1978 Z1-R Rebuild

Hello Everyone,
I have been giving my Z1-R a winter tidy up since the end of October.
Take a look at the photo story I put on my web site if you are into those bikes.
I have a couple of other completed projects on there as well

www.zedrider.co.uk/z1-r.html

PHOTOS WILL ENLARGE IF YOU CLICK ON THEM

Thanks from Mark

hello Mark
Very nice web sight you have. There is a bike in your gallery that belongs to a friend of mine. I know who built it and bought it
I was just looking at it the other day. I believe it might be for sale as well

Thanks Greg,

See if you can get some more pics of that special Zed bike if you know who has it.

I need a spanner for mine - could you take a look at the want ads on here and keep your eye open for one for me ??

Thanks Buddy.

From Mark in England.

The bike came with the larger touring gas tank fitted.
It is more practical - but it does not follow the low slung lines of the original 13 litre tank.
That is SO LOW the gas cap had to be offset, and there is a breather pipe on the underside for fuel expansion / overflow.

Here is the larger tank it came with -



We got a good original tank with the bike



So that went off to the painters with some other new panels that I wanted to replace. First step was to take a template for the pinstripe positioning.



Then it got chemically stripped to make sure there were no filled dents etc.



Here it is after a rub down - no filler needed thankfully.



Then it got 3 different primer stages with wet sanding between stage 2 & 3



Then it was time for the top coats, with some body color on the inside of the fairing and under the tank.



The pinstripes were re-applied via Air Brush ( the originals were stick on with overlap joints at each corner on the fender).



The panels are just getting lacquered and curing now and we should be getting them back on Bank Holiday Monday. Will post something more about it then.
Cheers from Mark

very nice looking build you have going sir.

keep us posted,
leon

I collected the new paintwork and the samples which were color matched today. Lee has done a great job copying the paint shade from the good rear panels onto the new front ones.

Here is my complete paint set



The new ebony fender has now gone silver for 1978, so has the new PMC fairing. The under screen rubber trim is good to re-use and we got a NOS rear rubber trim strip from Holland.



This was the spare tank that came with the project.



and this is it now





These panels are all good enough to re-use. Matching the existing shade saved the cost of a complete paint set being re-sprayed.



Now I have to re-fit all the missing bits and underseal the new fender before it gets fitted.

If anyone needs details of the painter we used (based in midlands UK) just get in touch for his email address.

Cheers from Mark

Very nice 78 z1r....
I have just gotten one for my self. Wish it had come with the larger tank tho. I had to refuel every 80 miles.

Your bike looks very nice. I think it needs the pin stripes doing for a finishing touch ??

I will be keeping the touring gas tank as a spare which will be sold with the bike.

You are right about it being more practical - but sometimes we have to suffer for our vanity ... and the low profile one looks AWESOME
From Mark

paint looks great !

leon

Today was VE Day in our house.

VE = very excited

Our new seat foam and silencer landed from Japan via Parcel Force customs scammers.



Bits had survived the trip from PMC which is good - cos they have been back ordered since 2014 :!:



Here is the new PMC Z1-R cover against the original (at top).



We had all the seat parts waiting on stand by -



After 2 complete plays of "Wish You Were Here" the foam and cover were finally attached to the base.



Then we could add the front locators, rear lock bracket and kick starter.



Next step was to try it on the bike and adjust the lock for the right strike height.



So here's where we are at today. I could not resist having a little sit on the new saddle - much firmer than the old foam :roll:



Now I just got to fit the new warning stickers and decide whether to fit a seat strap or not. Will wait until all the panels are back on before I decide on that.

New silencer is next on the plan - in a few days.

Cheers from Mark

very nice....

my will have to wait awhile for a restore.....need to finish my 76kz900...in the works..then finish my 77kz1000....been on the works for two years now.....

Now it is time to fit the new silencer to the exhaust system.
We had to find a flanged bolt to fit the new silencer clamp -


Then we adapted a wire collector box seal to fit the outlet from the power chamber. It had to have some of the inner core layers removed to give a good fit.
The original ones are no longer available from Kawasaki.


To get the right fit we had to use a drift to push the seal a little farther down the outlet pipe - before the silencer clamp bolt would line up at the rear.

You have to be really careful that the footrest hanger does not mark the new silencer when it is being fitted - there is very little gap.
We taped the silencer clamp on so it would not move and scratch the chrome when it was being pushed around.


Here is the forward joint when it was clamped up -


and here is the rear hanger bracket in place and the newly painted back section of the silencer can be seen.


It was very nice to run the engine for the first time with the final exhaust components all fitted - to hear the finished sound.