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Project: 1990 ZR550 Zephyr (yes, another one) 28 Mar 2023 21:36 #882143

  • Stereordinary
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Today I bought a project bike, a 1990 ZR550 Zephyr. Yes, that makes this my second bike of the same model and year, they’re only a few months apart on the manufacturing date. 

Some of you might remember that I have been keen on getting a second bike, and wanted it to be a project because I genuinely enjoy the project, restoration, painting, and modding processes. I could not believe it when I found this one for sale on Seattle Craig’s List for only $100. And it just so happened that I had a friend in Seattle on a work trip for the day, so he was able to pick it up for me. 

I don’t entirely know yet what the plan will be. As far as I can tell, it’s all there. The whole bike, albeit lots of parts in bins, and not the prettiest. But since it’s titled, I’m thinking a restoration with some tasteful mods is in order. 

First thing is gonna be some base level cleaning, reassembly, and trying to get it running. I’m sure I’ll have lots of questions along the way. 

 
A breeze from the west.
‘90 ZR550 Zephyr (x2)
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Project: 1990 ZR550 Zephyr (yes, another one) 29 Mar 2023 19:11 #882167

  • linuxrob
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Bargin. 2 weeks ago bought a stored 1991 ZR550B2 to use as a summer ride to work. I will go through the bike from front to back before use. It will complement my owned from new 1980 Z500 sort of first of the line and last of the line.
Will start a new thread with the project. Look for forward to your posting.

Rob B
1980 Z500 B2 owned from new 78260 miles
1980 Z500 B2 in bits since 1982 23000 miles
2004 GSF1200S Bandit K4
2000 GS125 ESD
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Project: 1990 ZR550 Zephyr (yes, another one) 29 Mar 2023 23:56 #882176

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Started digging into my new project today. Here’s some of the highlights, and questions to start out with. 

- The tank is rusty and bondo’d on the outside, but looks to be pretty clean inside. I already have a spare tank I can use on the bike while I clean and repaint the tank it came with. 
- The engine has been painted black, which looks decent, but the edges of the fins are red, which looks weird. I’ll see if I can just scrape/sand the red off the fins. 
- The carbs came off the bike in a bin, and fitted with pod filters. Thankfully the original air box was in another bin, so I’ll be putting that all back on. 
- The handlebars are bent. Included in the bins was two clutch levers, one of which was also bent, so presumably the bike was dropped at some point. No other signs of damage so far. 
- Many bolts have been replaced with black anodized alloy bolts. I’m dubious about this as I worry about corrosion, and seizing. There was additional black and red alloy fasteners in the bins. Open to opinions on this. 
- Front turn signals are goners. Rear turn signals are in better shape than the ones on my other Zephyr. 
- Tires are old, but show very little signs of wear or cracking. 
- Paint on the plastic bodywork parts is not too bad, but not good enough for me. I’ll definitely be repainting everything. 
- Exhaust is wrapped and painted black, and looks like the black is flaking off the chrome. Not worrying about that right now. 
- At present I have only one key, and it only works in one gas cap that is not the original gas cap. It does appear to be a genuine Kawasaki key and gas cap, just not from this bike. As such, I don’t have any key that actually works in the bike. 

Now one of the bigger things is that it showed up with no bolts holding the cam cover in place. It’s literally just resting on top. My guess is the PO had trouble finding all the appropriate alloy bolts for it.  Besides the obvious fact I’d likely need to check the cam chain timing before bolting it down, I wondered if there might be more. So I messaged the PO and asked about what all had been done with the engine. This was their reply:

“The engine was fully dismantled. I had to replace the base gasket. I think I reassembled everything but the cam/valves. Id check all of that, definitely do the timing (if the spacers are even in). Theres a cardboard box in one of the bins with parts for that. It sat for 10 years, so could be rust in the cylinders (I oiled them, so hopefully not) but probably worth a check.” 

So that gives me something to start with. I have done valves on a bike before, but not a shim type like this. Any advice welcome. 

I’m also wondering if there is an easy way to tell if the bike has any oil in it. The PO’s information above doesn’t say whether or not they actually filled it with oil post-rebuild or not. I suppose I could ask. But is there an easy way to figure this out in my own? I suppose I could just try and drain it, and if a bunch of oil comes out I just put it back in (assuming it looks clean). As far as I know there’s no dip stick. Again, any advice welcome. 
A breeze from the west.
‘90 ZR550 Zephyr (x2)

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Project: 1990 ZR550 Zephyr (yes, another one) 30 Mar 2023 09:25 #882190

  • Kelly E
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There's an oil level sight glass on the clutch cover. You need to check the oil level while on the centerstand.
The Rust Bros. Garage Collection
1974 Honda CB 550 K0
1975 Honda CB 400F Super Sport
1977 Kawasaki KZ 1000 LTD
1980 Suzuki GS 1100E
1981 Suzuki GS 1100E
1982 Honda CB 900F Super Sport
1983 Honda CB 1100F
1984 Honda Sabre 700
1984 Honda Interceptor 1000
1994 Kawasaki ZG 1000 Concours
And more
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Project: 1990 ZR550 Zephyr (yes, another one) 30 Mar 2023 10:34 #882191

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I had an “oh yeah, duh” moment when I looked at the bike this morning and saw the sight glass, haha. It’s doesn’t have a center stand, but I can put it upright with my paddock stands. 
A breeze from the west.
‘90 ZR550 Zephyr (x2)

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Project: 1990 ZR550 Zephyr (yes, another one) 30 Mar 2023 11:37 #882194

  • Wookie58
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I had an “oh yeah, duh” moment when I looked at the bike this morning and saw the sight glass, haha. It’s doesn’t have a center stand, but I can put it upright with my paddock stands. 
It won't be level on a paddock stand so will read higher than it is (given the position of the sight glass) 
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Project: 1990 ZR550 Zephyr (yes, another one) 30 Mar 2023 14:12 #882201

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Then I guess I’ll just throw a leg over and hold it upright myself, and ask a friend look at the sight glass for me. 
A breeze from the west.
‘90 ZR550 Zephyr (x2)

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Project: 1990 ZR550 Zephyr (yes, another one) 03 Apr 2023 21:13 #882456

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As previously mentioned, I am currently without a working key for this bike. Before I explore other options, I'm hoping I can find the key code and have a new one cut from that. So far I have the gas cap, and the seat lock removed from the bike, but I can't find any numbers stamped into either of them. I think maybe they are deeper within, but inaccessible without the key. I've also got some of the components on the front of the bike removed so that I can access the ignition switch, but there are no numbers I can see on that either. I could remove the ignition switch, but that involves drilling the security bolts out, and replacing them with a pin-in-torx bolt or some other kind of security bolt. 

So does anyone know if there is another way to find the code, or should just go ahead and whip out the drill?
A breeze from the west.
‘90 ZR550 Zephyr (x2)

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Project: 1990 ZR550 Zephyr (yes, another one) 03 Apr 2023 22:54 #882457

  • Scirocco
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You have only to drill away the heads of the security bolts to remove the ignition lock.
A good car body shop should have special drills to remove dot welds.

 
 
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Project: 1990 ZR550 Zephyr (yes, another one) 04 Apr 2023 16:10 #882508

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I found the key code on the seat lock, it was just in a place I didn’t think to check before, and having better lighting (the sun actually came out in the Pacific Northwest today!) helped. Got a key ordered up. 

Since I was already spending money I don’t have, I also picked up a new cam cover, some ThreeBond 1211, and a cam cover gasket. The cam cover is euro-spec from a KZ/GPZ 550 so it has  “DOHC” on it, which I just think looks cool. 
A breeze from the west.
‘90 ZR550 Zephyr (x2)

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Project: 1990 ZR550 Zephyr (yes, another one) 08 Apr 2023 10:52 #882705

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Does anybody know what kind of glue to use on this plastic? I don’t think it’s ABS, though I could be mistaken. I probably won’t use these gauges permanently, so even just a basic repair that gets me through some test miles would be enough. 

 
A breeze from the west.
‘90 ZR550 Zephyr (x2)
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Project: 1990 ZR550 Zephyr (yes, another one) 16 Apr 2023 23:38 #883301

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Project update!

Overall we're in pretty good shape here, and I'm still optimistic about it. It's taking every bit of my patience as an endless tinkerer not to tear it all down, clean it up, and repaint everything before putting it back together, but I want to follow the tried and true method of "see if it runs first" before I do any of that. With that as my ethos, I've now got the throttle and clutch cables reinstalled, did some cleaning, and I'm currently trying to cram the carbs back in. The rubbers on the engine side are stiff as all hell, and giving me a hard time. I might grab my girlfriend's hair dryer tomorrow while she's at work to soften them.

Anyway, here's a photo.
 
A breeze from the west.
‘90 ZR550 Zephyr (x2)
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