KZ1000 full spa

wrote:

The gear looks ok. But if your going to replace the chain get new gears. Everything wears together and lasts longs. Here’s the catch 22. If your replacing the chain go to a 530 if you don’t already have that side.

Thanks Mikaw !
I'll remove the chain and rear wheel soon (trying to process things as I take them apart, vs removing everything and potentially misplacing stuff) and we'll see how they look once cleaned up, my guess is they'll be fine given that the bike has mostly been sitting in humid Pacific NorthWest air under a shed, but has not been molested.

OK, other topic, EXHAUST !

I removed the two 2-in-1 without encountering major fastener issues (except one screw which broke, on one of the clamps for the chrome heat shields).
But one of the split sections for the "connecting pipe" seems to be rusted badly. 
Maybe this is the reason the bike was making quite a lovely roar when we fired it with the Previous Owner (he said she was "definitely a screamer").

Anyway, any thoughts on how to deal with this ?
I'm not a talented welder... and I kind of liked the screamer feel... so I'm thinking I'll do a flyover cleaning of the exhaust pieces, and of the naked bike frame while the exhaust is off, then reinstall everything as is and see how it sounds and functions. Then maybe later re-open the topic and look for a more through solution.
Anyway, that's my thoughts.

Anybody with experience care to chime in ?

 

 

I think I would be looking for a 4 into 1 exhaust. Used if you can find one...

wrote:

I think I would be looking for a 4 into 1 exhaust. Used if you can find one...

Thanks ThatGPzGuy.
I will not have to be forced too long to consider a 4-in-1.
But I'll try and re-assemble as is and see how it feels, for now (or hopefully for in not too long, given how deep I'm going into dismantle-frenzy)

Other topic: PLASTIC !
I've dissassembled the rear fender and tail light group.
Only problem is the big plastic cover has some unpleasant marks on top of it. Or is it inside of it ?
Any of y'all have ideas on how to remove that ? I tried scrubbing gently and it seems to neither be over nor under the plastic...

 





and inside :

Other topic: PLASTIC !
I've dissassembled the rear fender and tail light group.
Only problem is the big plastic cover has some unpleasant marks on top of it. Or is it inside of it ?
Any of y'all have ideas on how to remove that ? I tried scrubbing gently and it seems to neither be over nor under the plastic...

All right, no strident insight on plastic renovation from all y'all.
Never mind, I'll revisit that later.
Meanwhile, the strip-down continues:

 

 

 

 

The stripping continues.
removed rear wheel, shocks, swing arm, chain...

Had struggles with removing the rear disc, documented here : 
kzrider.com/forum/5-chassis/617119-kz100...disc-seized-on-wheel

After good discussions with other forum members, I unleashed the hammer and it all went well:
 

The chain looks good enough, slightly rusty but not crusty / stiff

 




So a bath in Simple Green with some scrubbing, then a bath in Evaporust with a minor scrub.
Then rince, dry off in the beautiful Washington State February sun.
Then into a Ziplock bag with some WD40 and off to the shelf to wait for re-installation.

By the way. This is the old school 630 chain, wondering how old it is...

 

Id throw that chain in the bin if it were mine, considering what its job is, and the condition of it, there's enough corrosion there for me to just get a new chain, 630's non O ring are cheap.... Broken drive chains aren't fun.....

wrote:

Id throw that chain in the bin if it were mine, considering what its job is, and the condition of it, there's enough corrosion there for me to just get a new chain, 630's non O ring are cheap.... Broken drive chains aren't fun.....

Hmm, yeah.
The whole bike came with a veneer of mud and surface rust so I've been scrubbing away and generally feeling fine with what I found underneath.
Same with regards to the drive train, I thought I'd give it a rough cleanup and see if it still looks disgusting, and I was again pleasantly surprised. 
But then again, this is the chain, by definition a collection of candidates lined up for weakest link contest, right where the maximum torque is experienced. I don't plan to take this old gal to any dragstrip but... I've been known to have very low resistance to the musical appeal of high-revving engines. That supercharged Jag in my workshop gets to tickle the red zone every time it is taken out, as its designers and builders intended. I should expect that the chain on the KZ will be yanked hard a few times on every outing.
So I should ditch that chain indeed. Don't want to be wondering about it all every time I squeeze the throttle.
Thanks !

Yep, ditch the chain and go with a 530 o-ring and sprockets. 

I stayed with my ringed 630 chain when I re-did my KZ-1000 for originality and convenience, but I did install a new chain.  Both sprockets were almost new so why fix what isn't broke.  The rear sprocket is newer yet by a couple of times playing with ratios.  I would never keep an old drive chain in operation, but that's just me.

Rick H.

Continuing the work, wondering whether I have passed the mid-journey hump as I am now starting to paint stuff.
Again, not a concours restoration, and I'm staying away from a full dismantle approach which (this is my first job of this kind) could mean getting lost. So I try to process stuff as it comes off the bike.

Anyway, this meant I scrubbed the frame and went into spray painting sections of it rightaway. It was borderline messy, but I got a few good coats and it looks clean enough.

Then I went about cleaning the wire loom which was caked in rust-colored mud. I still need to revisit every plug with file/sand and contact cleaner. 

 

 

Did some scrubbing of the engine, mostly with a Ryobi rotary tool and small steel brush wheel things, to get between the fins and remove the dirt.
Works great, variable speed and very light in hand compared to fitting a wheel onto a full-size drill motor.

Anyway, found some organic crap here and there, but I'm almost done. 
I need to find a good way to mask the engine side covers because I will be polishing those. I'll ask a question on a separate thread regarding that.
And the valve cover will be removed and processed separately (probably paint, maybe polished)