Z1b "lockdown ebay" frame up build.

I had been gathering parts for my Z1b during lockdown ( total of 11 months for me) back last year, when i hit a few golden opportunities, you know the too good to walk away from deals. Well lock down put a good few of us in a weird place, i bought way more shite than i should have and spent way more money than i should have but at the end of the day it was all Kawasaki and tool related so all good. One of the too good to be leave was a 1975 Z1b frame that had been quite molested but in a very fixable way and the bits that were normally first to go were left so.. The rear exhaust hangers were gone as was the rear turn signal and centre stand mounts. i also picked up a few thing to help return the frame to a seance of its self and one of those things was a butchered exhaust for pennies and the rear centre stand mounts and the centre stand. The frame had been braced but on the top of the frame the bracing had meant that the Z1 tank wouldnt go on, so i made a start on getting the frame ready for blasting over the weekend.

Here is the bracing that was stopping the tank from fitting properly.

These had to go but I didnt want to grind off what was there completely and weaken the frame so I rebraced it in the same place but properly to insure the tank would fit.

Next was the center Stand that was a fairly straight forward operation, old ones off and new ones on.

The plan for the bike is to be stock..ish. The engine i have is about 1000 off on the numbers so it will never be a stock bike, i have in stock parts-  front and rear hub, carbs, air and battery box, tank, side covers, rear mudguard, front forks, exhaust and centre stand. In after market parts - seat, front brake rotor, caliper, clocks. And in non stock parts- Zephyr 750 swingarm, aluminium rims (3.5 rear) and  Z1000 A1 triple trees. Some parts still to be found and decided on.

The exhaust hangers we a bit tricky, i had to mount in an engine, mount on the exhaust I had and gauge the clearance to the zephyr swingarm and add a bit to the new hangers as they were a bit short.

You gotta love the smell of burning steel in the morning 

Then there was the turn signal mounts, i used a grab handle to insure they we on in the right place. 

I didn’t brace the frame apart from the bracing fix near the neck, this won’t be a track bike and the frame was all ready braced on the down tubes and at the end of the backbone. I just beefed up the welds by the neck. 
bottom is the original weld.

The final result was a frame i can work with, a few bits to do in brazing and finishing and it’s off to be blasted and powdered, was a long ass day. 

Oh and with a little tweaking I got the center stand to be where it needed to be.

wrote:

You gotta love the smell of burning steel in the morning 

 Mate, there was burning ME at one point.