Z1OwnersClub GB

Well after putting this in the garage about 6 years ago soaked in spray oil and having moved twice, changed job and spent a year building a bike to race at Bonneville Speedweek.

It's now time to start on "Mishmash" as its now called.
It's a Italian import rather than US so European spec woohoo. Due to all the date codes being mismatched etc.. It has a 73 Z1 engine in a 1974 Z1A frame with early switch gear & what appears to be Z1 dash, but not sure about the clocks, a Z1000 swingarm, later model carbs to warrant a restoration.

All the wiring is brittle & not the best so I have got all new looms, switch gear, reg/rec & stator from Z-Power, as I don't need the drama of trying to sort out 43 year old wiring.
I have already stripped & ultrasonically cleaned the carbs & rebuilt them, checked the valve clearances & only one tight shim which was changed.
Done a compression test which showed a cylinder slightly down on spec, i suspect a gummed up set of rings, so put in some mystery oil to see if it will bring up the psi after a week or two soaking & turning the motor over.
I will be doing all the brakes etc to put it safely back on the road as it is. I'm not going to clean it up at all so it has all the patina you see in the following pics.
All the original parts that are coming off, are going to be saved & put up for sale to help others with their builds.

more pics

Great project ..if you decide to sell the euro document holder I would be interested

Hi saltflatracer

great pics!
Make her safe to ride again but please, please, please don't make it a cafe racer by taking off bits by a grinder or saw.
...and about the dust: it will come off when you ride her!
Good luck with your project!
Philippe

Phillippe, do not panic the only bit that is going to get the grinder treatment, will be the rear master cylinder bracket at some point.
No this will not be a cafe racer ever!!!
I have never followed the custom trend & I do not care for hipsters & the crap they wear or build, as I have to work on & repair a lot of their stuff
When I decide to change its style I think it might be a Croz Moriwaki style racer, as I remember watching him on that at Brands amongst all the faired bikes.
One of the first guys I ever watched on a Z1, was Nick Pearce, at Lydden Hill he was sponsored by a pub by the river in Canterbury called The Millers Arms. Always spectacular to watch coming down the hill & around the paddock bend, boy was that sketchy to see. Wonder if he is still around?
Chris unfortunately that part is not going to be for sale, but other parts will be, I will be looking for a UK spec speedo to change out the european kph one.
I will be trying to do a little build diary thing if anyone is interested.

Hi Saltflatracer

wow, no cafe racer, what a relief!
Keep those pictures coming.
I'm allways interested in how other people restore or rebuild their bike. Go for it!
Philippe

Still loving the paintwork. Glad you’re not going to do a full restoration, would lose some of the charm.

If you need any pointers for suppliers etc. Give us a shout, and Ray or Steve Debben @ Debben performance up a Ringwood extremely knowledgable chaps on these bikes.

Out of interest are you going to change her back to a rear drum brake ? Good luck with the project.

No paint is staying as is & not going to retrofit a drum brake, will probably fit a xjr 1300 arm later on when i finally decide what way I will go with the project
I will put the tank, tailpiece & panels to one side. I will use aftermarket panels tailpiece, my friends son will make an alloy fuel tank for it, as that what he does for a living, but first I will smoke it around as is

If your rear master cylinder is too far gone. I have a spare one you can have.

Thanks Adrian I will let you know as soon as i have checked it out, but I suspect it's not going to be serviceable.

Yey...glad your keeping 'as is'...I just can't keep bikes like they came out the factory. back then, we always fiddled and improved....so that's how I remember them.

Great project, gonna follow it very closely!

Funny ol'day today. I had a chat the other day, with a chap I know about my Z1. Well today he comes in to see me, with a bank of carbs in a carrier bag. Asks me if they would be useful to my project.
Well it looks like I now have what I think are US spec 28mm Z1000 carbs. Apart from being matt blacked & chrome carb tops & float bowls everything works fine.
I took the float bowls off & I must say I have never seen nylon main jets before, also the mixture screws appear to be blanked off so you cannot adjust them, other than the usual varnish all looks ok, I will strip & put them in my ultrasonic cleaner then reassemble & put in the goodies box h

Nylon jets aren’t uncommon, had a few sets and never had any problems.

You could ask here - run by the carb guru - Wired George

http://vintagebikeforum.freeforums.net/

Link to WiredGeorge website

https://www.wgcarbs.com/