Z1 engine/transmission - how much does it weigh?

I'm sure someone knows the answer to this one.

I have a K & L Metric Engine Stand that I want to mount on top of some kind of service cart to give me both some elevation and the ability to wheel it around the shop (My back and knees are telling me that I'm getting too darn old to bend down and turn wrenches for any length of time anymore).

Regular bench height is about 8-10 inches too high, so I'm going to mod a metal service cart that will place the engine/transmission at a comfortable working level.

To do this, I need to know how much distributed weight this cart needs to withstand.

Anyone?

the engine is about 220lb. The stand needs to be able to not only support the weight, but not topple when you pivot the engine and have the weight swing to the side.

With mine, I initially mounted it to a work bench, but it was difficult to load complete engines, and I could only work from one side. I tried on a small tear down cart - but it was not stable/heavy enough - and didn't have a wide enough stance to keep it on it's feet. I found a hydraulic lift table that went down to 1 foot off the ground, and would raise to 3' - and that worked well. I mounted the stand near the end of the table so I could get around three sides easily.

Thanks Jeff! Not just for supplying the answer, but also for the additional insight from someone who's tackled this issue.

It sounds like it's a real good idea to get as much of the weight as possible removed before mounting in the stand. I.e. remove the head, cylinders, pistons, starter, stator rotor, clutch etc., while it's still mounted in the frame.

Almost went with the K and L stand too but needed to save the cash...... I removed most in the bike too then mounted it to a reg auto engine stand with angle iron using the back two mounting holes. Mainly wanted to use it cause I didn't split the case and needed to flip it over half a dozen times to spray out the insides through the bottom......

Assembled the cyl and head on a homemade work bench of 2 by 4s and plywood too cause all that weight hanging off the back worried me..... your stand should be real nice for that.

I went with the K & L for a few reasons.

Firstly, I've decided to take the Z1 down to bare casings for wet-blasting. One of the POs painted the whole engine with very thick silver paint that's now chipped, yellowing and stained in places. (My carbs are away being totally rebuilt and I doubt that I'll get them back for a couple of months so I have all winter to get this done.) The K & L design lets you totally strip to bare bones and split the cases, while allowing you to flip the engine through 360 and clamp it in any of eight positions at 45 degree intervals.

Secondly, it's versatile enough to hold the engines of any of my other bikes, including my six-cylinder CBX-1000.

And thirdly, it can be dismantled quickly and easily and stored in a very compact box thereby not taking up valuable shop space when it's not needed.

If I was looking at a one-time deal then I'd probably have made a rig to fit to my automotive engine stand as you did.

Sometimes it just pays to quit thinking about an issue and walk away. Often the solution will pop into your head when you least expect it.

My plan had been to reassemble the front end before I pulled the engine.

I went back into the shop this evening and the solution was staring me in the face.



Hold off on the front end reassembly and the K & L stand will fit on the front end of the bike lift! More than strong/stable enough, and height adjustable, which were my main concerns.

None of my other bikes will be going on the lift before next spring so - issue resolved.

Lift, shop and bike is awesome ........ can only imagine how nice the bike is gonna turn out...... (already a beauty).

I made an adapter plate for my automotive engine stand, it is used to 500 lb car engines so the 220 lb Z engine is no problem.

BritGuyUSA wrote: IMy carbs are away being totally rebuilt and I doubt that I'll get them back for a couple of months
.

Two months? I guess you are getting them gold plated and engraved. Is guy going to charge you for 2 months labor?

car5car wrote:

BritGuyUSA wrote: My carbs are away being totally rebuilt and I doubt that I'll get them back for a couple of months
.

Two months? I guess you are getting them gold plated and engraved. Is guy going to charge you for 2 months labor?

:huh:

Most professionals who are at the top of their game have something called a 'WAITING LIST'.

A good set of original Z1-B carbs is hard to come by (they're not the same as Z1, or Z1-A carbs), so rather than risk a local wannabe shop screwing them up, I sent mine 800 miles away to someone well-known and respected in the industry. There are eleven rebuilds ahead of mine, including customers from Australia and Japan.

Make sense to you now?