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Edit to add.... we bought this bike 5-6 years ago, put a new air filter on it, changed the oil & rode it on the KZR flag relay. Only now are we putting close eyes on it. The REAR tire is a 110-90-18! Are you serious? The FRONT tire on my Suzuki is a 110!

577nitro wrote: 2. Brakes, trash those stockers, they suck butt, I bought a set of CBR600F3's complete for $20.00 and they are perfect. One finger stops, using the stock brake master.

I'd like to hear more about this mod. My brakes are gawdawful...

since you need a new axle why not upgrade? 86-88 GSXR 750 and 1100 use the same dimensions as GS1100E, but are hollow. 1100 has a slightly thicker wall than 750. Saves a about 12oz. un sprung weight.

That's excellent ! Thanks Doc!

ThatGPzGuy wrote:

577nitro wrote: 2. Brakes, trash those stockers, they suck butt, I bought a set of CBR600F3's complete for $20.00 and they are perfect. One finger stops, using the stock brake master.

I'd like to hear more about this mod. My brakes are gawdawful...

try a smaller master cylinder if you still have lever travel left.

So I got tired of waiting for bike bandit to ship parts & cancelled the order. Re-ordered from Partzilla... We'll see how that goes. Also ordered springs from Sonic and braided brake lines & some other hardware from Z1E

Onward!

As the dis-assembly continues, I find more & more really ugly stuff. Sunday morning, after feeling the horrid condition of the steering stem bearings, it was removed along with the balance of all other components on the front of the bike.



Started with the remainder of the gauge cluster and moved on to the battery, but first the air flow meter needed to get out of the way



Soon enough it was to the point I was satisfied... for now, including the ugly, miss-matched Kerker pipe



The "coup de grass" however was the petcock! Holy crap! What a nasty surprise!



EDIT to add: The steering stem bearings were completely devoid of any grease. Nothing surprises me any more...

Oh, Also, I might add, as I continue on with the mechanicals, etc, my Mrs. has already been in touch with a painter and looking at different colors of exhaust wrap. It IS her bike, after all.

When I took the front end off my bike (it sat for 28 years outside) the grease had completely dried out. Almost like a brown dirt.

Taking apart an old motorcycle or car always brings surprises. Hopefully not terribly expensive ones.

slayer61 wrote: The steering stem bearings were completely devoid of any grease. Nothing surprises me any more...

When I pulled the swingarm pivot shaft out of my Z1R there was not a single trace of any grease. Like it was cleaned and assembled and never lubricated. Is it possible for the original kawasaki grease to completely evaporate after 40 years?

Back in 1981, I was preparing a Kz750E for a few WERA endurance races. Pulled the swing arm, and the needle bearings were almost void of grease!!!!! Same with the pivot bolt. I packed those swing arm bearings and greased the hell out of the swing bolt as I put it back together. The steering stem bearings were just as bad, plus the fork oil level had over a half inch difference between the two fork legs!!!!! Won't even get into how bad the valve job was. This was a brand new bike that I put 500 miles on before it was torn down for race prep. This bike had to be one that was assembled on a Monday morning after a holiday weekend!!!!!!!