TOPIC:

Hi Tim,
Nice find. We were gone for two weeks & just saw the OP.

Gentle cleaning and light polishing would be appropriate. Leave as much patina as is practical. Refurb instead of restore.

Over polishing the aluminum is a very common mistake. It was never mirror polished from the factory, more like shiny-ish satin.

+1 on rebuild the MC and caliper. Make sure it'll stop before you make it go.

The outside of the #'s 1 and 4 float bowls were polished from the factory. Take care to return them to their original positions, as they will fit any of the four carbs. You'll definitely need to replace the "T's" between the 1/2 and 3/4 carbs. Maybe the carb holders too, if they're cracked.

Don't replace the float needles & seats unless absolutely necessary. They just don't make them like that any more.

There were some misprints in the Kawasaki White Manuals. Wouldn't hurt to get one, but cross-check with the KZ-900 manual too. It has some updated and more detailed info in it.

The main 20 amp fuse was a round glass affair in a holder that was barely adequate to pass the current required to run the bike. We've seen many that were melted. We've updated that one piece on all of our Z-1's with a modern blade fuse & holder that simply plugs into the connectors for the glass fuse holder. No hacking of the harness necessary, and can be returned to stock condition in seconds. We'll post pics shortly.

+1 on the JIS screwdrivers mentioned above. You'll thank us later.

We'd check the torque of the head nuts and bolts. You might be surprised how much under torqued they could be.

Clean & apply dielectric grease to all pin connectors. They have a tendency to grow creeping crud over the decades.

Stuff some new grease into the wheel bearings.

We prefer the K&N air filter over the paper filter. The position of the airbox opening allows water from the top of the tank to drain into the airbox opening when washing or parked in rain. When the paper filter get wet, the bike will run poorly, if at all until the paper dries. Once oiled, the K&N filter will still breathe even if exposed to water.

The grease between the ID of the spark advancer cam and the advancer shaft has probably aged to where it's more like stiff glue. Careful disassembly, cleaning and new high-temp grease will ensure the advancer returns to full retard at idle.

The fading common to the blue is apparent on the tank top, at least one side over and the tailpiece. We'd leave it that way.

We think we see some perforations in the mufflers. If you choose to replace the exhaust system with a repo system, do not discard the original pipes!

Some here may disagree with the cosmetics, but a set of case guards would protect the dyno and points covers from damage in a simple parking lot drop.

Cool helmets! If you ever show the bike, make sure to include those helmets alongside.

Great project on an unmolested bike with a known history. They're becoming increasingly rare like that.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

Wow, thanks so much for this great information. You have a shop?

Tim wrote: Wow, thanks so much for this great information. You have a shop?

You're quite welcome. It's great to see a nice, original Z-1 in good hands & being brought back to life.

We don't have a shop, per se. We're just eat up with Z-1 fever. It's an affliction. Our (private) shop is the result of slmjim living & breathing Z-1's since he bought his first one new in 1974. Over the decades that first Z-1 has grown to a collection of six Z-1's, with the help and encouragement of The Lovely Z1BEBE. If you browse our introduction in the New Members section you'll see it and all of our other Z-1's, along with short versions of their back stories. We're not really a business, more like an enthusiast's shop/toy room/aZylum, but we will assist a fellow Z-1 enthusiast in any way we can, remotely or in person.

slmjim did work part time in a very good local bike shop for many years that specialized in Z-bikes, until they closed during the recession.

As promised, the main fuse modification. The holders were purchased at PepBoys. We spliced two OEM bullet connectors w/wires onto the pigtails, so they could be plugged into the original connectors for the OEM fuse holder. The blade fuse holder fits the space occupied by the OEM holder perfectly.








Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

Thank you I'll get on that.

I called an old bike shop today to ask about my project. This is how it went.

Hi I bought a project bike and Im hoping you'll help me out?

What is it?

75 Z1

Thats a winter project, wont touch it til winter Too busy now

Okay no problem that is my plan also, However I want to get he mc and caliper rebuilt so I can get it rolling when I bring it to you this winter.

Oh Okay, bring your kits and banjo bolts and I'll do it in between other stuff.



Perfect thanks.

The guy is older and crotchety with not so good customer skills I hear. Im happy I got it going. Feeling good

Ventured a bit deeper, asking if I should buy a new rotor? No it wont look good just use the one you got. It won't stop as good but will still work fine.

Kinda fun and funny to me.

Hi Tim,
At a glance, and within the resolution of the pic, the rotor doesn't look bad. Unless it's deeply scored or exhibits lateral runout we'd leave it in service. Providing it's the original rotor (likely), it will have the correct date code on it for the bikes' build date, keeping with the theme of originality.
Clean the swept area with brake cleaner, clean the corrosion spots from the unswept area gently with a kitchen Scotchbrite pad (the least aggressive) & ride. If it's deeply scored but runs true, turning it with an absolute minimum of metal removal is an option. The spec for the minimum service thickness is cast into it on the carrier.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

Glad to see you moving forward and glad to see others supporting the idea of leaving the original finishes intact. This probably says more about my little black heart then I care to share but... I would not leave a special vintage motorcycle in a shop for months unless you know these guys really well. As a recent example our Colo Pontiac Club was contacted to help a recently discharged veteran. He had a 65 GTO that he left with a shop to work on when they had time. He did his last tour and came back to chained doors and a nearly bare chassis sitting in the yard behind the shop. Some do it with malicious intent, others just borrow parts to solve a current problem and "I'll get another part to replace it when I have time" kind of thing and the project goes pear shaped. I wouldn't drop it off sooner than you have to and I would check in frequently.

I'd be making absolute sure you're sending your stuff to a legit shop. From what I hear (never sent my stuff to a shop) they take their sweet time on vintage stuff.....parts lay around...stuff gets lost, yadda, yadda, yadda. They just swap stuff out regardless of how rare it may be just so "it works".

You're much better off finding a club (facebook or forums) and have someone show/help you how to fix your bike.

Sweet helmets though!

Hi Tim,
Good advice from the two members above, especially given the rarity due to the complete, unmolested condition of your Z-1.

Few shops are even willing to work on old bikes. Fewer still will have detailed knowledge of Z-1's. Of those that remain, $$$ will be the name of the game.

You had mentioned getting your Mopar running. We had assumed that to mean you're a Motorhead with mechanical experience, good selection of tools (metric is a necessity) and a location to work on the bike. Apologies if we were mistaken in those assumptions.

Z-1's aren't nearly as complex as a car. They're really quite simple. If you can do automotive work, you can do a Z-1. They're the same just different, if that makes sense. Some specialty tasks (boring cylinders, driving valve guides & cutting valve seats in our case) are better farmed out to a shop that has the equipment and knowledge to do them right.

We're not asking you to bare your soul in front of the forum, but ask yourself this; are you capable and equipped to do basic maintenance, R&R assemblies, and perform rebuilds of simple components on a car? If yes, we suspect that you're perfectly capable of refurbishing this bike. A few special tools, accurate documentation and good forums are mostly what you'll need.

And patience. Lots of patience. A good refurb might take 'till next Ridin' season.

This forum and the one in our signature below will get you access to the most knowledgeable Z-1 enthusiasts in the world. We're passionate about these bikes, and we truly want to see them being ridden, enjoyed and remain in-country instead of being exported back the the Orient. Please don't hesitate to ask for assistance.

Now that that's said:
Calipers are easy. The rebuild parts are still available from Mama Kaw. Usually the only items needed are a new piston seal, perhaps a piston if the hard chrome plating is perforated by rust, and maybe new pads, although with only 13K on the bike it's unlikely. When you split the caliper halves, remove the four tiny O-rings from the two bolts first, before trying to remove the bolts from the outer half of the caliper, or else the tiny O-rings are likely to be damaged. Reassemble in reverse order: bolts, O-rings, then caliper carrier w/dust seals.

MC's require a special snap ring tool to remove a truly hateful, buried snap ring that retains the piston assy. There are few tasks on Z-1's that elicit the breadth and depth of language that Z1BEBE hears erupting from the shop than slmjim removing that snap ring. What we often see upon disassembly is, that the MC bore will have sustained corrosion damage, such that even a new piston and seal will usually weep brake fluid into the brake lever pivot area. Honing the bore only works sometimes, if the damage to the bore isn't too severe. We currently have two MC's in the shop that have sustained corrosion damage to the bore, such that it would be futile to rebuild them. We're going to send one each to two different outfits that claim to be able to re-sleeve them this winter. Only reason we bring that up is, if you take the MC to your crusty oi' guy and he says he can't/won't rebuild it, he's been down that road, sees the bore damage and is being straight with you. If that's the case, very good aftermarket reproduction MC's are available.

You had asked about parts. A surprising number of items are still available from Mama Kaw. Z1Enterprises.com and Z1Parts.net are reliable, respected vendors. For oddball fasteners, Fastenal.com is a good source, in our experience.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

This shop has a long history of doing good work at reasonable prices. I will be making it clear to them where I am when I take these 2 parts in. I will be watching them. Yes I have been a gearhead for 35 plus years now so not afraid just making it easier for me and seeing how this shop works for me. The only other work I'll probably have them do is rebuild the carbs and get it running.

My plan is get the brakes working. Clean up the rear end, new tires, new exhaust, then carbs done.

Thats it. Oh the rotor is in great shape. I bought all my rebuild parts and new hoses from Z1.

Where is the best deal in price and quality on a complete stock exhaust system?

Thanks again

Since you're going to have the wheels off anyways, now would be a great time to replace the wheel bearings.

You could use this time to clean up the master cylinder and maybe replace the rubber brake line too. (it's a slippery slope of "while I'm in there)

Yes it is. Already bout all new hoses and a new line too