okay, let's get it back on the road.

[Gosling1]

I'll scan one and post it tomorrow night mate. The wiring is almost the same, the US-models just have a bit of extra lighting stuff, thats about it. I think the colour-coding is the same in all cases....

[paul w]

Many thanks for that.
The wiring is a rat's nest, and the auto electrician said the more info the better.
What perplexes me is how the wiring got in such a state. All the wires, all of 'em, that run under the tank have been sliced in half.

[paul w]

Electrics done!
I bought a wiring loom of ebay, but it was useless; I had the entire wiring de-crapped by an auto-eectritian in Adelaide in the late seventies.
I told him to reduce the wiring to a bare minimum, including removing the wiring for the indicators, etc.
So, when the guy here checked out the wiring, it was very different to the loom that I had bought.
Anyway, they worked around it and it's finished.
I now have wiring for indicators, and they also repaired the starter motor; one of the bushes was worn, and unable to get another, they nabbed one from a car and filed it down to fit.
He also fixed all the handlebar switch blocks, so they now all work, which is excellent; just need to re-paint 'em.
Anyway, there is now spark to the plugs, so the next task is to take the carbs apart and clean them out.
I'm in the process of moving house, so until I'm settled, the bike is staying in a mate's garage.

[paul w]

Finally got myself settled in a new place.
Cleaned out the carbs yesterday - all in good nick, with just some dry red granules in the bottom of the carb bowl, and in various other spots. Looked like the stuff bull ants use to build their nests.
Nervously opened the tank (first time in 25 years) and shon a torch inside to find not one spot of rust. Phew. I sprayed copious amounts of WD40 into the thing when I stored it, so I figure it worked.
Going to get some new oil (Castrol Active 4T) today, dump the oil storage oil, put in the new stuff, and start 'er up.
I'll get of a video of the big moment.

[paul w]

So...looking forward to booting her up, then pulled the petcock apart and found it full of gunk, and crapped out rubber gaskets.
Tried various mechanics and car shops, but no suitable o rings, so have made up some from (thick) paper gasket and it works fine, for now -just using it as a temp thing just to start the motor. If the motor is going okay, then I'll get the right ones.
Also, got some new fuel line as the original ones were rock hard, and cut to fit.
Couldn't find any of the in-line fuel filters, so just cleaned out the old ones and they came up like new; they are plastic-bodied, but with metal filters, so just sprayed carb cleaner in from the opposite direction, and came up like new.
The bike is now in a dry, clean and spacious garage, a great place to work in.

[Gosling1]

Paul - that red residue in the float bowls, is just the dye used in petrol. It varies in colour from red to rusty brown - but it is all the same thing. The fuel just evaporates away leaving the dye residue behind.....

For gasket kits for your fuel tap - Z1 Enterprises in the US are the place to go to. They ship really quickly if the parts are in stock, and have an excellent range of parts for the old Zeds, many of which are no longer available from anywhere else.

Looking forward to some pics or video of this bike when it gets kicked over

[paul w]

Thanks for the info, Gos.
Yeah, I use Z1 Enterprises - that's who I'm going to get the gaskets from.
I've used them before. They have a great range of stock.
Have to go to Bathurst today to salvage some parts form my car (a dickhead wrote it off), and if all goes to plan, when I get back, will dump the old oil, put the new stuff in, put in the new plugs, drop in the (charged) battery, and kick her over!
A friend's sister came over to the house the other day. She rides a Kawasai 600 (one of the new ones), and was stunned to find the Z1000 in the garage...
It was interesting (and great fun) to see it described from her view as she walked around it, wide-eyed and amazed. She loved it.

[paul w]

So....
Hand-cranked the engine over a few times to see if there was any problem, and it turned over okay...so thumbed the starter motor, and it whirred for a few seconds, turning the motor over, and then stopped.
Couldn't turn it over by hand...hmmm....had no other option but to take head off to find an exhaust valve in the combustion chamber.
A little mark on the piston crown, not much, and another small dent in the valve seat.
So, that needs to be fixed. Ordered a new valve, and some other stuff, today.
Will take the head to someone. There is a local head recondioning place that did a great job on my car's head, so will take it to them.
As for the bores, found a light cover of rust, so will need those cleaned up, too. The rings are already one oversize...you think I can re-use these, or should I just buy new rings anyway? Will I have to if the bores get cleaned up?
Anyone have any idea why the valve broke? It turned over by hand, so I figured it should be okay. I cannot see why the timing would have changed - it's been unused for years, or have I made a huge (obvious to others) mistake?
Anyway...it was great to play with the engine again. I always like taking things apart, and putting them back together.

[Gosling1]

.... The rings are already one oversize...you think I can re-use these, or should I just buy new rings anyway? Will I have to if the bores get cleaned up? ........
Anyone have any idea why the valve broke? It turned over by hand, so I figured it should be okay. I cannot see why the timing would have changed - it's been unused for years, or have I made a huge (obvious to others) mistake?.......

If the surface rust is really light and just needs the lightest of hones to remove - you could re-use those rings without any problems mate.

When you say the valve broke - I am guessing it has actually snapped off just at the base of the stem ? That souns a bit odd - especially if the timing has not been touched for years as you say... If you could turn the motor over by hand without any binding and do maybe 2 or 3 full revolutions......well that would suggest to me that your cam timing was OK.

Never mind - get yourself a new exhaust valve and re-set the cam timing. If you haven't done so already, you should replace the OEM cam-chain tensioner with a manual APE tensioner.

[paul w]

Ta for that. Will order the APE.
Any recommendations of who could re-hone the barrels?
Would also like to give them the head to clean it up, and re-lap that dented valve seat; the car place could not do it.

[paul w]

Finally got the head and barrels done - at MMT Motorcycles in Sydney.
Good price and great work. I'll send some photos soon.
Yes, I've decided this is going to be a long-term project!

[Gosling1]

Great to see an update on this project looking forward to some pics.....

[paul w]

Nice.

[kittyhawk]

Did you finish the Z?

[paul w]

Unfortunately not.
I lost the garage I had it in - I was renting it - so it's now in a mate's shed.
Then again, it's been off the road and hibernating in someone's shed since 1986, so I can wait, eh?