TOPIC:

Hi all,

I'm from the UK, living in the North of the Netherlands. No bike at the moment, but in the past had a couple of Honda 500/4's, an early Z1000, various Honda twins etc. Will soon be looking for a 1970's Z650 to restore and generally mess with.

I have a workshop with a good range of machinery (mostly older stuff from the UK, none of it CNC) and stick & MIG welding gear. TIG has so far been a bridge too far - tried it, spent most of the time with the electrode welded to the work...

Ian

Hello Ian,
Welcome to KZR!
I've been a hobby welder since my college days. You say your issue is sticking the electrode I have a different trial every time I try to weld something made out of aluminum, which is not often. Most of my welding is on ferrous metals which results in the whole shop being contaminated with carbon dust. Whenever I plan on an aluminum job I have to wipe down all the walls and work tables or else the aluminum just won't flow together.
Bill

Hi Bill,
Sounds similar to me - pure hobby welder, years with stick, now using a metal glue gun - er - MIG. Entirely on steel. My one foray into TIG was very brief, and wasn't at all well set up. I think this had a lot to do with it. For the amount of TIG welding that I would do, I'm probably better just farming it out to someone who does it on a regular basis.
Thanks,
Ian

Welcome.

Welcome Ian.
Great bikes the Z650s.
 

Hi Nick,

I've only ridden a Z650 once - that was when they first came out in the UK (yes, I'm that old...). I went to my local main dealer (Kawasaki in Hull), asked if they had a Z900 for test rides. Their Z9 was sick at the time, warped head, but they said try a 650. The salesman wheeled a nice green one out of the showroom, started it and "warmed it up" at about 8,000rpm for a couple of minutes. I then guessed why the Z9 was sick.

He told me that the motor was redlined at 9,000, but after 12,000 the dial was black again, so redline it in 3rd, change down to 2nd and it'll keep pulling. Er - yes. I didn't do that to the poor bike, but I had a very enjoyable test ride and thought the bike was responsive, handled well and was quick.

Fancied one ever since.

Ian