Z1

When I was younger and driving around on my Honda 400/4, the bike that I always wanted was a Z1..A Z650 would have done it as well..
..anyway, as I was looking around the web I came across this beautiful example of a Z1, timeless classic !

The Owl .....

With the purchase of a new battery, it was finally time to go and see if I could get the Ow01 to turn over. This was always going to be an interesting experiment as I had rebuilt the engine without really understanding if everything was as it should be..so I thought, all in and fire on the starter hoping the ignition timing was gonna be sorted..

As the bike came without a street wiring harness...and as I was fortunate enough to pick one up for sweety money, it was always going to be a "fingers crossed" exercise..And no surprise...it didn't turn over..As you can by the film, I checked the starter relay as it says in the fzr1000 manual and she turned over! First time and sounding manic!

After looking through the entire harness and some serious head scratching..it finally came down to the obvious..open circuit...no side stand switch attached..so I coupled it up and boom! off the switch...
Now it's just to fill her up with petrol and water and ....

O K parts

Not often you see these up on the fleabay..
So, once I'd looked around at what else that was on offer and the costs, I decided to ensure I'd have a K set up on the project.
Having changed the rocker and linkage bars on BTA (the bike that was stolen), I still have the original K parts. So basically, now the check list is looking like:-

frame,rocker/linkages,shock holder,rear shock,Engine (on reserve),alloy tank, rear seat unit,subframe ,Race rear-sets,Full race Muzzy Exhaust.

So, getting there...tomorrow and it's a chat with the insurance company on how we can sort out the theft of BTA.

Parts finder...

...moving forwards..
One of those parts that people don't think about until you need one..without it you'll find it difficult to fit a shock absorber onto the frame without having extra hassle..

Check!

If your ever bored...

Simply mind numbing stats and engineering whenever NASA comes into the picture...

I must have some diagnose as I can watch Shuttle launches again and again...then start googling for some of the facts about the sound suppression water system..which apparently drops 900,000 gallons per minute or something daft..onto the launch pad to assist the acoustic waves produced by the launch...or the main engines helium purge..
...7 million pounds of thrust..
I mean, come on, if that isn't all frikken awesome what is!!!!
the more you research, the more the numbers get beyond outstanding!



NASA=RESPECT

"Discovery Houston, you are Go at Throttle Up!" 

meanwhile , back at the Ranch..

The work is finally coming to an end with the OW01.

The full race radiatorwas basically taken off and the original zxr set-up remounted as I wasn't getting anywhere fast with the YEC works radiator. I will be putting in more effort whilst it's off the bike.

A new battery was bought yesterday so it's finally time to see/hear what the Pete Beale breathed on OW engine does...if anything..

keeping in mind it's had a full rebuild without a manual, a full rewiring with a street wiring harness etc..It will be interesting indeed if she fires up at all...fingers crossed..

Found these pics meanwhile that are the paintjob I'd like to go with :)

The boring parts...but without them, epic fail!

So if you've been unlucky enough to have to have dropped a zxr engine as somebody bent your frame, you'll know how important the following parts are:-

Frame on the way doesn't have them, Engine on the way doesn't have them...
...bit like Willy Wonkas chocolate factory without the chocolate , if you have an engine, frame and...not the mounting bolts...
Thankfully, these were sourced this evening..

ZxRR jigsaw puzzle gets one more part...the central part!

The Zxrr rebuild project.

The one key ingredients to a Zxrr, compared to a J model, isn't simply an alloy tank and single seat hump.. If you've owned one you'll know what I'm talking about..It's the K engine, or as the Japs put it, "full power" engine..

So if there was going to be any big talk about a rebuild an engine with that infamous gearbox would have to be sourced..
I found 1..deep in the middle of Germany...no guarantee...but an RR and with a delivery cost that would frighten the milkman..and of course no FCR's...Regardless I knew that if I was to build a machine it would have to have the gearbox and lumpy cams of the K (same as the L I'm sure..) but at the same time if I wanted to race the bike and have it eligible for classic Superbikes, I'd rather do it with the correct model.

So, just as I was considering the costs of the German model, I came across a picture from a bike shop in Sweden that got me rather excited...

Of course, this could have been a J model with a seat hump off a K...the paint job seriously didn't help...it was advertised as a ZXR , broken in parts..keen eyes will notice the rear shock reservoir at the rear...
A quick call up north and right enough, it was being broken and there was nothing left except for an engine, missing the generator, starter motor and of course FCR's..

Deposit down and a pick up date in the future..

Deal!!

Project ZXRR is now moving forwards with the meat on the bone of the soup...

Zxr750R stolen for the second time.....

Couldn't believe it would happen a second time...

After the first time I received the bike back in a body-bag and it took a long time, and a lot of effort, to try and replace all the parts that were smashed by the first thief...

So after months of looking for Unicorn crap, in the shape of zxrr plastic and alloy tanks, clocks and all the rest, and having set up 6 pots with titanium bolts...

...the fucking bike was stolen from an underground garage which had to be vandalised to get her out..

ironically...I had just bought 4 litres of oil, a new set of clutch plates and a gasket for the change...still sitting in the house..None of this time comes under insurance policies and I'm just awaiting the slap in the mouth figure from my insurance company whom I hope will have a heart slightly warmer than the south pole...

It's been three weeks now and I'm still gutted about it..so, I looked at the scrappy parts left over from the first theft and decided I'd start on rebuilding another bike...

Currently the check list had a few dainty parts to be getting on with:-
Frame, racing rear-sets, Muzzy works exhaust, alloy tank, rear seat unit (both scrappy), front calipers..and..thats it.

So, the key parts to ensure it's an RR again are the hard to source parts:
zxrr engine for the close ratio box
Fcr carbs...a must have
Zxrr Front forks
Zxrr rear subframe

I went out on the net and decided I simply had to find a subframe as I have a frame already.
Looking around I realised this wasn't going to be an easy task. Initially I managed to buy an M rear subframe which I thought would be the same...fortunately the German salesman cancelled the ebay transaction and I could breathe again.
So off I went into the small wee hours onto the cyber bay looking for anything to do with zxr..and there it was, in a shop in California..a subframe advertised simply as "subframe-ZXR" and nothing else..I saw directly that this was indeed a K model subframe as it had the front seat pad lifter fitted..
Initially the classic shipping calculator had been eating shrooms all day and listed a shipping cost of 175 dollars, which was more than the cost of the subframe.. A few mails later and I came to an agreement on shipping and costs, and so Project ZXRR is now officially on the move, with a subframe currently on the way over from sunny California.

A few hours later in the cyber and I'd sourced more of the key ingredients..more on that later though..