The Free Z650F2

The powder coaters I use specialise in bike parts, so they mask off any joint / bearing surfaces. The adaptor rings have been cerokoted, I was assured that this is a 'thin-film' coating like hard anodising. Sure enough a bolt still fits fine in a coated threaded hole.

With your application any build up won't be an issue, but I thought it would be a good idea to make sure everyone understands the difference between anodize and hard anodize.  It can be a big deal if there are threads in the part being hard anodized.  And believe me, that stuff is HARD.  Once you have it where you don't want it you are pretty much screwed.

Yes, sometimes I'm given offcuts of alloy plate which have been hard anodised, its a hell of job to remove it. Another hour on the bike today, few parts arrived in the post, so could fit the tank, and the front forks. Waiting for new rear wheel bearings, hopefully they will be the correct size this time. Then can get new tyres fitted, and soon it'll be on its wheels again. 

New Renthal bars fitted, Tommaselli throttle and R6 master cylinder, the engine mounting brackets have been painted and fitted with stainless bolts. Its become clear that only one of the engine bolts is OE, the rest are a mess. Have ordered a metre of 10mm stainless bar to make new replacements.

Got a problem fitting the side stand, the new Kawasaki retaining bolt doesn't fit, its 10mm while the kickstand takes 12mm. Not sure if the 12mm is original or its been fitted to a modified stand / frame in the past.



 

Couple more new parts arrived.. new headlight shell and front mudguard, its a replica by PMC in Japan, made for a Z900LTD. Also finally fitted the rear light, bit fiddly, and still need to cut the lower section down as its not needed, then paint the whole bracket black. [img] i.imgur.com/AE6w4oF.jpg[/img ][img] i.imgur.com/MzlT7pL.jpg[/img ]

... that duck-tail, in green... just does it for me.

The epitome of the 650, me thinks!

H.

Few more jobs completed today, the HEL brake lines arrived, and fitted no problem. Painted the side panel badges, which took ages, had to use a tiny brush and a magnifying glass. On fitting the side panels to the bike, realised that one of them had a mount broken off. Looked for a replacement on Ebay, and they all seem to have the exact same broken tang.

So I don't know how or if my side panel can be repaired, the lower tang is missing. Anyone done it?

On the positive side, tomorrow I can drive again, so will be straight round to the local tyre place with the wheels, and fingers crossed have the bike on its wheels soon... assuming they have the correct sizes in stock, but if not its only a 24 hour wait.

After a few delays, finally got new tyres on the wheels so at last the bike is a roller again. It was surprising hard work on your own, those old wheels are very heavy.

I found a weird problem with the bike that I've never seen before.. the RHS upper shock mount is 16mm in diameter, while the LHS is 14mm... I'll make a suitable spacer to make up the difference, but it is very odd.

I know the bike had been crashed at some point in the past, so maybe one top mount was damaged and another was used as a replacement.. the frame had been crudely painted before I got it, so couldn't tell if that area had been welded.

Also found a side panel with a broken tang, checking Ebay for a replacement, they all seem to have the exact same damage. So have ordered some PVC cement, which also works with ABS, along with some 15mm diam ABS rod.. to make a new tang from, which can hopefully be glued in place.

Cant fit the side stand as the bolt it uses is non standard, so have to make one, in the meantime its going to have to lean against the wall in the garage.


Not sure what engine the bike is going to have, probably either the original 650 motor, but rebuilt, or perhaps a GPz750 engine, which also needs rebuilding.. or maybe just fit 750 pistons to the Z650 engine. Be a while before any of that happens, so this Z650 will have to stay leaning on the garage wall for some time yet. But that's ok, got other bikes to work on this summer.

Looking good bevelhead

Cant do much more on the green Z650 for now, apart from a couple of small jobs, such as fixing the broken side panel, and making a new side stand bolt. Its been rolled into the corner of the garage, leaning against the wall, where it'll stay until its engine has been rebuilt. 

So now I can turn my attention to my other Z650 / 1170 for the first time in 2 months. I rolled it outside today to make a start.. leaving a trail of oil.. as the engine isn't oil tight without its outrigger in place.. still a lot to do.

One of the side panels had a broken mount, very common it seems as all the ones on Ebay I found had the exact same problem. So, bought a rod of 15mm ABS then shaped one end to match the other mounts. Next had to cut the rod down to the correct length, and shape the other end, to follow the curve of the inside of the side panel.Finally glued it into place using Plumbers PVC cement, supposed to work well with ABS. Waited 24 hours, and seems to be a good repair.

Its finally time to begin the engine rebuild, thankfully the crank and pistons/bores were in good condition, while the cam and primary chain were very worn, so will be replaced. The cams themselves were badly worn, but I've bought a complete head at a very good price. Z650 used parts are so much cheaper than those of the bigger Zeds. Evidence of a crash in its history showed up, when the points cover was removed. The latter damage will be repaired by filling with weld, then machining, drilling and tapping out the mounts for the cover, While the engine cases will be blasted back to bare alloy.