Restoration of a Z1000A2

[moizeau]

Hi r3sc

I think I found something more complicated, in Germany, guess what ?
As soon as it's at my place I'll let you all know...it's a Kawasaki, that's certain!
Let's wait and see how the negotiations are going.
GrtZ
Philippe

Quad, Mule, Jetski, robot or a boat

[Philippe]

Hi Pete

nope, same player shoots again !
GrtZ
Philippe

[Philippe]

Hi men

it's been a few days since you heard of me.
I've been busy with a lot of things: negotiations, doing some repairs in the house,etc...
Now I have news for you:
the next project will be the restoration of a Z1000H, yes an injection model.
Finally, after 12 years of surching, I was able to buy one in Germany, in the vincinity of Berlin.
I'll go there in the weekend of the 20 th and the 21 fst of may.
It'll be a two day trip because it's 830 Km from where I live to Berlin and coming back the same day would be very unwise.
It's a bike with a lot of work and with a lot of spare parts but those bikes I like the best!
I received a lot of pictures of the bike and of the spare parts but I can't put show them here.
As soon as the bike is at my place you'll get some pictures, promised.
I know that there's a certain person here on the forum that has 11 of them, no wonder they're hard to find
The next instalment is an update of the progress I've made in between all the other things I did.
GrtZ
Philippe

[Philippe]

Gentlemen

the next update:
I started cleaning up the alloy engine covers :

The alternartor cover showed signs of a fall, deep scratches...
After grinding with sandpaper 120, 180, 240, 400 this was the result:

No more scratches...
And this is how it looks after polishing:

So you see that a lot is possible with the correct tools and with patience.

The other covers are treated the same way with more or less the same results.
They wait to be covered with a coat of the special varnish.

I also spent a lot of time on cleaning the cylinder head.
After about 2 days the results were good enough for me so I started to assemble it.
The valves were all lapped and then the assembly commenced.
Just an advice for people who do this for the first time:
don't forget to put the spring dishes in the head BEFORE you put the valve stem guide caps on!
If you don't do it that way, you can't put the spring dishes in after the guide caps are in place and you'll have to remove the caps and thereby causing damage.

When I put the valves in the guides, I always use a bit of special grease on the valve stems.

After all the valves are installed in the cylinder head it's time to shim them up.
Keep in mind that when lapping the valves, you can have a difference in the thickness of the valves and that you have to adjust the shims to get the correct amount of play.
When doing that with the head off the engine, always install one camshaft at the time, never the two at the same time.
If the two camshafts are installed at the same time, there's a big chance that an exhaust and an intake valve can be opened at the same time and that they damage each other because there's no timing between the two camshafts.

After all the adjusting the cylinder head was prepared for instalment.
The exhaust studs were mounted and the intake rubbers were also mounted.

It's easier to do it at this stage, you have all the room you need to secure them tightly.
The other camchain parts were installed, the gaskets put in place and the head was mounted.

The timing was set and this is the result of a days work.

More to come next time
GrtZ
Philippe

[Gray17]

Hi Phillippe thats good stuff, may i ask did you do the alloy rubbing by hand or in a drill etc? Reason i ask i need to do the same as mine are scratched too, i bought a pack of wet and dry in multiple grades but seems to hardly touch it, hence query, if i can get them anywhere like yours ill be chuffed.
After seeing your wheel resto and looking at mine, decided to have a go at that too as they were a bit rough, never done a wheel lace up before but hoping it will go like yours, it certainly came apart easy, the rear rims been replaced at some point as no markings and chromes good, fronts a takasago, but bit rusty in places, spokes and hubs have been sprayed silver, not that well either!

[Philippe]

Hi Gray17

the sanding is done with a circular (exentric) sanding machine. There's a picture of it at the start of the topic.
It takes time and effort but at the end it's worth the while. Start with the coarse sanding discs and end with the fine.
The "secret" is that you always keep moving with the machine, little bits at a time, don't hold it still at one place. Even a movement of 1 cm is good to remove the deep scratches. It's a matter of experience and practice.
Good luck!
GrtZ
Philippe

[Gray17]

Thanks Phillippe, I have a random orbit sander, but mines air driven, will get some stick on circular coarse and fine discs and give it a go, i bought it, then never used it, guess experience of how long and how hard to press comes the more you use it. I also have some flap wheels and an angle grinder, or is this too abrasive?
If i can get it half as good as yours then ill be happy.
Keep up the posts, enjoy reading them

[Philippe]

Hey Grey

don't use an angle grinder, it rotates much too fast, you'll destroy the covers, alloy is soft!
GrtZ
Philippe

[Gray17]

Thanks Phillippe, thats noted, wont use the angle grinder.

[Philippe]

Hi men

the update:
Yesterday morning I assembled the carbs, after the assembly the stationary synchronisation was performed, the float level hight adjusted and they are ready to be mounted .

Even the plastic caps over the needles are in place! Most of the time these are gone but they were still present when I bought the bike.

In the afternoon the engine covers received the last treatment before the clear coat was applied.
I have to wait to mount the carburettors until the engine covers are baked to harden the alloy varnish.

Today I started with the seat.
A new seat cover and strap were installed

The hinges, the lock loop and the dampers found their place and the seat was mounted on the frame.

After that I mounted the exhaust.
It's not a new one and it has some scratches but it's an original!

As you can see I got some help of Thorben, my partner in crime, he kept the blanket warm that I had spred on the ground in order to prevent the silencers get more scratches...

There are still a few things to do but the restoration gets towards it end.
If the weather permits, if there's not to much rain, I'll start removing the old paint from the bodywork.
Perhaps more good or bad news tomorrow...
GrtZ
Philippe

[Z1streetfighter71]

Philippe you are a restoration demon..you put the rest of us to shame. The work is amazing and so is Thorben.

[Bill P]

Top job Philippe and Thorben

[paul doran]

Looks brilliant

[Philippe]

Hi men

Thanks for the replies men!
A little update:

This morning the clutch plates were removed from the basket and cleaned. They received an oil film and the clutch was assembled again.
If you have an engine that stood for several years, it's normal that the clutch plates stick together. So before starting the engine again, dismantle the clutch. If you don't want to do that you have to wait for the engine oil to become warm and then you can gently start to apply the clutch lever. In most cases the plates will become free if you have the patience to wait.

After a bit of fiddling with the clutch, I started the stripping of the fuel tank.
Remember the scratches on the alternator cover? I was afraid that the fuel tank would be damaged.
After a bit of sanding this is what I found:

No filler or damage on the left hand side...

and no filler or damage on the right hand side!
Yes lucky me!

There were no signs of damage, only a lime green and a white overspray and underneath the original color with even the striping stil present.
It's the first time that I don't have to fill dents or scratches on a +40 years old fuel tank.
The inside has no traces of rust and looks like new.

The stripping continued .
The sides of the fuel tank where the upper and lower shell are welded together, the fuel filler hole and the places where the tank badges are attached were cleaned with the "magical" nylon rotating brush.

An easy and fast job.

This afternoon, by 5 PM the upper surface of the fuel tank was completely stripped.

Perhaps I'll strip the underside of the fuel tank tomorrow, we'll see.
That's all for today folks!
GrtZ
Philippe

[r3sc]

Hi Philippe,

That tank looks great and you’ve been very lucky!

Are you putting it back to standard colour scheme?

Cheers

Pete.