'78 KZ1000 Ugly Duckling

Thanks for the kind words. I do wish I'd wet sanded and polished before getting this done. I assumed I'd be able to blow clear over it, but the artist explained to me that the enamel based pinstripe paint tends to pull up when clear coated. So, I'll either be doing some very targeted wet sanding or I'll just live with some orange peel.

Right now though, I'm back to moving. With the clip-ons folded in, it really doesn't take up much space in the truck:

 

So I and my bike have been separated by several hundred miles for about a year, and that has been tough to say the least. I did manage to get a different pair of rearsets from Cognito Moto (gorgeous and highly functional; I can't recommend them highly enough) and fab up some new mounting hardware for them—which is way more of a hassle when you've got nothing but a couple of angle grinders at your disposal. Pics to follow.

Anyway, I've accepted a job in Singapore that starts in July, and I really don't want to mothball this bike for still more years. Does anybody have experience with having bikes shipped internationally? Is sea freight a realistic way to ship a bike, or do I need to look at air freight? Also, I have no idea what kind of paperwork the Singapore government might require, so if anyone has any insights about that, it would be appreciated.

As always, thanks in advance for any advice.

Looking back to your post about the cost of stainless metric bolts, I've had good luck with Boltdepot.com.  Good selection and very reasonably priced (about 1/3 of my local hardware store prices).  

Scotty

I'll have to talk to my former colleague about where those boxes upon boxes of m6x1.25 machine screws came from. Something to do with school robotics, I think. Might add up to a good source for competitively priced stainless bits...

Green gets my vote.

​​​​​​Fabulous!

H.
 

Buzz Nichols wrote:

Anyway, I've accepted a job in Singapore that starts in July, and I really don't want to mothball this bike for still more years. Does anybody have experience with having bikes shipped internationally? Is sea freight a realistic way to ship a bike, or do I need to look at air freight? Also, I have no idea what kind of paperwork the Singapore government might require, so if anyone has any insights about that, it would be appreciated.

As always, thanks in advance for any advice.

That's the way to travel Buzz, tooth brush - check, passport - check, wallet - check, cafe racer - check 

Sadly, my KZ has still not made the trip to Singapore. This country has some idiosyncratic regulations. For one thing, they don't want anything over 10 years old being imported unless you're willing to pay a tremendous fee. Also, to put any machine on the road you need to pay a tremendous fee (about $8000 US). Also, they have a tiered motorcycle license system that limits you to under 200cc's for a year, then under 400 cc's, then whatever. You can get around this by getting confirmation from the home DMV that you did your testing on a bigger bike, but the Michigan DMV doesn't have any such record from the 1980's, when I took that test. Also, you can only operate on a "classic" (more than 10 years old) plate for 45 days a year. There are still other issues, so I'll just have to look forward to returning to my bike in the summers.Speaking of Singaporean red tape, while I was waiting for my work pass to come through, I stumbled upon this bike shop: 

 



I went inside and, along with a bunch of Mutts (Chinese-made bikes that are way more sizzle than steak), I encountered these sweethearts:

 



I got to talking to the shop owner about the big Zeds, wound up showing him some pics of mine, and ultimately he asked if I would like to work on bikes here. I said I absolutely would, and it's been pure fun (and a bit of an education) ever since. I've worked on an awful lot of Mutts (which tend to want an awful lot of work, owing to their lacklustre engineering), but I've gotten to play around with a few really neat bikes that don't exist in the American market. I'm particularly taken with the Honda CB400 Super Fours, which have Honda's vtec variable cam timing.

Still looking forward to posting updates on my KZ once I'm back in the States. 

Jeez Buz, for $8k you can dream about the old girl while you are away and then get her a sister when you return   The licencing thing is similar in the UK, when I was 17 you could ride up to a 250cc on learner plates but had to pass your test before anything bigger. Since the early 90's as bikes got quicker that was reduced to 125cc with a two tier test and then (dependant on age) you are restricted to around 40hp for a further 2 years (I believe Germany has a similar structure) this was why 250's became almost worthless and 400 imports where all the rage 

PS: doesn't stop you sending me pictures and the back story though 

All I have to say about that.

I've seen a couple of those Honda 400 fours in Canada.  I would like to own one but they are too small for my height.  I'm 6 ft 2 inches with 36 inch inseam.  

hardrockminer wrote:

I've seen a couple of those Honda 400 fours in Canada.  I would like to own one but they are too small for my height.  I'm 6 ft 2 inches with 36 inch inseam.  



Don't worry, it will look like you are riding one of those pit bikes.

 

I've been toying with the idea of shipping a few back home; once they hit 10 years old, owners (the vast majority of whom have fitted the bikes out with Yoshimura exhaust) need to let them go pretty cheaply. From the back-of-the-envelope math, though, I would need to get about $5000 US for each one to make it worthwhile, and I feel like that's pretty steep for a 10 year old 400cc bike, even if it's cool and rare.

Maybe I'll end up bringing one back for myself. I'm kind of a sucker for the 80's bodywork and colorway: