1979 KZ1000 ltd B3 from the bone up!

I started this several months ago and was not planning to post it anywhere so I neglected to take a before pic.

Actually was was NOT planning to do a to the bone rebuild BUT as more parts came off the more it became obvious that it needed more than a wash and wax.

When I picked it up the brakes were non-existent and it needed tires. so off with the wheels and calipers for a rebuild. I then discovered that a PO had changed out the rear caliper for one from a 78 that was NOT the right offset and disk diameter. so the quest for the proper caliper was on.

So I have the wheels off and am thinking well I should change the bearings they are almost 30 years old. and now that the bearings are out I might as well blast and paint the hubs and rims......... on ..... and on. it has taken on a life of its own. kinda like plowing the south 40.

Before I realized it I had a frame with a motor and that was about it.



SOOOOO at this point the riding season is just about over anyway and with only about 10 bolts to total frame strippage I WENT FOR IT!



Some may have seen my post a few weeks ago about a beautiful thing.... a freshly painted frame.

here it is again:






I had a good day today got to work on bike stuff ALL day.

painted a bunch more parts AND built this nifty motor stand:





cant take any credit for the design but I think it came out pretty good.

What do these motors weigh? must be 150 - 200 lbs cant do a thing with out some kind of handling device.

I am thinking soda blast or walnut shells to clean up the motor. It ran really good so I don't think I need to do anything to it YET. that may be next winters project...

dman

Yeah,Yeah,Yeah...diggin' this one. It sure as hell don't hurt to pop the top on that motor while it's out. Nothin' major...just look at valve clearances. I'm lookin' forward to more pics...

yup its on the list

I will remove every cover possible and do a power polish at least. so I will visit the clutch and valves at least.

I am also going to replace all the wire. carbs are being done by WG right now. all possible nuts and bolts will be replaced with SS socket caps. only will keep the custom ones like the axle and swing arm and long motor mount stuff.

It wont be anything super custom or fancy, just a basic resto.

Lookin forward to more pics.
You're doin a helluva job!!

Ok, more elbow grease. I started to clean up the motor, I plan to remove any and all covers that are screwed on and clean and polish them, but what to do with the trany crank and cylinders. I thought about soda blast and or walnut shells but they are really expensive and I don't have a compressor at home big enough for any kind of blasting so I would have to drag the block into work and make a big mess there.

I tried all the engine degreasers and simple green type stuff with a wire brush and hand scrubbing. It got the grease off but still looks like crape. So I found this little buffing arbor at Homecheapo and cut some scotch bright pads square with a hole in the center. and used my drill. the corded ones go faster, I tried the battery one first but like the corded better.




A single one gets into the slots not too bad. It's not perfect but it looks 100% better and will do until I overhaul the motor MAYBE next winter. It gives it a luster and I suppose if I used finer pads it may polish it more. I think the regular buffing wheels that are stitched would not flex into the corners and tight spots so this will have to do.





you can see the right side of the motor, that is the before area after it was decreased.




It does ok on the cylinder fins but it wont get down inside very deep.



at least on the upper ones.

I am still painting all the little parts. Did you know there are over 1000 parts on the parts list? even if you take off say 500 for the motor that is still a crape load of parts and fasteners.

Now I am getting nickel and dimed to death on the little rubber parts. all part of the fun I guess. I can never sell this pup, would NEVER get all my $ out of it. not to mention the man hrs. must have the addiction, kinda like meth, just once and your hooked.

Looking greatB) Keep the pics coming:P

I'd think a little silver anti-seize on the SS bolts/screws will prevent future galling and make removal easier.

I always use the silver on the all the fasteners, It makes them come off very slick in the future. I find if I chase the threads with a tap before I put in the new screws it helps a lot also. cleans out any dirt and gunk and cleans up any maybe so so threads from the previous screw.

Great Job Dman! you're way ahead of me on the rebuild, I've been staring at my project wondering if I should dive into a full stripdown too. Still trying to figure it out.

Love the frame and the tips on polishing. Good luck

Finally got some more time to myself so of course I choose to spend it on the B3 project:

Been working on the tank and plastics for a while and they have been in my shop on a paint horse kicking around for 2 months. been real lucky one of my guys didn't knock into it with the forklift or drop something on them.

I did the final 600 grit clear coat sand and put on 2 more clear coats. now its time to "cut and buff" they will look better than NOS factory as I am sure the factory did not put this much into them.

Before



After








I did get the case and unremovable parts on the motor clean, now I am waiting for my alum polishing kit from Caswell to shine up all the covers.

dman3998 wrote:

Ok, more elbow grease. I started to clean up the motor, I plan to remove any and all covers that are screwed on and clean and polish them, but what to do with the trany crank and cylinders. I thought about soda blast and or walnut shells but they are really expensive and I don't have a compressor at home big enough for any kind of blasting so I would have to drag the block into work and make a big mess there.

I tried all the engine degreasers and simple green type stuff with a wire brush and hand scrubbing. It got the grease off but still looks like crape. So I found this little buffing arbor at Homecheapo and cut some scotch bright pads square with a hole in the center. and used my drill. the corded ones go faster, I tried the battery one first but like the corded better.

A single one gets into the slots not too bad. It's not perfect but it looks 100% better and will do until I overhaul the motor MAYBE next winter. It gives it a luster and I suppose if I used finer pads it may polish it more. I think the regular buffing wheels that are stitched would not flex into the corners and tight spots so this will have to do.

you can see the right side of the motor, that is the before area after it was decreased.




It does ok on the cylinder fins but it wont get down inside very deep.

at least on the upper ones.

I am still painting all the little parts. Did you know there are over 1000 parts on the parts list? even if you take off say 500 for the motor that is still a crape load of parts and fasteners.

Now I am getting nickel and dimed to death on the little rubber parts. all part of the fun I guess. I can never sell this pup, would NEVER get all my $ out of it. not to mention the man hrs. must have the addiction, kinda like meth, just once and your hooked.

i like the drill idea..think i m gonna have to stop at the cheapo this weekend....looks great, keep the pics coming....