Got me a Z1b (ish)!

[Steve R]

Had a bit of a mad day, ordered a new JMC

Don't rush the project... JMC may take a good 12 months or so

defo wont be able to rush it if you have orderd one of them!!!!! I ordered a mono shock conversion one for my Z750 it took 20 months they had all the money up front £450 which was a lot of money to me back in the 80s only got it then because i called them every day in the end threatend to put a letter in PB mag I would cancel order and fit something else if i was you!!!

I would agree with the above waited months and months for minr and then it did not fit the frame properly and the axle was the wrong length, and you have to grind down the bushes which support the exhausts, and they did not polish it all, and they are impossible to get hold of.
A truly terrible company to deal with!!

[coldsummer]

Oh dear, what have I done?

[coldsummer]

Had a few minutes spare to look at it tonight (took some pics of the seat for Hillbilly too). Tank is full of corrosion, really bad, will try the product recommended by Ginger Bear to try and reclaim although I can't remember the name. Both side panels are split at the bottom, been badly repaired in the past. Not too much of a problem as replacement parts are easy to get hold of.

One good thing, the frame has been substantially braced in the past, although I'm wondering if the bracing will restrict fitting of standard airbox. I've ordered a new one so will know more when it arrives.

New 2-4 seat arrived today but has later U-type latch so may be difficult to fit, unless I buy a new stainless mechanism from Z-power for £160. Don't think so...

Looking at it, I am probably going to have to replace loads of corroded bits with new. I originally planned to keep it as close to original as practical but mildly customised, but the more I look, the more I think I will end up creating something far from original.

Early days, lots of time yet to make decisions....

[Pigford]

I originally planned to keep it as close to original as practical but mildly customised, but the more I look, the more I think I will end up creating something far from original.

Way to go

[phil churchett]

Had a few minutes spare to look at it tonight (took some pics of the seat for Hillbilly too). Tank is full of corrosion, really bad, will try the product recommended by Ginger Bear to try and reclaim although I can't remember the name. Both side panels are split at the bottom, been badly repaired in the past. Not too much of a problem as replacement parts are easy to get hold of.

One good thing, the frame has been substantially braced in the past, although I'm wondering if the bracing will restrict fitting of standard airbox. I've ordered a new one so will know more when it arrives.

New 2-4 seat arrived today but has later U-type latch so may be difficult to fit, unless I buy a new stainless mechanism from Z-power for £160. Don't think so...

Looking at it, I am probably going to have to replace loads of corroded bits with new. I originally planned to keep it as close to original as practical but mildly customised, but the more I look, the more I think I will end up creating something far from original.

Early days, lots of time yet to make decisions....

Replacement panels are available through the club, excellent quality [and cheaper than e-bay].

[Ginger Bear]

Here you go CS
http://www.cwylde.co.uk/product.php?xPr ... d763601417
In my opinion this is truely a 'miracle' product & well worth a tenner.

[coldsummer]

Here you go CS
http://www.cwylde.co.uk/product.php?xPr ... d763601417
In my opinion this is truely a 'miracle' product & well worth a tenner.

Thanks Gb, it has to be worth a try.

[coldsummer]

I originally planned to keep it as close to original as practical but mildly customised, but the more I look, the more I think I will end up creating something far from original.

Way to go

Don't get too excited Piggy, I don't have the skills/budget for anything too fancy, I want to keep it looking like a Z1b if nothing else!

[mothra]

coldsummer,

one word of warning - if there's any possibility there's a pinhole, seriously think about a new/different tank. I had mine sealed and 3 weeks after I put petrol in it the vapour pressure had created a huge blister in my lovely new paintwork....

http://www.z1ownersclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9907&highlight=

I think your bike looks brilliant - any better than that and you won't get full satisfaction from sorting it all out, and if you are heading the road it sounds like, you'd spend just as much replacing stuff thats nearly good enough, but not quite, instead of stuff that clearly needs replacing...

Dead keen to know if it fired up...

[coldsummer]

coldsummer,

one word of warning - if there's any possibility there's a pinhole, seriously think about a new/different tank. I had mine sealed and 3 weeks after I put petrol in it the vapour pressure had created a huge blister in my lovely new paintwork....

http://www.z1ownersclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9907&highlight=

I think your bike looks brilliant - any better than that and you won't get full satisfaction from sorting it all out, and if you are heading the road it sounds like, you'd spend just as much replacing stuff thats nearly good enough, but not quite, instead of stuff that clearly needs replacing...

Dead keen to know if it fired up...

Thanks for the advice. The Bio-rust product that Ginger bear recommended arrived today. I'm going to give that a go over the weekend then decide what to do depending on how well that works. I have to get new panels and tail section anyway so may just end up getting the whole new paint set including the tank?

Might try and fire her up this weekend, not had much of a chance to do anything for the past week or so.

[coldsummer]

Update - Finally got to spend some time in the garage today. Some good and bad things to report.

The frame is indeed substantially braced which I guess is a good thing, but I received the new airbox and as I feared, the centre frame brace is right where the box would sit. I thought about removing the tube but looking at it, it would probably weaken the remaining tubing even if I reinforced it afterwards. Seems like too much of a risk, so I've reluctantly decided to stick with the individual filters and hope to get it running OK with them on. Plenty of people use them so I'll bite the bullet on that one. Looks like I'll be selling a nice new airbox!

I also went at some of the chromework with the autosol and I think a lot of it can be saved which will be nice. It would be good to have at least some original parts after all.

Now here's the big news. I got a nice new battery, plugs etc and one of those dummy fuel tanks that proper mechanics use so I could run some fuel into it without having to use the sludgy fuel tank. I charged the battery up overnight and fitted it this afternoon. I had every good intention of draining the carbs and flushing them through with some new juice, fitting the new plugs, then seeing if she would start. Unfortunately, once I fitted the battery I couldn't resist the temptation to turn on the ignition and see if the idiot lights worked. They did (and the horn, headlamp, indicators etc), and I just couldn't resist the temptation to dab the starter button! .......................................Well **** me, the old girl kicked into life straight away, no knocks, rattles, but surprisingly quiet and responsive, well OK slightly flat feeling to be honest, but I was well chuffed. I only ran her for a short while but I feel a lot happier knowing that the motor actually works. There was a bit of smoke coming from the front of the motor/exhaust headers, and an oil leak around the cylinder head, but I didn't want to run it for too long so can't be sure of the source. It's good enough for me that she started.

So that's as far as I wanted to go before starting the strip down. I'm happy to start ripping her apart now and progressing to the next stage which will involve farming the bits out to various places/people for painting/chroming/polishing/rebuilding etc.

[phil churchett]

That's good news Simon, at least you now know you have a runner!
If you had the air-box from Z Power, ask if you can return it and get Dave to write you a credit note, as i am sure you will be spending some money with him in the future.

[coldsummer]

That's good news Simon, at least you now know you have a runner!
If you had the air-box from Z Power, ask if you can return it and get Dave to write you a credit note, as i am sure you will be spending some money with him in the future.

Phil, I've bought a few things from Z-power but the airbox came from the states so will probably offer it up here at some point.

[Ginger Bear]

Well done Coldsummer, always a good feeling when you know your bike is ALIVE

[coldsummer]

First real difficulty encountered today. Steve (AKA Ginger Bear) has kindly offered to drop my motor off at Mike's this weekend for the 'treatment'. Thought I'd prep everything tonight ready for the full engine removal tomorrow.

Problem is, no.2 exhaust collar doesn't seem to have enough clearance for removal. The top frame brace between the two downtubes is right in the way. The collars have had some of their fins removed at some point to facilitate installation/removal, and a couple of studs have been replaced by bolts which allow the collars a greater degree of movement. Previous owner obviously had to wrestle them back on judging by the scratches on the frame. It was probably just about possible to knock them back onto the studs but not nearly as easy to remove them. Also, the marshall deeptone muffler is firmly stuck into the header pipes so that doesn't help.

I've thought about cutting through one of the studs and then replacing it later with a bolt?? Might have to grind some more fins off the collars to make refitting easier but I can worry about that later.

This frame bracing malarky is proving to be a bit of a pain, first the airbox and now the exhausts. Still, wouldn't be as much fun if it was easy!!