Ponch

Quick(ish) update...

I spent the last few years taking care of my dad. About three years ago, he had a bunch of surgery: Lumbar laminectomy, quadruple bypass, pacemaker installed. When he got out of the hospital, he declared that he wanted to ride again, though he could barely walk. I suggested we find him something like a KZ440 or GS500, something about half the weight of his '79 GS1000. He wouldn't hear of it! He wanted HIS bike, goddammit! So I started looking at it. He hadn't maintained his motorcycle any better than he'd maintained his own body, and his bike had eventually just ground to a halt.



I made him a deal: I'd do the work and overhaul his Suzuki if he'd do the physical therapy and get strong enough to hold up that 600 pound beast. I tore it down, started assessing the damage. He hadn't done one single valve adjustment in 43,000 miles. Not even the one covered by the shop after the break-in period. As a result, his valve guides and seats were trashed. He'd broken a couple bolts off in the head, trying to "fix" a leaky valve cover gasket. He didn't trust multi-viscocity oil, so he ran straight 30 weight the whole time (and he didn't believe in paying extra for the good oil, either). His tires were Cheng Shins dating back to the Reagan administration.

Etc... etc... etc...



I put the pieces of the cop bike into storage, devoted all my spare time to Dadzuki.



Lots of soda blasting! I installed new wheel bearings, trued the wire wheels, spooned on new rubber, bought a head from a bike with fewer miles and in better condition, found a mint condition Windjammer to replace his battered old knock off, stripped and repainted the frame, new steering head bearings, stainless brake lines, etc. Friends heard about the project and donated gear in his size (he only ever wore a helmet to keep his head warm, and wouldn't wear a full-face because he wanted to smoke a cigarette while riding). I was ready to start reassembly, and I looked carefully at Dad's condition. He'd refused to do the exercises. I couldn't force him to do them. I kept showing him pieces of his motorcycle that I'd cleaned up and refurbished to try and entice him, but it wasn't working, so I dragged my feet and stalled. He'd say, "When are you gonna put my bike back together?" and I'd answer, "Well, Dad, do you think you could straddle it without falling over?" and he'd get real quiet... but still refused to exercise. He eventually got where he couldn't even drive his pickup truck, and he surrendered his keys.

He died on July 4th.

My asshole brother is executor of the estate. Not to get into a bunch of family politics, but I'm not going to do another thing to Dadzuki until it's in my name.

So... after a few months, I took the pieces of Dad's bike and put them into storage, brought the pieces of the cop bike out and moved them into the workshop. I figure it needs about as much work. It was maintained better, but has 76k on the clock, and most of those miles were on patrol duty.





As I may have mentioned previously, my step-brother had pulled it apart to replace the shift shaft, then broke a piston ring on reassembly. Turns out he mangled two pistons and their cylinders. I got on eBay and found the pistons and cylinders from an 1100 Spectre, cheap fix/upgrade.





I'm currently in the process of evaluating/sorting/cleaning parts...

sorry to hear about your dad.
i hope it all works out for you with dadzuki.

have a blast with the cop bike.

leon

So sorry about your Dad.


Watching on your Kz project.

Condolences on your Dad, very cool what you tried to do for him.

[strike]Please forgive my dumbassery, but what is that last tool you're using? Looks like some sort of precision grinder. Could I see a picture?[/strike] Never mind, I should've just waited a sec, carry on! :laugh:

I'm following your build and wondering what you're going to do with those fins.

Killman wrote: Condolences on your Dad, very cool what you tried to do for him.

I appreciate that, man. I wish I could've done more...

[strike]Please forgive my dumbassery, but what is that last tool you're using? Looks like some sort of precision grinder. Could I see a picture?[/strike] Never mind, I should've just waited a sec, carry on! :laugh:

I'm following your build and wondering what you're going to do with those fins.

The busted fins? I don't think I'm going to worry about them at this point. I don't have the means to fix them, and I don't think they'll make a huge difference to the cooling. Matter of fact, I've been going through and removing all the casting flash from the little ventilation holes in the head and block. Of the eighteen holes going through the block, six were completely blocked off with aluminum, and the rest were plugged with tar, gravel, bugs and assorted road muck. Same story with the head... I know Kawasaki has their own foundries, and they aren't afraid to use lots of good metal... but couldn't they afford to pay a couple guys to at least break off all that casting flash?
Anyway, a couple busted fins means it'll run hotter, but I think that'll be offset by letting the wind blow through...

Oh yeah, something else...

This is why we wear safety glasses.



Abrasive bit exploded.

good call on the safety glasses.glad it was no worse.

leon

Better?



A small portion of the metal I've removed from the head. If nothing else, the top end will weigh less!





Started porting and broke the cable on my Dremel!



Easy fix, just cut the extra sheath. Five minutes later, I was back in business.







The tangs on these shorty files were digging a hole in my hand, so I spent a little time on the belt sander.























Gotta run to town, get more supplies...

It looks like a lot of effort, I commend you for your work. I worry about your hand porting. Looking at your pics each port is a different shape. I think you might struggle with carb tuning. It's already bad enough with 4 carbs.

Haha, really?

Don't worry about my hand porting, I've had pretty good luck with it so far.

Anyway, those pics are like a week old, it's an ongoing process. I've been working nearly every day on this head for the last few weeks. Files, sandpaper, Dremel, blisters on me fingers and aching wrists. What I've mostly made is aluminum dust.

I like the little Dremel scotchbrite wheels, those are fun but they don't last long. My favorite tool here lately is my riffler rat tail file. Really good for the curvy little valleys on either side of the valve stem.



When I finally get the ports like I want them, and get all the casting flash knocked out, it'll go back into the soda box for a few days, then I'll ship it and a few other pieces off to my buddy's for vapor blasting. When it comes back, I'll look at surfacing and honing and what not.