Greetings from east central Illinois, post #2

Got started wrenching on motorcycles around 2011.  So far, I've resurrected 10 non-runners.  A few came home in boxes - project bikes someone else had abandoned.  Generally, I aim to restore each bike to daily driver condition as close to stock as I can afford.  Here's a 1979 Honda CB650A I finished last year.

 

Bikes I've resurrected:  1982 Honda CB900 Custom, 1985 Honda Shadow 500, 1985 Honda Spree, 1979 Honda GL1000, 1981 Yamaha XS400 Special (two of them), 1981 Yamaha XS850 Special, 1982 Yamaha XS650 Heritage Special, 1979 Honda CB650A, 1979 Honda CM400T.

I was blessed to grow up in a construction contractor family with access to tools and shop space.  Got started wrenching with repairs on the company vehicles, then rebuilt a few rust-bucket Triumph cars during high school and college.  Been maintaining my own vehicles ever since (40 years).  As I explain to my friends, I enjoy motorcycle work much more than vehicle work because I don't have to crawl under the bike to do the job.  I can put the whole thing on the bench and work in comfort.

As I'm new to Kawasaki bikes, I'll have a few questions soon.  Looks like this is a good forum for serious mechanics. I'm eager to glean some wisdom from these pages.

Todd

Good for you Todd for saving all those bikes!
I hate to see them get wasted away and not used.

Welcome!

My best friend from high school and I have been resurrecting dead bikes since 2016. So far we've done a couple dozen bikes. Our problem is we end up keeping them instead of selling.
Now we have to get rid of some but can't decide which ones to sell.

That's a sweet looking CB650!! Sounds similiar-ish background. I did excavation/foundations/asphalt for decades, of which consisted of about 80 percent residential. Couldn't count how many bikes/cars i'd ran across that the property owners just wanted "out-of-the-way", the original "bring a trailer"! I'm sure You're well aware of the procedure and incurred costs of finding those "missing" parts on the many bikes you've went thru. If you are new to the Kawasaki stuff be prepared for sticker shock on a lot of parts! Honda and Yamaha parts are abundant and relativity cheap in comparison. And that NOT wanting to crawl underneath trucks/trailers, has been my moto for years!!! I down right refuse to drag myself under anything after years of doing just that, HA  

Oh, forgot to mention also had a couple Triumphs. A GT6 MK and a STAG, still remember the unique "mechanical" smell of the interior.

asphalt900 wrote:

Oh, forgot to mention also had a couple Triumphs. A GT6 MK and a STAG, still remember the unique "mechanical" smell of the interior.

Great old cars if you can keep on top of "the issues" but generally simple to fix

Used to have an auto parts store called Goodmans that specialized in "foreign" cars so parts were fairly easy to source. I've always liked what was recognized as odd-ball here in the states. Buddies has pedestrian Cameros/Mustangs/Malibus, not me. My mother used to economy race the old two-stroke Saab's, so i had a couple of those too. Used to have a Renault Fuego Turbo, tried to find a front axle bearing at Advance Auto. They told me i would have to go to France, Ha.   

Welcome Todd. What Kawasaki are going to be working on? 
I'm a fan of the LBCs and am currently restoring a GT6 Mk1 and a Mk3 Spitfire. 

Welcome.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

ThatGPzGuy wrote:

Welcome Todd. What Kawasaki are going to be working on? 
I'm a fan of the LBCs and am currently restoring a GT6 Mk1 and a Mk3 Spitfire. 
 

Starting a 1982 KZ1000LTD rebuild.  The engine is relatively good.  The only significant crud in the oil pan was epoxy flakes from the flywheel rotor (typical Kaw issue).  Pistons and cylinders are good despite several years of storage. Given the condition so far, I won't remove the jug or split the case. So it will get new gaskets and seals and of course the standard cosmetic work.

I rebuilt a 1971 GT6 Mk3 and 1977 Spitfire 1500 back in the early 1980s.  The Spitfire had the factory steel hardtop (very sweet).  It was much more comfortable that the GT6 (less engine heat).  My dad drove the GT6 in autocross events into the early 1990s.  I often joked that one could lay awake at night listening to a Triumph (designed to hold water) rusting away to nothing in the driveway.  Lucas Electrics components seemed to be a liability as well.  Wise to carry a fire extinguisher.

Kelly E wrote:

Welcome!

My best friend from high school and I have been resurrecting dead bikes since 2016. So far we've done a couple dozen bikes. Our problem is we end up keeping them instead of selling.
Now we have to get rid of some but can't decide which ones to sell.

I get that.  Trying to decide which bike to sell right now.  It's either the CB 650 pictured above or this 1979 Honda Goldwing.

 

The Goldwing has been an amazing bike, but the CB650 has really grown on me.  I like riding the country backroads and the 650 is ideal for that.  So right now, I'm leaning toward selling the Goldwing.

Ha, that thin metal going back to it's raw form. Had a buddy that had a Datsun Z280, i had the Z260. Was following him up the street and instantly noticed his 280 leaned down on one side, the strut assembly attachment point had fatigued so bad from rust the assembly shot up inside trunk, Ha.