Another amateur build thread

TexasKZ wrote:

Wookie58 wrote:

Check back in my build thread for widening the tail piece to fit the later frame, your seat should be close to fitting then

I paid close attention to what you did. It was an elegant solution, and I may end up there. My plan is to have a little upswept angle, and I am 83.4% sure I can get it to fit without splitting it. I will try to get a pic posted tomorrow. Ref the pic below, the problem area is the rear corner so if you are "sweeping" the tail piece up you may get away with the stock part.

I think my bigger problem will be reshaping the seat pan. I have thought seriously about following your lead there, and making a fully custom fiberglass pan. As odd as this may seem, I'd like to keep as many Kawasaki parts in the build as I can, even if they have been modified. The pan would need some sheet-metal work but to be fair any alternative will also take some work to make it nice

Do you have any thoughts about the APE/ Kibblewhite pairing? I suspect that since each could be used in isolation then "common sense" would dictate they should work together (only my opinion) the likes of Zed1015 or Injected would be better placed to advise on this

Welp, here is the basic plan for the tailpiece. The factory cutout for the top of the shock will be properly centered over the mount. The turn signal mount does stick down a bit. I suppose I am one of the  two people in the world who is not enamored with microscopic turn signals. In fact, I am toying with using something like the ZRX has, but with really short stalks. Also, you can see that the KZ tailpiece is slightly less angled than the ZRX in the background. The final angle will be determined by the taillight mount.

Wookie58 wrote:

TexasKZ wrote:

Wookie58 wrote:

Check back in my build thread for widening the tail piece to fit the later frame, your seat should be close to fitting then

I think my bigger problem will be reshaping the seat pan. I have thought seriously about following your lead there, and making a fully custom fiberglass pan. As odd as this may seem, I'd like to keep as many Kawasaki parts in the build as I can, even if they have been modified. The pan would need some sheet-metal work but to be fair any alternative will also take some work to make it nice

Do you have any thoughts about the APE/ Kibblewhite pairing? I suspect that since each could be used in isolation then "common sense" would dictate they should work together (only my opinion) the likes of Zed1015 or Injected would be better placed to advise on this

 

 

I have done some fiberglass work along the way, and I am inclined to avoid any more of that itchy stuff if possible. Fighting with cutoff wheels, pliers, hammers and such seem a less miserable alternative. We shall see.

I have spent way too many hours stewing about which way to go with this and that, so I have made an executive decision on the valve train. The difference in price between the hybrid option versus either the all-Schnitz (APE) or the all-Kibblewhite options was about $54. After adding the extra cost of two shipments versus one shipment and the difference contracts substantially. For $20 or $30 I do not have to worry about the parts playing nice together and can get on with this long-overdue business. Since I already have Kibblewhite springs, Kibblewhite retainers and followers get the nod. Hopefully, I can get the head to Schumann by early January.

Schumann (Chris) Motors offered to make SS valves for my head project completed early this year.
I declined to spend the additional $ for that, but if money was no issue...
Lol!

P.S.  Chris does nice work IMO

I figured that if APE trusted him enough to finish Jay's backlog, I should trust him, too.

I should be getting some of his oversized intake valves, depending on the clearance offered by the cams.

Got the head out to get it ready to ship. Am curious about a couple of things I found.

First, when the head goes back together, should I install the cam bearing below in the correct position and forget about how I found it?



Second, should I be concerned about the bumps in these cam bearings?

 
 

TexasKZ wrote:

Got the head out to get it ready to ship. Am curious about a couple of things I found.

First, when the head goes back together, should I install the cam bearing below in the correct position and forget about how I found it? yes (IMHO) as long as it is then centered on the bearing journal of the cam

Second, should I be concerned about the bumps in these cam bearings? I have never seen a bearing "blistered" like that but it appears the "white metal" is de-laminating from the bearing shell itself so in my opinion I wouldn't re-use them



 

Fit the cam shells as in the second pic with the tang fully butted up against the cut out.
The blistered coating is common ( i have a bag full of them ) and is generally considered to be caused by out gassing of contaminents in the base metal.
They don't seem to have any detrimental affect but i usually swap them out for none blistered ones.

The top halves of the blistered bearing shells are also blistered. Also the bottom halves show no clear wear marks,. but the upper ones do. The color of the nearby oil stains make me wonder how hot this engine may have gotten.
If this was some oddity of a speedometer or a mirror, I would probably take a chance, but if one of these fail, the repair bill could be large. I have a full set in my basket.

Also, will the cam cover need to be relieved for cam clearance? Keep in mind it is s smog cover.

TexasKZ wrote:

 Also the bottom halves show no clear wear marks,. but the upper ones do. 

Also, will the cam cover need to be relieved for cam clearance? Keep in mind it is s smog cover.
 

The top halves usually show more wear because they are subject to pressure from the valve springs pushing the cam up against them.
If re-using the shells it's a good idea to switch them around and put the best looking, least worn ones ones in the caps.
As for the cover clearance it all depends on the cams you have but it's usually only the early Z covers that need the raised 'X' removing which the later J/GPZ ones don't have.
You will still likely have to clearance the head for the sweep of the cam lobe fore and aft of the bucket bore though.

 

zed1015 wrote:

TexasKZ wrote:

 Also the bottom halves show no clear wear marks,. but the upper ones do. 

Also, will the cam cover need to be relieved for cam clearance? Keep in mind it is s smog cover.


 

The top halves usually show more wear because they are subject to pressure from the valve springs pushing the cam up against them.
If re-using the shells it's a good idea to switch them around and put the best looking, least worn ones ones in the caps.
As for the cover clearance it all depends on the cams you have but it's usually only the early Z covers that need the raised 'X' removing which the later J/GPZ ones don't have.
You will still likely have to clearance the head for the sweep of the cam lobe fore and aft of the bucket bore though.



 

Thanks.
I have clearanced the bucket bores and had to remove a little material from the side of the head, including a tiny bit of the of the gasket surface particularly around the castings for a couple of the the cam cover bolts. My concern is the corresponding areas of the cover near the bolt bosses, and maybe the casting for the reed cages. I am not quite sure how I could find out where the cams contact the cover, if in fact they do.  The cams are .418 lift

TexasKZ post=907450 userid=14419

wrote:

TexasKZ post=907422 userid=14419 Also the bottom halves show no clear wear marks,. but the upper ones do. 

Also, will the cam cover need to be relieved for cam clearance? Keep in mind it is s smog cover.
Thanks.

I have clearanced the bucket bores and had to remove a little material from the side of the head, including a tiny bit of the of the gasket surface particularly around the castings for a couple of the the cam cover bolts. My concern is the corresponding areas of the cover near the bolt bosses, and maybe the casting for the reed cages. I am not quite sure how I could find out where the cams contact the cover, if in fact they do.  The cams are .418 lift

When the motor is together you could lay the cover on without a gasket and rotate the motor two full turns, if the cover moves  indicating contact you could paint the inside of the cover with "engineers blue" in the suspect areas then repeat and look for witness marks (just a suggestion)  if the cover doesn't move without a gasket then will be "well clear" with a gasket installed