Comin' in Hot - Show & Tell Pg.4

Executive summary:
Hi all,
We're slmjim & Z1BEBE. Glad to be here. We've got six Z-1's. Maybe more coming. It's a sickness. Other bikes too. Looking forward to doin' stuff here. Patience, please; slmjim is slow sometimes...

Full version, for those who dare:
Hi all,
Some of the old timers here's will recognize us as slmjim. Others know us as slmjim & Z1BEBE. Either way you know who you are, but your secret is safe with us.

slmjim's Grandfather owned a battery supply company and auto repair shop. Growing up around mechanics and electricity naturally led to slmjim being a motorhead. If he's cut he sparks, and bleeds 20w-50. He recently retired from a gig as Network Analyst for xerox. VJMC member #378. Generally in charge of guy stuff.

The Lovely Z1BEBE made a career in medicine, She likes to garden. She's a Rider. And she cooks :evil: . She recently retired from a gig at a urology practice. She knows all the right nerve endings :whistle: ! Generally in charge of girl stuff.

What that means is, given the shared responsibilities of married life, if it bleeds, nourishes, involves scratching in the dirt or making slmjim purr, it's hers. If it sparks, rattles, internally combusts, stops working or just becomes generally cantankerous it's his.

We've been active in the online Z-1 communities since joining the now-defunct MSN Z-1 Comm forum in the late 90's. When MSN pulled the plug on their online forums, many of the Z-1 Comm members ended up on the late Z1OC site. Things there were going along well until the mass bans in 2012 of many members, and some vendors too, and for no apparent reason. Sadly, in doing so, the site admin killed the spirit of the site. We continued to monitor the Z1OC site the last few years using stealth means, but couldn't participate anything meaningful without giving ourselves away, so we just watched it slowly die from within.

Our first Z-1A (green/yellow) was bought by slmjim new in '74. We still have it. Z1BEBE was courted upon the back of that bike when we met in 1985. After she was bamboozled into marriage, we decided that we'd like to travel on bikes. So, after learning the basics on a Honda Hobbit moped, she graduated to a very nice '76 CB360T to use as training wheels. She spent a season on that 360, ultimately outgrowing it during a 1,200 mi. round-trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Our first Z-1B in Candy Red came to us as a local newspaper classifieds find in '89. On only its second owner, it didn't need much love aside from replacing the obnoxiously loud Kerker with some stock 4-4's we'd lucked into. It has been customized as a period-correct custom, and is the personal vintage ride of Z1BEBE. Affliction Condition: GOOD (more on that later).

Our second Z-1A (root beer/orange) came to us not long after we found Z1BEBE's Z-1B. It was another classifieds find. It was essentially bone stock, and remains so. Affliction Condition: GUARDED (more later...).

Our first Z-1 (Jaffa) came to us from a bike salvage yard in '91. It had been parked in a barn for 12 yrs. that had flooded at least once. It was essentially stock, complete and unmolested. Z1BEBE secretly thought slmjim had lost his mind the first time she saw it, but slmjim could see the diamond in the rough. A concerted daily effort of 18 months resulted in a very clean, nearly original late '72 Jaffa Z-1 that was not so much a restoration as an intense cleaning and refurbishment. Affliction Condition: FAIR.

So... One day not long after, suddenly and without warning during one of his rare, lucid moments, slmjim had a thought (difficult to believe, but true! Z1BEBE even wrote it down for posterity). slmjim said to himself; he said: "Self, we have four of the six Z-1's that Mama Kaw produced from '72 thru '75. Why not go for the complete set?" Z1BEBE overheard his mumbling and, being the kindhearted old soul that she is, understands that slmjim's Z-bike affliction is now wholly incurable. Not only that, slmjim has managed to corrupt this beautiful, once-a-Sunday-School-teacher (really!) into being not a biker chick, not even a motorcycle hoodlum chick, but (gasp!) a Rider! On top of that, slmjim has been infectious all this time, and Z1BEBE is now afflicted with the dreaded Z-bike bug herself! (Sadly, there's no known cure for this affliction. Remember...) Having so been infected, inflicted and corrupted, she was immediately agreeable to acquiring more old motorcycles:

Her: "Where we gonna put them?
Him: Why, in the basement, of course! Our tools and all are already down there, and we can get bikes in and out through the ground-level entry door with some physical acrobatics if we hold our tongues right instead of left."
Her: OK, I'll help you rearrange. We can get rid of some of that Christmas stuff too, to make more room. (Dont'cha jus' love those afflicted Rider chicks?)

(Shorter side story:
Along about now, we figure the Z-1's are getting too valuable to be dumping the kind of miles on them that we have been the last few years. Two-week, 2,000 mi. BRP trips were happening, along with AMA and Rider Rallys, weekend getaways and such, all ridden, not trailered. After some test rides on various bikes, we purchase a new pair of '93 CB750 Nighthawks {lovin' that Rider chick/buy-more-motorcycles thing... :woohoo: }. Z1BEBE's is Metallic Candy Red, slmjim's is Candy Tahitian Blue. 1993 is the only year the CB750's were produced in two colors. The blue one's faster, although sometimes, when he hasn't been paying attention, she still makes him chase her tail... Umm...oh, yeah; light. )

Now the search was on for two more Z-1's.

Into the mid 90's and on, ebay was coming into its own. slmjim was haunting it, buying up cheap(ish) NOS and good used Z-1 parts to support the growing collection. A NOS Candy Blue tankset from ebay was placed on the shelf for a few years, waiting for the right bike to find a home upon. Some very nice OEM 4-4 pipe sets, both stamped and original un-stamped came into our possession and likewise were placed in waiting. Finally in the late 90's, the right unmolested '75 Z-1B appeared on eBay, needing only pipes, paint and a minimum of love to become a very nice addition to the collection, and in doing so became a stock Candy Blue Z-1B. It also trimmed the number of Z-1's  needed to complete the production set to only one. Affliction Condition: SERIOUS.

Somewhere around this time we acquired a 2009 ST1300A. It's the second ST1300 we've had, since we decided we liked our 2003 ST1300 well enough that we wanted to invest in ABS for our long hauls. It's Z1BEBE's bike really; slmjim is simply the lowly chauffeur, tasked with spiriting M' Lady safely across the land and into adventure.

Over the past 13 or 14 years, we've been attending the Mid-Ohio vintage swap meet regularly. There, we were finally able to put faces on some of the personas from all over the nation, and other countries as well, who up 'till then we had known only by their forum screen names and avatars. It was there, through a Z1OC forum member (pre-ban) who was in attendance, that we found what would become our latest addition; a late '72 Z-1. In the green/yellow livery that predominantly went to Europe and Australia, it would complete the production set. There was just this one eensy-weensy little problem:

It was a basket case.

 Seller assured us it was complete. Mostly. "Just don't be surprised if some stuff is AWOL. I didn't take it apart but the guy who did said he's pretty sure everything was maybe still there. He thinks. I bought it to restore myself years ago but, realistically, I'll never find the time to do anything with it. I had the frame painted, the gauges restored and the switchgear's done. I'd like to see it on the road again. Why don't the two of you come see me and it, and maybe we can make a deal. I think y'all could do it." (He doesn't really talk like that last thing. It's just Kentucky-speak slipping out, and he's not from here. Sorry...)

So later that year we hop in the truck and drive a full day to see an old motorcycle in pieces.

What we find is a bare, nicely-painted frame, pristine clean and wrapped in bubble wrap, that had the original VIN tag still present and in excellent condition. (Thank You for that!) A dozen or more disorganized boxes of grimy parts. Correctly-numbered (for the frame #) motor cases, black paint mostly flaked off, empty except for the center crank clamp. Correct jugs, same paint condition. Correct, complete head needing a valve job, paint ditto. And another partial Z-1B motor, piston rings rusted stuck in the bores but with a good donor crank. Correct, restored (thanks Bob!) tach and speedo are present, as were professionally-restored left and right side switchgear. 

We're laid low by what we see. Like road crud to frame, we're helplessly, powerfully attracted to a Z-bike in such obvious need of love. Z1BEBE sez, “I think we should get it” (remember?). Affliction Condition: CRITICAL.

The next day we're heading home, wallet lighter, truck very much heavier (what's that dripping out of the bed? Oil?!? Aww, crap! Spare motor still has oil in it... )

The following six years are a variety of life-getting-in-the-way snapshots. Health issues, both for ourselves and close family. Deaths, nursing home and assisted living situations for our parents. Everything mentioned and life in general all conspired to make what should have been a two-to-three year basket case restoration become a six-plus year endeavor. Pick it up for a month, put it down for three. Up for five, down for one. Etc. But, piece by piece, screw by washer, bracket by rod, wire by bulb the bike came together. Almost all of the correctly date-coded parts needed to reassemble a late '72 Z-1 were present in the boxes, as well as a generous helping of parts from other, later-production Z-1's (and a few unknowns) were also scattered throughout, complicating then restoration process by orders of magnitude (which one of these two or half-dozen widgets is right for a '72?). Most of what was not there were small parts already in inventory due to slmjim's parts acquisitions from ebay, swap meets, estate sales, and just word-of-mouth finds. We learned how to lace wheels. The green/yellow Euro tankset came from Jeff at Z1 Enterprises, along with a few other odds and ends.

Two weeks ago (late Aug. 2016) the bike fired for the first time in over 25 years. Nothing broke, came apart or blew up. Minor teething problems were solved during that and two subsequent idle starts for fine tuning. The first shakedown ride was last week to a local license branch for VIN inspection and licensing. The inspecting Sheriff did a double-take on a 43 yr. old bike showing only 14 miles on the odometer. Turns out he rides too, and understood immediately the concept of a vintage restoration. Re-torqued the head 24 hrs. after the ride, now cold after it's first full heat/cool cycle. The only thing left to do now is to find that rarest of the rare unicorns, a feeler gauge for an otherwise complete tool kit.

So, there ya' have it. This is us. Thanks for sticking with us this long.

We pretty much have tunnel vision when it comes to Z-1's. We're not well versed enough to be much help with the finer details of later and smaller KZ's, but we know Z-1's reasonably well. We're look forward to taking part in this forum whenever we can rub two brain cells together hard enough to generate a complete sentence. There will be pics forthcoming as time allows. And more drivel. You have been warned!

There's much we've left unsaid but this rant has taken the better part of 5 hrs. to type, it's late and well past bedtime.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

P.S.
Roy,
The choke is on now, only as needed. The ball is polished regularly.

Welcome, pic omission foul.

...And tell us a little but about yourselves and your bikes.

Yep...I think I have heard of you two Welcome to KZR.

Michael (also of Kawasaki Z-Classik and formerly of MSN and Z1OC)

Been there done that.

Edit: The site just told us that we have too many image links, so we must separate the pics posts into an unknown number of pages.

Hi all,
The family photo, minus the '72 green/yellow basket case we just completed two weeks ago.


Individual pics pics. We'll do these in chronological order of acquisition.

1974 Z-1A. Purchased new by slmjim in March '74. Being ridden this year. Original factory paint. Period custom. Lester mags. Very early Corbin seat, before he became well known. Koni shocks. Jardine 4-2 180° tuned headers feeding very rare Bassani collectors. OEM option dual disks. Stock drivetrain. As of this writing (9/16) showing 63,000+ mi.


1975 Z-1B. The personal vintage ride of The Lovely Z1BEBE. She rides this one every year. Original factory paint. Period custom, and lowered for her. Lester mags, 16" rear. 1/2" understock Mulholland shocks. OEM option dual disks. S&S fork internals. Custom LTD seat. Overall seat height is over 2" less than stock. Currently showing 34.000+ mi. It has one of the most pronounced primary gear whines we've ever heard on a Z-1. slmjim rides it sometimes just to listen to the music. It's a perk of being her lowly wrench .

1974 Z-1A As close to box stock as the current parts availability allows. Original factory paint. Current at 24,000+ mi. It comes out of mothballs to ride next year.


1975 Z-1B. As close to box stock as current parts availablilty will allow. NOS tankset. Currenty at 23,000+ mi.


1973 (late '72) Z-1. Original factory paint(!). Ridden last year. This one had been parked under a blanket in a barn for 12 yrs. that had flooded at least once. The high water mark was just under the intakes ports, so water never entered the internals. Otherwise had been put to bed right; tank & carbs drained, gas cap cracked open, battery removed. Z1BEBE secretly thought slmjim had lost his mind the first time she saw it, but he could see the diamond in the rough. it required 18 months of near-daily effort to bring this one back from the brink. Currently showing 14,000+ mi.


Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

1973 (late '72) Z-1. Total basket case; bare frame, and a dozen or more boxes of disorganizes, grimy parts. Correct empty motor cases, along with a stuck Z-1B motor for a donor crank. Aftermarket tankset. Fired up for the first time in over 25 yrs. in Aug., 2016. Currently showing 26 mi. on the restoration.


These might offend the KZ purists, but they're part of who we are too. 1993 CB750 Nighthawks. Comfortable, satisfyingly quick, reliable as anvils. We bought them new as a His & Hers pair. 1993 was the only year the CB750's were offered in two colors. These are always prepped to ride. We put the real miles on these.
His Hawk. Candy Tahitian Blue. Currently showing 68,000+ mi.


Her Hawk. Candy Metallic Red. Currently showing 66,000 + mi.



Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

2009 ST1300A. This was taken by a friend somewhere south of Pueblo, CO. Always prepped to ride.


A random pic. 'Cause sometimes one just needs a dose of absolute truth.


We tried for a few years to keep everything prepped to ride. Discovered that it's just not practical to try keeping fresh gas and batteries in eight (now nine) bikes. So, Z1BEBE's Z-1B is prepped every year. slmjim rotates through the other Z-1's year by year, and the others are mothballed.

There will be pics posted in the Projects forum of the basket case project from start to finish when time allows.


Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

Slim who?

I want to live at your house!

Please tell me one of you is running for president.

BTW you started a new thread for each of your pic pages. I've asked the mods to integrate them.

slmjim+Z1BEBE wrote: Edit: The site just told us that we have too many image links, so we must separate the pics posts into an unknown number of pages. . . .

When this happens, may post additional images in the same thread by submitting them within a Reply to your own post.

20 image embeds are allowed in each post. There are 20 Add File boxes available incident to each message before the message is submitted.

I have in this "Page 1" thread added below the separately posted topics in Page 2, Page 3 and Page 4 so all the images from the 4 topics will appear in this single thread.

The separate threads, Page 2, Page 3 and Page 4, have now been locked in order to keep later Replies within this thread and not have Replies scattered among separate topics.

Due to the message "The site just told us that we have too many image links", I didn't attempt to override by consolidating the Page 2, Page 3 and Page 4 topics into the Page 1 topic. Because not wanting to risk some unexpected loss of the images.

Edit: Thanks to KZr mod KZQ for consolidating the Page 2, Page 3 and Page four topics into this thread.

Good Fortune!


slmjim+Z1BEBE post 742030

1974 Z-1A As close to box stock as the current parts availability allows. Original factory paint. Current at 24,000+ mi. It comes out of mothballs to ride next year.

1975 Z-1B. As close to box stock as current parts availablilty will allow. NOS tankset. Currenty at 23,000+ mi.

1973 (late '72) Z-1. Original factory paint(!). Ridden last year. This one had been parked under a blanket in a barn for 12 yrs. that had flooded at least once. The high water mark was just under the intakes ports, so water never entered the internals. Otherwise had been put to bed right; tank & carbs drained, gas cap cracked open, battery removed. Z1BEBE secretly thought slmjim had lost his mind the first time she saw it, but he could see the diamond in the rough. it required 18 months of near-daily effort to bring this one back from the brink. Currently showing 14,000+ mi.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

slmjim+Z1BEBE post 742031

1973 (late '72) Z-1. Total basket case; bare frame, and a dozen or more boxes of disorganizes, grimy parts. Correct empty motor cases, along with a stuck Z-1B motor for a donor crank. Aftermarket tankset. Fired up for the first time in over 25 yrs. in Aug., 2016. Currently showing 26 mi. on the restoration.

These might offend the KZ purists, but they're part of who we are too. 1993 CB750 Nighthawks. Comfortable, satisfyingly quick, reliable as anvils. We bought them new as a His & Hers pair. 1993 was the only year the CB750's were offered in two colors. These are always prepped to ride. We put the real miles on these.
His Hawk. Candy Tahitian Blue. Currently showing 68,000+ mi.

Her Hawk. Candy Metallic Red. Currently showing 66,000 + mi.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE