Z650 Special Revisited

[LeeJackson]

Ok guys back after a long break building my new garage.. so time to get back to the bikes.. So I built this Z650B special back in the Mid 90s and as times were a little tight it was done on a fairly tight budget.. originally it has a 650 engine in it which I had totally rebuilt but then I happened upon a Turbo complete and decided to fit that.. now I am not sure where this project will go it’s going to be done with a reasonable budget unlike my J. (Sorry Dave) but what I do know for sure is the Turbo motor is coming out.. so here goes.

[LeeJackson]

Lots of Turbo parts removed but decided nowadays I need an extra set of hands to remove the engine.. never used to be a problem but certainly struggled tonight! So will need to sell this Turbo stuff to fund some of the rebuild..

[j.b]

are you returning back to normally aspirated after using it with a turbo engine?

[Charlie]

Oooh turbo - I have often thought of going the turbo route on my 650 Then I come to my senses when I think about how much it might cost

[ZedHead]

Nice one Lee..

Just remember .. one mans reasonable budget is another's runaway

How a re the J's front brakes now?

[LeeJackson]

Nice one Lee..

Just remember .. one mans reasonable budget is another's runaway

How a re the J's front brakes now?

It stops like it’s a superbike Dave! Spot on!

[KWACKERZ1]

Mmm interesting always fancied a turbo on my 650

[LeeJackson]

So bike is totally stripped and I sold the Engine and all Turbo parts.. Sorry Guys I missed a few messages from you but it had gone pretty fast! Wish I had ten I could have sold em all... Now the issue is that I had a nice Z650 B Engine that I had rebuild a long time back and it was put in storage with my ex brother in law.. Now it seems to have gone missing along with two ATC 250Rs!!! Not imprssed but there you go, never leave anything out of your sight for a decade! lol. So im looking for an engine. As the bike is not standard I am ok to use a GPz or a ZR7 or something but would prefer a Z650B Engine. Anone got anything they would like to get some cash for?

[LeeJackson]

Been a bit distracted lately from this due to various side projects but I did make a bit of progress as the weekend.. Went for a visit to the local breakers for some other spare parts for another project and asked if he had any complete engines around. Luck would have it he had a complete 750E motor which looks to be a good starting place.. No broken fins etc and price was bang on at 150 quid which worked for me.. Happy Days. On the bench now so hopefully get into it this week!

[LeeJackson]

Finally got time to have the motor totally stripped and for what I paid I’m very happy. No broken pieces, everything looks in exceptional shape so far and only one broken bolt which was easily sorted with a little heat.. Crankcases away to go through the unltrasonic cleaner at work and see how they come up.. Plan will be to rebuild with new bearings etc of course and Chains etc. Not sure if I need to touch the crank or not yet? Top end to go out to 810 and some mild head work perhaps.. anyway I’ll focus on the bottom for now and see where we go!

[LeeJackson]

I decided to try a local vapor blaster for the engine casings, so got an update from them today. Look fairly good. Will put everything through the ultrasonic cleaner at work once I pick them up and should be ready for Paint. I’m planning an Aluminum finish. Anyone got good experience with any specific aluminum engine paints?

[LeeJackson]

Well finally made some further progress and got round to getting these casings ready.. After vapour blasting the guy covered them in ATF50 to prevent corrosion so I gave them a blast through out parts washer at work. Just like a big dishwasher.. followed by a few coats of aluminum Ht paint. Quiet happy with the results..

[LeeJackson]

After some paint

[LeeJackson]

Well 4 years later… I pulled the 650 out from under the workbench and started to reassemble it. I’d saved some ZRX parts to upgrade the running gear from the 90s Yamaha crap. Quite happy with the look.

I’ve been quietly doing a few bits and bobs in the background but very slowly as few other projects on the go. So have a z750 engine rebuild and gathering dust ready to slot in. Maybe do that tomorrow if I can find a helper. I wouldn’t try and put it in on my own nowadays bound to pull something!

Got the swingarm properly fitted today using same method as on my 1000, finally some progress.

Rule of this build is - apart from consumables like bearings I must build it from items in my garage!

[dixiethedog]

That is a nice looking project. I have a soft spot for z650's as I have had a couple myself over the years. And now I have a bare frame for one. But it will be a while before I can touch it.