Retroactive KZ750E Project Thread

I guess what I’m asking is, do I have to mask off the area ? Or can I just scuff the area I want and that way when I spray it won’t have those ridges or whatever. Meaning the paint will blend together...... I think.

Thanks!

Ed,
I just read this thread. Excellent job on it, and of couse the bike! I’m surprised more people don’t do project threads after the fact,
like you did. There is so much going on during, why add to the workload? Too much at once!
You tackled such a wide range of tasks, you did everything.
I never saw someone make their own flexible brake lines; didnt even occur to me that it could be done. I guess you just wanted to
do it ? You can get the correct lines factory made, right?
Having owned a 1980 model of your bike, I can see why your efforts were worthwhile. It was the closest thing to a perfect
motorcycle I’ve ever ridden; better than a KZ 1000.
Congrats, and thanks for sharing.

Hi Ed. Just wondering if you soda blasted the block as well as the head? Did you soda blast to avoid beads getting everywhere or was it just better for getting the cooling fins?
I ask as I am planning on bead blasting the block, head and valve cover together. I'll put the old gasket in and use a couple of long bolts to hold the head and block together going through a bit of wood across the bottom of the cylinders. I figure this way nothing will get inside the cylinders or galleys and I can go mental with the blasting. I'll clean up the inside with some petrol as I won't be doing any work on the top end (only 30,000 km and the compression and leak down tests were OK - will give it another 30,000 and them pull it apart again).
Do you see any problems with this approach? Would you use soda or glass beads?

calum wrote: Hi Ed. Just wondering if you soda blasted the block as well as the head? Did you soda blast to avoid beads getting everywhere or was it just better for getting the cooling fins?
I ask as I am planning on bead blasting the block, head and valve cover together. I'll put the old gasket in and use a couple of long bolts to hold the head and block together going through a bit of wood across the bottom of the cylinders. I figure this way nothing will get inside the cylinders or galleys and I can go mental with the blasting. I'll clean up the inside with some petrol as I won't be doing any work on the top end (only 30,000 km and the compression and leak down tests were OK - will give it another 30,000 and them pull it apart again).
Do you see any problems with this approach? Would you use soda or glass beads?

Hi Calum,

Soda blasting everything is a good idea. Soda will dissolve with water so if any gets into the internal passages it won't be as serious a concern as it is with glass or sand grit. I'd still tape up the openings to not tempt fate, particularly on the head. The recessed oil passages are difficult to clean unless you are brave and drill out the galley plugs. On my project I only used soda on the head but with hindsight it would have been a good idea to use it on everything to save masking time.

Good luck

Thanks Ed.
Ordered some soda blast media today. Will get the sand out on the weekend for the swingarm and frame fittings, then the glass beads for the fork tubes, engine covers and steering head. After that the soda should be there and I can get the block done.

Soda disintegrates on impact and largely turns to dust. Blasting in a cabinet creates a dust cloud with poor visibility (in my cabinet anyway). If you soda blast outdoors the remnants can kill plants. Don't ask me how I learned this.

OK, will do a test run in the cabinet and if I can't see enough I'll find a workshop somewhere - or may buy my wife some more plants

Before I get started, what pressure did you run while soda blasting the head? And did you blast the sealing faces, valves etc?

calum wrote: Before I get started, what pressure did you run while soda blasting the head? And did you blast the sealing faces, valves etc?

100 psi for the blasting. You need some pressure because soda is not overly aggressive. You won't hurt the valve seats but again, I'd keep as much grit out of the oil passages as possible.

Hi Ed,
slowly but surely making progress on the KZ. Just finished painting the engine and covers (strayed from the original aluminium block and went with the black engine like yours - the crankcase was too beat up to leave as it was).
I clear coated the head and valve cover after sanding the highlights. The fins chipped in a couple of places when sanding so I wanted the extra protection, the valve cover I did mostly to hide the scuff marks - oops.
Was wondering if you put clear on the covers. I'm tending to not do it at the moment as it takes away the shine a bit, just not sure about the paint chipping around the edges. Have a good 2k engine lacquer that I could use, what would you recommend?

Very nice work! I am going with a vintage Superbike / resto-mod on mine, instead of staying close to stock. I would be surprised if mine came out near as nice as yours. Again, outstanding work!

calum wrote: Hi Ed,
slowly but surely making progress on the KZ. Just finished painting the engine and covers (strayed from the original aluminium block and went with the black engine like yours - the crankcase was too beat up to leave as it was).
I clear coated the head and valve cover after sanding the highlights. The fins chipped in a couple of places when sanding so I wanted the extra protection, the valve cover I did mostly to hide the scuff marks - oops.
Was wondering if you put clear on the covers. I'm tending to not do it at the moment as it takes away the shine a bit, just not sure about the paint chipping around the edges. Have a good 2k engine lacquer that I could use, what would you recommend?

Sorry but I don't have any recommendations for 2k engine clear. If you find one let me know. I used crappy rattle can VHT and it's one of the weaknesses of my rebuild because it's nowhere near as nice as the paint Kawasaki used originally. If anyone knows what kind of paint they used please share. They painted the raw castings, including lots of overspray on the inside, and then machined the surfaces. Engine oil doesn't affect the paint one bit.