1981 KZ1100 A1

Thanks Sandy - I appreciate your comment.

props on the wheels, and not spending a huge amount of money in the process of fixing this up... grats wish my kz1000 was this pretty. SOMEDAY IT WILL BE! *slams fist on table*:laugh:

i just bought a kz1100shaft..in the process of getting it to run..been sitting under a carport for years..your bike is what i want mine to look like..any advice other than don't do it..lol....will be accepted..keep it up..73's

She looks as good as new.....congrats

John,

This was the first motorcycle I "rebuilt" and there are too many lessons to remember. I'd be happy to answer questions as you go but some of the basic things I did and regrets/lessons are:
- I took it apart down to the engine and frame but didn't remove the engine or main wiring harness. I understand the engine weighs 275 lbs and I decided it wasn't worth it to take it out.
- I sanded the frame to rough it up but didn't strip it. I covered up the engine and wiring harness and used Duplicolor primer and gloss black acrylic enamel to paint the frame. From what I read, it's important when using spray can paint to use primer and finish coat from the same manufacturer.
- I found a website that goes through how to remove motorcycle tires and removed them myself, then took the wheels to be media blasted (I think they used glass bead). If you like the matt gray aluminum look, that works OK. I wanted a shinier polished look for the wheels and originally stripped them (Aircraft Stripper worked well on everything I had to strip) and used a small wire brush to get the oxidation out, but couldn't get all of the spots out so I gave up and had them blasted. I had the wheels powder-coated with clear gloss but I'm not sure I'd do it again. I would probably just use clear gloss wheel finish next time because the powder coat didn't turn out that well.
- The biggest thing I learned was how to polish aluminum. Caswell has a lot of polishing products. The greaseless compound works well for really rough stuff and removing gouges and the other compounds work for final polishing.
- Most of what I did was cosmetic but I did rebuild the carbs (using kits from eBay) and replace the wheel and steering bearings and the fork seals. All of those things were learning experiences, and there are many people on this forum who know how to do them better than I do, but I'd be happy to answer questions if I can.
- Another thing I really struggled with was how to keep the aluminum (engines covers, forks, peg brackets, etc.) from oxidizing after polishing them. I tried four or five things. One option is to leave them alone and just polish them every few months. The coating I tried that I like the best is Glisten PC, which is a clear hard coating that is supposed to stand up well. You need a full face mask ($110 or so) because it damages your eyes, and you can't spray it unless you have a supplied-air respirator, but if you thin it enough it flows out well and looks pretty good and doesn't seem to yellow.

Good luck with your project and let me know if I can help.

Lynn