KZ1000-M1 CSR

[Dark Skies]

I'm going to take this perfectly presentable (almost mint) and 100% standard CSR (pics to follow) and make it more like the kind of bike I'm used to riding - only more practical.

My current daily rider is a Triumph Speed Triple (1050 version) so I'm already sorted for high speed insanity. However, much to the chagrin of my wife (who much preferred my ZRX 1100) she can't comfortably sit on the back of the Trumpet - due to the ridiculously high pillion footpegs.

On the one occasion she did endure five minutes of screaming thigh muscle discomfort I found the Trumpet scary to ride. Due to the high centre of gravity the pillion feels more like you've got a rucksack with a terrified monkey in it. Balance is all over the shop. Braking was a painful experience for both of us - getting smacked in the helmet with another helmet gets very old very quickly.

But I like the Trumpet. It's very fast, very aggressive and it really really handles. So I couldn't get rid of it. But nor could I go to the Bulldog and suchlike with my wife. Hence the second, more practical bike.

I've never really liked the LTD - although back in the day my mate had a glorious looking 750 streetfighted version. However, I still bought this because it was available, low-mileage, has good history, and is an old school Zed. It is also bloody comfortable - it has a Yank bottom - sized seat and a low stance. So the wife will be pleased when it trundles out of the garage in time, hopefully, for the summer (assuming we have one).























By the way, the old guy in the baseball cap reflected in the paintwork is the previous owner. A pensioner who wanted something a "bit quicker off the mark". He used the money from my buy to get himself a Blackbird.

[FER]

You should have kept the zrx and not got the triumphart .







fer

[Dark Skies]

You should have kept the zrx and not got the triumphart .
fer

You sound like my wife. This is the condensed story - I had a GSX 1400 in between the two.

[FER]

Wouldn't want her whispering sweet nothings in my ear if she sounds like me .






fer

[Dark Skies]

Wouldn't want her whispering sweet nothings in my ear if she sounds like me .
fer

My state of concern would go through the roof if she also sported some meat and two veg.

Thankfully neither is the case.


Any roadup.

So it transpires that this bike isn't actually that quick. I thought the 80 mph(well 90 if you count the marker beyond the number) was some sort of Californian quirk in that it wasn't neccesary because you shouldn't be riding that fast in the land of the 55 mph State limit. But nope, 90 mph seems to be about its top speed at present.

I was a little disappointed by this. Looking back with my rose-tinted peepers to the days of my Z1000-H I figured that it'd be roughly comparable to its performance. I thought the engine's loose association with Eddie Lawson's ride meant it was surely going to be reasonably quick, albeit hard on the arms due to the wind resistance caused by the sit up and beg riding position.

Seems some tuning is in order!
To this end I have bought in some stuff from the States:

A dynojet kit specifically for this model.

A set of K&Ns

A blanking kit so I can junk all the Californian emmisions gear.

I also got hold of a Vance Hines exhaust - but the seller let me down after I paid my dosh. I've now bought a Powerflow stainless 4:1 exhaust.

I'll also be junking some of the more heavy and ugly stuff - like the handlebars and indicators. Most likely the fenders too - as I have plans for lighter and more pleasing items. Under the ugliness of this retired accountant's ride I feel there is a pukka bike lurking.

If I can get the top end up to around 120 mph I'll be reasonably happy. What with all the police camera vans and Gastsos about it's rare you can go at any reasonable rate of speed for any sustained length of time anyhow. It's just nice to have power on tap for overtaking and getting out of the way of spankers in BMWs.

[big green bus]

that is one of the nicest bikes i have seen. weather you like customs or not it is still nice.

[Dark Skies]

that is one of the nicest bikes i have seen. weather you like customs or not it is still nice.

The chap who owned it before me certainly loved it - he had reams of paperwork and receipts for it. Hell of a nice guy too.

[rickman CRR]

Nice CSR mate.

At the risk of being too prescriptive, I'd be tempted just to keep it the way it is, recognise its limitations and use it as a cruiser for comfortable two up riding. But then there are probably a few things you could do to it to improve on its useability in modern road conditions..ie keeping up with those over-quick people carrier things with their cheeky wee kids flicking the V's out the rear window as they effortlessly cruise past you on the motorway at 100 mph!!!

Maybe the required 120 mph top end is going to need more than a dyno jet kit, 4-1 pipe and removal of extra bits. Perhaps a Weisco 1170 10.5:1 piston kits, cams, bigger carbs, even a fairing will be needed? Then you'll want (need?) to upgrade the brakes as well and the suspension. Fitting flatter bars and fairing would also help, but then doing over the ton-ten on the CSR (with the wife on board) is going get you a few digs in the kidneys never mind the clash of helmets.

If you do decide to modify it, you should store the standard bits with the aim of refitting should you decide to sell it.

Good luck and let us know how your getting on with it.

[phil churchett]

Have to agree with Colin above, it seems a shame to modify a really nice, std bike. As BGB says, whether you like customs or not, that is a beaut.

[Ed Z1-R]

Thats a nice CSR pity to mod it but its your bike

[floydsz1]

Like everyone says, its a nice bike, (you dont want to sell it do you ). If i wanted to modify a zed id go for a tatty one, maybe one thats been partly restored, like frame /swingarm already being powder coated etc. any how , good luck with it.

[Davy Doherty]

I'm with the rest it's just in to good o nick to chop up !!!!!

[Dark Skies]

In many ways I am envious of RoyNorway and his projects. They both clearly started off in a mess and now he has all the fun of transforming them and getting creative along the way. Nothing he does can actually detract from the project because they started off as rough clay. It must be very exciting for him.

In my case I have a clearly well-looked after bike that's bog standard and there are probably people out there who are actively looking for all the parts I plan on removing so that they can get to the stage where I'm already at. All the kind words about the bike kinda make me feel a bit guilty about that.

I'm not sure, say in ten years time, if people would be actively throwing silly money at me to take this classic looking machine off my hands though. Not in the way that you see people asking ?8K for pristine Z900s at any rate.

Should I keep the bike standard for motorcycling posterity then? Well, it's a poor man's Z1000 LTD so it's not exactly a piece of motorcycling history. It's not innovative - it's a cheap copy of another bike that probably isn't at the top of the J engined list of must-have bikes either.

So maybe just for the sake of it being a rare bike over in the UK and because it's in rare condition? So ... like a trophy then? Maybe putting it in my dining room for folk to admire whilst they guzzle my Hob Nobs and Nescafe unsweetened cappuccino. "Such a shame you couldn't get one of those Z900s, old chap - you could have had it dangling dramatically from the ceiling."

Nope. This bike is to be ridden. It's going to haul two people at a decent speed with a tent and godammit it's going to handle and stop. And be comfortable. These are not unreasonable expectations of a bike. Even an old 80's bike.

However ... just in case I do want to dangle it from my ceiling at some point hence. I promise my mods will be reasonably subtle and reversible. I'm not going to be hacking the frame apart or raking the headstock or going to town on the paintwork. I had planned to flog off the silver but you guys have talked me round on that - if I did want to sell it maybe it'd be more marketable as standard. Even if it is a faux custom.

So rejoice in the knowledge that I've recently bought an entire front to rear set of panels, mudguards and petrol tank from a chap who was breaking his Z1000 LTD. In fact I got my Powerflow from him too. I can go nuts with these items without abusing the paintwork as you currently see it. Actually I kind of like the existing paintwork.

A JMC arm is currently being built for me as we speak. I'm looking at some better brake calipers too. Oh, and Hel are making me up some pipes to my design. I did think about getting the LTD wheels too - but after looking through the parts list it seemed to be one of those nice to have thoughts that snowballed in adversity.

[RoyNorway]

"By the way, the old guy in the baseball cap reflected in the paintwork is the previous owner"

I thought it was a ghost.

I know what you thinking, its much easier to convert and radical change things when the bike you start with is almost trash...

Make the bike as you like it, is your bike, a CSR which is sold a lot of in US.

Looking forward to see the JMC swing

[Dark Skies]

The seat on my bike has a crack in the pan. It's obviously been there for some time judging from the length. The cover also had a longish split along the seam. Getting a replacement cover wasn't a problem but I wasn't quite sure how to tackle the crack running down the side of the seat and under the pan. I decided to have the cover off, remove the foam and have a look at how difficult it would be to put weld a metal patch in.

Horrors! The metal under the foam proved to be hideously rusted and when held up to the light peppered with pinholes. Bugger!

So imagine my joy when I saw a seat on Ebay with the following description:

"Seat from an 81 Kawasaki KZ1000 CSR. Bike had less than 5K original miles on it. Pan and foam are solid, some minor rust on the pan but its fully usable.
NEEDS TO BE RECOVERED. The previous owner parked it too close to the barbecue grille and it trashed the cover-see the picture.
It should also fit the 81 LTD 1000 KZ1000-K1"

As I had already successfully located a new seat cover I wasn't fazed by the BBQ damage and so, taking into consideration the cost of postage from the USA I stuck down a hefty bid. Long story short. I won.

A couple of weeks later the seat shows up. I removed the tattered remnants of the old cover, pulled off the foam with the intention of using my existing foam and ... horrors!!! The rust on this seat was even worse than my original seat.





So I de-rusted it with the intention of repainting the base and then recovering it ... only to find the pinholing was just as bad on this pan AND there was a crack by the seat hinge.



By this point I'm thoroughly hacked off. My options seem to either spend ages making steel patches and taking the lot off to a welder or to go back to Ebay and hunt around for another seat or one I can mod to fit.

Neither appealed much if the seat required that much fixing up then it was only a matter of time before it'd crack again - probably alongside a patch weld. If I went back to Ebay I'd most likely end up with yet another rusty pan. And if I bought a seat to mod unseen I might end up paying a lot for a seat that's both rusty AND impractical.

So then I had a brain spasm - why not just make my own pan out of fibreglass a' la Giulari? So that's what I'm doing. I cleaned all the rust off the original pan then waxed it with Beeswax floor polish. I'm now laying fibreglass mat directly onto the top of the pan as if it were a mold.

The pan itself will be a perfect fit and it will never rust again. The most problematic part of the project is getting the bottom edge right, thick enough to act as the 'spine' but without presenting a bumpy profile that will disfigure the lie of the seat cover. The pan itself can be slightly uneven because the foam will be sitting on it and can accomodate slight irregularites. The bottom edge has to present a flat profile externally.

To this end I shall only lay a very thin profile on the sides - just enought to get the shape right and have something to build on. When I pull the lot from the mold I'll then key the inside lip of the seat and then build it up good and thick. Before I pull it from the mold though I'll use the original seat as a template for drilling all the fasteners' and rubber supports' holes.

Finally I'll square up the outside profile and then paint the outside face with black bumper paint. Then I'll stick the foam on top and recover the seat. I'm undecided how I'll fasten the cover to the seat pan. Giuliari just used to glue them. If I can find a glue that actually does what it says on the packet (rare) then I'll go that route. Otherwise I may use short screws and large washers and clamp the cover to the inside of the seat. I might be able to use industrial staples like they use on plastic modern pans. We'll see.