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1981 Kawasaki KZ750 Resurrection

Nice work there Ed.Think my 82 GPz might be a bit rougher looking.Think they changed the 82 GPz to Mikuni's but I didn't really take a good look:oops:
 
Nessism said:
Got the chain. It's gold. Didn't know that. Oh well.
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I have a 530 chain on the shelf for the skunk which I'm due to fit in the near (ish) future. Can't remember the model but it's a decent one & not gold. Think it's an X & is definitely a DID, RK or something.

If the lengths match up we can swap if you like. Gold will look ok on the Skunk with the gold trim... and you're the "stock" guy not me :)

Let me know. I even think I know where it is in the garage... quite the achievement after the move last year!

:)

P.s. let me know when the engine is going back in... I will come help. Don't want you to scratch that new paint!!
 
Reworking the wheels this weekend. Decided to try Gun Kote since it's supposedly durable and chemical resistant. Main concern is removing all the old paint first since this material is designed to be applied to "white" metal.

Started by bead blasting the polished surfaces (band around the rim and the edge of the spokes) to remove corrosion. Next was polishing with a sisal wheel and heavy gray cutting compound. After that the polished sections were masked and the wheel went back into the blast cabinet for more blasting, this time to remove all the old paint. Tried using coal slag in the cabinet but the flow is too slow. Switched over the aluminum oxide and it's working better, but visibility in the cabinet is worse. Can't wait to finish these things.

Also going to try Gun Kote on the brake calipers. Will shoot them as soon as things warm up a little.:)
 
Gunkoated the calipers as well as the wheels.

Not too happy with the gloss level. To bright. Not bad enough to redo them though. Color is "Satin Black". Anyone see any satin in this coating? Oh well...

P1010523 by nessism, on Flickr

P1010524 by nessism, on Flickr
 
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Fantastic work Ed.

I should pick up a spray gun......... is the minijet the brand name?
 
Vmass said:
Fantastic work Ed.

I should pick up a spray gun......... is the minijet the brand name?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the props Rich. All those restorations you have been doing is inspiring me.:cool:

My "good" spray gun is a Sataminijet. https://www.sata.com/index.php?id=minijet&L=11#ad-image-0 Bought it a few years ago. It's a regular minijet, not sure what changes they made when it went to "3000 B" model. Prices on these has shot up quite a bit since I bought mine. No way I'd pay retail now a days. At any rate, having spray equipment is a "must have" in my opinion.
 
Awesome work on the rebuild. She will be sweet when she is done.
One thing I would have done is to clean up those welds a bit. At least get some of the high spots down. I know most of it will be covered with the tank and various parts, but I like a clean smooth weld. Just me I guess.
I'm going to start on mine in a few days getting her ready for the summer riding. I will get some pics up hopefully this weekend.
Again congrats on a sweet rebuild.
 
Bought some "All Ball's" wheel bearings and tried to install them yesterday evening. Note the word "tried", maybe should be "failed". Pounded in the first bearing no problems (or so I thought). Drove it all the way in until it seated on a machined shoulder in the wheel. Kawasaki wheels use a snap ring as a safety retainer, and when installing the second bearing realized the first was in too far (by about .100"). Tried to push it back using the only available way, pushing on the inner race, and wound up destroying the bearing big time by dimpling the races.:mad: My fault all the way.:o

So now need a new bearing. Just for kicks, took one of the old bearings, which similarly had the inner race pounded (only harder), and cleaned out all the blast media grit and old grease. Low and behold, it's silky smooth. :D KOYO bearing company makes some seriously good $hit. No comparison. Going to repack this thing and slam it in.:)
 
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Nessism said:
Thanks for the props Rich. All those restorations you have been doing is inspiring me.:cool:

My "good" spray gun is a Sataminijet. https://www.sata.com/index.php?id=minijet&L=11#ad-image-0 Bought it a few years ago. It's a regular minijet, not sure what changes they made when it went to "3000 B" model. Prices on these has shot up quite a bit since I bought mine. No way I'd pay retail now a days. At any rate, having spray equipment is a "must have" in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Looks like retail is around $400 + for a new one. I will keep my eye out for a deal. Thanks for the link it looks like a great sprayer.
 
Vmass said:
Looks like retail is around $400 + for a new one. I will keep my eye out for a deal. Thanks for the link it looks like a great sprayer.
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You can purchase a nice spray gun for about $100 off ebay. Lots of options if you get to that point.
 
Is that 4.1 cfm at 29 psi accurate? Thats not much compared to dome cheapies I have looked at.

Great looking work so far.
 
Was struggling to find a rear master that didn't have a pitted bore. Bought one off ebay that turned out to be junk. Found a decent looking one on ebay and sent a note asking the seller if they would be so kind as to open it up and look for corrosion. No response. Found another one and asked again. This time the seller came back with a personal note, and not only opened it up, he sent me some photos! Great service. In one of those small world moments the seller turned out to be our own Joe Whelan.:D Imagine that! Needless to say I bought it! Thanks again Joe!
 
Nessism said:
Was struggling to find a rear master that didn't have a pitted bore. Bought one off ebay that turned out to be junk. Found a decent looking one on ebay and sent a note asking the seller if they would be so kind as to open it up and look for corrosion. No response. Found another one and asked again. This time the seller came back with a personal note, and not only opened it up, he sent me some photos! Great service. In one of those small world moments the seller turned out to be our own Joe Whelan.:D Imagine that! Needless to say I bought it! Thanks again Joe!
Click to expand...

My pleasure Ed ;)
 
Keihin carbs are kicking my as$. Can't get the choke linkage to operate smoothly. These carbs use a butterfly valve type choke, and there is some friction in the linkage and the return spring is very weak. Found a little bit of glass bead grit on one of the choke rods so going to take the carbs back apart and see if that's it. I'm feeling like quite the carb rookie right now and not liking it. Mostly though, I'm cussing Keihin for using such a wimpy return spring. :(
 
Got the rear wheel Gun Koted. Turned out decently enough. Glad these things are done. Can't believe how much work they have been. Also painted the handlebars. Not sure I'm going to use them yet though. Bought some OEM Kawasaki handlebars, superbike bend, but they are really narrow. Strange. Painted these to hedge my bet.


P1010490 by nessism, on Flickr

P1010491 by nessism, on Flickr

P1010502 by nessism, on Flickr

P1010502 by nessism, on Flickr

P1010501 by nessism, on Flickr
 
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I have not heard anybody using Kal Gard Gun Kote in years!!!! Back in the 70's and 80's Gun Kote was only available in a grayish color. I used to do all my motors in Gun Kote. It looks like its available now in more colors by the nice black on your rim. That rim looks GREAT!!!!

Do you still have to heat the part up first before you spray it, and then have to bake it for like an hour??? Still smell horrible?? Did you get your Gun Kote right from Kal Gard?? Did you use a spray gun??

They used to have KG9600 coatings in all kinds of kool colors to do your rims in. My trademark back then was Gold rims on my bikes. I did a '80 KZ750E1 with gold engine cases, and gold wheels that matched the gold pin stripping on the fuel tank back in in the day.
 
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Instructions for the Gun Kote say to heat the part to 120F before spraying, but I only did it minimally. Don't think it's strictly necessary, rather it helps reduce runs. Once sprayed the GK drys to the touch quickly, then yes, you bake it to cure. 325F for an hour, but I ran it up a little hotter and longer since they say that increases hardness. I didn't think it stunk bad at all. Nothing compared to the smell of regular paint curing. KG Industries is the manufacturer, and they sell direct. The newer product is the 2400 series. Supposedly better than the original 2300 version, but how to know for sure? Yes, on the spray gun. Clean gun with acetone. I'd like to do the engine but that means, I think, removing all the old paint. I did that with the wheels, and it was a pain, but not sure I'd like to do that with the engine. Maybe. One interesting detail is that the Gun Kote needs heat to cure. The tiniest little touch with an acetone wettened rag can remove the dry to touch stuff. Easy clean up if you get some tape bleed though or overspray, but be careful handling the parts before curing.
 
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