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So I finally got around to taking the first step in putting this Z1R back together.  I got the frame painted.  The bare frame has been hanging from a beam in my basement for about 8 years, so it's nice to finally have taken that first step.  It wasn't in bad shape, but it was missing a bunch of paint around the batter drain side (as is typical), and I think it had been rattle can painted at some point which was coming off in places.  I figured a repaint would be nice, but it took me a long time to make it happen.

 

After I got it back I removed the old steering head bearing races.  What a pain in the neck.  They never come out easy for me.  In the past I made a puller of sorts, by machining a slug to fit behind the lower race, and a plate and threaded rod to pull it out.  But even with this setup it didn't want to move, and I even broke the rod once.  Anyway, it came out eventually.

 

Next will be to remove the swing arm bearings.  After that I'm not sure.  I figure I'll go through boxes and figure out what work needs to be done to the next pieces.  I think I had some stuff powder coated about 10 years ago.  I'll seem what I can find.

Do love a project 

Looking good, keep us posted on the progress!

Nice work. It's always an effort to take that first step.

The last few times I have done it, I have welded a plate across the bearing races and hammered them out using a drift on the plate. If you get the amps right not much heat goes into the frame.

I will be following your project with much interest as I'm in the early stages of rebuilding my Z1R. Just replaced the steering head bearings with taper bearings. What a job!

I noticed your ID sticker is labeled a1977 and it's a 1978 model.  My sticker is labeled 1978 and everything on my bike indicates it must be a 1979 as all the parts are like a 1980. Is this common?

Vinsky wrote:

I noticed your ID sticker is labeled a1977 and it's a 1978 model.  My sticker is labeled 1978 and everything on my bike indicates it must be a 1979 as all the parts are like a 1980. Is this common?

That depends on the month of assembly. Typically, the model year production runs from July to July, or August to July, so 1979 model production began in late July of 1978 and ran through late early July of 1979. Auto makers do essentially the same thing. That is why you can buy next years’ model during the last quarter of this year.

This should make bearing race removal easier next time.

www.parktool.com/en-us/product/head-cup-remover-oversized-rt-2

That could explain why everything on the bike looks like a D2, The motor doesn't have any serial numbers and also has the early style cam cover.

Vinsky wrote:

I noticed your ID sticker is labeled a1977 and it's a 1978 model.  My sticker is labeled 1978 and everything on my bike indicates it must be a 1979 as all the parts are like a 1980. Is this common?

 

As TexasKZ said, production would typically start later in the year before the "model year".  There was a thread where we discussed the specific timing for the 1978 Z1R (D1) but I can't find it now.  Basically, between a member who worked at Kawasaki in Nebraska, and another who worked for a dealer, we figured out that the emissions and safety regulations in California changed on January 1st, 1978, and the Z1R-D1 did not meet the new standards.  That means that every single "1978" Z1R-D1 imported into the US was manufactured before 1/1/1978.  My own research suggests that about 9000 D1 Z1Rs were imported into the US, with the rest of the D1 Z1Rs sent to other markets, for a total production of about 17k units.

If your bike has a frame number on the head tube, and it starts with KZT00D, then you should be able to figure out if it's a D1, D2, or D3.  If your serial number is between KZT00D-000101 and KZT00D-017392, then it's a "1978" Z1R-D1.  If it's within that range, but above 9000 or 10,000 or so, it is a bike that was not originally sold in US.

If it is in fact a D2, it's incredibly rare.  The serial numbers suggest that there were very few of these bikes made, and I think they all went to Australia.  But the frame numbers are somewhat documented. 

One source gives D1 frame # as ending at KZT00D-017392, and D3 starting at KZT00D-017801.  Presumably the D2 is between these.

www.zedder.com/Info/78%20KZ1000-D1%20Z1-R.htm
www.zedder.com/Info/80%20KZ1000-D3%20Z1-R.htm

The model recognition book gives a starting frame number of KZT00D-017501 for the D2.  So that would be a maximum of 300 D2 bikes made, but it could be less, and I don't think anyone really knows.

One more detail.  Tony Sculpher's Z1R book mentioned that he belies the D2 bikes were likely assembled in April 1979, and were probably assembled over a period of 2-3 days.  You mention that your sticker has a date of 1978, so chances are that it's not a D2.

Where are you located?  Want to post a picture of the head tube sticker?





 

Found two old threads....
www.kzrider.com/forum/13-bike-related/61...0b2a?start=12#840891

www.kzrider.com/forum/13-bike-related/35...=raw&start=48#646253

This is the ID sticker which matches the frame numbers. I assume the mfg date was December 1977.
I apologize for the error is saying my sticker was labeled 1978, not 1977.
I've owned the bike since 1988 and never noticed all the different models until I decided to restore it. That's when I suspected it was a mixed version of something.