TOPIC:

Wow! and I mean WOW!

I am used to buy OEM parts for our projects from USA, thus when I decided to order new carburetors’ manifolds I found that only right carb holders are currently available. After some thinking I decided to try aftermarket manifolds, a set made by TourMax (company that states Japan as a country of origin on packaging of its products). Earlier in my repair practice I have positive experience with their products. Their set of manifolds for KZ650 with VM24 carburetors has code CHK-2. I ordered this set of manifolds on German ebay and was quite accurate to chose seller who not only hase a lot of positive feedback, but who also clearly stated in item description TourMax as manufacturer and CHK-2. Parcel arrived and at first glance its content looked good. However, as I wrote I used TourMax products earlier, so I know how their packaging looks like and their logo as well. The box I received was made in TourMax style but has no Tourmax logo nor “Made in Japan” statement on it.



Manifolds were quite soft and looked good until I take a closer look on vacuum gauge attachments.



That was clearly a moment for “Holy Moly” exclamation. Just take a look at this picture:




Only one attachment looked as it should look like. Three other were different from it and from each other, and seemed to be made by drunken turner in tenth shift. Sure, one may say: “what a problem, just round the edges and let it be”. My answer will be “Nay”. It’s clear that these parts never seen Japan even in their deepest dreams. And if manufacturer, whoever he was, managed to make such simple work so poor, guess what he could use instead of proper rubber compound.

So we wrote email to seller and in result got complete refund, apologies and some explanation:

“Our wholesaler told us that these parts have been sold out at Tourmax for 5 years. We did not notice that because we order parts from our wholesaler with the same article number. But at a lower price.”

I’ve made some additional search and it might be true that TourMax does not manufacture manifold any more. So as it’s said on the only one page of TourMax website dated by year 2016: “beware of imitations”.

After such experience I wanted no more experiments, so I looked for OEM manifolds again. Turned out. that left manifolds (part number 16065-046) still available in Europe. So I ordered two of them from European source of OEM parts and two right manifolds (part number 16065-047) from USA. Thus in result I’ve got right set of carburetor manifolds, even if it turned a bit pricey.



OEM parts are OEM parts, what else could be said? In case of manifolds, however, I could say that OEM are softer than those of “pseudo TourMax”.



o those of you who traced new manifolds on ebay here is my advice: take a closer look at manifold mounts on a lot photos. If strips of white metal around the holes are wider than traces of factory countersink you may see on photo below…



… it’s likely that manifold was installed before. I saw a couple of such manifolds on Ebay. However it’s up to you to decide, if they are still may be counted for new…

To finish work on carburetors I ordered some set of parts form Z-fever. Between them were five rubber cups for vacuum gauge attachments.



Why five if there are only four manifolds? I am about to use manual fuel petcock, so I need fifth cap to cover vacuum port on second carburetor.

Most of modern carburetors have fuel tees and fittings of similar design: they could be made of plastic or aluminum but they have a couple of O-rings on legs that fit into carburetor body. Situation with old Mikuni is different: its tee and two fittings that connect carburetors 1-2 and 3-4 covered in solid rubber. I saw the same design of tees on later Mikunies, and they all have same flaw: in time rubber dries and cracks. This issue could be fixed only by parts’ replacement. Tee and fittings of my VM24 carburetors still look good and seem tight, but I won’t take a chance of fuel leakage. so I decided to replace them.



No wonder that original parts are not available for a long time. Fortunately, the tee and fittings used in KZ650 carburetors (part numbers 92005-1010 for tee and 92005-1009 for fittings) were also used in Z1R and KZ1000. thus there are a choice of decent aftermarket products. Sure, as soon as I detected that PMC makes tees and fittings, I ordered them.





They are made of stainless steel.



Here are some close photos to give you an idea about quality. They are very accurately machined and tee neatly welded from two parts:









Dimensions completely correspond those of OEM parts. I shot some photos to demonstrate this:

Clauss Studios might carry those carb holders. If not, tgey can make them from old parts.

Sweet build. Ive sat in front of a wheel buffer for hours, so I can appreciate the work done to the wheel set.

So, what should have happened in June happened only in September. Yesterday I finally finished rear wheel. I placed second order for Excel 18″ 2.5″ high shouldered rim as soon as I became sure that first perfectly fits modified hubs of Honda CBX550. Central Wheel Components, UK, fulfilled my order very fast, only few days after its placing. Unfortunately, parcel with second rim arrived into Ukraine in the midst of vacation season, August. It cost me three (3 !) additional weeks of waiting, including two weeks of customs clearance. To release parcel which price exceeds customs limit receiver has to pay tax. I had to call customs three times just to get from them that amount of tax.



However, enough about sad things. After I received second Excel rim I did with it exactly the same things as with first: polished and spoked. As usually I did spokes adjusting and tightening on wheel installed on its place. This time it was swingarm. And as usually, I used two dial gauges attached to swingarm in point of shock absorber mount.



This time adjustment went even better than with the first rim. I managed to get 0.3mm for both lateral and radial runouts (including the zone of welding seam).



Assembled wheel looked gorgeous:











I was ready to put the tire on the wheel.



Now, as both wheels assembled, I could breathe a sigh of relief and say that one third of Kawasaki KZ650 is finished.

Gazzz, Your attention to detail and high standards are second to none. It has me rethinking many upcoming projects I have in store for myself. For example, I have a two Kawasaki 175 2 stroke enduros(1974 & 1975), a 1973 H2 750 and a 1975 KH500 all to restore. Plus, the service work on my running KZ650, ZRX1200, and ZG1400 Concours. First, I need to complete my garage addition. I will have a proper workbench, tools, lift, full size Atlas tire changer, and lots of lighting. Foundation footings/walls have been poured, walls framed and roof installed. Waiting on the floor slab to be poured then electricity, & so on. I keep thinking ahead of myself but need to be patient.
The work/craft you are performing keeps giving me inspiration and ideas for my future and current projects. Keep up the amazing work.

AND, apologies for the slight hijacking of your thread. I will start my own thread and post pictures there. Thanks again for all you are sharing with us!

Thank you!

Very cool collection of bikes you have!

And good luck with garage upgrade! I sincerely envy the expansion of your garage, as I have to work in my garage as it is. From "soviet" times garages in our cities were built in larger or smaller clusters. My garage is placed in one of such garage "pools". Every owner built his own garage so every garage is unique, even if they all have same area and more or less same height. I attached couple of winter photos of garages and one photo where field of roofs is visible.
So, unfortunately there is no space for expansion. My garage has basement separated by previous owner in two halves by the wall. One half is so to say guaranteed dry and I already turned it into storage of parts I've got in my possession for long years of motorcycling and during projects.

Gazzz, You humble me once again. Those garages are certainly unique. Soviet era you say? It makes the work you do that much more amazing. Looks like you get your fair share of snow as well! What city or area of Ukraine do you live? Very cool skyline with rainbow effect photo. Thanks for sharing! The basement must be a blessing for storage. I have a basement under my house proper. I will be adding a drop down ladder to my existing garage and can use that attic space for some storage.

Here is the link to my garage project. I will update as I make progress.

kzrider.com/forum/9-chit-chat/611562-my-...ork-on-bike-projects

I live in Kiev.

Third day in row I am doing my every year garage cleaning. I always keep my garage more or less clean but once a year I spent several days on total cleaning and things permutation. It's time to check what parts may be boxed and placed into the basement "archive", to refresh in memory what parts I have and to make position of supplies and instruments more optimal. So why not to talk about garages?

This very garage pool (local original name for such conglomerates is "garage cooperative") was founded and built in 1988 by people resettled to Kiev from the Chernobyl exclusion zone after well known accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant that happened in 1986. Such "cooperatives" were not only place for storing vehicles or goods (including traditional piles of potato and glass jars filled with homemade marinades and jam in cellar). Such garages were place where some kind of subculture was born. If simplified and shortly, this subculture included collective car/motorcycle/boats repairs and sure, moonshine. So every man who owned a garage tried to sneak from home into garages to get a gulp of freedom and communication with other men, aka "gentlemen club". It also had practical sense as personal repair/tools resources of every individual were very limited, but that guy from garage two rows aside from yours and in whose company you tasting homemade vine of you garage neighbor could get you in touch with that guy who operates milling machine eight hours a day every working day at some factory and who definitely could do the work according to your drawings for some amount of moonshine/vodka. Or something like that.

And even as times changed one still may find in such "garage cooperative" all kind of things, from old good moonshine making to the forge where couple of bearded guys make titanium knight armor. And welder who with same ease welds the halves of titanium helmet, aluminum subframe (or whatever it called) of BMW car or pieces of stainless steel tubes in such manner that later welding seams could be leveled with tube body and no sigh of it would be visible. Not to mention all kinds of car service workshops, bodyshops and paintshops. And sure, now these garages also populated with every kind of motorcyclists from groups of greasy guys whose motorcycles strictly remind rat bikes from MadMax to proud Harley owners.

There are a lot of garage "garage cooperatives" in every city of Ukraine and post Soviet Union countries. In some of them garages are built of brick and reinforced concrete slabs, in other garages are made of metal (usually typical factory made constructions). Here are some photos from garage pool of last type.

One friend of mine named Andrew has Dyno right in his garage as well as diagnostic tools like wideband oxygen probe. I think everyone use to read fiction books in which one of the characters is some kind of a bit crazy genius, making great stuff from parts at hand. So this friend of mine is him. He with his brother repairs and tunes up bikes, adjusts fuel injection systems, and occasionally they take part in various motorcycle races. There are no parts Andrew couldn’t repair: alternators, shock absorbers, engines and so on and so forth. For motorbikes, and for cars. And he is also employed as IT-professional (Linux, programming and so on). The only thing: do not mind chaos of parts on backstage and on the floor:-)

That's funny how many different views of skies one may catch just sticking his head out of garage doors. From epic sunsets to bright moon and scenes alike to scene from the Blues Brothers 2000 movies where the band plays “Ghost Riders in the Sky”.

What a fantastic story. Thank you fair sharing it with us. It should help remind those of us fortunate enough to live outside the communist where of influence how fortunate we really are.