Trying to Rescue a Late 1970s (1977??) Kawasaki KZ1000

wdhewson wrote:

Kelly E wrote:

I wouldn't be riding with that 46yo brake hose. That's false economy, it could blow on a test ride spraying brake fluid on the rear tire and then all of your time and effort is wasted. If you keep the bike it's done, if you sell it it's a selling point. Look up Apex Brakes, reasonable price, great quality and quick service.


Thanks Kelly E.  I will replace that rear brake hose before any "serious" riding, since those brakes save your life pretty well anytime you use them.  I've had an initial look at the Apex site.


Here's an Apex line on the back of the 77' KZ 1000 LTD. I use 1" sections of vinyl hose split down the middle so I can put it on to make the line guides fit correctly.

 

wdhewson, Did you rebuild the brake calipers and master cylinders? if not it would be a wise thing to do. I noticed the rear caliper in need of a paint job and the rear master cylinder seems to have been leaking at one time. If you went to all the trouble to paint the frame you don't want brake fluid leaking on the fresh paint and working trouble free brakes are a nice thing to have.

Below is a pic of the rear master I removed from my 77 1000 A which was in pretty good shape when I got it.

Kelly E wrote:

wdhewson wrote:

Kelly E wrote:

I wouldn't be riding with that 46yo brake hose. That's false economy, it could blow on a test ride spraying brake fluid on the rear tire and then all of your time and effort is wasted. If you keep the bike it's done, if you sell it it's a selling point. Look up Apex Brakes, reasonable price, great quality and quick service.


Thanks Kelly E.  I will replace that rear brake hose before any "serious" riding, since those brakes save your life pretty well anytime you use them.  I've had an initial look at the Apex site.


Here's an Apex line on the back of the 77' KZ 1000 LTD. I use 1" sections of vinyl hose split down the middle so I can put it on to make the line guides fit correctly.


 

Thanks Kelly E, that looks like a tidy installation, and through the square loop on the frame rail.  I looked over Apex's web site but only found the parts to make your own lines.  Yours looks like it was Apex made.  Do you have the specific link for that Apex product?  Thanks.

 

Moose1800 wrote:

wdhewson, Did you rebuild the brake calipers and master cylinders? if not it would be a wise thing to do. I noticed the rear caliper in need of a paint job and the rear master cylinder seems to have been leaking at one time. If you went to all the trouble to paint the frame you don't want brake fluid leaking on the fresh paint and working trouble free brakes are a nice thing to have.

Below is a pic of the rear master I removed from my 77 1000 A which was in pretty good shape when I got it.

Thanks Moose, yes the masters and slaves were rebuilt.  This bike had a chromed rear caliper, but I was given the black one that's now on the bike.  I think the paint problem was the result of years being thrown around in a box of stray bits.

Your picture of the rear caliper shows the only pad cover I've ever seen.

I played with the engine sprocket this morning, a 530 17T item.

Found a steel shim that was 58 thou (1.49 mm) thick, 25 mm ID and 37 mm OD, so pretty close to the Z1-E shim of 1.5, 25, and 35 mm. 

I'll have to scour around for the best method to see if the shim has improved alignment with the rear sprocket.

Everything bolted up nicely with a very thin smear of copper anti-seize.  Not yet to torque spec, just test fitting.

The item in my hand is a potential lock tab washer.  I'd like to use a lock tab, but this not yet well thought out.  What do you guys use to "hold" this nut? 

Also installed the starter motor with a new O-ring on its snout, hopefully no leaks.  The big positive cable to the starter is black, and hopefully I've got some pictures when I removed this cable.  Its path isn't evident to me.

And those loops on the front brake hydraulic junction are cable guides for the tach and speedo cables, which are now installed correctly with the loop facing backwards.

Thanks for your guidance guys.............

 

wdhewson wrote:

Kelly E wrote:

wdhewson wrote:

Kelly E wrote:

I wouldn't be riding with that 46yo brake hose. That's false economy, it could blow on a test ride spraying brake fluid on the rear tire and then all of your time and effort is wasted. If you keep the bike it's done, if you sell it it's a selling point. Look up Apex Brakes, reasonable price, great quality and quick service.


Thanks Kelly E.  I will replace that rear brake hose before any "serious" riding, since those brakes save your life pretty well anytime you use them.  I've had an initial look at the Apex site.


Here's an Apex line on the back of the 77' KZ 1000 LTD. I use 1" sections of vinyl hose split down the middle so I can put it on to make the line guides fit correctly.



 

Thanks Kelly E, that looks like a tidy installation, and through the square loop on the frame rail.  I looked over Apex's web site but only found the parts to make your own lines.  Yours looks like it was Apex made.  Do you have the specific link for that Apex product?  Thanks.




Raymond has the specs to make the lines for your bike. I have shorter bars so we measured for the front brake master cylinder to splitter line.
Paul usually sends an email with what we need and he lets us know if he needs a measurement. He has the specs for most bikes.
I use a length of plastic 1/4" air line to measure with. It bends about the same as the SS brake hose so I route it holding one end and mark the hose at the other end. Then pull it out to measure it.

 

Re: the starter cable...there is a 6M case bolt on the underside of the engine case in the far corner of the starter cavity.  It has a tab on it to tuck the starter cable out of the way.  You will need to grab some slack to push it back into the corner from your present setup.

Kelly E wrote:

wdhewson wrote:

Kelly E wrote:

wdhewson wrote:

Kelly E wrote:

I wouldn't be riding with that 46yo brake hose. That's false economy, it could blow on a test ride spraying brake fluid on the rear tire and then all of your time and effort is wasted. If you keep the bike it's done, if you sell it it's a selling point. Look up Apex Brakes, reasonable price, great quality and quick service.


Thanks Kelly E.  I will replace that rear brake hose before any "serious" riding, since those brakes save your life pretty well anytime you use them.  I've had an initial look at the Apex site.


Here's an Apex line on the back of the 77' KZ 1000 LTD. I use 1" sections of vinyl hose split down the middle so I can put it on to make the line guides fit correctly.




 

Thanks Kelly E, that looks like a tidy installation, and through the square loop on the frame rail.  I looked over Apex's web site but only found the parts to make your own lines.  Yours looks like it was Apex made.  Do you have the specific link for that Apex product?  Thanks.




Raymond has the specs to make the lines for your bike. I have shorter bars so we measured for the front brake master cylinder to splitter line.
Paul usually sends an email with what we need and he lets us know if he needs a measurement. He has the specs for most bikes.
I use a length of plastic 1/4" air line to measure with. It bends about the same as the SS brake hose so I route it holding one end and mark the hose at the other end. Then pull it out to measure it.




Thanks Kelly, the names you've offered, Raymond and Paul, .......are these Apex employees that I should communicate with?
 

hardrockminer wrote:

Re: the starter cable...there is a 6M case bolt on the underside of the engine case in the far corner of the starter cavity.  It has a tab on it to tuck the starter cable out of the way.  You will need to grab some slack to push it back into the corner from your present setup.

Thanks again HardRock.

I did find a picture taken during disassembly, and you're quite correct about the metal tab to guide the starter wire.  There's two tabs in that area.

I was a bit flummoxed for a while as I'd put the solenoid end on the wire at the starter and the wire's set bends and curves were no match for any plausible pathway.  From my reference picture, I got the starter end at the starter, and things fell into place.

 

I got the OEM rear master dust boot from the dealer today.  The parts guy is almost as old as me, and also he winces at the prices,  being $21.  However, I'm grateful that it's available.  I'm not really paying for the part, but paying for the warehouse, and the computer guided robot that fetches the part, etc.

It was amusing to see how old the label and package is, but the boot was in good shape, and with a bit of silicone spray slipped right into place with perfect tension.

 

wdhewson wrote:

Kelly E wrote:

wdhewson wrote:

Kelly E wrote:

wdhewson wrote:

Kelly E wrote:

I wouldn't be riding with that 46yo brake hose. That's false economy, it could blow on a test ride spraying brake fluid on the rear tire and then all of your time and effort is wasted. If you keep the bike it's done, if you sell it it's a selling point. Look up Apex Brakes, reasonable price, great quality and quick service.


Thanks Kelly E.  I will replace that rear brake hose before any "serious" riding, since those brakes save your life pretty well anytime you use them.  I've had an initial look at the Apex site.


Here's an Apex line on the back of the 77' KZ 1000 LTD. I use 1" sections of vinyl hose split down the middle so I can put it on to make the line guides fit correctly.





 

Thanks Kelly E, that looks like a tidy installation, and through the square loop on the frame rail.  I looked over Apex's web site but only found the parts to make your own lines.  Yours looks like it was Apex made.  Do you have the specific link for that Apex product?  Thanks.




Raymond has the specs to make the lines for your bike. I have shorter bars so we measured for the front brake master cylinder to splitter line.
Paul usually sends an email with what we need and he lets us know if he needs a measurement. He has the specs for most bikes.
I use a length of plastic 1/4" air line to measure with. It bends about the same as the SS brake hose so I route it holding one end and mark the hose at the other end. Then pull it out to measure it.




Thanks Kelly, the names you've offered, Raymond and Paul, .......are these Apex employees that I should communicate with?



Raymond is Apex Brakes.
Paul is my friend that I build bikes with. He does all of the ordering of parts.