Hunting Road 'Gators...: January 2012

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

'78 Kawasaki KZ650 Re-build part 1

This is to be the chronicle of my first motorcycle rebuild. Actually my first rebuild of anything remotely mechanical. I have built boats, I have built houses, but I have never even worked on anything mechanical in my life. I have a vague idea of how an internal combustion engine works, but that's it. I have been riding motorcycles on and off since I was 18, and now on my 4th bike- including this build donor. My main ride is a 2007 Yamaha VStar 1100 custom. I have been surfing the web for about a year checking out all the great bikes on the road these days, and I really like the current chopper/bobber look. I'm not about to mess with my nice clean comfortable VStar, so I thought I'd buy something to tear into and convert. Besides a new learning challenge, the other reason I wanted to do this build is to share the project with my 10 year old son. I have worked with him on a few home repair projects, and he really likes learning about how to do things with his hands. I figured what better way for us to have some fun, get some garage time in, and teach him about how to wrench is to do a bike build. So the more I read the more I liked the '70's vintage Asian bikes. I started out on a Yamaha XS 360 for my first ride, with the mag wheels and kick start. I've been scouring Craigslist for months, trying to find the right donor bike, with no luck. Being in Reno, I'm too close the the major Nor Cal markets of Sacramento and then San Francisco, and everything decent that has come up sold before I could get to it. One beautiful 1978 750 cc Suzuki literally sold within 30 minutes of hitting Craigslist here in Reno. It seems the vintage '70's era Japanese bikes are all the rage these days, and everyone wants one to restore. Finally, I found this sweet '78 kz650 you see here in Dayton, about 60 miles from Reno. I didn't hesitate, got a trailer, a bunch of cash and headed east to get it. I got to the owners house, which was way out in the boonies in a total crack house neighborhood. His pad was a dump, with abandoned mechanical projects all over the yard and in the driveway and garage. He looked and talked just like Sam Elliot, but weighed 90 pounds wet. Anyway, amongst all this crap was my new girl "Stoya" (Ive always named my bikes and cars), shining like a beacon in the fog. The ironic thing was she was parked in the driveway, next to the garage door, and had obviously been there for months. And in the garage, with only enough room amongst all the crap to squeeze her in, was a beautiful Harley, looking like it had just rolled off the showroom floor. A 1982 something head vintage. This HD was worth more than the whole f*%king neighborhood! Anyway, we had top siphon gas from the Harley to get the kz started, which took awhile since it was about 40 degrees outside. Once this baby fired and warmed up- it ran like a dream! I ran it up and down the street a dozen times, and she just purred. In the last 2 years, he had adjusted the valves, cleaned the carbs, changed the bearings in the rear wheel, replaced the head gaskets, and added pods. I couldn't believe how good she ran... One of the things I first read on these forums was if your not a decent engine mechanic, spend the extra dough and get a strong runner. Start with that, learn as you go, and work on the easier stuff first. So I forked over my $1200 (down from $1500), loaded her on the trailer and got my ass outta there. I'm sure I may have paid too much, but I found what I was looking for (mag wheels, dual front, single disc rear, good runner) and it was close to home. Here are some pics for your guys- and the first thing I'd like to know is where/how do I start? Besides setting up the garage for a tear down- need a table or lift for her, and I'm sure some specialty tools. Im thinking I need to get used to her, and check over all the major systems, there is some loose small parts, wiring thats taped together, some small hoses around the carbs that are unhooked from somewhere, etc. Any suggestions from all the wisdom out there...? Thanks! "Stoya"

Low mileage!

Dent in the tank.

Funky 4 into 1

Sunday, January 1, 2012

History of the Cafe' Racer motorcycle

A Café racer, originally pronounced "caff" (as in Kaff) racer, is a type of motorcycle as well as a type of motorcyclist. Both meanings have their roots in the 1960s British counterculture group the Rockers or the Ton Up Club, although they were also common in Italy and Germany and other European countries.

Rockers were a young and rebellious Rock and Roll counterculture that wanted a fast, personalized and distinctive bike to travel between transport cafés along the newly built arterial motor-ways in and around British towns and cities. The goal of many was to be able to reach 100 miles per hour (called simply "the ton") along such a route where the rider would leave from a cafe, race to a predetermined point and back to the cafe before a single song could play on the jukebox, this was called record-racing. They are remembered as being especially fond of Rockabilly music and their image is now embedded in today's rockabilly culture.

A classic example of this was to race from the Ace Cafe on The North Circular road in NW London to the Hanger Lane junction as it then was - it is now the more famous Hanger Lane Gyratory System - and back again. The aim was to get back to the Ace Cafe before the record you'd put onto the jukebox had finished. Given that some of the Eddie Cochran tunes that were in vogue at this time were less than 2 minutes long, the racers would have had to traverse the three miles round trip at extremely high speed.

An Excerpt from Wikipedia “Cafe Racer”

More info can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cafe_racer