, additional gauges (oil pressure, S&W air fork kit with gauge, on-board vacuum gauge, oil temp gauge etc) magura levers, oil cooler etc etc. As much as I'd love to register it, I'll probably be safer registering the K1 and swap the plates around when I want to ride the "Monster".

I've also got a couple of spare Suzuki GS1000's which will eventually become projects, one of them is a 1979 GS1000S, which is quite collectable, but there's not enough hours in the day to get them all done, so I might have to unload several of my "fleet" so I can just concentrate on the "now" rather than the "later", if you know what I mean. Let me know if you need a hand mate, a ride to Jindivick might be nice if the weather's good on the weekend? Cheers, Terry.

For Brooksey and Dusty, "Flash Nick" was a mythical bushranger (outlaw) of the 1800's, based on a guy named Jack Bradshaw, who was more of a Bull#$%* Artist than an actual Bushranger. Here's a link to a TV series that immortalised "Flash Nick":

http://users.chariot.net.au/~rmiles/ajdisc/tv7475.html

[Brookesy]

Well, bugga rme - now we've got Flash Nicks coming out of the woodwork everywhere.
Dusterdude isn't the only one confused...

I remember Aunty Jack (who could forget Graeme Bond) but Flash Nick escapes my memory
(sounds like he escaped a few things)

Bushrangers -
my knowledge stops at Ned & Dan Kelly, Thunderbolt etc.

Davo,
The K1 project is developing - i picked up a spares bike this week (see another thread) which will provide parts for both projects i have in mind.

Terry,
I would like to know more about your racer project - care to enlighten us (maybe on another thread)
I want to build a road special along the same lines but i'm not sure how to go about it or what parts to use / look for

I now have the F2 motor (it's a start) and i want to know more -

Like...
Katana swingarm
What model etc. / Mods required?

Frame bracing???

And lots of other stuff

[Terry in Australia]

Terry,
I would like to know more about your racer project - care to enlighten us (maybe on another thread)
I want to build a road special along the same lines but i'm not sure how to go about it or what parts to use / look for
I now have the F2 motor (it's a start) and i want to know more -
Like...
Katana swingarm
What model etc. / Mods required?
Frame bracing???
And lots of other stuff

No worries Brooksey, The frame is already partially braced (old race bike) but I'll be doing some more bracing, and I'll have to weld some brackets on the frame for the alloy rearsets and a nice steering damper and air shifter I recently bought on "Evil Bay".

I might do a series as I build it up with plenty of pics, I'm going to do a rough assembly first to make sure it all fits together, then pull it apart, get everything painted/powdercoated etc, then re-assemble it. I need to tidy up a couple of things first, (gotta get the K1 finished and put the 4 into 4 pipes etc on the K2) and I'm still waiting for the rearsets (had 'em sent by slow boat due to the weight) but once I've got everything ready to go, it'll only take a week or so to do the rough assembly, then there'll be a break while I paint/powdercoat everything, then probably another week or so to assemble and tune the thing, then, woohoo! Watch this space................ Cheers, Terry.

[Brookesy]

Terry,
Some in-progress pics would be very helpful mate.
I'm still in the dark a bit about how i'm going to carry out all the things i have planned.

My k1 is so original i don't want to change it except to put the twin discs on (i like brakes to work)

So, the Road Racer will be the one i let my imagination guide me
(Hopefully my pocket can keep up!)

[Terry in Australia]

Terry,
Some in-progress pics would be very helpful mate.
I'm still in the dark a bit about how i'm going to carry out all the things i have planned.
My k1 is so original i don't want to change it except to put the twin discs on (i like brakes to work)
So, the Road Racer will be the one i let my imagination guide me
(Hopefully my pocket can keep up!)

Good on you brooksey, I've wanted to build one since I saw my first Seeley honda CB750 when I had my (then new) F1 back in the 1970's. Then drooling all over Rex Wolfendon's race bikes spurred me on to building a roadworthy(ish) "racer" that will have lots of "go" as well as just "show" like most Cafe Racers I've seen.

I'm hoping for some fairly decent BHP out of the engine, as Mike Rieck has turned the head into a masterpiece of porting and exotic components (he really is a genius!) so with the 836cc high comp pistons and the Megacycle cam I'm hoping it'll nudge 90 BHP on the Dyno, so it should be pretty quick, and with the strength of the F2 bottom end, I'm hoping it'll stay in one piece under some spirited use of my throttle hand, ha ha! Cheers, Terry.

[dusterdude]

thanks for the info guys,o btw i stay confused.

[Davo]

Terry - Thanks for the web page reference - Flash Nick lives on. That's an impressive line up of bikes you,ve got. Where the hell do you keep them all?
I've got a large shed but so much other #$%*e in there there's only room for one bike at present. Maybe when I'm back on the road I'll come your way for a test run, have a look at your stable. Would be interested to see the racer project. . I sometimes take a run from my place through Neerim South and on to Noojee (gathering point for bikes on weekends).

Brooksey - Sounds like you have done well with the K1 if it's original. I think my K2 grew from an assembly of leftovers, anyway half the fun is in the rebuilding. I think as soon as I've finished the K2 I'll be looking for another re-build project.

A question for you guys and anyone else. I've got my motor out at present to do the top end. Do you reckon I should do the big end as well or leave well alone as there was no problem in particular. I haven't done a big end before, don't know how big a job this is.

Davo

[Terry in Australia]

Davo, no worries mate, you're always welcome. Nothing on the engine is hard, but finding new big end and main bearing shells might be, as you're probably aware they colour coded the shells, so you'll need to know which ones to order replacements, and if you disassemble the conrods, then you should replace the bolts, etc etc etc.

The "Terry Test" is to whip off the head, barrels and pistons etc, then grab each conrod and see if you can get them to move up or down, independant of the crankshaft's normal rotation. You'll have side play, that's ok, but there shouldn't be a hint of up and down movement. The CB750's have plain big ends and mains, and are pretty tough, I can't remember ever replacing the shells, to be honest.

If you decide to strip the engine completely to bead blast or otherwise paint-strip the cases, make sure you remove the shells and mark them so they go back in the same places, as that's where they've worn into your crank. Cheers, Terry.

[Davo]

Terry - Thanks for the advice. I'll do the top end and check the con rods as you suggest. Don't really want to dismantle completely. Fear I'll be off the road for too long. Likewise you're welcome if you venture this way. Will hopefully make a start this weekend. Let you know how I progress.
Regards Davo

[Terry in Australia]

Hi all
I am currently repairing / rebuilding a K2. I knew the forks were not original. Started dismantle to install new fork seals but noted the seal is retained by a wire spring clip not the normal washer/circlip arrangement. Does anyone know what model had this type of clip. The bottom section of the forks seems same as K2, the top section is chromed and does not have the normal fork boots. Appreciate any help.
Davo - Melbourne ,Australia

Hey Davo, I pulled the gaiter up on one of my K2 fork legs, and guess what was retaining the fork seal? That's right mate, a spring clip! Ha ha, I had a sneaking memory of this but as I built the forks a couple of years ago, my memory failed me. I'm not saying that you're assertion that they're not the correct forks for your bike is wrong, but K2 forks do use the spring clip to secure the seals mate, so they might be the right ones? Cheers, Terry.

[Davo]

Terry - Thanks for having a look. I had a K2 back in the 70's/80's and it definitely had a circlip. I have a K2 parts manual and service manual which both show circlips. That's what made me think the current forks might not be original, however as yours has the wire clips maybe K2's had either. Anyway it doesn't really matter. The forks seem straight and sound so I'll just replace whatever seals come out. Stripped the front down today and removed one fork, will dismantle this one Mon. night. (other committments tomorrow).
Also removed headlight as wrong one was fitted so had to undo all wiring. Always a bit of fun following wiring diagrams to refit.
Regards Davo

[Terry in Australia]

No worries mate, do you need a K2 headlight? I've got several OEM ones, and some NOS aftermarket US made copies? Cheers, Terry.

[Davo]

Thanks for the offer Terry. I've got a bucket and sealed beam unit, will see how everything fits. If any problems I may talk to you about an OEM unit.
Regards Davo