Z1000 1977

[flateddie]

+2

[zed1015]

Keep on the modified route with the parts you have.
Bandit front, twinshock the Suzuki rear, matching wheels, the 29 smoothies on the 1075 motor, bin the points,fit dyna ignition and coils ,decent pipe, decent brakes, Renthal superbike bars, 2/4 seat and a subtle paint job.
I'd also throw in the usual frame bracing to make a real difference in the handling.
You will have a quick reliable Zed that handles right, stops right and worth at least 6 grand if done nice enough.

[Ultim8pc]

The Z1000 is so much better than the Z1 in lots of different ways, much better riding bike

+3

[surreyz90075]

Thanks for the relpy.

I guess the Z1000 is better because of the stronger frame and heavier crank? I have been told the rear brake was not so good. Why is the Z1000 better?

Pigford ... I know what you mean about the wheels, I would like to go for spoked later. I have a neighbour with a new ish triumph and the wheels on that look like they may be OK with a bit of work. Not sure I want to go down the standard original hubs with different rims though. I think the bandit forks look a bit like the Z but just fatter. I will take some pictures at the weekend if it stops raining.

Zed1015 .... I think you are spot on there.It's 1100 at the moment and I am not sure that is OK for a Z1000 (73mm pistons) I think this can cause problems with overheating???? Getting the paint right is one of the hardest things to get sorted on a modified bike I think. It can really turn out well or look like a load of S***. I like the smoothbores. The frame has been braced in places but I may put a few more in if it needs it (I have a picture somewhere).

The top cam chain roller idler in the middle of the head on the 77 Z1000a1 is the same as the other two idlers under the head. Strange! Why did they do that? Was it one year only? Is it worth going for the one piece design even though it's more expensive? Is it worth going for heavy duty stuff? I have not heard of any standard cam chain setup failing.

Also ... Some of the battery boxes have a bit on the side for the LH side cover grommet but some don't. Are the ones that don't for an ltd or something with a different frame?

Cheers

[zed1015]

Thanks for the reply.

Zed1015 .... I think you are spot on there.It's 1100 at the moment and I am not sure that is OK for a Z1000 (73mm pistons) I think this can cause problems with overheating???? Getting the paint right is one of the hardest things to get sorted on a modified bike I think. It can really turn out well or look like a load of S***. I like the smoothbores. The frame has been braced in places but I may put a few more in if it needs it (I have a picture somewhere).

The top cam chain roller idler in the middle of the head on the 77 Z1000a1 is the same as the other two idlers under the head. Strange! Why did they do that? Was it one year only? Is it worth going for the one piece design even though it's more expensive? Is it worth going for heavy duty stuff? I have not heard of any standard cam chain setup failing.

1105 kit only really causes issues under harsh conditions ( racing etc )
Liners are thin at that size and are prone to cracking at the spigot and microscopic movement when really hot results in premature ring wear.
Nothing to be too worried about on the road..
All the Z1 through to MK2 kickstart engines have the triple idler rollers and it's a very good set up.
Only issue with old idlers is the rubber in the centers degrading and detaching over time.
Solid Liska types resolve this and will last more or less forever.
With your engineering background you will easily convert the stock rollers to solid to save a bucket of cash if yours are on the way out..
The sprocket ring rarely wears and just presses off the centers which you can then replace with aluminium as I have done in the pic.

[King of Kings]

My A1 rear disc is easily better than my modern bike rear brakes, don’t see how a rear drum can be superior to a big disc with a twin piston caliper?

[chrisNI]

The drum doesn’t lock up when you’re hurtling towards an accident and your standard front brakes aren’t slowing you down fast enough...

[8 Valve Mark]

The drum doesn’t lock up when you’re hurtling towards an accident and your standard front brakes aren’t slowing you down fast enough...

i totally agree with that Chrisni. , the drum rear far out-perfomed the disc rear n allows a degree of "feel" whereas the disc is either, off or on with no tangible middle ground before it locks up n gets the bike sideways.speaking from experience of course!

[ADRIAN H]

The drum doesn’t lock up when you’re hurtling towards an accident and your standard front brakes aren’t slowing you down fast enough...

+ 1 more feel.

I changed the rear caliper on my z1000 to a brembo which is better than original, but no where near as good as the drum brake on my Z1B.

[chrisNI]

The other solution is to put brakes on the front that work better than it then it behaves

[surreyz90075]

Ahhhh the old brake debate. Some of the older drum brakes were amazing but some, like my old Moto Guzzi, are very scary.

Looks like you know what you are doing Zed1015. That's a great idea. I had thought about changing the needle rollers before but have never found a supplier. I guess the parts you have used from simple bearings have all been OK and within spec. Do you give them a reasonable interference fit? If you press in the bearing does it close up a bit? The top idler on the 77 Z1000 has a bolt with a ground collar so it is easy to change.

Thanks for the advice with the 73mm pistons. I tend to steer around corners these days so it's not going to be super stressed. Maybe in a straight line on the way home from the pub.

I have not seen that many gaskets for the Z1000 big bore kits (only later 80's Kawasaki's). Are the one piece better? Copper? Wiseco? Multi layer Steel? Anyone know if the gaskets are available for the 73mm pistons?

Thanks

[Philippe]

Hi
have a look here: https://z-fever.de/shop/de/product_info ... 35ccm.html
André understands English so go for it!
GrtZ
Philippe

[zed1015]

Use the Wiseco one piece.
They do fibre and MLS.
Nick at Suzuki performance or Debbens etc can get what you want and they are also on ebay.
The bearings from simply which have spaced rollers and cage have held up ok so far, done a few and they've been in my café 5 years and the Drouin 10.
In the stock motors some have spaced rollers and a cage and some have crowded rollers.
Don't know why, probably down to the supplier at the time.
The bearings are the last thing to fail anyway but Simply have recently started selling the crowded roller type with higher load rating so i'll be using those in the future.
https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/p1877 ... _info.html
If you get yourself a tensioner arm from a Z650 they use a bigger rubber wheel which will take an idler sprocket to complete the set .
The pivot centers are around 5mm closer but it makes no difference.
I have pics of that on page 7 of my z900 road racer project thread.

[surreyz90075]

Hi

That sounds great, thanks again for the help.

Everything was working out really well .. Fitted new head stock bearings and added the bandit front end, Re-machined the top yoke to take Z1000 clocks. Got the carbs rebuilt after repair to the jet-block and most of the bits I wanted have arrived. Cleaned all the engine parts and scraped all the gasket surfaces,installed some new seals, received an order from Z power with new cam chain o rings etc, removed a sheared off 8mm bolt from the crankcase and ran a tap down it (now missing an 8mm x 95 bolt now).

Then
eBay Crank arrived and looked really good.... It was missing its left hand needle bearing and outer race but I had those from my own low mileage crank. BUT then my luck ran out because it is a 15 tooth crank but from a Z1r or possibly a Z1000a2 (so I was told)??? So the bearing doesn't fit because the main bearing journal is 32mm and my old Z1000a1 is 30mm. The starter gear doesn't fit because it's for a 22mm bearing and this crank is 25mm. Rotor is also useless. Has a 12mm bolt in the end. Grrrrrr Boxxxcks.

I have never seen an outer crank bearing for sale with 32mm id needle bearings. Did they change the ID of the outer race from 40mm to 42mm or just use a smaller needle bearing? SKF do a 32 x 40 x 25 bearing I could use but going down that road could cause problems elsewhere.

Can all this be changed or is it to hard and I need another crank. Is the old style rotor with a bigger tapper hard to find?

Thanks

[zed1015]

All 15t cranks have the same bearings and taper through Z1 to Z1R D1.
You must have a 16t MK2/ST/Z1RD2 crank which has bigger crank pins and taper which means your alt etc won't fit and there is no such thing as a small rotor with a big taper.
It is possible to swap center pins from 15 to 16t or Hyvo but that's mostly done in drag racing and unlikely to be what you have.
Mk2 big pin crank is one of the strongest cranks and fairly sought after for performance engines so you should have no problem selling it on or swapping for an early crank.
Pretty sure an ad on here in the wanted section will turn a good one up quick enough.