B1 gpz1100 project

[CATdoctor]

G'day,

I am about to start my first ground up rebuild of my newly purchased 1981 gpz 1100 and I plan on liaising with you guys a fair bit along the way as well as posting up pics as I go. I am a diesel fitter by trade so I confident swinging spanners and with auto electrics, but being only 30 I am severely lacking in knowledge about these bikes which is where I was hoping you fine gentlemen would come in. I have only just taken the fairings off so far, replaced the battery, drained and cleaned carbs, drained the tank and gave it some fresh juice, tried to fire it up but no go checked the spark and it is very weak. So if anyone knows much about this model could and could be any help that would be great

1. Which are the best possible carbs for this engine?
2. I am planing on buying a new ignition should I fork out for the dyna 2000 or is that an overkill and I could get away with just replacing some parts?
3. Should I just strip the bike and repair parts as I go or should I get everything running sweet on the bike before stripping for paint,
4. Does anyone live in SE Qld that has a parts bike or parts laying around for sale?
5. I want to replace the display and headlight anyone know which bike these bits are interchangeable with?

I know I am probably asking some silly questions but we all have to start somewhere and I am smitten with this gpz and just want to rip into it. Will post up pics of bike when I am back at home. Cheers, josh

[Gosling1]

Hi Josh

The best possible carbs for your B1 model - is the original fuel injection - but it sounds like someone has already ditched the injection and fitted carbs........aaah well. Some 34mm Z1000J carbs are the best conversion carbs for this bike. The stock ignition is fine on these models, you need to check the coil specs for resistance to make sure they are OK. Ebay is a great place to buy parts, there is a bloke selling shitloads of GPz1100 bits at the moment, and parts are pretty easy to find generally. I wouldn't use Dyna bits but thats just me. Stock is good.

Best bet is to get it running properly before you start stripping it for paint & detailing. There is an active local branch in Qld for the Z Owners, and they can help with sourcing parts & also very good for info....

The headlight can be swapped out with the B2 model lens, but the headlight shell is model-specific. The dash is also model-specific - it doesn't swap with anything else.

Looking forward to some pics, these bikes are a great old rig and surprisingly good at doing big miles on country trips. A good set of forksprings, some good shocks - replace the wheel bearings, swingarm bearings and steering-head bearings - and it will handle fine for a bike its age.

[CATdoctor]

Hi Gosling,

Thanks very much for sharing your knowledge with me mate, I am keen as to get onto it!
I am not at home at the moment but going by pics on my phone it looks like I have a set of kz1000j carbs fitted to the bike already so that's great. Another question if anyone knows as I am slowly getting a plan together in my head, I read somewhere that the brake calipers are not real flash and that changing them for gpz900 are a good replacement, I have seen a guy selling parts from a 86 gpz 900 do you think they would bolt on with minor modification?

Cheers mate

[h.b.bear]

Not sure on brakes but depends on what your intensions are with the bike,if its for daily riding I would upgrade but if its just to ride on club rides I would try and keep it original and as Gos said theres a guy selling parts on ebay currently,also keep a eye on gumtree as bikes and parts often come up.

[CATdoctor]

Yeah I was thinking that, I will mainly be riding my 636 and just maybe once a week on the big sled so I guess I will try keep it as original as I can, was only thinking of the brake upgrade for safety reasons if I had to pull up on a hurry haha. But yeah your right keep it as stock as I can. Cheers mate

[Gosling1]

..... I have seen a guy selling parts from a 86 gpz 900 do you think they would bolt on with minor modification? ....

not sure if the GPz900R brakes will be a bolt-up proposition or not - its not a conversion I have done before ? I'll check the spares tonight and see if the bolt spacing is the same - the old 1100 brakes are OK if you upgrade the m/c to a late-model one from a ZX6R/Z1000/ZX12R for example. Anything from the mid-00's models will do - these are a normal m/c with a tapered shape, they look very 'stock' even on old bikes like the 1100. Add a set of braided s/s lines and some good pads - and the 1100 calipers will work just fine

[CATdoctor]

Thanks again Gosling i was definately replacing the rotors and lines but didn't think of the M/C, will start looking round ebay.
It looks like someone has stripped a couple of rocker cover bolts into the head, any thoughts on this? chase up another head or take to engineering place for repair? if that is even an option at all.

[CATdoctor]

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[h.b.bear]

Probably get away with a couple of helicoils

[Gosling1]

......Probably get away with a couple of helicoils....

yeh that is what I reckon. Timeserts are another good option. Don't bin the head just because of a couple of dud threads, this is a bit of a common issue on these old heads - even stuffed spark plug threads can be reclaimed....

[greenman43]

[img][IMG]http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag66/slix66/ad_zps9894a3c1.jpg[/img][/img]

[img][IMG]http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag66/slix66/gpz6_zps16425819.jpg[/img][/img]

[img][IMG]http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag66/slix66/gpz5_zps2a283fae.jpg[/img][/img]

[img][IMG]http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag66/slix66/gpz4_zps9e2d6164.jpg[/img][/img]

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Very nice ! {apart from the horrific bikini fairing, of course }

Cheers,
Brian

[CATdoctor]

That's good about the rocker cover bolts, I have used helicoils before but just wasn't sure whether that was considered a bodge up job when restoring old classics. Cheers Brian yeah I am having a bit of a love affair with it at the moment haha, the mrs was not too impressed when I changed my phone screensaver to a pic of it

Bit of an update, I have only had a couple of hours to work on her but after a bit of playing around with fuel and bad connections on the ignition system....she fired up! Sounded so mean I cannot wait to get it on the road and see what it feels like to have so much torque under my right hand. Anyway while everything sounded good while running, it was blowing a lot of smoke, smoked out my whole yard haha. When I went for a second start the starter would not engage the engine so I pulled the starter clutch apart and found its all flown apart at one stage and been bodged up with loctite etc. so I am in the market for a starter clutch assembley for my bike if anyone knows of one? Also noticed the ignition housing has been smashed at some stage and "repaired" with loctite and ....a cornflakes box, so also looking for an ignition housing and cover. Have seen all of these items on eBay USA so I will probably order some parts this week some time.

Cheers, josh

[greenman43]

Very good price on this :

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Kelloggs-Cornflakes-1991-Walt-Disneys-GOOF-TROOP-18-oz-Unopened-Box-/310660271240?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4854cb8c88#ht_1228wt_926

Cheers,
Brian

[CATdoctor]

Hahaha thanks mate I will snap that right up!

[CATdoctor]

Hello again, I am slowly gathering parts I need for my bike when I eventually get time to work on it, so I know no gauge clusters actually bolt on from other models, but I am going to change the original one it due to most of the gauges not working properly and I hate the look of it without any front fairing on (which is how I am going to keep it) so does anyone know which gauge cluster will fit on with minor modification. I actually like the kz twin bezel style. Any suggestions?
Cheers, Josh