Testarossa's 78 KZ1000 Fighter Build

PLUMMEN wrote:

didnt your mama ever tell ya you could put an eye out with an air gun?id suggest an impact wrench myself! :laugh:

Damn! I was just heading to the store to get some pellets. The BB's weren't cutting it.

Back to work now. I got the bottom end of the motor all assembled this weekend.





After all the previous discussion of the oil pan gate mod, I decided to go the same route as mark1122. I drilled and tapped the oil filter housing for a M6 and bolted the hinge in there.



Here's the bottom end all buttoned up.

After I got the thing flipped I got the pistons re-installed.



One tip is to use a heat gun to warm the pistons before you try to install or remove the wrist pins. I prefer the heat gun to a torch.

Next, I slid on the cylinders.



A couple of notes on installing the cylinders. It seems that there has been considerable discussion on the forum lately about the presence of o-rings at the base of the KZ1000 cylinders. Mine were predictably, very hard and brittle. They came apart into a million pieces. However, I actually got replacement o-rings in my gasket set, so I installed them. I bought the Vesrah set from Z1E. I must say that these are the easiest pistons that I have ever installed on a engine that I have built. That chamfer on the bottom of the cylinders makes it so easy to get the rings compressed.



Here's my clutch marinating for tomorrow.

Kudos Josh! You're getting sooooo close! I am envious, but my hope is that my little composite detour and sidework for another Kz owner will help put me back on financial track. It's nice to watch you get closer though

A quick update to my engine build. I managed to get the clutch installed this evening. On a sad note, I realized that I neglected to install the cam chain roller in between the upper case half and the cylinder block. Hopefully, I can just lift the cylinders enough to slip that roller in there.

It's sooo puuuurdy Josh! I can't remember, have you already painted your frame? I know we were talking about semi gloss paint, but I don't recall the outcome..

Sorry, no paint on the frame yet. You know that I would post a picture if I had cleared that hurdle. I still have a little bit of welding to complete, and I want to check the alignment of the neck closely before I paint it. I also have a small side project for another member that needs to be fabricated so that I can paint that at the same time.

Very nice project...

I am at work and no doubt could get lost reading all this.

top notch work.

testarossa wrote:

After all the previous discussion of the oil pan gate mod, I decided to go the same route as mark1122. I drilled and tapped the oil filter housing for a M6 and bolted the hinge in there.

just a thought.
When I did mine, i was wondering if it was possible for the gate to open all the way and get stuck open due to the angle. After playing with it a bit . I decided to use a longer bolt in with a jamb nut to secure it. The longer bolt does not allow the gate to swing open as far. Is it necessary??? Just a little insurance.
good to see all of the positive progress.

tk11b40 wrote:

Very nice project...

I am at work and no doubt could get lost reading all this.

top notch work.

I really appreciate the kind words. You don't know this, but your bike has served as inspiration. I had a keen interest in your build in my lurking days.

I hope to include a table of contents in the future to help people navigate my thread.

mark1122 wrote:

:

just a thought.
When I did mine, i was wondering if it was possible for the gate to open all the way and get stuck open due to the angle. After playing with it a bit . I decided to use a longer bolt in with a jamb nut to secure it. The longer bolt does not allow the gate to swing open as far. Is it necessary??? Just a little insurance.
good to see all of the positive progress.

Thanks for looking out man. I actually had the same thought. That bolt head protrudes fairly far (about 7mm or so.) I put a considerable amount of work into fitting the two parts of the hinge so that it moves very freely. I think that any large slosh of oil should catch it and close the door. I hope....

Now on to tonight's progress. First I had to remove the cylinders to install that cam chain roller that I missed.



Don't skip that one.

Next, I got the jugs back on and the upper rollers in place.



Then the head .



Finally, I got the intake cam back in place with the new cam bearings. Those bearings sure are an improvement over the blistered parts that came out of the motor. I'll try to post a side by side photo tomorrow.