1966 Kawasaki A1 Samurai restoration project

I actually started doing something with the bike today. I want to give it a full once over, but this is where I am so far. I took off the seat:

Checked the battery and found it to be under two volts! I think the spare (brand new) battery I have in the garage that I had bought for my '80 kz250 will work as a replacement. I also removed the oil cap to have a look in the reservoir. I found it to be in two pieces and ghetto rigged with a sheet metal screw!!!

I also removed the decrepit battery:

Did I mention there is a leak or two that I need to hunt down and fix???

Cool bike! I had a 67 A1SS (high pipes) about 20 years ago. The hardest parts i had to find was the petcock rubber pieces, points and condensers, and the rubber bits on top of each carb. Cables were also hard to find.

I have some pics i will have to post so you can see what mine looked like.

Here is a pic before...

And this pic after i did a lot of work to it. Unfortunately I never did completely finish this bike. I sold it to a guy down in Georgia.

So my Samurai has been sitting in the garage for over 2 years now. I think when I am done rewiring the kz750, I will dive into this project finally. I just came across a site that actually has the parts fiche and can get at least some of the NOS parts I will need. :woohoo:

Stay Tuned...this project will be starting in a matter of days (finally)! I know it's not a KZ, but it is a Kawasaki. I will be doing a complete teardown and rebuild. I plan to keep it as original as possible (the only non-stock items will be discontinued NOS parts). I will be splitting the case because I need to get at the transmission and figure out why I can't shift into first gear. And most importantly of all, I will have TONS of questions (I already have a manual ) as this will be my maiden voyage of getting deeper in the engine than just taking off the valve cover or doing some clutch work.

Excellent project. Count me in as a follower on this one. Harm's bike looked really cool in the after pictures.

Please continue to post updates as you make progress. Heck they didn't banish me when I posted a thread about a Suzuki GS750 so I can't see how anyone would fault you for posting about a non KZ Kawasaki.

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationFunny, I just found this on ebay today and thought what a cool old Kaw, I've never seen one like that and then I stumble on your post.

not sure how i have missed this thread up until now.

i def. want to watch this bike come together.
keep us posted,

leon