Tri.... scores one for the barn find column 79MK11

The MKII in the pic above is one my all-time favorite builds, only a matching 18" front wheel and some Works piggyback shocks away from perfection (well, my version of perfection anyway).

Bike is looking better each time you post Craig. Excellent job!

Good to see the rubber on the ground, Craig.
Hope your helmet is large enough to hold all that grin while your riding.

Jim

things i have learned so far to try and work on ..

Kerker with just the cap and no baffle core or packing is fun for 100ft then lacks something... i think the core and packing will add some pulse and cadence ...at 65-80 mph it seems burrbly and un even ,like it is slurrping for flow....

lower triple tree may have been bent all along ,as the new upper triple and new bars still are cock eyed going along in a steady straight run....i am gonna try the loosen the front bolts and stem nuts and tweak the wheel against a wall and have someone snug em up to align the bars and forks and fender in one direction...it is not bad and once flying the thing points where it is going anyways...no head shake...just feels weird driving with the bars a touch to the right....i have used this hack method before and had success ....if not then later i will install replacement lower tree....as i have a few more ..

at the last minute i called my local shop and found the exact front pads i have been trying for all along and missing a match...71 bucks with pack of fiberglass packing and tax...turns out they had some all along on a shelf ...while i was searching hi and lo.....online...:S

these tires are great...but i think a 130mm rear might be a tad more eye catching the 120 is too skinny but ,,,,,boy does this thing sit up and swap lean angles quick...like a really knarly mountain bike on my country road...turns so quick i almost need to re-learn corners that i take all the time...ended up way to soon on transitions and got my attention quick...last thing i need is to go tossing this thing in the gravel......:woohoo: ...

seat cover is great and is one of the first things folks at work comment on after the paint of course...

i may switch the rear shocks to my koni dial a rides from the 900 for fridays ride if the other things im working on do not help...i may have the forks in a bind with the tarrozzi brace..the front has the giant jolt on big bumps under 45 mph...as well as the back....at hauling ass speeds the thing is smooth as ice...i understand how this works...but i want to ride in a group and friday i will be jolting along in the pack like the bike sucks...trying to loosen it up some...the tach bounces..needle bounces around freeway speeds above 4500...so...seems i picked the wrong tach from my extras to clean up the instruments i dont know if it could be saved as it is super clean 12000 rpm tach....so sad...pain in the ass...the old one worked but had a ding...i need to blue tape and label it(the clean but bouncy one) so i dont put it on again in my old age one day......i may have pulled it for just this reason from the 900 a few yrs back..just cant remember shit anymore

anyways ...wed night and thurs i have a few hrs each night and then if something aint done by then it will have to be ridden ...friday 730 a.m the bike is pointed out the driveway for a full day

onward and upward...it handles bad right now compared to my 4 yr with sorting out 900..... putting along is funky and is rough and loud.....looks cool though...now to get it to toss around by the GP....


thanks for the comments...i had it parked in the parking garage at work today to show riders/co-workers ect...and was always stopping by to just stare at it...like a kid on the first day at school after getting a new bicycle...i was waiting for riding home all day...

cant decide if i am gonna relax at some point and just enjoy the ride...or kick myself for waiting so long to shake out the bike....next year i will have ripper for the ride for sure...live and learn

ditch that over rated tranny fluid you have in the front forks and replae it with some 5 or 10/w30synthetic motor oil to get rid of that clunk in the front end.
your 7'3" tall and weigh a metric ton ya big gorilla,needs thicker oil in those to compensate!

maybe later...for now i am not messing with the inside of the fork..air caps are hard to get off with stuff in the way....the modern fork oil in my 900 is fine...off to work...in a car

Great job on the bike. Your new seat cover install looks good and thanks for the link...

I am literally about to cry. That bike is so fricking beautiful. Great job man.

Lazyman06 wrote: I am literally about to cry. That bike is so fricking beautiful. Great job man.

That's why we told you to hang on to your bike even after the fire. These bikes have major potential. You can get there too if you stay at it.

Hey Craig, this one is gorgeous!! Sure turned out nice. Been away for awhile as work has been all consuming, but I stop by once in awhile to check out my favorite projects. Really nice work bud.
Take care,

Bill

Absolutely gorgeous. Like someone had Sherman set the wayback machine to spring 1979, the nicest street MKll I've seen in a long time,that paint work is stunning. Congrats and enjoy !!

it is funny that Kawasaki had such a short run with em...the more i stand next to one in 2011,the more i want to stand next to one,i simply enjoy the looks and can stand and look at it ,then walk away,then go back and just stand there again....thank you for the nice compliments..Gregs paint and kawasaki design...i had little to do with it really....

but i am gonna hang on to this one and do all the little bolts and such...then a frame off details and powder coat ect...

i need to try and find the riding things for now and fix them nice so it can ride a summer....there is no end to these and my wants list for the MKII is above my means for this year anymore really....

i would like to get another bike moving along....so this will be a rider and tinker for this point...

should have some fun pics tomorrow night...i am in the more modern of two groups that will do a 100 mile ride concluding at the corkscrew for lunch and some touring laps...then the Bonhams & Butterfields

bikeweeknews.blogspot.com/2011/03/quail-...thering-auction.html

auction dinner fri night and then ride to the show saturday...bikes all bikes for the next few days...i will post the pics as they come in if possible.......