1981 Kawasaki KZ750 Resurrection

[Nessism]

What kind of clear are you using there? Have you used it before?

Por15 Glisten PC clear. Yes, I've used it before. It's designed to go down on raw aluminum. They have this metal etch product called AP120 which preps the metal before you shoot the clear. Like most Por15 products it cures by absorbing water out of the air. It's thick and not the easiest stuff to spray, then it firms up really fast but takes days to properly cure. I shot some black on the footpeg brackets and the tape left marks in the clear (which was shot yesterday). Not too bad. I'll polish them after the paint properly firms up.

The paint that continues to amaze me if the Nason black urethane. This stuff is without a doubt the nicest stuff I've ever sprayed. It flows out almost like glass and doesn't like to run. Amazing. It's a value oriented product intended for "fleet" usage (what ever that means). At any rate, love that stuff. The Kawasaki gauges were gloss so it gave me another excuse to break out that stuff.

P1010558 by nessism, on Flickr

[Nessism]

Forks are finished. New seals and oil of course. Added Progressive springs (same part number as the GS1000). Also got the gauges (clocks for you UK guys) back together. After struggling with painting the round surrounds, lots of masking, came to learn the glass pops out easily and the inner and outer surround bezels separate. Live and learn. Last photo shows where I smashed the tripmeter reset. Was recrimping the band bezel/clamp and slipped.

P1010567 by nessism, on Flickr

P1010568 by nessism, on Flickr

P1010572 by nessism, on Flickr

P1010571 by nessism, on Flickr

P1010574 by nessism, on Flickr

P1010573 by nessism, on Flickr

[rustybronco]

And I thought I was anal.
Nice work there Ed!

[nvr2old]

Yeah, all those pieces look great, Ed. Amazing how nice the gauge faces are, the redline on the tach looks like it just left the show room.

[Nessism]

Yes, the gauge faces are in good shape. Only thing I did was repaint the orange on the indicator needles. Getting inside these particular gauges was a major pain though. Suzuki gauges are easier to deal with. The crimp bezel for example is cosmetic on these, but not so on the Suzuki gauges. The trip meter needs to be fished though the side of the housing, and there is a double layer thickness housing to boot. Glad these things are done.

[alke46]

Really nice looking work Ed. Must be nice to have a talent for these kinds of jobs.. Keep up the good work.
I continue to look forward to your progress.

[Nessism]

Talent? Not so sure about that. Just busting my a*s is all. And speaking of busting a*s...the steering head bearings kicked mine this afternoon. Getting the old bearing races out of the steering neck was a major pain because they don't stick out where you can get a drift or race remover on them. Wound up cutting a slot in them with a dremel and then using a chisel to crack them so they could be extracted. The upper was easy, but the lower is recessed into the neck so it was really hard to work in there. Got it eventually, but it took me a couple hours. Not fun.

Tried to install the new All Balls bearings but ran into trouble. For one thing the races pressed into place with only minimal force. Doesn't seem right but not sure. Put the lower bearing on the stem, and forgot the seal that was supposed to go down first. The stock bearings didn't have a seal like that so guess it's no big deal. The upper bearing sticks up quite tall so that seems wrong. Can't find my old bearing to compare though. Worst part is the lower triple is hitting the steering neck so know something is wrong for sure. Frustrating.

For the most part the Kawasaki parts fishe is really good, but they made a lot of changes on these bikes year over year and sometimes the fishe is wrong. For example, they show loose ball bearings but my bike had taper rollers. I'm pretty sure they are stock. At any rate, need to research this situation and figure out what's going on...

P1010582 by nessism, on Flickr

[Wester Cooley]

Your KZ750E came with those stupid loose balls and races!!! Someone must have installed some aftermarket tapered roller bearings at one time. I had both '80 and a '81 E model, and both had those little ball bearings that spread all across your shop's floor when you pull the lower tree!!! The Kawasaki microfishe is correct.

I always used the aftermarket roller bearings that K&L Supply sold over the years in my bikes. Never had a problem like you are having with your bearings ever in the ones from K&L!!!

[Nessism]

Your KZ750E came with those stupid loose balls and races!!! Someone must have installed some aftermarket tapered roller bearings at one time. I had both '80 and a '81 E model, and both had those little ball bearings that spread all across your shop's floor when you pull the lower tree!!! The Kawasaki microfishe is correct.

I always used the aftermarket roller bearings that K&L Supply sold over the years in my bikes. Never had a problem like you are having with your bearings ever in the ones from K&L!!!

Humm, okay then. Thanks for the info. That would explain a few things. The upper bearing top cap/shield piece is rounded shaped. Do I need to get the rectangular style from a GPz?

[Nessism]

Think this may be the wrong bearing?

P1010584 by nessism, on Flickr

[Wester Cooley]

That looks like the lower bearing to me. It has that tall boss on the inner race.

Didn't you say the lower tree hits the steering neck after you installed the new bearing and race??

That boss would push your lower tree away from your steering neck if it was installed on your lower tree!!!

Its been like 30 years since I worked on a KZ750E model, so I might be wrong.

[Nessism]

That looks like the lower bearing to me. It has that tall boss on the inner race.

Didn't you say the lower tree hits the steering neck after you installed the new bearing and race??

That boss would push your lower tree away from your steering neck if it was installed on your lower tree!!!

Its been like 30 years since I worked on a KZ750E model, so I might be wrong.

I do believe you're right WC! I sure made a mess of this one. Going to have to get another kit because the lower bearing is pressed onto the stem, and their ain't no way to get it off without destroying the bearing (with my existing tools that is).

[Nessism]

Been researching head bearings in an attempt to sort through this mess.

The later model bikes that came with taper roller bearings use a different upper bearing umbrella shield than the early loose ball head bearing bikes. Kawasaki's upper roller bearing part also has a rubber seal built in. The All Ball's kit comes with a shield/seal, but it won't do much good with the old umbrella part so I ordered the newer type this morning. I'm contemplating ordering the Kawasaki upper bearing too. After all this hassle, want this thing to seal properly.

[rustybronco]

Ed, I may be correct or I might be all wet, but to me, the picture you posted showing the upper bearing inserted in the neck looks like the bearing is riding higher than I consider to be correct. My gut tells me if the upper bearing/ race isn't an arm and a leg, spring for new ones.

[Nessism]

Ed, I may be correct or I might be all wet, but to me, the picture you posted showing the upper bearing inserted in the neck looks like the bearing is riding higher than I consider to be correct. My gut tells me if the upper bearing/ race isn't an arm and a leg, spring for new ones.

Hi Dale,

The fault was mine; the bearing shown in the photo (sticking up too high) belongs on the steering stem. I mixed up the upper and lower roller assembly. The proper bearing is lower profile than the bearing shown.

I just ordered the OEM Kawasaki upper bearing because it comes with a seal attached. Also getting the OEM upper umbrella shield/seal. The lower All Ball's bearing should be okay, after I install the lower seal of course.