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1981 KZ1000 J-to-K build 25 Oct 2016 18:00 #746218

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I think what SWEST (please correct me if I am wrong) is referring to is that just because you have what looks like a good seat area on the valves AND head ..... it's not necessarily a good thing. If the seat area is too wide OR too narrow the valve will not seat properly. I do not have the manual in front of me right now but the correct seating area is described in there. If I remember correctly (which is usually NOT the case), There are 2 angles used when CUTTING the valves. Being as how you lapped them, as I did, there probably will not be an issue as you are not removing allot of material. The only thing I recommend is checking the valve clearance AFTER the bearings and cam are in place and torqued. OK now my project questions lol ... Sandblasted my engine crankcase halves, oil pan, outside of cylinder fin area and my fingers lol. Not sure why but the gun kept clogging, hasn't before and used a new bag of medium grit garnet like before. Going to try some glass beads later because I'm not happy with the results for painting. I also got thinking about our previous conversation about NOT baking in my smoker (Good advice about the oils from the meat in the paint) .... the wife is not going to let me do it in the oven SOOOO after a couple of cold ones I thought OK, wrap it in a couple layers of foil OR a roasting bag and then put it in the smoker to bake the paint. I'm not sure if baking the paint is worth it so I am taking your word that it is worth while and worth the time. If you need specs on the valves, please let me know. I want to thank you for all the info and advice you are putting on here. You are saving me and some others allot of money and headaches. Be well, stay warm and be safe.

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1981 KZ1000 J-to-K build 25 Oct 2016 19:35 #746222

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My thoughts on the matter are that if there had been noticeable wear on the valve seats, the lapping process would have shown an uneven ridge, pock marks in the seat area itself, or something else. Instead what I have is a lapping job that took literally only 2-3 minutes per valve (and a lot of that was fighting with the tool not sticking well to the valve heads) and left a very clean, even surface on all the parts. That's why I mentioned again that I really feel someone has done a recent overhaul on this engine, because the parts I've been working on show signs of new seals and very minimal wear.

I haven't tried using garnet media before, what I have here is regular white quartz sand, I'd guess around 150 grit? The stuff is dirt cheap, it costs me $7 per 100# bag at Home Depot, and has been working well on all the aluminum parts. What I do need to find is something more aggressive that still works in a small gun, which I can use to tackle the chrome pieces, however I may give up on that and pay a local guy to do it for me. The sand has left a nice satin finish on my aluminum pieces though, which the paint seems to take to. And there is a noticeable difference in the feel of the paint after baking. It may be doing nothing more than adding a year's worth of drying time to the paint, but only time will tell if the paint is actually going to stick well after all this work. I've prepped the surfaces as best I can, but I do understand it's still a rattle-can job. On the other hand, 20 years ago I rebuilt a car engine, and when I got the block back from the engine shop (after they cleaned it), I sprayed it with flat-black paint without even cleaning off my fingerprints. That paint job lasted through 15 years, 200k miles, 2 different cars, and countless oil leaks... so I have *some* hope here.

If you still go with the smoker, I might suggest packing stuff around it as a sort of insulation. They're usually so thin that a gust of wind can drop your temps, and you want to hold the temperatures as solid as possible. Also make sure you have a little space around the parts, and they're not touching the walls at all. I don't know if I would trust foil to not leak, plus I don't think you want it touching the soft paint. Maybe you could form the foil to create a 'cave' within the smoker to set the parts inside though? Failing everything else, carefully reassemble the motor, then use the running heat to cure the paint -- For example, the VHT exhaust paint recommends running for 10 minutes, let it cool down, run for 20 minutes, cool down, then run for 30 minutes to finish curing the paint.

For anyone else following along, running the oven cleaner for at least an hour does remove the paint fumes. One weekend I baked some parts on Saturday, ran the over cleaner, then my wife made cookies the next day... not a hint of paint fumes in the cookies and no further smells of paint when using the oven.

Speaking of which, I only have two more pieces left to paint and bake -- the right-hand side covers. And after doing some reading today, it turns out I *need* to finish those pieces because the smaller piece has the timing marks I need to position the crank before I can set the timing chain. Ah well, at least now I know I can go ahead and set the head on the engine so the top end is sealed up.
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1981 KZ1000 J-to-K build 18 Mar 2017 20:20 #757078

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Wow, bumped to page 6 over the Winter break. I guess some people have heated workspaces and don't have to take breaks. :)

So it finally warmed up enough to start painting again. I took off today with the ignition housing and the cover plate that has the oil level glass in it, got both sandblasted and painted. Needed to order a new seal for the ignition housing which should be here sometime this week, so with any luck I'll get those pieces assembled on the bike next weekend. When I left it last Fall, I needed the timing marks on he ignition to set the position of the timing chain -- the head has been sitting patiently in the garage all Winter, I just wanted to make sure the pistons were lined up with the timing marks properly before I put the head on. Nothing worse than trying to start an engine with the ignition 180 degrees out!

So I'll have to look over everything, but I think today's work finishes up cleaning and painting of all the major engine pieces. Other than the oil cap and a case bolt, I don't think there's anything else left? Of course now that I've said that, I'm sure I'll find something else. :)

When I built the bumper for my truck, I found a guy here in town that does heavy-duty sandblasting pretty cheap. I think one of these days I'll collect the pipes, fenders, and chain guard (all the chrome bits) to have him clean up and knock down the chrome so I can lay down a coat of paint on them. On the fenders I'll be coating with the burnt copper color. I'm thinking I will top it off with a few layers of clearcoat, and after that has dried for a week or two I want to experiment with some scales. I'd like to use a light coat of the headlight tinting paint so that the copper color still shows through it, and I think by doing it on top of the clearcoat the scales will sort of 'float'. Plus if I really screw it up, I can sand off the tint and the clear will protect the paint job. If the tinting doesn't work, I'll just stick with using black. Hmm maybe I should also try a sample with the cast iron color, could be an interesting combination.

Anyway, lots still left to do, but I'm trying to recover after a month of being sick... flu and bronchitis which turned to double pneumonia and laryngitis. Yeah that was fun. Luckily I'm starting to feel somewhat decent again, but being on my feet all afternoon really took a toll.
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She's a beautiful mess, and I've made her all mine

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1981 KZ1000 J-to-K build 18 Mar 2017 21:55 #757087

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Take it easy. Don't try to dob too much and get a relapse.
Steve

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1981 KZ1000 J-to-K build 21 Mar 2017 12:15 #757321

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Oh I've been taking it easy for too long. Trying to go out for walks at lunch again, get my body moving again. Ugh.

Anyway, been fighting with some small screws on the ignition and generator. Some little 5x12's that just would not budge. I have one of those tools where you hit the head with a hammer and it spins the screw loose... stripped out half the screws, had to use a dremmel to cut a slot across them and try again. Last night I finally got the rest of them loose, so I'll stop and pick up some stainless replacements tonight. Slapping the generator on the engine should be easy. And I got a shipping notice yesterday for the new seal for the ignition, that should be here Thursday, so I can put that back together this weekend as well, and then start figuring out the head and timing chain. Hopefully soon I'll have the engine all buttoned up and I can leave to tarp off of it.

I am NOT looking forward to the wiring harness....
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1981 KZ1000 J-to-K build 22 Mar 2017 09:28 #757399

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Glad your back and your weather is improving. I have missed you and your updates. Keep them coming and stay warm, be well, jon
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1981 KZ1000 J-to-K build 22 Mar 2017 19:34 #757434

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Aw thanks! Glad I'm not the only one reading all this. :) As you can probably tell, I like to think things out, then over-think them into the ground, through the core, and out the other side into China. I've also been planning out a train layout the last couple years, trying to think out every possibility before I ever lay a single piece of track. Ah well, it's just my nature, and when I don't have time to work on the bike, I think about what else I could do.

I checked out google and found some new images of folks that had painted their tank in VHT burnt copper, which inspired me to try re-touching a test piece again. Sanded it, added a couple fresh coats, then some clearcoat. Man, if the tank turns out looking that good I'm going to be really happy. Laid up against the cast-iron color, oh yeah, I can live with that look. I actually pulled out the tank, I need to start cleaning it up, and I have some putty to finish filling in around the logo screw holes. Get it all nice and smooth, then put down some primer and start working on the first coats of the copper. The stuff doesn't go on perfectly smooth, I seemed to have trouble getting dry-spray spots last year. Could have been too hot, or maybe just the paint, but if I get started putting down the color now, I'll have time to sand and re-spray areas before I actually need the tank. This is one of those paints where you have to wait 7 days between coats, and I'd like to try and get it done while it is still cool outside.

Unfortunately it's cooling down too much. Supposed to be back in the lower 60's this weekend with a high chance of daily rains. Not a good combination for trying to paint anything. But as long as it's not raining, I can get the ignition and generator covers wrapped up, and maybe drop the head in place...

Which brings up more questions (of course). OK so I need to pick up some assembly lube for the top end. And once all the side covers are sealed, I'll be filling the motor with oil. As soon as the cams are in place and I have the top capped off, I believe I should be able to crank the motor with the starter and begin working the oil through the passages. So here's the thing... Should I use assembly lube on the starter gears before I cap off the generator, or will cranking the engine with the starter be enough to get oil onto those pieces? As a side note, does the generator cap area fill up with oil? It will still be some time before the engine will actually get started, I have to clean up the wiring harness and get it fished through the frame, among other things, but I want to get as much of the internal surfaces coated in oil as soon as I can.
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1981 KZ1000 J-to-K build 23 Mar 2017 06:41 #757457

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Morning, The forks on your 1981 J look identical to mine. Why do you say they are not original. The chrome front fender looks odd as mine is original, plastic and a bit longer. I may PM you after I do some checking and if you don't mind as I am starting issues after my rebuild. Looking good so far and it sounds like you're find all you need on the net. Keep the info coming. jon
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1981 KZ1000 J-to-K build 26 Mar 2017 19:52 #757777

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Every image I've found, everything in the manuals, they always show for the J model a front fork with the axle on the very end. I believe the CSR is the same way, but I haven't paid as much attention to those. It's only the LTD that I always see with the axle offset on the front side of the forks. This placement is important because there is a different in the angle of the neck between models to adjust for the placement of the axle. I did a lot of reading into this at one point, and it came down to the difference being small enough that it probably won't matter, but I think the direction of the difference in angle could result in less stability at high speed... exactly the sort of thing you don't want! But I'll ride it as-is and see what happens, and maybe I'll never notice the difference.

So I didn't get any answers to my questions and decided that because of the gaskets sealing up the generator housing, it likely does fill up with oil. I wiped some oil around the intermediary starter gear and dipped its pin in the oil to make sure there was something on it already when I hit the starter, then buttoned it all up. That was a bit of a mess. I dropped bolts in the holes until I thought I had the right set.. but no, the one on the bottom wouldn't seat, it was stripped out. Assuming the PO had an oil leak there and kept tightening the bolt. Fortunately it turns out that spot can take a bolt 10mm longer, so that was an easy fix. What I can't figure out is that I keep running into spots where I don't have the proper length of bolt for a particular spot. Had to run up to Ace again and get a 35mm #6 socket cap bolt because all I had were 30's and 40's. Now I could see one PO putting in the wrong bits, but I have two nearly complete engines that I've been pulling parts from, and not a single 35mm bolt in the pile. But that's why I like Ace, they have one of the best selections of bolts in town, and usually have what I need in stainless steel.

I also got the ignition housing bolted up, and have the center mechanism in place that has the timing marks. No problems there, and I confirmed that while holding up the timing chain I can crank the motor smoothly by hand. Checked the manual for any other info, then thought I was ready to finally drop the head in place. WRONG! The damn gasket kit doesn't have the four O-rings that go between the cylinders and head. I found two of them from pulling the engine apart, one was mangled. Yeah I don't trust re-using them, but the the drama started. OMG partzilla is the cheapest place I can find, and it cost $38 to ship four of them to me. I really hope I don't have any OTHER high-priced pieces that the gasket maker doesn't include. Anyway, parts are ordered, maybe I can get the head put on next weekend.

I also have the big cover with the oil level window painted it, it could go on now, but I wanted to try painting a row of small scales around the L-shaped ridge. But to do that, I need to figure out how to use latex based paints in the air brush. So for now it sits in the garage. Once I get this finished, and get the head and cams buttoned down, the engine will finally be sealed and I can dump in some oil.
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1981 KZ1000 J-to-K build 30 Mar 2017 19:31 #758183

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Well... bummer. Got in the new O-rings today, they don't look anything like the pieces I had, so I have no clue what happened to the original parts from when I tore down the engine. No loss, I slipped on the new ones, got the head torqued down and went through the procedure to get the timing chain aligned on the cams. I even remembered to pick up the assembly lube on the way home.

And that's when things went bad. Torquing down the cam caps, and three of the bolts stripped out. Well, two of them offered no resistance, I think they were already stripped, but the last one probably had some sand in the hole and gummed up the bolt. So this means that when I'm able, I need to pull the cams and head back off again and try to fix the threads. Fortunately it's only one bolt in each of three of the caps. Is helicoil an appropriate solution for this, or is there something better to fix threads in an aluminum head? I've never used the stuff before, but it seems like it is the go-to solution most people recommend. Hopefully someone can weigh in on this?

I went ahead and threw the cover over the head, and wrapped up the motor again. We have a big rain and snow storm moving in tomorrow, it'll probably be at least another week before I can get to it again. Needless to say, I'm really bummed about this setback. Everything has been going pretty smoothly, and I was happy to get the cam arrows to line up and have the right count of links between the arrows. I cranked the engine over by hand, and even without any oil in the system I still heard compression escaping as the valves opened. And it feels really good seeing the full size of the engine back on the frame again.
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1981 KZ1000 J-to-K build 30 Mar 2017 20:57 #758191

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You can do helicoils on the bike. Check out Fastenal. M6 tap and inserts.
Steve

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1981 KZ1000 J-to-K build 30 Mar 2017 21:08 #758192

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Ah good to know... I've seen the helicoils at a number of places around here, they're certainly not hard to find. And I have a full set of standard and metric taps, so no problems there either. It's just disappointing to have to take the head back off again. Thanks for the confirmation.
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