Clutch's 1982 KZ750 E3 Cafe

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21 Oct 2011 14:04 #484477 by danonelson0109
Replied by danonelson0109 on topic 1982 KZ750 E3 makeover
The bike looks great and you beat me too it...the dirty fork lowers stand out now that everything else is done. Also just throwing in my 2 cents that side covers without the emblems was the way to go. Great job and I totally feel your personal satisfaction after finally getting 600 miles on my bike this summer after 2+ years of staring at it in my garage.

Minneapolis, MN
1980 KZ650-E1 LTD
VM24 Carbs
Pod Filters
Vance & Hines 4 into 1
Dyno Jet Kit
Drag Bars

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21 Oct 2011 14:16 #484478 by clutch
Replied by clutch on topic 1982 KZ750 E3 makeover

danonelson0109 wrote: The bike looks great and you beat me too it...the dirty fork lowers stand out now that everything else is done. Also just throwing in my 2 cents that side covers without the emblems was the way to go. Great job and I totally feel your personal satisfaction after finally getting 600 miles on my bike this summer after 2+ years of staring at it in my garage.


Thanks! It's definitely a sleeker look without those monstrous letters an numbers on the covers. I have a feeling I would end up rubbing them off with my legs at stops and such since they are just stick-ons. As for the forks, whats the best way to clean those up? If you notice on the right one, I was playing around with a "polishing kit" I had bought a while back for my dremmel. It seems to work fairly well, but it would be time consuming to use that...especially since my battery for it doesn't last very long. Is there a faster/easier way to clean and shine those things?

Southern Maryland, USA

1980 KZ250 LTD (traded, but still missed)
1982 KZ750 E3 (Cafe Project) (Dyna-S, Dyna Coils, V&H 4-1, K&N Pods, 6 Sigma Jet Kit, Acewell Computer, Woodcraft Clip-ons, Custom Rewire)
1966 A1 Samurai (Restoration Project)

Wish List:
KZ1000 P (For a "touring" bike)
Z1 (need I...

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21 Oct 2011 15:34 #484488 by danonelson0109
Replied by danonelson0109 on topic 1982 KZ750 E3 makeover
I had to replace the seals in my forks a couple months ago and it was definitely easier to clean and polish the lowers while the forks were off the bike and disassembled.

I'm by no means an expert at polishing aluminum. I also have a dremel polishing kit and found that it is time consuming for larger pieces and also caused some noticeable unevenness in the finish. I have stopped using the dremel to polish.

The approach that worked sufficiently well for me was with sand paper then steel wool and a finish buff with polishing cream. I'd use 250 grit to even everything out, step down to 400 and keep at it to remove the 250 grit scratches, then 600 grit, then finer grades of steel wool to even everything out. There are still barely-visible scratches on all my polished aluminum, but from a few feet it looks pretty nice.

See attached picture of the results using the method above. Polishing is a pain, but in my opinion the results are worth it. Also an excuse to spend extra time in the garage while maybe enjoying some cold ones...

Minneapolis, MN
1980 KZ650-E1 LTD
VM24 Carbs
Pod Filters
Vance & Hines 4 into 1
Dyno Jet Kit
Drag Bars
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24 Oct 2011 23:45 #485174 by Godfrey
Replied by Godfrey on topic 1982 KZ750 E3 makeover
wish I'd found this thread a while back, excellent work.I think the rear foot peg mount would have popped a bit more with the recessed area painted gloss black, just my opinion.Wish I had the patience to paint like that.

1981 650CSR frame

1980 KZ750E engine

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24 Oct 2011 23:47 - 24 Oct 2011 23:48 #485175 by clutch
Replied by clutch on topic 1982 KZ750 E3 makeover

Godfrey wrote: wish I'd found this thread a while back, excellent work.I think the rear foot peg mount would have popped a bit more with the recessed area painted gloss black, just my opinion.Wish I had the patience to paint like that.


Thanks! This thread is only about 3 weeks old or so. Not sure if it would have been around when you needed it :)

EDIT: I wish I had just a tad more patience to do it a little better

Southern Maryland, USA

1980 KZ250 LTD (traded, but still missed)
1982 KZ750 E3 (Cafe Project) (Dyna-S, Dyna Coils, V&H 4-1, K&N Pods, 6 Sigma Jet Kit, Acewell Computer, Woodcraft Clip-ons, Custom Rewire)
1966 A1 Samurai (Restoration Project)

Wish List:
KZ1000 P (For a "touring" bike)
Z1 (need I...
Last edit: 24 Oct 2011 23:48 by clutch.

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26 Oct 2011 15:26 - 26 Oct 2011 15:28 #485469 by clutch
Replied by clutch on topic 1982 KZ750 E3 makeover
I took the tank off to remove the petcock and seal it with a liquid thread sealer today (it was leaking ever so slightly..only noticeable by touching the adapter plate). When I flipped it back over, I realized it had been sitting on top of a screw and now I have some nice little scratches on the top of it. :(


Any tips on doing a repair job, rather than completely repainting it would be appreciated.

Southern Maryland, USA

1980 KZ250 LTD (traded, but still missed)
1982 KZ750 E3 (Cafe Project) (Dyna-S, Dyna Coils, V&H 4-1, K&N Pods, 6 Sigma Jet Kit, Acewell Computer, Woodcraft Clip-ons, Custom Rewire)
1966 A1 Samurai (Restoration Project)

Wish List:
KZ1000 P (For a "touring" bike)
Z1 (need I...
Last edit: 26 Oct 2011 15:28 by clutch.

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26 Oct 2011 17:11 #485481 by Boostable
Replied by Boostable on topic 1982 KZ750 E3 makeover
Looks really good clutch... Great Job!. Had it on the road yet?

~Jack

1982 KZ1000 J2 ~ Project (Street Fighter - Project Section)
1976 KZ900 - Daily Rider

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27 Oct 2011 01:01 - 27 Oct 2011 02:09 #485548 by clutch
Replied by clutch on topic 1982 KZ750 E3 makeover

Boostable wrote: Looks really good clutch... Great Job!. Had it on the road yet?


Thanks :)

I haven't ridden since fixing the ignition problems, rewiring and painting...unless you count going back and forth on my driveway a few times to make sure it was running right. I may take it out tomorrow for a ride before pulling the tank back off and fixing the scratches I made on it today. I keep looking at the pics I took and wondering if I should just clean the fork lowers, or if I should black those out too (I think the black will look better).


Southern Maryland, USA

1980 KZ250 LTD (traded, but still missed)
1982 KZ750 E3 (Cafe Project) (Dyna-S, Dyna Coils, V&H 4-1, K&N Pods, 6 Sigma Jet Kit, Acewell Computer, Woodcraft Clip-ons, Custom Rewire)
1966 A1 Samurai (Restoration Project)

Wish List:
KZ1000 P (For a "touring" bike)
Z1 (need I...
Last edit: 27 Oct 2011 02:09 by clutch.

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27 Oct 2011 09:04 #485588 by Boostable
Replied by Boostable on topic 1982 KZ750 E3 makeover
Black it out!!!

~Jack

1982 KZ1000 J2 ~ Project (Street Fighter - Project Section)
1976 KZ900 - Daily Rider

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27 Oct 2011 09:17 #485589 by Bearsclaw
Replied by Bearsclaw on topic 1982 KZ750 E3 makeover--Complete--NEW PHOTOS!
I agree with blacking the lowers out I had mine power coated gloss black with my frame and wheels and it stays shiny forever plus its bullet proof I hope your paint is urthane on the tank or the gas will eat all your good work I had that problem those gas caps never seal right.

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27 Oct 2011 13:30 #485626 by clutch
I will get to that sometime in the future. I thought I was going to ride today, but when I put gas in the tank, it was still dripping. The plumbers tape was worse than the liquid sealer I used, but what do you guys use to seal up your petcocks? I'm open to suggestions and making a run to the hardware store later anyway.

Southern Maryland, USA

1980 KZ250 LTD (traded, but still missed)
1982 KZ750 E3 (Cafe Project) (Dyna-S, Dyna Coils, V&H 4-1, K&N Pods, 6 Sigma Jet Kit, Acewell Computer, Woodcraft Clip-ons, Custom Rewire)
1966 A1 Samurai (Restoration Project)

Wish List:
KZ1000 P (For a "touring" bike)
Z1 (need I...

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27 Oct 2011 14:19 #485631 by david1050
Replied by david1050 on topic 1982 KZ750 E3 makeover--Complete--NEW PHOTOS!
I'm with the rest of you guys "black out the forks". Very nice job Clutch.

David

2009 Vulcan 900 Custom
1975 Z1B 900 Mod/Resto project (91 KZ1000P forks and wheels)
1976 KZ900 Cafe bought to flip
1982 KZ750R1/GPZ750 project (95 ZX7 forks, 03 ZX636 swingarm)

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