Project Ltd Revisited...

[Hinckley]

Ok - so with the A4 nearly finished I'm going to make a start tackling some issues with the Ltd.

Something RAYZ1 said on my original build thread had been rattling around inside my head for a while!

I have std Z bars on my ltd now which makes it a lot more easy to ride. The original swept back bars made for an interesting and hairy ride

The 'hairy' ride bit made me chuckle - as the Ltd can feel a touch strange - but all came to light when testing the freshly built A4, the handling is so much better than the Ltd, not that it was that bad anyway but the A4 is better in every department, turn in - compression damping, less brake dive, no mid corner - Farrrk! moments....

There is so much difference between them, working out what to change but keeping the Ltd character and lines will be a challenge.

Bars will be changed for regular ones, then work one step at a time from there.

I have made a casual start comparing fork specifications and I've noticed the different internals in the forks, I still have the original A1 forks that came with the A1 donor bike - albeit a touch bent, the A1 and the A4 have the identical fork set up, even the part numbers cross over..
The Ltd and the A2 have a similar set up again with many part numbers crossing over...

I trial swapped the fitted Hagon rear shocks with the pattern stockers on the A4 - much better everywhere - borrowing some olies to try soon.
So - somewhere to start..

I have obtained some more carbs, these have not been ceramic cleaned and are off a running bike with a similar set up, these will be assessed over the coming months, compared to the A4 the low rpm fuelling is shite on the Ltd.
That said the jetting is pretty much spot on mid range upwards - it pulls like a train up top!
I now have some playing to do.

Wiring - after adapting a Z1 loom for the A4 build - this is the way to go, I've had the odd charging issue combined with some strange resistance problems which don't exist on the A4 - so a change will be made.

Upgrade the rotor and replace the stator with the 10% extra variety - and bin the ZP reg/rec for the Onda one.

The Dyna coils that were for the A4 have found there way onto the Ltd - both original dyna coils went duff - the pick ups will also be replaced - this will be a last chance saloon for dyna equipment - whilst many have had years of trouble free riding - the first lot I bought have gone bad in less than 1k miles.

I've also ordered a Ricks starter motor upgrade - 4 brush with extra torques... can't be a bad thing.

Motobatt and we should be sorted in the electrical department.

Interesting times ahead - having the two for back to back testing will be fun

[ADRIAN H]

Flat bars with Risers.

[Hinckley]

Mmmm considered the flat bar route, I want to keep a standard-ish look about it - and retain the relaxed riding position.
I'm considering building a special in the future - more than enough inspiration on here and some great ideas.

Should get the Ricks starter tomorrow, can't wait to try it

Wiring loom is on hold till the registration for the A4 comes through.
I'm going to move the George mod relay up to the coils using a micro relay, the original set up I did works fine with the relay in the side panel - but is very easy to hot-wire.

Tried the front forks off the A4 with the Pattern rear shockers - they certainly improve the handing while looking identical, I'll be referbing the A1 forks for sure.

Tried the Ollie piggy backs, although much much smoother they made the steering very nervous at speed, I didn't change the settings as they were not mine - the Ollie guy suggested the front was too soft for those particular shocks, they could be made to work by using softer springs and less aggressive settings - they are a little too pricey for my budget - but very nice all the same.

Spent a few hours cleaning out the extremely clean spare carbs, same 26's but different jets and needles.
Going to be interesting to see 'if' and how she runs.

Obtained the bars, switchgear and non switched clutch perch.

Gentle progress.

[RAYZ1]

I have still have the std z1 bars on my one, and whilst I'm sort of "purist" and like std, the ltd is still a z1 at heart and the original ltd bars really did get scary if you turned the taps on
and I didn't mean to offend by using the word purist and ltd in the same sentence!! - maybe "factory"

[Hinckley]

and I didn't mean to offend by using the word purist and ltd in the same sentence!!

You'll only offend those that don't matter and who cares what they think - I gave up trying to keep everyone happy many years ago!


Update..

Parcel has arrived from Jeff, Motobatt and new solenoid/starter wiring ready to go..

So after getting a fair anal reaming by Customs and the Vat office - one 'Ricks' starter motor ready to fit. (original pictured bottom).


A neat and tidy installation, the mounting is identical.
The wiring connection is at the other end of the starter, the same as the later 4 brush starters.


First test was with the original starter but with the Motobatt - although it turned over a touch faster when the motor was cold - it still struggled to start when hot.

Second test was with the 'Ricks' starter and original battery - the torque over the original starter is immense, the motor span really fast - hot or cold - fitting just the starter would have been a right result.

Third test was with the 'Ricks' starter, Motobatt and a new shorter lead from the solenoid to the starter - we now have hyperspeed - it turns over so fast it sounds like a modern bike - now we start first time every time - if not sooner!!
I'm not easily impressed but - foo kin ell

[Hinckley]

Update..

As the weekend turned out wet - I kept my limited spare time productive by addressing one of the two minor oil leaks coming from the nearside casings.

First I tackled the small weep of oil coming from the gear change shaft, nothing dramatic but the odd spot of oil makes allot of mess and is annoying.

During the original rebuild the motor was refurbished using genuine seals, so long as every shaft surface is like new - this is a good idea.
As it happens - the gear change shaft was not perfect when inspected at the time - but as a wear free replacement was not to hand - It got fitted anyway - as is my luck - sod's law dictates it was always going to weep!

The standard OE Kawasaki seal (indicated Red) is an old fashioned single edged seal, this lined up with the shallow wear groove (indicated blue) running round the shaft - which caused the weep.

The modern replacement seal I chose to use (indicated yellow) is a twin edge seal, It has the same 5mm thickness, 12mm inner diameter, 20mm outer diameter, with garter spring - and is somewhat cheaper than the factory original at £1.50! each - 85p each if bought in 10's!
I got mine from a local bearing/seal supplier, they are available from almost any similar stockist.

So as to make both seal edges sit on clean part of the shaft - I measured the location of the wear groove and set the seal either side of it - as it turned out it was a flush fit with the outside of the casting instead of the inside as previous, as the outside second seal won't get lubed much I lubed it with rubber grease.



I made a temporary gasket for testing purposes - I'm no skinflint but genuine ones are expensive and the original stuck to both the casting and case like wet sh*t to a blanket!
The gear change shaft seal can be seen protruding 0.5mm on the inside of the casting - this causes no clearance issues.

I'm going to run it like this for a thousand miles or so to see how it goes before replacing the gasket with an original.



Next.... the dreaded wicking of oil through the wires from the generator cover.
I've tackled this leak before - but it's back.....

[Hinckley]

Update.

The double edge seal on the gear selection shaft has done the trick, no weeping so far.

Result!

>>

The weeping generator cover has proven a touch frustrating!

As said I've tackled this before - I'm going for shares in new gaskets.....
The Wurth sealant is suitable for use in oil, it showed no sign of failure and was certainly hard to remove.
I'd used this sealant as the original silicone sealant I'd used was not stuck to the casing when I dismantled it last time.

>

After cleaning It was impossible to tell where it was leaking from.
It had to come apart again for inspection.

On first appearance the gasket was a tad darker where it crossed the grommet, it appeared to be weeping from here.



Then it appeared to be coming down the wires themselves.
The woven cable cover is itself covered in some kind of clear sealant which does not appear to let oil through.



On closer inspection a pin hole ended up being the no1 suspect - but after filling with oil it was not the culprit.
Somehow it must be wicking it's way out down the cable - so a new grommet and a re-wire with modern cable is next.

More to follow on this.....

>>

Next on the agenda was to tackle the "Saddle resting on the Side Panel" issue.

It was puzzling me why it was doing this, all became clear when Taffus found the answer in his Z900 thread - http://www.z1ownersclub.co.uk/forum/vie ... at+stopper
Discontinued item 53009-032 is the answer - or a bit of metal and a welder....

During the resto I'd replaced the saddle with a new one.
I'd discarded the old saddle to storage without looking at the original hinges.

Not looking at the old hinges meant I didn't know the new ones did not have the stopper.



I'd wondered what the side bracket was for on the brackets shown in Taffus's thread.
I dug out the rusty old hinges and had a play.

Both had the original L shaped retainer pins, both had the side brackets, the front hinge also had the stopper welded on.
With the L shaped pins in place I found they had marked the side bracket in previous use - I think I sussed it.



And of course with the stopper - it stops the seat before it leans on the side panel - simples.
A trip through the blaster and a coat of paint and we will be good to go.



You learn something new every day!

>>

Trying to find some free time to give the spare Carbs a clean.



It's all go - never a dull moment

[tlc]

Really interesting to hear about the new starter.

That'll go on my wants list once the fridge is paid for.

[Hinckley]

So, I got side tracked again.
The modifications seem to progress in a haphazard fashion....

The Ltd wiring was a bit of a pain, the Ltd handlebars have the wiring running through them, the standard bars do not.
The Doremi Z1 harness I had bought for this mod was adapted to fit.
I'm using pattern switchgear to delete the hazard switch.
Reverting to chrome headlight supports will clean up the lines without ruining the Ltd look.



I knocked up a dnya coil feed mod, this time using a micro relay.
The pattern Ltd loom I'd used on the resto was suffering from corrosion of the terminals, so I now use DC4 silicone grease on all connectors, filling a small syringe made filling the connectors a bit easier.



I mounted the micro relay base on the offside coil mount.
Brake outtage sensor still fits on the nearside mount.
Just in case it helps - I ran earths from the coil mounts back to the battery, I have no idea if this will make any difference - but belt and braces and all that.....



All fits nice and neatly under the tank, the extra blue wire on the pattern switchgear will be deleted.



I picked up some Jap spec bullet connectors from one of the online terminal suppliers, these make adding extra earths etc, a doddle.



So the pathetic 40 year old sealed beam unit is being replaced by a nice new H4 unit from ZFever.de....
Sidelight bulb - doh! - need another earth then.....



I'd only planned for earths from the two indicators and one from the headlight.



so I made up an adaptor lead - instead of joining the two indicator earths together - Doh!



The beauty of modding the loom yourself - it all fits without ramming the headlight in.....



You can never have too much chrome!!!



The ZFever lamp has a flat beam pattern - and is nice and bright!

The unit ZPower supplies has the kick up for driving on the Right!!!! handy for going abroad then

[Gus]

Could you tell me where you got those Bad boys from?

Cheers

Gus

[ADE]

I always use these
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j ... yBp7CFm6Gg
Ade

[Gus]

Hi Ade

Thanks for that.

They must have added them more recently as that's where I bought the rest of my connections and they weren't available at that time.

Cheers

Gus

[ADE]

Ade

[Hinckley]

Sorry GUS been out - yes that's where I got them from.
Japanese bullet terminals.

[ColSZ1B]

Their terminal "kit" seems a bargain @ £23.