Z1R BUILD

by **John H** » Sun May 05, 2024 9:48 pm

Finally got some painting done. The crankcase on the engine stand worked great. I was able to stand in one place and paint while rotating the cases with the crank. I used Spraymax 2K which worked pretty good.

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: Paint crankcase2.JPG (252.83 KiB) Viewed 20740 times

by **John H** » Sun May 12, 2024 4:24 pm

Paint's dry so assembly starts with the crank and gearbox parts. Of course all the threaded holes have been chased and cleaned.

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Once everything checks out the bottom engine case is ready to bolt up.

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Many of the early Z's and KZ's fitted the dyno rotor without a keyway which was a mistake as the back side of the rotor includes the starter clutch. Consequently they would start slipping on the crankshaft taper and gall badly. Usually lapping with some abrasive paste solves the problem. The final fitting indicated the rotor is now .015" farther onto the crank and binding against the starter gear. So next step is to remove. 015" from the gear.

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by **Lotus54** » Sun May 12, 2024 5:51 pm

Interesting main bearing setup.

by **John H** » Sun May 19, 2024 3:09 pm

Piston rings should arrive this week. The rotor was rubbing when I tried installing the dyno cover. Placing an indicator on the rotor showed a wobble of .005". I thought it could possibly be the taper bore of the rotor since it was pretty galled up before I lapped it in. Rotating it to different positions changed nothing indicating it was the crankshaft.

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Years ago when I use to weld these Kawasaki crank pins so they wouldn't shift. Part of the process was dialing in the end of the crank and if necessary I would true them before welding. I made a crude spreader similar to the one I use to have. It worked well and now the crank and rotor run perfectly true.

: crank truing wedge.JPG (278.9 KiB) Viewed 20420 times

by **John H** » Sat May 25, 2024 11:23 am

Finally got the motor buttoned up and in the frame. The "C" jig worked perfect. First time I've installed on of these without sweating. It takes only one small tilt and twist then drops right in. Next phase is rebuilding the carbs.

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by **John H** » Fri May 31, 2024 4:55 pm

Carbs are in fairly good condition and after cleaning and vapor blasting they were disassembled. Jetting if a bit off for this motor and year so have to make a decision whether to test if first or go with manual's settings. Float needles show slight wear and probably ok as is but with a slight modification I can exchange them for a viton needle/seat combo that will work.
It's rather time consuming setting float levels when all 4 carbs are racked up on their frame so I mickie'd up a stand so I could do one at a time, at eye level. With my fuel level attachment I can fill, check, drain and adjust and refill much easier this way.

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: Carb float jig.JPG (210.62 KiB) Viewed 19933 times

by **Lotus54** » Mon Jun 03, 2024 3:02 pm

Neat jig to install engine. I tipped the engine on end, and lowered the frame over the engine with my sei. But I like the way you did it.
Great idea with the carbs.

by **John H** » Tue Jun 18, 2024 9:25 pm

Most of us who work alone come up with tools that make life easier. The lift finally got modified to also put the motor in without straining a muscle. Should have done it a long time ago.
The final stage of the carbs was syncing the throttle slides. The adjustment is inside the top cover. I used an awl to compare how far it would fit under the slide acting like a feeler gauge. I was surprised how much they varied..

: sync the slides.jpg (406.71 KiB) Viewed 18948 times

While waiting for paint to dry on the valve cover I tried installing an extra cover just to verify the location of the larger cd ignition coils. I was surprised when the cover wouldn't clear the frame and cam chain idler. I bolted it to a piece of aluminum then cut the top away and removed enough material to clear the cover then welded it back together. I can now remove the cover without removing the front motor mounts making it easier to adjust the valves.

: Cam chain idler.JPG (202.63 KiB) Viewed 18948 times

by **John H** » Thu Aug 08, 2024 9:53 pm

Got some time in on the project. Both gauges were quite dirty on the inside of the lense so after pricing to have them cleaned I decided to tackle them after seeing a couple of youtube videos. It was a bit tedious at first but once I had modified a screwdriver and some old duck bill pliers it went pretty smooth. Getting them reassembled was more difficult as the two parts had to be compressed before crimping them together. A coffee can made the perfect fixture to hold the housing making it easier to do the final crimping. Final step was to repaint it.