Tank restoration advice KZ1000A/ KZ900

I was telling my brother about my new paint job on the tank. Even though I took all the steps I could, there was a small speck in my paint. He laughed and said it probably looks like a B 17 to me but no one else will see it. Yeah you're right but I know it's there. After the first chip, it doesn't matter anymore.
Steve

Kevlar covered tank and bodywork?...hmmm...quite an interesting thought to ponder for a unique custom body scheme.

redhawk4 wrote:

Kidkawie wrote: Intstalling the roll pin.

Might not even get that far before dropping something on it - perhaps I should wrap the whole thing in bubble wrap or bullet proof vest material.

Rockranch wrote: Kevlar covered tank and bodywork?...hmmm...quite an interesting thought to ponder for a unique custom body scheme.

redhawk4 wrote:

Kidkawie wrote: Intstalling the roll pin.

Might not even get that far before dropping something on it - perhaps I should wrap the whole thing in bubble wrap or bullet proof vest material.

Could set a new trend among the Hipsters

Does anyone know about the Tank emblem sizes? when they went to the bigger size?.

Are you sure you measured the KZ900 1976 tank at 122mm? Looks 140mm in the picture.

Only the 73 tanks are 122mm and a few rare early 74 tanks, after that they were all 140 except for the LTD's

PaintWorkz wrote: Are you sure you measured the KZ900 1976 tank at 122mm? Looks 140mm in the picture.

Only the 73 tanks are 122mm and a few rare early 74 tanks, after that they were all 140 except for the LTD's

Wow I must need glasses or I should put the garage light on, I measured again and you are 100% correct it is 140 mm :blush:

I'm glad you called me out on that, because now I know I will need new tank emblems, that would really have frustrated me if I got the tank already to put on and then discovered my incompetence. Well that answers that one and I also didn't realize the LTD taks were always the smaller ones - mystery solved.

Do you know if the Z1 decals will fit the KZ900 tank? I know there are some differences regarding seams etc. but are they dimensionally similar enough?

73 Z1 does not have decal kits available, 74 & 75 do have decal kits. 76-78 KZ tanks are a little different shape than a 73-75 Z1 tank, so the decals do not fit that great..... but you can probably fit them somehow.

78 gold stripes would look good on black ...........and that would be a cool , rare, original , combination!

You referring to these?:...

PaintWorkz wrote: 78 gold stripes would look good on black ...........and that would be a cool , rare, original , combination!

I'm just not that keen on the tank decals for the original paint scheme on the A2, the way they swoop the graphics round the front of the tank spoils the beautiful lines of the tank for me. I love the combination of black and gold, like the JPS sponsored F1 cars and motorcycles of the era, Kawasaki just didn't catch my imagination with the way they did it this time. I prefer the A1 thin stripe. I really like the Z1 style thick gold stripe at the bottom with the thin white line above. I'm not really concerned with originality as I set out for my bike to be "customized" as I would have done it back in the day. I will keep it until I die so things like the effect on it's value are not an issue.

This look works for me, but the stripes need to be gold although I believe this was a stock scheme in some markets:




Just not a fan of this tank decal style:





This style gold on the black would look nice IMO:

The European style of the Z's vs. the KZ's does have a different flavor. Good choice.

redhawk4 wrote:

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You might already realize it, the black tank on the bike appears to be from an LTD. That's why it looks different from the green tank.

Wow that looks like a Denco 4-1 pipe on that red 'Z'? I been looking for a Denco 4-1 left side exit for one of my KZ's.

redhawk4 wrote: I'm just not that keen on the tank decals for the original paint scheme on the A2, the way they swoop the graphics round the front of the tank spoils the beautiful lines of the tank for me. I love the combination of black and gold, like the JPS sponsored F1 cars and motorcycles of the era, Kawasaki just didn't catch my imagination with the way they did it this time. I prefer the A1 thin stripe. I really like the Z1 style thick gold stripe at the bottom with the thin white line above. I'm not really concerned with originality as I set out for my bike to be "customized" as I would have done it back in the day. I will keep it until I die so things like the effect on it's value are not an issue.

This look works for me, but the stripes need to be gold although I believe this was a stock scheme in some markets:

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Just not a fan of this tank decal style:

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This style gold on the black would look nice IMO:

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