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Old headlight was spiderwebbed with cracks and when I took my other one out of my Windjammer the glass popped off. I think I'm becoming an epoxy person... here's hoping I don't start putting RTV on everything too. 
 

In other news, my boss has informed me that I'll be having some overtime next week due to a coworker being out of state; as a result I'm looking into getting a new seat, maybe from a Z1 or KZ1000, maybe something allegedly "bolt-on" from Texavina. 

But maybe I should wait until I put the ducktail on, so maybe I should wait until I get a welder, so maybe I should wait until...

Would any early big Z riders be kind enough to measure the distance of the dotted line on their bikes? The rear of the tank to the middle of the tailpiece. Where it sits on mine now - the most natural-feeling spot - is 60cm or a little under 23.75". It might be a pretty easy addition after all. 

Limiting factors are my taillight (too wide) the seat (no cutout at the rear) and my grab bar (too narrow due to the thickness). Suppose I'll cross those bridges when I come to them - the taillight I don't care either way but I do like the 750N bar, so maybe I'll do some creative denting. 

Suppose I've decided that the tail is in the right spot and the seat will fit fine - thanks to Mikaw for his advice on the matter. I'll do my best to hold off on committing to that until after I ensure there aren't more pressing big-spending issues. I'm a little bit reconsidering my plan to use the stock exhaust; I do like my bikes louder and it would be a lot of work I'm not equipped to do.

Anyway! Enough talk. 
Spent a couple hours digging in. No major issues to note, thankfully, but a couple of my plug wires are now unusable - not a big deal since I'd like to have some with 90 degree ends instead. #3 plug did have some buildup:
Not sure what the cause is but I'm sure it's nothing. All plugs the same color, but maybe a little bit lean, which is probably from the stiff airbox boots - they were quite a challenge to put back on last time I was in the carbs. 

Speaking of which, I'll reduce my main jet to maybe a 120; this will help with fuel consumption and bring back some popping, which I consider a win-win. The parts list grows. 

Woke up early from nightmares about frying wontons and dealing with customers...clearly I'm not handling the overtime well. I made the most of my time in the mid-40s morning temps by getting the engine ready for removal; it's a little heavy even without the head and cylinders so I'm gonna wait for my girlfriend to help me out. 
I've seen much worse, so I'll scrub this off and lap the valves; I've got some viton seals as well. The pistons aren't too carboned, but I'll focus on cleaning and reringing those so I can see if I need to add any rings to my big Partzilla order. I know it's a distinct possibility I'll snap one or more of my new ones. EDIT: after checking the price of am OEM ring set, I have resolved to not snap any rings.

The bane of my existence as a shafty owner is this dowel pin - no easy way to press on it when you're removing the shaft! I got it done, but jeez. Not my favorite. 
I've got a date later but maybe this weekend after work I can split the cases and do my special project - you'll see. You'll all see. 

Engine removed and disassembled; nothing major to report aside from finding a circlip in the oil pan (which was otherwise surprisingly clean!). Somehow it came off the...shift fork rod? Don't know what to call it. 

A couple of the block studs have a thick layer of crud/sludge built up, which does not seem to have been a huge deal wear-wise. I will say that the Wiseco 810cc head gasket I used has left a ring of buildup around the cylinders and I'm glad to be going to a standard size.

My parts from CMS have officially shipped, but it'll probably be at least a couple weeks before they arrive, so I've got time to clean and scrape. Hoping my girlfriend has plans on one of my days off so I can scrub the parts in the bathtub.

As far as your piston rings, if you take the pistons out of the block and reuse the rings on a fresh hone it will most likely not seat and it will burn oil - been there done that. Do yourself a favor and put new rings in it if your going to hone the liners.

I rebuilt my '82 770 Spectre motor with reproduction rings I bought pretty reasonably from Ebay, a guy out of BC Canada - Just search "1982 kawasaki specre piston rings" sellers name is "dream305" his pictures have a green backdrop.

I used those new rings, no issues, sealed up nice, and my motor is STRONG.

wrote:

As far as your piston rings, if you take the pistons out of the block and reuse the rings on a fresh hone it will most likely not seat and it will burn oil - been there done that. Do yourself a favor and put new rings in it if your going to hone the liners.

I rebuilt my '82 770 Spectre motor with reproduction rings I bought pretty reasonably from Ebay, a guy out of BC Canada - Just search "1982 kawasaki specre piston rings" sellers name is "dream305" his pictures have a green backdrop.

I used those new rings, no issues, sealed up nice, and my motor is STRONG.

Thanks for the advice - I've got some new rings ready to go! They're the main thing I wanted to do over the winter, before I decided to dig deeper.

I bet most of us are guilty of using the better half’s appliances. Just don’t get caught. Lol

Way to be Ghost!
Its easy to say "one day" its another to get in the guts of these time machines.
you are gonna rip up the street soon! keep up the work.

After what feels like a lifetime of scraping I'm about ready to put the case back together; I am pretty sure I don't feel like painting it. Degreasing, scrubbing, sanding, scuffing, priming...I think I'll pass for now. If the contrast isn't too jarring I'll still paint the side covers and the head; barrels for sure are getting paint. 

That being said, I took a lot longer than I should have trying to get the halves together! It seems it's always a process I struggle with. In this event the issue was that I tightened down the shift drum too early and the transmission was about 2mm off.
The transmission in question; it's from a 1983 550 shaft, which is very exciting for me as it has six speeds. If my research is correct, I'll essentially have a stump-pulling gear followed by the five speeds I had before, with the final gearing being slightly lower than before - guessing my RPM at 70 will be around 4k. 

In other news, I received a package from generous forum member calum, so when I'm feeling brave I'll replace the back of my speedometer. 

Picked up the seat Moose1800 was selling; thought there was a chance I'd be able to make it work, but no dice. I'll sell it along for what I paid at some point. Once I'm more sure what's what I plan on selling or giving away some extra stuff I've got. 

Hi, I'm new here, and have a ? About a transmission swap I need to do. My ? Is is can I use a chain driven trans off a 1880 kz/Ltd 550 and put it on a 1985 kz 550 shaft driven motor without having to do anything except taking them off ,swapping them an mounting them. First pic is the 85 and the other pics are of what the 1980 trans was in until I blew motor, so I bought the 85 to replace the 80 but the 85 is shaft and I need chain. Please help thanks.