New Guy from New York

Small victories are important for building confidence, but do not forget that your life depends on that little crusty bit of aluminum and those old rubber bits.

That’s the truth. Thanks for your consideration. 

For me, with no background knowledge, would you recommend I take it to a shop to take a look to make sure of things? Or is there a thread on here that can walk me through slowly the process? 

For now, I am just getting my bearings on it. Taking it around town, few miles here and there. Staying patient with the learning process, with safety at the forefront. My plan was to ride this summer while cruising through the forums trying to learn as much as I can. Pick up the manual go through that a bit. Than this winter really get into it. 
 

Paying someone to work on your bike is a fast route to being upside down. Make sure the safety stuff is covered (tires, brakes, chain, lights) and do a rolling restoration while you enjoy it. 
 

Get yourself a service manual and some JIS screw drivers. what kind of work are you doing with your Haas?

I have a company that manufactures aluminum wheelchair ramps, platforms and steps. Most of our ramps are sold to veterans through the VA.

We make all of the ramps machined components on the haas.  I have 18 parts in total made on the one machine right now for my company. 

I also have a few companies who I work on various projects with and I am always open to new ideas. 










Yeah definitely need to get a manual to the bike. 

If you do decide to tackle the front master. As Tex said. Pull out the piston and check the bore. If it’s good the you just need to clean up the housing. There is an odd sized oring between the plastic reservoir and housing. You can get it at RedLine Cycle in Illinois. I’ve had good luck with VHT  caliper paint.. If the master cylinder hold pressure now, you can just reassemble the piston back into the bore after restoration. 

wrote:

If you do decide to tackle the front master. As Tex said. Pull out the piston and check the bore. If it’s good the you just need to clean up the housing. There is an odd sized oring between the plastic reservoir and housing. You can get it at RedLine Cycle in Illinois. I’ve had good luck with VHT  caliper paint.. If the master cylinder hold pressure now, you can just reassemble the piston back into the bore after restoration. 

 

thanks Mika

wrote:

That’s the truth. Thanks for your consideration. 

For me, with no background knowledge, would you recommend I take it to a shop to take a look to make sure of things? Or is there a thread on here that can walk me through slowly the process? 

For now, I am just getting my bearings on it. Taking it around town, few miles here and there. Staying patient with the learning process, with safety at the forefront. My plan was to ride this summer while cruising through the forums trying to learn as much as I can. Pick up the manual go through that a bit. Than this winter really get into it. 

 

The brakes on these old bikes are about as simple as they get. Take a careful look at the procedure in the factory service manual. I think I linked to it earlier in this thread. Also take a look at the parts diagrams for the brakes at Partzilla or Kawasaki. Start making a list of the parts and tools you will need. All of the flex hoses and seals and cups must be renewed. If your bike has a drum brake on the rear, plan on replacing the linings no matter how nice they look. The adhesive will fail with age, no matter if the bike is ridden or not.
If the tires were made in this century, they will have a date code on the sidewall. The current industry standard is to replace them if they are more than five years old. Certainly if you can see surface cracks on the sidewalls or in the tread grooves, toss them. If they are so old they do not have the date code, toss them. A blowout at any speed can be painful or even lead to an ambulance ride.
Do all of the routine maintenance. Most of it is pretty simple. Ask many questions.

This is a good starting point for me. Thanks Tex

By the way, I see that I did not link to the service manual, most likely because KZR has only the 1977 and 1981 manuals. There are some significant differences in the different models and years, especially in the 650 family. You can probably find a good one in ebay if you are diligent. It will pay you back far more than you pay for it. You may certainly look at the ones here at KZR to get an idea of what you are facing, even if some details are different.

The manuals can be found under the Articles tab above.

I found a PDF link to a 1981 manual on here. Looking on eBay for a 78 version now
 

wrote:

I have a company that manufactures aluminum wheelchair ramps, platforms and steps. Most of our ramps are sold to veterans through the VA.

We make all of the ramps machined components on the haas.  I have 18 parts in total made on the one machine right now for my company. 

I also have a few companies who I work on various projects with and I am always open to new ideas. 

Yeah definitely need to get a manual to the bike. 

I do believe I've admired your work in person. The VA provided my father in law with a wheelchair ramp at his home in Rochester NY that looks an awful lot like that pic.