Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Thanks folks some good advice and contacts there I will be keeping all this in mind and be contacting some of them soon.

However...

Dumb question time..

I want to order a complete engine gasket set for the teardown - however.. The bike has had 1000cc Pistons fitted...If i order the z900 kit will the head gasket be ok size wise? or should I order the z1000 kit as they are essentially the same?

Seriously go and seek out the more knowledgable among the Z owners group before you do anything. Ronnie down at Pakenham MC wreckers might be a good start.

aggerz wrote:.....Dumb question time..

I want to order a complete engine gasket set for the teardown - however.. The bike has had 1000cc Pistons fitted...If i order the z900 kit will the head gasket be ok size wise? or should I order the z1000 kit as they are essentially the same?.....

No dumb questions mate, only dumb answers.

An early-model Z1000 gasket kit will do the job. You need a kit for a Z1000A1 or A2. Don't get any of the later-model kits, although a lot of the gaskets are the same, some are not *quite* the same, and won't be able to be used on your engine.

thanks gos.. i figured that one of the sets would cover me at least 90% i dont mind having to get a few seperate ones if they dont suit.

I found out today the headlight is off a valiant LOL he told me it was the only really suitable square one that they could find at the time.. 99% of bikes had round back then.

soda blasting, will keep that in mind for the 250 once i cbf with replacing the rings (i have all the bits, now looking for some spsre time to fit em)

this looks a neat project, good luck with it, sounds like you've got almost everything accounted for.

Just a brief update..
I've been plugging away slowly with the bike.. I have found I LOVE z1enterprises.. great website and the aussie dollar is fantastic for those bits.

I've done more scrubbing and got things all bagged and tagged and clean/repair/rebuild bit by bit as time allows, so i'll save any before/after pics until theres been more significant change.

Currently working on the front brake callipers.. the remaining fluid in them was utterly disgusting sludge. I've got the rebuild kits for them so have cleaned and scrubbed given teh sliders a bit of autosol to ensure nice smooth action etc.
I've sprayed one in 'cast alloy' look caliper paint. I used it on other bikes and its a great finish.. gives a terrific even coat with minimal effort. It's completely not original of course (originals are black) but it was just an experiment.. I may leave it or I may blast it back off. undecided yet.

In other interesting news though my old man found some pictures of when the bike was new which was a great find.. quite a transformation over the years..

Just after buying it from the showroom floor:


After the first 'whoopsie!'

aggerz wrote:... I have found I LOVE z1enterprises.. great website and the aussie dollar is fantastic for those bits.
...

They are very good, so much stuff, but it's so easy to get carried away just clicking on stuff isn't it

Mick C wrote:it's so easy to get carried away just clicking on stuff isn't it

Is it ever!! one of these, two of those etc then you have a heart attack when you see the cart and have to do a last minute revisions

Todays new toy.. (lift)

I suspect some rust in the pipes!! .. hard to get the scale of it from that photos but those piles are 2cm high!

O dear thats almost as much as I got from the Z500 pipes nothing like a SURPRISE

im guessing they arent dual layered headers now, at best perhaps 1.5

A mate of mine is a Kawasaki guru. (Qualified Kawasaki mechanic too, nearing retirement age so knows his old Kawasakis) He showed me a while ago the genuine service manual for Z9s or Z1000s, (can't remember which) where it says about the cam timing can be read or interpreted a couple of ways, one way causing damage to the engine. If you are tearing the head off the bike be wary of this. Gos might be able to elaborate here. It's over a year since Des told me about this and he has since shut his shop. He now assembles Harleys.....

Sounds like good advice! thanks for the heads up! I will keep that in mind.

Unfortutunately I just got served with a 'notice to vacate' The owners have decided to sell the property where I live so the bike is being temporarily reassembled so I can move it without losing anything. Grrr!