Genuine kawasaki tools how rare/valuable

Sorry for the loss of your friend Sheath. It sounds like he was a great guy with loads of knowledge. Losing people like that is a real loss to all of us as the information they had in their minds and the abilities they had are gone forever. In one of your pictures it looks like you obtained a mechanical RPM counter. Those are really nice to have if you do anything with engines or power tools. Not only will it give you direct RPM readings but you can also use it for surface speeds of sanding belts and discs and tool bit speeds. I just used mine to compare my tachometer reading to the mechanical counter. My tach is almost spot on. If that mechanical counter has instructions for use make sure to read them. It's important with the one I have to start on the high RPM reading first and go to a lower one if possible. You don't want to run the counter over speed or risk damaging it. Enjoy the tools and good luck with them. Oh and if it's not a RPM counter just disregard all this.....
Rick H.

Thanks Rick H ,that means a lot yes Dougie learnt his craft first in the army (reme) from 1953 to 1956 in the middle east, he was the only one who would work on the army bikes and he had his own old Norton out there, he became a fantastic welder and welded vessels after the army, he worked on luxury cars for a bit like Jaguar and Rolls Royce but he soon discovered that American cars were what he personally loved and wanted to drive and he kept coming back to bikes, he worked and owned British bikes until 1971 when he test rode a Mach 1 500 and he was sold! He couldn't believe how better the kawasaki was in every department, he'd been riding a Norton 750 commando and the 500 ran circles around it! He once told me that the tolerances in my Z1000 engine were tighter than any British bike engine ever made! He said "we're talking cigarette paper tolerances " he also often said that all the die hard fans of British bikes who go all rose tinted over them never had to work on the damn things!! :laugh: anyway here's a pic of him 4 months before he passed and yes I've just bought his old rpm device, it's a lovely old thing and here's a pic of the instructions

Nice sore Mickaw! I had a repro one from Z1E but no longer use it. I use the slmjim&Z1Bebe method.

Also nice to see those tools still in use Sheath. When my father passed away I inherited many of his tools and they are in my shop today. He was a mechanic during WW2 and did most of his own auto work for the rest of his life. If he didn't have the right tool he often made one, which makes some of my tools even more important to me. I think of him whenever I pick up one of his tools.

Yes it's funny how even something like a tool can turn into a sentimental thing if a certain person in your life owned it, and funny enough Doug made a few tools too! From measuring instruments to pliers and even panel beating hammers! He was also a good paint sprayer and great at old school lead body filling! He definitely lived a rich life, imagine owning a Z1b that you've tuned up and gas flowed and balanced while also driving a 440 Cuda six pack that you've also tuned up, drinking 2 cold buds every day and Jive dancing in the evening! ! :laugh:

hardrockminer wrote: Nice sore Mickaw! I had a repro one from Z1E but no longer use it. I use the slmjim&Z1Bebe method.

my next rebuild I will try the slimjim-Z1bebe method . I bought the tool for checking floats on the bike.

That's cool Mikaw I did my float heights about 3 years ago, I made 4 screw in tubes so I could tweak them all at once and get them within 1mm of each other, it was still a pain in the butt turning them over and removing the bowls but I got there after about 4 goes, the plugs have looked nice and healthy since

Yes float level is a PITA. This is the post HardRockMiner and I are referring to. I’m going to try it on my next set.

www.kzrider.com/forum/3-carburetor/61368...ng-fuel-level#830284

That is fantastic! I love the glass cup method, brilliant idea, it'll save a lot of time there's nothing like having a properly running zed!

It definitely saves time. It's also more accurate because you can actually see and measure the fuel height directly. And you can test your float valve to see if it leaks. I've done several sets of carbs that way and will never go back to the old way.