Restoration of a Z1000A2

[Philippe]

Hi men I'm back as promised.

the disassembly of the engine went quite good.
The chain sprocket cover was very hard to remove: the gear selector axle was corroded in it so it took me about one hour to get it off.
No damage done but a lot of fiddling and WD40 spray to get it free.
All the other covers came off easy and then it was time to split the cranckshaft case.

The small bolts came out without any problem but the larger bolts around the cranckshaft took more effort...and one of them broke off.

Let's hope I can get the remaining part out without causing damage to the upper cranckcase half. Time and patience will have to do the job.
The inside of the engine is very clean, the cranckshaft looks like new!

All these signs can only confirm that the engine didn't ran for more then 10.000 Km.
So just one problem to solve and then it's time for cleaning, cleaning, cleaning all the engine parts.
The engine didn't run after it was painted black so I hope the paint will come off very easy.
Cross your fingers!
More to come within a few days.
GrtZ
Philippe

[Bill P]

Thorben looks suitably impressed with your progress

[Ultim8pc]

I admire your determination Philippe!
I will look forward to your updates.

[Philippe]

Hey guys

some more news about the progress:

This morning I decided to tackle a few situations on the engine.
The sheered off bolt in the upper cranckase was removed by drilling it out and by replacing the damaged thread by an M8 helicoil.

the repaired thread

Then there was the oil drain bolt in the sump that I couldn't get out...it must have caused problems in the past because I couldn't fit a 17 mm socket wrench on it, there was too much damage.
Just remember that the advised torcque for the drain bolt is 3 Kg/m...
So I had to start thinking ...that hurts
Plan A: reduce the diameter of the bolt so that I could use a 16mm socket on it...of no avail, it remained where it was.
Plan B: heat: I heated the bolt and tried to get it out by using the same 16 mm socket... no succes
Plan C: drilling a 13 mm hole in the bolt, thereby destroying it but it was lost anyway, screwing an extractor in it and use a tube as a lever:
Succes!

the oil drain bolt after removal

The rest of the day was used to clean some more frame parts in order to prepare them for painting.
The box with the prepared parts is getting filled up.

When the temperatures are rising the paintwork can begin.
Perhaps next week.
GrtZ
Philippe

[GPZ592]

Great work as always, Philippe

[Philippe]

Hello men

an update of the past week:

A lot of frame parts are cleaned, only two parts to go and the paintwork can begin.
The parts which need a matt black coat are painted

the painted brake parts

I've started with the cleaning of the engine...the lower cranckcase was done first:

before

as you can see I'm using a masons tub to clean the lower cranckcase with cellulose thinner.
The black paint came off rather easy thereby showing the heavily oxidized alloy.

After a few hours of using the nylon brushes on the drill, this was the result:

The upper cranckcase is also cleaned but that took me a bit more time.

Yesterday I received the news that the chrome parts were ready.
I gave them to the chromer on the 31 st of january together with a bunch of bolts and other parts to be re-galvanised.
So it was time to start sorting them out.
Now it's time to start ordering the missing parts.
A lot of them will be needed in order to get the bike ready for the road.
That's for another episode.
GrtZ
Philippe

[r3sc]

Hi Philippe,

That lower crankcase half looks stunning and I need to know which brushes you use to get that finish.

Any chance you could send me a link so that I can order some?

Cheers

Pete.

[Kev1R]

Yes that finish looks great although I suppose with the cases loose it makes accessing the nooks and crannies easier!
I have used scotchpads for this job with a bit of ally cleaner but it is time consuming and for me not great results.
I am interested in this one as I have an A2 that could do with a clean up.

I too have a broken bolt - mine is one of the smaller ones that secures the sprocket cover.
Up to now I have not figured a way to remove it.
Excellent work by the way

[Philippe]

Hi Pete, hi Kev

thanks for the compliments!
As you can see at the beginning of this topic I use a lot of different brushes.
I buy them at a local hardware store and I can give you the name of the manufacturor of the red nylon brushes: it's ROTEC, a dutch company.
I have no link for that manufacturor, perhaps you can "google" it.
The metal brushes were bought at another store and are of different shapes. They have thick or thin metal wires and have a diameter of 8 mm. The thick wires are stiffer and are good to remove paint. The thin wires are good to remove oxidation.
Keep in mind that it takes several hours to clean a cranckcase half. The barrels and cylinderhead take almost a day to clean them!
For the final touch I use some sort of rubber brushes made by 3M. They come in three colours yellow, white and brown, depending on what kind of finish you want. I start with the white one and proceed with the brown. They cost 32 Euro a piece, so they're not cheap!
I hope you can find them in the UK because some people in the EU don't ship to the UK (customs forms etc).
And yes, it's a lot easier to clean them when they're apart, it's feasable to clean them when the engine is in one piece but almost impossible when the engine is in the frame.
Good luck to both of you!
GrtZ
Philippe

[Philippe]

Hello men

an update of the little progress I've made this weekend.
The upper cranckcase is almost clean and the studs are almost ready to be painted, just a little more rust to remove.

The alloy frame parts (forks,hubs) were degreased and received a clear coat. Within a few days the clear coat can be baked in the oven and when the spokes and nipples arrive, I'll be able to assemble the wheels.

the alloy frame parts

This morning I was able to remove the rusty exhaust studs from the cylinderhead. I had to use heat on only two of them, the rest came out with two nuts and a lot of patience.
I could also hone the barrels. They come out rather good, there are small traces of the rust visible but I can't feel them...let's hope it works out good when the engine is running.

This afternoon the valves were cleaned. They were all greasy with a lot of hard to remove dirt but I managed to get them clean.

the cleaned valves

I also made several orders for missing parts: electricity, tyres, piston rings and a lot of other badly needed parts to start the assembly of the bike.
If the weather is fine next week I'll be spraying some more frame parts and then the assembly can begin!
Perhaps I'll finish the restoration in 6 weeks who knows...
That's all for today! See you next week.
GrtZ
Philippe

[Philippe]

Gentlemen

the frame parts are painted! The assembly can begin !

This morning I managed to get the rest of the frame parts clean: the battery box, the electrics plate and the front footrest hangers.
All the parts got electric wires or welding rods in order to hang them to dry. They were all degreased using aceton and the lower headstock was taped off, the swingarm needle bearings were protected with paper.
After they dried I started the painting.
It took me about 1,5 hour to paint them and I used as much paint on the frame parts as I used on the frame itself.
Tomorrow they'll be dry and the assembly can start.

The cases of the handlebar switches received the white and yellow lettering and those are also ready to be assembled.

I received news about the orders I made (parts, tyres, electrics) and all these parts will be delivered this week.
There's still a lot of engine parts that need cleaning but if the weather is good ( read dry) those won't take long .

Perhaps more news tomorrow.
GrtZ
Philippe

[moizeau]

Philippe, you are a freak, in the nicest possible way, do you sleep?

[Philippe]

Hi Pete
thanks for the compliment!
Yes, I sleep 6 hours every night and I take a little nap at noon.
It's all a matter of timing and I'm at home every day, I don't have to go to work anymore (since january 2021).
The restoration of a bike is like climbing a mountain, you have to take small steps at a time, you have to know the way up and the difficulties you can expect. If you do it calm and have patience, you reach the top.
I've restored about 40 bikes the past 12 years (most of them were my own bikes) and I think I can say that I have experience in doing that.
I just can't sit down and do nothing, I want to keep moving in order to stay fit and slim...
Just a little patience for a few more weeks and you'll see the results of how I spent my spare time.
GrtZ
Philippe

[660smc]

Hello Philippe
It's amazing what a pace you're setting again...
Have fun, I'll keep at it
Greetings from switzerland
Hans Peter

[Gray17]

WOW! And i thought i had a job on with mine, that looks an awful lot of work, however sure if done in stages, no jobs too big and you've already made an impressive start.
Be interested seeing the finished project.
Keep the photos coming