1973 Z1 Maui

What fork oil are folks using?

Bel Ray 15w fork oil.  I've been using it for MANY years and it works great!    Ed

I use 10W.  I think that's what was recommended for Z1's.  

Read an article many years ago by Kevin Cameron.  Don't remember the context, but he postulated that cam chain tension will be affected by thermal expansion moving the crank center away from the cam center(s), effectively increasing tension more than necessary during hot running when tensioning had originally been done when cold.  We always set final cam chain tension at operating temperature.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BERBE

That's an interesting theory and I'd be interested in reading the article but my first thought is that tension would not increase as the engine warms up.  It's true that the crank sprocket will expand, as will the cam sprockets.  But the chain will also lengthen.  If I had to guess I would say that a longer chain would more than offset any tension increase caused by sprocket expansion.  Hence the use of a tensioner on the chain.  Steel expansion is roughly 0.0000065 inches per inch per degree F for anyone who wants to do the calcs.

HRM, my first thought was the expansion of the case, block and head. ???

wrote:

HRM, my first thought was the expansion of the case, block and head. ???

I didn't think about those, although the cylinders and head are constrained by the studs.  In any case I can't see how it would hurt to adjust the tensioner when the engine is hot, unless you burn your hands of course!  And I can't see any advantage to doing it cold.  If one way was was more correct I suspect Kawasaki would have specified it.  But they didn't, so either way is probably OK.  I'm not trying to be disagreeable here.  Just trying to use my engineering mine to guide me.
 

I'll be resetting the tensioner again when it's warm just in case.
 

wrote:

Does anyone have a photo of how the wiring harness gets bunched up around the headlamp? Is it all inside the can? It’s a lot of stuff and of course I didn’t adequately photograph it when I took it apart. I never take enough photos.

The orange wire nut is capping off the BR/W European 'city light' wire that's unused on U.S.-spec Z1's.  The lower small pin connector is from the guage cluster.  The large pin connector is from the main harness.  The three headlight wires disappear from the pic at the bottom.  The headlight is resting on the front fender.


View forward from the left.  Routing is factory.  Ignore the relay under the top frame tube; it's the coil power bypass relay.  That's just a handy, protected place to mount it.


View forward from the right.


Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

hardrockminer post=858873

Mikaw post=858862HRM, my first thought was the expansion of the case, block and head. ???

I didn't think about those, although the cylinders and head are constrained by the studs.  In any case I can't see how it would hurt to adjust the tensioner when the engine is hot, unless you burn your hands of course!  And I can't see any advantage to doing it cold.  If one way was was more correct I suspect Kawasaki would have specified it.  But they didn't, so either way is probably OK.  I'm not trying to be disagreeable here.  Just trying to use my engineering mine to guide me.
 

Anyone who's read Cameron over the years knows he goes deep into some fairly arcane stuff.  IIRC, it was indeed the greater expansion of aluminum case/block/head.  Could that be why, after the initial torquing of the head with new head gaskets, that re-torquing is necessary after a heat cycle?  The first heating would expand the jugs & head, further compressing the head gaskets due to being constrained by the steel studs that don't expand (lengthen) as much?  Once cold again, relative contraction results in relaxing the compression of the head gasket(s), requiring the second torquing?  Like we said - arcane stuff & food for thought.

\END HIJACK

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

Thank you, very helpful.

What is the relay for the coils for? Does it keep the current from going through the handlebar controls?
I'm getting the wiring back together and I have everything working. In the headlight can I'm left with two things. A single switched power brown/white which I assume is the Euro park light. There is another dual connector that is brown, also switched power. Since everything is working I'm wondering what this connector would be for.
I'm working up to a test firing of the engine. Nervous times!