Testarossa's 78 KZ1000 Fighter Build

I just learned something about plastic fender repair. thanks.mine has a small crack in it and before reading this post I thought the only way to repair it was fiberglass.so I can take my soldering gun and melt it together?where would be the best type of business to buy the abs rod?

camaroguy wrote:

I just learned something about plastic fender repair. thanks.mine has a small crack in it and before reading this post I thought the only way to repair it was fiberglass.so I can take my soldering gun and melt it together?where would be the best type of business to buy the abs rod?

I believe Porchev914 stated that there are actual tools you can use to do this, but that is basically what I did. I didn't even have filler so I just massaged enough of it back into shape that it seems to be pretty good, but the filler rod will allow you to build it up so you can sand it back into shape. This seems to be specific to ABS plastic, though.

camaroguy, they do make a plastic welding kit, but I have always just used my soldering iron.

www.harborfreight.com/welding/plastic-welders.html

As for the ABS rod try McMaster Carr:
www.mcmaster.com/#abs/=a0lpaz

These types of repair work on thermoplastics. ABS is a thermoplastic. Make sure that your part is ABS, and use the same plastic for filler. It usually says what type of plastic it is on the back side of the part.

Looking good Josh, liking it very much.

Guys, we gonna think about a ride to meet up somewhere in the middle of America next year, or is that on hold for longer? It seems like we'll all have bikes next summer.

testarossa wrote:

I guess you might want to see the fender after I cut it. I almost forgot to take this picture.

That looks much better.
i always think that modern fenders look out of place on a KZ. trimming them down seems to help a lot.

I got another silly tech question regarding the brake line routing.

I never understood the difference between having a single line form the master cylinder to the caliper, and a jumper from one caliper to the other.

VS:

Having two single lines one to each caliper.

I ended up looking at like a hundred photos of race bikes and it seems about two thirds do the two single lines.

There must be some advantage to one or the other.

Anyone...??

Good question. I've wonder about that myself. since ive seen it both ways i decided to do it the easiest way to suit my needs. i have 2 separate lines from the master.in the end it came down to how am i going to tie the lines down so they dont get pinched somewhere. i am still looking for a good solution. if they are not clamped nicely they can also rub on things and ware off paint or there own covers.
i think the tidiest way may be the way a lot of stockers are. a 3 way block under the lower triple, with 3 separate lines.

I found this on Galfer's web site:

WE SELL ONLY TO DEALERS AND DISTRIBUTORS.

All KITS MUST BE INSTALLED BY A CERTIFIED MECHANIC. MADE WITH DuPont PTFE 62 TYPE TEFLON INNER AND STEEL BRAIDED CABLE OUTER. HAS A DASH 3 INNER TEFLON HOSE. (ACTUALLY 2. 16 BRAIDED LINES OF STEEL AROUND INNER TEFLON AND ALL LINES ARE COATED WITH PVC PROTECTIVE COATING. AVAILABLE IN 8 COLORS ( RED, YELLOW, CLEAR, BLUE, GREEN ORANGE, SMOKE AND BLACK) PREVENTS SCRATCHES ON THE BIKE AND HELPS TO KEEP FLUID FROM BEING EFFECTED BY HUMIDITY. THREADS DIRECTLY INTO CALIPERS WITH OUT USE OF BANJO BOLTS. ALLOWS FOR SMOOTHER MORE EFFECTIVE FLOW OF BRAKE FLUID. FITTINGS ARE ALL PRE-POSITIONED. PROVIDES STRONGER LEVER FEEL AND QUICKER STOPPING POWER BECAUSE IT CREATES BETTER PRESSURE TO THE CALIPER AND DOSE NOT GET ABSORBED BY THE LINE. IT IS A TRUE 2 FINGER BRAKING SYSTEM. RECOMMENDED FOR RACER USE ONLY.


Sorry for the all caps, I just cut and pasted. I guess that the straight lines with no junctions allows for a more direct flow of brake fluid. I know that the fluid acts as a mass when it moves, but the move is so short that I see marginal benifit IMO. I think the main reason for the double full lenght lines in race bikes is to dissapate heat. I believe that the lines act as a radiator of sorts, and the double lines, increase volume and add effective size to the radiator if you will. Again, I see minimal utility on a street driven bike.

On dirtbikes, Honda has a manufacturers patent on the front brake line routing; Honda's brake line goes straight down the fork tube and into the caliper. Everyone else has to route the brake line down to the bottom of the fork leg, then back up to the caliper. The Honda routing allows for crisper actuation and better feedback (due to the shorter line and lack of bends), and is a very common aftermarket upgrade to the other big 4. Personaly, I think you have to be extra sensitive to even notice, but thats what the dirt mags write about.

Thanks again to Z1 Enterprises for ultra fast shipping. I got my new combo voltage regulator/rectifier in the mail today (ordered Monday. ) I ordered the one that has the bulkhead connector attached for ease of installation. Got that hooked up, and thankfully the old girl fired right up. No more 17 VDC at 4000 rpm for me. I'll bet that's what killed the first taillight.

Now that I'm confident that I won't fry any electronic components, I can install the wideband O2 sensor. First order of business is to install a bung in the exhaust for the sensor. Innovate cautions you not to install the sensor on the bottom of the pipe to keep condensate out of the sensor. I wanted it before the baffle and reasonably hidden so that the bung can be plugged for normal use. That doesn't leave much choice on my setup. I put it just behind the connection between the the header and tailpipe. This hides the sensor behind the rearset.

Now I have been working on a straight through baffle to try and increase the volume a little. I had a spare muffler that used to be on the zx-10r and so I cut part of the perforated section out and used it as the core. Then I welded in some caps to make it fit the pipe. Here's a tip, even though your mig welder may have settings for using 0.030" wire to weld 24 ga, doesn't mean they work very well. I switched over to the 0.023" wire, and was actually able to weld the 22 ga. steel that I used for the caps. So much easier. The 0.030" wire was just burning holes in that thin steel.

Here's the end of my baffle:

Here's the side shot. Does it look like it will work? I have zero experience designing exhaust baffles, I just copied what I saw inside that slip on muffler that I cut apart.