Reply With QuoteI bought this for my birthday present last week, a US import, 1977 Z650B
By the end of the day... Got around six weeks to get it back on its wheels..
You may not be getting paid for the work, which technically makes you an amateur, but the skills displayed in your builds would certainly put a lot of professionals to shame.
I bought this for my birthday present last week, a US import, 1977 Z650B
By the end of the day... Got around six weeks to get it back on its wheels..
Got the frame powder coated, then carefully protected the new finish before the engine went back in. The engine was leaned on its side and the frame dropped over it, much easier than trying to lift the heavy engine into the frame. I made new engine bolts in stainless steel, once threaded, had to get the local welder to weld a nut on one end of each, then they had to be skimmed on a lathe.
Nearly all of the fasteners on the bike are being changed to stainless. The bolt head are hand filed to remove their stamped markings, then put in my drill and pressed against various grades of wet and dry to polish them.
Replaced the rusty rear mudguard, with a simple and lighter stainless splash guard, which meant I needed a new mount for the rear light, with was bought from Ebay, and is from a ZR7..
Next the wheels need to be rebuilt with new spokes and lighter alloy rims, which are coming from Italy, due sometime this week. Also one of the few mods on this project, is that I'm fitting a 4 pot Brembo caliper.. which requires quite a lot of machining to work, as the Brembo is wider than the original and hits the spokes..
I'm now 8 weeks or so into the Z650 project, I've rebuilt the wheels with lightweight alloy rims, and resprayed the bodywork outside on my drive.. March isn;t the ideal time, but the weather wasn't too bad. Its all rattle can, colour is candy red, while the clear top coat is Spraymax 2K in a can.. the latter is very clever. The paint and hardener are kept apart inside the can, when ready to use, there is a plunger in the base of the can that you press in, which allows the two parts to mix together.
Once sprayed, then spent many hours 'cutting back' the paint to remove the orange peel finish, starting with 2500 grade wet n dry, then rubbing compound, then cutting polish.. took ages doing it all by hand.
Next up is the electrics.. I hate electrics..
In the grand scheme of things, this isn't a big mod, but I've finally got round to replacing the choke actuation on the R80 with knobs.
That's 2 cables I no longer have to adjust
MOT tomorrow. Number 32 I think.
After 12 weeks the Z650 is almost finished, haven't fitted the air filter in this pic, as I wanted to be able to spray fuel directly into the carbs when trying to start it for the first time..
I have a tear in my eye whilst reading these threads. My arthritis and SWMBO stopped my bike fettling and riding so keep up the good work.
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If your bored, all of my recent bike builds are on YT https://www.youtube.com/@Merch131ho/playlistsOriginally Posted by tixntox
I have a tear in my eye whilst reading these threads. My arthritis and SWMBO stopped my bike fettling and riding so keep up the good work
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Last year I decided to do something with a pair of crankcases from an old Kawasaki Z1000, that arrived as part of a deal for a different bike sometime ago. The cases were tired and their black finish falling off. Therefore I started buying the needed parts from Ebay, a good used barrel, cylinder head, cams, transmission and so on. The crank gave me the most difficulty as the first one I bought had a problem which meant it wasn't good enough for the engine... same thing happened with the second crank I bought.. thankfully the third passed muster. Crank 1 and 2 were worn in different places, so I had them pressed apart and the good bits made into a complete crank. No idea what I'm going to do with it, but no doubt it'll come in handy one day.
The head was skimmed and valve seats recut, and the block bored out to take it from 1015cc to 1075cc.
Then the cases, barrel and cylinder head ceramically coated silver, not a cheap option, similar in price to powder coating.
Looked pretty good loosely assembled, pity it had no internals yet..
However, the blasting media used on the cases got into every oil gallery and had to be thoroughly cleaned, something that was impossible with the oil ways that feed the cams. Therefore the alloy plugs on the ends of these galleries were removed, the fine sand blown out, and the plugs replaced by threaded grub screws.
At this point, I'd normally hand over the engine build to someone who knows what they are doing, but in this case the engine man was super busy and wouldn't be able to work on the engine for many months, so I bit the bullet and decided to build the engine myself..
Things went ok at first, but I soon found there were many many small parts I didn't have, ball bearings, dowels, special bolts, thrust washers, it seemed never ending.. and these small parts aren't cheap. By the time the engine is completed, those 'small' parts will add up to a thousand pounds. Oh well, I've started so I have to finish..
Rebuild oil pump going in..
Bottom end finally done..
I'm now moving on to fitting the pistons on block, sadly the piston ring gaps are too small, so waiting for a neat tool to grind them to be in spec, before the pistons can go in the block and unto the engine..
This is a bit of side project so there's no rush, I have enjoyed it and learnt a lot about these old Zed engines, so much so, that I will be rebuilding its little brother - a GPz750 motor later this year, may even fit a turbo to that one..
I’m currently struggling a bit with my bobber project. The wiring is turning out to be a bigger job than I expected. I’ve got everything working apart from the starter motor. Seems for some reason, no supply to the starter solenoid. Checked relays and solenoid on the bench and all working fine. I suspect it’s a Canbus issue. But I’ll persevere..
Not wanting to be grandmothers and eggs, but is the lack of a pulled in clutch preventing the Canbus from allowing the starter to work?
Believe me, I’ve checked every interlock 10 times over. There’s something funky going on with the gear position sensor, and unfortunately it’s a triumph only interface that can delve into that.
I’ve spent six days on this now, and I’m going to admit defeat. I’ll go back to the Bobber loom and ECU which means I can’t use the speed twin clocks. But I can the use tune ECU to copy the speed twin tune into the bobber ECU. It’s a compromise, but I’ll live with it.👍
All this modern wizardry makes otherwise (relatively) easy mods such a faff, not like the good old days!
Edit : could you possibly bypass the main loom and run an individual feed to the solenoid via the starter button? Or maybe a separate starter button.
Last edited by Dave+63; 17th January 2024 at 11:10.
I’m not sure… it’s all interlinked, fuel pump needs a certain signal, abs module, ignition, clocks, immobiliser. I’m not prepared to spend any more time on it.🤓
Andrew just a left field idea. My KTM has a tilt switch on it. Its located behind the barrel above the crankcase. It kills the engine in the event of a fall. You haven’t got one of those thats not “ upright “ have you?
Spiffing! Great work
I'm now 8 weeks or so into the Z650 project, I've rebuilt the wheels with lightweight alloy rims, and resprayed the bodywork outside on my drive.. March isn;t the ideal time, but the weather wasn't too bad. Its all rattle can, colour is candy red, while the clear top coat is Spraymax 2K in a can.. the latter is very clever. The paint and hardener are kept apart inside the can, when ready to use, there is a plunger in the base of the can that you press in, which allows the two parts to mix together.
Once sprayed, then spent many hours 'cutting back' the paint to remove the orange peel finish, starting with 2500 grade wet n dry, then rubbing compound, then cutting polish.. took ages doing it all by hand.
Next up is the electrics.. I hate electrics..
Picked up this beauty (and a bit rare) a few months ago 1982 Triumph Thunderbird 650 - needs a new head gasket, rear wheel needs a re-build and some new fork stanchions - too cold at the mo to get in the garage!!
Last edited by emgee; 17th January 2024 at 18:24.
Nice. One thing to watch on those triumph twins is the head gasket blows between the two cylinders. A lot of people use copper gaskets which while generally thought to be better than the composite ones, a blown copper gasket between the cylinders tends to eat away the head. So you’ll need to check that the head is still flat between the two cylinders, if it isn’t you’ll need to have the head skimmed.Picked up this beauty (and a bit rare) a few months ago 1982 triumph Thunderbird 650 - needs a new head gasket, rea wheel needs a re-build and some new fork stanchions - too cold at the mo to get in the garage!!
I’m currently rebuilding my 750 Bonny so I feel your pain.
Holed engine casing where the chain had broken and took a lump out.
Cracked frame, needed repairing.
On the way back together, frame fixed, new paint, new spokes and rims, new shocks, new mudguards.
I did a cartridge emulator mod to the forks, that’s worth doing. Makes loads of difference to the ride quality.
Here’s one I did earlier. 1956 Tribsa with a 500cc Triumph engine. Love this bike to bits.
Last edited by Groundrush; 17th January 2024 at 19:05.
Now that looks a proper job.Here’s one I did earlier. 1956 Tribsa with a 500cc Triumph engine. Love this bike to bits.
Moreover, an awful lot better than my 1956 restoration...
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
Thanks for the tips! That’s looking good!Nice. One thing to watch on those triumph twins is the head gasket blows between the two cylinders. A lot of people use copper gaskets which while generally thought to be better than the composite ones, a blown copper gasket between the cylinders tends to eat away the head. So you’ll need to check that the head is still flat between the two cylinders, if it isn’t you’ll need to have the head skimmed.
I’m currently rebuilding my 750 Bonny so I feel your pain.
Holed engine casing where the chain had broken and took a lump out.
Cracked frame, needed repairing.
On the way back together, frame fixed, new paint, new spokes and rims, new shocks, new mudguards.
I did a cartridge emulator mod to the forks, that’s worth doing. Makes loads of difference to the ride quality.
Here’s one I did earlier. 1956 Tribsa with a 500cc Triumph engine. Love this bike to bits.
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Checked and eliminated a few days back Steve.
Hopefully the engine will be out tomorrow or Friday, and I can make a start on my new plan for the bike. I’m actually happy that I decided to knock the original idea on the head, this issue has been bugging me for days. Busy brain trying to figure it out. Now I can just forget about it and make some progress.👍👍
Reminds me of a cartoon set as follows . Man on sofa looking very distant
Wife/ Girlfriend looking at him with the following speech bubble
Whats wrong with him
Has he gone off me
Is he seeing someone else
Is he in financial pressure
Is he ill
Etc etc
Speech bubble out of the man “ why wont my bike start”
I got some of this:
And made this:
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How much fuel does that tank hold?🤓
43 litres - about 450 miles
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That’s the engine out…
Bought a 78 Z650 frame, with the all important V5 in January, which is the start of this years project. I didn't buy a complete bike, as I intended to change almost everything on the bike, including the engine. The target is to reduce the weight from the original 510lbs, down to 400lbs, and boost the power from 60 to over 80bhp. Also the suspension, wheels, and brakes would all be upgraded.
I already had an alloy swingarm from a ZRX1100, which needed a little tlc, before being narrowed to fit the older frame..
Next the frame had a bit of work, removing some brackets and adding others, along with removing the steering lock and a few small mods, before it went off to the powder coated.
At this point I was busy sourcing parts, such as a good tank and replica side panels, seat and so on..
To reduce weight, and because I like the look, as ZX6R rear taillight was mounted in place of the heavy original, which I didn't have in any case.
Next I managed to get hold of a GPz750 engine for a very good price, it turned over ok, but hadn't been used for over 20 years. A good engine, as it was the most powerful of the family of ^50 and 750 air cooled Zeds, well apart from the 750 turbo model.
Stripping the engine down, found a broken fin, soon repaired, and worn splines on the output shaft, but otherwise the internals were in very good condition.
With the engine fully dismantled, the cases were sent off to the ceramically coated.. similar to Ceracoat, but with heat dispersant properties..
Haven't started the rebuild yet, but I have bought a complete transmission from a later ZR7S model, which has a longer output shaft, which will make fitting a wider rear wheel much easier.
Coming up to date, a pair of Yamaha R6 wheels were fitted, along with matching 43mm forks and 4 pot calipers. The R6 yokes were converted from clip ons to standard riders/bars.. not an easy task. Also the R6 stem was pressed out and replaced with a Kawasaki stem, again not a simple job, some machining and welding being required.
Not the biggest modification, but today we went from this...
to this
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