Z650 / 1170 Project

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I have mounted Speedhut GPS sensors under the tail on my kz1000 and under the side-cover (positioned upwards) on my kz750 and they work in both locations although occasionally the side-cover one takes a while to acquire signal - up to 10-15 min every 30 start-ups or so. It usually acquires signal in less than 5 min. No complaints with the tail mounted sensor

BTW i am really diggin those wheels, your friend is a talented machinist. It would be awesome if you got the centers anodized or something.

Thats interesting, I should read the instructions, and find out what they say on the matter. 

Yes he is talented, he's self taught, as he apprenticed as at a paintshop, not a machine shop. The front wheel would be easy to anodise its centre, as it the centre could be unbolted from the rims,  For the rear, I had the rims welded to the centre 'spokes' when I struggled to get it to hold air, so couldn't just have its spokes anodised.

BTW here's a pic of what my mate got up to in his home workshop, during our long lockdown last year.. 

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My first 'big' bike was a 83 Z750L3, same as your R1, but without the fairing.. did 160,000miles on that, wish I still had it.  

Mine looks nothing like a R1 now....

 

A heads up on anodizing aluminum - the original, unwelded parent material will ALWAYS have a silightly different color/appearance that the metal in the melted, or heat affected zone, of the part.  You will be able to see the weld area in the anodize, no matter the color.  The weld rod material that was melted into the parent material has changed its chemical composition, and the anodizing dye's reaction to it is affected.  This is not critical in a non-aesthetic application, but on a motorcycle rim it would be quite obvious.

Got the seat back, this time upholstered the correct way around.. Also finished painting the front headlight brackets and polished and fitted the foot controls. So rolled it outside for the first time. The back end looks a little high, so will wind down the shock spring a bit.

I will have the pegs hard anodised at some point, not sure if the levers and hangers will be left polished or anodised black too. Next task is to fit the carbs and exhaust, then work out how to mount the BMW R90S replica fairing. Once that's done, will have to tackle the wiring, and send the bodywork off for paint. But first need to decide what the paint colour/scheme will be..

With a few more small parts delivered today, I could fit the Mikuni RS34 carbs.. which went on no problem, though I will make a small support bracket to help take their weight, as with no air box, they are only supported by the inlet rubbers. Next I fitted the exhaust cylinder head studs, again no problem, followed by the 4 down pipes and 4-1 collector, which also went on the bike with no problems.. However, once fitted, it was soon clear I had yet another problem, a big problem..  The exhaust was made to fit a GPz1100B1, same as the engine in my bike. But the rear wheel and swing arm are obviously wider than that of an early 80's B1. However, I didn't expect the difference to be so apparent, as the collector pipe into the silencer is far too close to the swing arm. There's no way the silencer can be fitted. Also the foot controls are in the way too.. though I want to raise them up anyway, so the kickstand clears the gearchange lever. 

And things were going so well... sigh..  



 

I reluctantly decided that the 4-1 collector of the Delkevic would have to be cut in half and extended by approx 2 inches to allow enough clearance for the silencer. My local welder did the deed, and luckily had an off cut of 2 1/2 inch stainless tubing which was just the right size. I had him fully weld the inner joint but tack weld the outer, that way it will be easy to rejig it if it turns out to be too long or not quite right. 

I may also decide to change the 4-1 outlet, so the silencer is angled up a bit more. Not sure yet. The foot controls are also being raised, by making new hangers.. again. 

Once I'm happy with the result. I'll take the 4-1 collector to a local specialist, Cam Coat, who can reapply the ceramic finish. 

In the pic the exhaust is hanging down too low as its not being supported..




 

Pic below shows how it will look when supported, not sure if it needs to be angled a bit steeper. Will also cut off 40mm from the pipe, to shorten the look of the silencer, as it seems a little long to me.

Fitted the new unfinished footrest hangers which move the foot pegs up 2 inches, to check clearance with the exhaust, before the 4-1 collector is welded up for good, while its been shortened by 30mm. Everything is ok, except the hangers are now much longer, and much more ugly. They need shaping and made to look as small as possible, before they will be hard anodised black.

Also with the bike outside now, I could take a few pics of the cockpit fairing held in place, and now I'm having second thoughts. It looks a little too big, and will look even bigger once the large screen is fitted. Might just leave it off for now. The fairing from a Z900rs cafe would work well I think, but OE is far too expensive, and not found any replicas on the aftermarket yet.

Bodywork is due to go off for paint next month, so need to crack on and make a start on the wiring, and order the master cylinders for the front brake / clutch.

Have a look at some pics of those style fairings on the net, I've seen some trimmed down ones that looked great, you can trim the screen to match...
They do look good as they are though....

 

Yes, been looking at lots of similar bikes online, the R90S fairing needs to be cut back a bit as it hits the tank on full lock. The Aussie film Stone has lots of Zeds fitting with similar fairings.

That said if I decide not to fit the fairing, the single instrument pod looks a little lost, it really needs the classic Zed twin clocks. But I want to keep the digital speedo / tacho which is 80mm in diameter. Anyone know what the diameter of the standard clocks are?  I can buy either chrome or black clock surrounds no problem.  

I like the seat in that photo.

wrote:

Yes, been looking at lots of similar bikes online, the R90S fairing needs to be cut back a bit as it hits the tank on full lock. The Aussie film Stone has lots of Zeds fitting with similar fairings.

That said if I decide not to fit the fairing, the single instrument pod looks a little lost, it really needs the classic Zed twin clocks. But I want to keep the digital speedo / tacho which is 80mm in diameter. Anyone know what the diameter of the standard clocks are?  I can buy either chrome or black clock surrounds no problem.  

I was 11 when Stone came out at the local drive in, I was sitting across the road watching what seemed like thousands of bikes roll up for the premier, I was hooked....!!!!
Cool movie....