Newbie with first project! 1983 Z250a

Hey there all! Forum (and bike) newbie here! Just picked up a cheap project bike, something I've been after for a while. Thought I'd post up the progress here, and would love advice from people who know what they are doing!

This is it so far, copied mainly from another forum:

I've been looking for a project motorbike for a little while now. I had a CT110 which was going to be a project for me, but I got bored with it and wanted a slightly bigger bike which would be more useful for me. I've spent hours and hours of my time searching eBay, gumtree, trading post etc. but as anyone who has looked will know, the "Hipster Tax" means that now any clown with a busted, seized 1970's Japanese bike thinks that they can get $3500 for it. Just call it a barn find, and people salivate for it.

Enter this: 1983 Kawasaki z250a Twin. Advertised as running well, original 30,000km, needing some minor work. $450. It had barely been listed before I clicked Buy It Now
Came with an original Kawasaki workshop manual, original key, spare sets of lights, side covers, etc.





It's running well, starts easily. No bad engine noises, very bloody loud due to the slip on megaphone mufflers which do nothing . They are just sitting on in the pics.

My plans for now are to give it a good cleanup, replace what needs replacing, and register it. After that is done, I'll probably do some customizing, may go for some cafe racer styling.

Needs to be done:
-Good clean and service, oil change/filter
-polish all chrome
-clean minor rust from forks, replace seals
-replace left hand switch block (broken switches)
-replace clutch cable
-replace front brake lever
-inspect brakes, flush and replace fluid.
-replace mufflers with something correct/more appropriate

May be a slow project over winter. Or I may get excited and get things done fast . No real eta or set plan for now, I guess I will see once I get stuck into it and see what else it needs.

So last night after dinner I decided to go into the shed and have a tinker, and a general check of a few things. I had that "oh god, what the fuck am I doing" thought the more that I looked at it. Needs a few more things than I had in mind. All good though, only cost me $450 at the end of the day, and everything it needs is either a small part, or shitloads of elbow grease.

Decided to check out the clutch issue first, the clutch lever didn't feel right, wasn't disengaging the clutch, when I squeezed the lever it was just like it was stretching the cable.

Pulled off the sprocket cover. Well, attempted to. It contained 4 of those screws I like to call "troll screws". They are perfectly intact, but as soon as you put a philips bit anywhere near them, they go "LOL JK" and turn to butter. So I ended up having to drill and dremel them off.

Once I got the cover off, I was greeted with this. Note, this is AFTER a couple minutes cleaning.



After a bit of scrubbing, scratching with screwdrivers, spraying with brake cleaner and degreaser, I got most of the heavy shit off. I'll probably try take the sprocket and chain off on the weekend and really clean it out.

Pulled apart the clutch release mechanism, cleaned off the very thick caked on shit, re-greased it and the ball bearings inside. Pulling the cable seems to actuate the mechanism properly now, and it returns. I won't know if it actually releases the clutch though until I can get some screws to get the cover back on.



Also had a look at the LHS switch block, the switches worked ok but the indicator toggle had to be pushed a certain way for it to work. Pulled it apart, tightened a screw and bent a metal rod, and it works perfectly now. So may not have to replace it now.

Pulled the cap off the front brake master cylinder to inspect, as the brake works but has a shitty feeling, not much movement. The brake fluid is totally filthy and in big need of a change. I'm thinking I'll pull the MC apart totally and clean it out, and polish or paint the outside of it as the paint is totally shot.

RHS switch block and throttle mechanism need to come apart too, and be polished or painted. The paint is all flakey and looks almost corroded. I also noticed that the 'push' throttle cable is missing, so need to find a new one of those.

Front forks have some corrosion on the tubes, luckily though there isn't much in the actual travel section of them. Planning to remove the forks to replace the seals and oil, polish the lower sections, and remove the rusty bits just to save the seals. I'll probably throw some fork boots on instead of trying to make them look nice.

Question, looking at the front mudguard which has pretty pitted looking chrome. I don't want to pay to get it re-chromed or attempt to find a new one, so I was thinking of sanding all the chrome off, sanding past the rust pits, and just polishing the metal underneath? Or maybe painting?

So that's where I got to last night. Overall the thing needs a huge clean. I'm thinking of covering up any bits that I don't want water in, and hitting the rest with degreaser and the pressure cleaner.

hi

Good luck with your project. plenty of know how and resources on this forum.

Hi and welcome,havnt read all your post yet because i am tired and there's to many words looks like you got a good cheap goer there and good luck with the resto,if you need any advise post er up and somone will help ya.

Welcome Tooch, I rebuilt a B model back in the late 80's. I had one with a good motor and the other with the rest, so made one good one out of the two. But, it's been a long while so I may find remembering all the bits and bobs difficult. One thing I can tell you about the brakes, is that they tend to seize in the callipers and cause that notchy feeling. Remove the Calliper pistons and give them a good clean and they should be ok. But check out the seals for wear or perishing while it's apart. Re-grease with brake grease, normal grease will catch on fire....

Watch the cam chains, I've seen a few wear through the cases from the inside if left on too long. Good luck with the build and keep the progress pics happening.

Not sure if Gos can help with this one, he didn't faff around with the tiddlers much I don't think. But normally he is the oracle for all things Kawasaki from the 70's and 80's!

Nice little bike the 250 twin.

I have a few of them that im slowly working on restoring/cafe'ing.

I look forward to seeing your progress.

Hi and welcome to the forum tooch. Good luck with the builds and keep the updates/pics coming.

Welcome. Give he holla if u need any bits, I've got a b model pulled apart. Certainly have switch gear, levers and cables there. Most is in average condition, can post pics if ur interested

Good to see you joined Tooch, told ya it's gold mine here

Welcome Tooch, I rebuilt a B model back in the late 80's. I had one with a good motor and the other with the rest, so made one good one out of the two. But, it's been a long while so I may find remembering all the bits and bobs difficult. One thing I can tell you about the brakes, is that they tend to seize in the callipers and cause that notchy feeling. Remove the Calliper pistons and give them a good clean and they should be ok. But check out the seals for wear or perishing while it's apart. Re-grease with brake grease, normal grease will catch on fire....

Watch the cam chains, I've seen a few wear through the cases from the inside if left on too long. Good luck with the build and keep the progress pics happening.

Not sure if Gos can help with this one, he didn't faff around with the tiddlers much I don't think. But normally he is the oracle for all things Kawasaki from the 70's and 80's!

Thanks for the tips mate! I think I'll pull the whole braking system apart and check it out, can't be too careful with some things
Cheers for the reminder on the grease too

Welcome. Give he holla if u need any bits, I've got a b model pulled apart. Certainly have switch gear, levers and cables there. Most is in average condition, can post pics if ur interested

Thanks Mike! I'll PM you, certainly interested in some of those bits!

Good to see you joined Tooch, told ya it's gold mine here

Thanks mate, plenty of good info here so far

Hi Tooch welcome aboard

The 2fiddy looks pretty tidy from the photos mate, its always good to start a project with a bike that is in reasonable nick from the outset....

Strika is dead right, I didn't do much with the small-capacity Zeddies from back in the day - but most Kawasakis from back then are built to a similiar formula and easy-enough to work on. Whickle has a couple of these and one day he will get them around to my place so I can finish them off before Xmas !! there are a lot of punters in here who have done builds on older bikes so don't be afraid to ask any question about anything at all. Someone will be happy to help you out....

From the sound of your post - you have already sorted out the basics for the build - things to look at etc, replace or rebuild - one tip is that with lots of these older bikes as you have already found out - many things can be repaired and cleaned up easily without needing replacement. If you can do this with bodywork, switchgear etc - way better and cheaper. Save your bucks for those things that *have* to be replaced - engine bits usually. Replace the wheel bearings as soon as you can, this makes a lot of difference even just pushing the bastard around the shed

Looking forward to more photos of the build - in the meantime here is a 250 twin cafe racer that will give you some inspiration.....

Thanks Gosling!
Yeah I'm trying to repair as many bits as I can, both to save money and also for the satisfaction of making things work again

Thanks for the tips, and yeah I may do the wheel bearings while I have the wheels off to polish/paint them.
That cafe racer is awesome, something along the lines of what I'd like this to be one day!

Today's small efforts:

Clutch is now working. I had to totally dismantle the release mechanism again, the base which the adjustment screw screws into was not correctly seated. Pulled it apart and re-assembled it, and now the clutch feels normal :thumbup:
Will need to be adjusted properly, and will probably swap the cable at some stage too as it's near the end of its adjustment. It at least disengages the clutch now.

Pulled the front brake caliper off to inspect. Yuk :sick:
Pretty siezed up and no wonder the front wheel didn't turn freely. After removing the caliper, the wheel turns nicely. This is what greeted me after pulling it to bits.


I dismantled it though, and it all looks ok inside. The inside of the barrel and the piston are both nice and shiny after some brake cleaner. Seals appear ok as well, so may grease and reassemble it and see how it goes. Need to clean the top of the piston though and the ring that sits on the egde of the barrel, they are pretty manky looking.

Had to use some force for a couple of bits though, and grind another screw head, all thanks to some genius putting a thick coat of paint all over the whole brake caliper!

Welcome, good project there!!

Been plugging away at this after work for an hour or so most nights for the last week, making slow but definite progress! Have dismantled more of the bike, and am slowly cleaning up all the pieces, and figuring out which parts to order in. I've completely pulled apart and cleaned and reassembled the master cylinder, and stripped all the paint off the outside, and gave it a polish. Same deal with the switchgear, as the paint was completely shot.
At this stage, I just wirebrushed the outside with the drill, and hit them with the polishing wheel. I think I like the kind of vintage industrial look this gives, rather than a fully polished or painted finish. At least it's also less work to keep it looking like this . Trying to get hold of a bottle of 'Gibbs' to treat them with and stop oxidisation.

Pulled the carbies and inspected, pretty clean inside. Float bowls only had small amounts of varnish and minimal dirt, so gave them a quick spray and scrub, and reassembled. Only thing I noticed is 2 small holes in one of the diaphragms, so may possibly need to order some new ones if it becomes a problem.

Next task will probably be to pull the front forks, and clean/polish/replace seals/re-oil.

Pics to come.

...... Only thing I noticed is 2 small holes in one of the diaphragms, so may possibly need to order some new ones if it becomes a problem.....

You will need new ones mate - holes in the diaphragms stop the slides from lifting properly and the carbies just wont work as they should. There are some cheap diaphragm slides on UK ebay, don't buy them from your local kawasaki dealer here they will cost you a fortune.

Looking forward to the pics