Bike of the Month.

Nice, nice, nice !
And why not do another one?  Like they say about brain surgery - it goes smoother the second time!

I've updated the BOTM image slider on the home page so that the images are in a random order. I've also updated the welcome banner but you'll probable have to clear your local browser cache to see SlmJim and Z1BEBE's latest effort.
That's some fine workmanship Jim & BEBE.
Bill

Very nice work as always, SlmJim and Z1BEBE. Congratulations on the full set of Z1's, a long time in the making. Out of curiosity, what are the six bikes in the set? I figured there would just be '73, '74 and '75.

Just now getting caught up from our few weeks away & hurricane Milton adventure.

We named that bike 'The Seven Year _itch'.  Life, health, deaths & general circumstances got in the way of focusing on this basket case daily, so it occupied the service bay off & (mostly) on for 6+ yrs.

The pics don't do justice to the entire challenge.  The seller is a trusted individual that many here would recognize.  His comment prior to the sale while we were inspecting everything in his dimly-lit warehouse was, "I didn't take it apart.  I bought it from the guy who did. He said he's pretty sure all the parts might still be there. Maybe."

What we found was a dozen or so boxes of disorganized, grimy parts, the bare frame, correct #'s empty cases, early Z1 jugs & head, and a '75 Z1-B motor sans head with stuck pistons for a donor crank & tranny.  Ultimately, almost all the OEM parts were found scattered among the boxes, along with a few parts from other years' Z1's and a few outright mystery items..  The very few parts not there we had on the shelf or could order from Mama Kaw.  Green/ yellow tankset is from Z1 Enterprises during Jeff Saunders' ownership.

Bike is as close to box stock as we can make it with current parts availability and a not-unlimited budget.

We've done a few Z1 refurbs since finishing The Seven Year _itch.  Did them just to flip, as we didn't need or want them.  Unless the right bike comes along & the spirit moves us at the same time, we're unlikely to ever do another one.  We'll just focus on maintaining the collection we've got.  Too, we're of an age that liquidating & downsizing pings every now & then on the farthest distance of our over-the-horizon radar.

calum wrote above, "Out of curiosity, what are the six bikes in the set? I figured there would just be '73, '74 and '75."
Two color schemes each year over a three year production run.

Thanks for the kudos everyone.  It was a fun Project*.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

* A project doesn't qualify as a Project unless & until it draws blood.  slmjim dutifully left his bright red DNA in the innards of The Seven Year _itch after it demanded & obtained it's required blood sacrifice.

So for November we are back in Germany for another stunning piece of work from Calum (remember the 750 in June) there seems to be no "let up" in the quality of work Calum produces (I love this bike)
1977 KZ1000 Restomod - KZRider Forum - KZRider, KZ, Z1 & Z Motorcycle Enthusiast's Forum I started this project with the idea of doing a one-off, no compromises build. The idea was to build this bike exactly as I wanted, regardless of the cost of the parts. In the end this meant that the project lasted three and a half years, but it was definitely worth it. I started off with a KZ1000A1, a second frame and a Z1R motor. The second frame had already been chopped so I wasn't ruining a piece of history. Once I had all the parts I needed to decide what to do with the motor and the geometry. A huge thanks goes out to the members here for all their help with this and a special mention to zed1015 and kzstreetfighter71 for the some very good advice on the motor and geometry respectively. In the end I went with 18" wheels front and rear, a ZRX1100 front end and a 1991 GSX-R750 swingarm. The motor has a Wössner 1075 kit, Yoshimura stage 1 cams and Mikuni RS34's. That put out about 85hp at the rear wheel on a very easy-going dyno run with the initial setup on a freshly built motor (cams advanced about 1-2° and the carbs just chucked on the bike as they came). There is still a bit of tweeking to be done on the carbs and the suspension but thanks to kzrider I have ended up with a bike that is lots of fun to ride and looks alright as well.

Wow!! I'm a sucker for the kz1000s and this one is an absolute beauty!! Talk about detail. I love it 

Giving this a "bump" as it appears to have passed people by this month

Wookie58 wrote:

Giving this a "bump" as it appears to have passed people by this month
this bike should be in my collection. Beautiful 
 

Not passed by; I've just been sitting in stunned silence all this time

It's a real emotional rollercoaster when you see somebody else execute the image you've had in your head better than you did yourself. This machine is just stunning. Well done.

BTW, how much fiddling was required to make that swing arm work?

I'm still waiting for those pics Buzz, I love your "cafe" regardless of how humble you are about it

Thanks guys, it was a lot of work over a long time (more than a couple of things were done more than once...) but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

@Buzz: The swingarm wasn't much work for me - there are some guys here that have adapted a load of gixxer 750 swingarms for the old Z's and they did the work for me
Basically the central shock mount needed to be milled off and the mounts for the stereo shocks welded on (I think they come ready made from PMC or Sanctuary). The front tube had to be milled down to fit in the frame and the bushings for the needle bearings and axle are slightly thicker (I think the swingarm axle on the gixxer was 20mm and the KZ's only 16mm?). Not really too much work if you have a decent mill and can weld aluminium - it's a no from me on both of those...
I also ended up getting another guy that lives close by and makes swingarms for old bikes (K & J) to weld on a couple of brackets for the chain guard.

The work that I put into it was just getting the wheel centered and the chain lined up. The swingarm is assymetrical so getting the wheel in the middle took a bit of messing around. The rear hub is custom made and the offset from the center to the sproket carrier was quite a bit off spec so that didn't make it much easier. 

It's a no from me on both of those, too. And the machinist/TIG artist I once got the buddy prices from has gone on to a better place (and I don't mean Canada.) I guess I'll keep saving up for that Bridgeport and TIG welder, and put in the hours to master them when I'm retired. By the time I die, maybe I can leave my kid a bike almost as beautiful as yours.

Regardless, I'm glad to live in a world where your bike exists.