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Just after I sold two bikes last month I have now sold off the Honda 750's, parts stock and my z1000G, so that's 4 down and the GPz900R has had an expression of interest from a friend down the coast. I didn't want to off load my bikes but a bad run in with my estranged wife last month and that now means that I'm going to need all the cash I can get to pay for a solicitor to fight her as she will most likely try to take my house despite the fact we sold all the assets we built up over 15 years.
In the mean time, work on getting the z650 roadworthy has gone well, the engine is now back in the frame after I fitted new springs, rollers and pins in to the starter clutch. A dry crank with no exhaust or carbs shows a nice smooth cranking sound so all is looking positive as I now proceed to strip and clean the carbs next. If I can get it running and offload it for $2400 then i will have covered my costs.
Its over 12 months since I took the z900 off the road and I am now in the process of starting the engine rebuild now that the cases have been water blasted by Specialized Blasting Services out at Capalaba. Somewhere in between working on all these bikes I am still spending my weekends rebuilding my house, visiting friends and trying to get to many motorcycle events as possible.
Rallies and Rides
This year has been full of rides and rallies, last week I managed to ride to the Granite Gnome rally at Dalveen near Stanthorpe. It was bloody cold, the entertainment in the hall was great, lots of pissed bikers to entertain the masses, it was a good trip down and back (bloody cold tho!). Next events will be the Story Bridge Bike Show held by the Laverda club, then the next rally is the inaugural Cooloo Rally north of Gympie followed by the Tinny Rally at Tingoora in mid August. There is a bike show at the Gold Coast on August 1st. Later int he year is the Blues Rally at Cooyar then the Imbil Bike Rally in November and then a break till Connondale in January 2010. I'm going to be riding up to the Bunya Mountains and beyond for a weekend away and plan out an open ride day that will end up at a country pub.
Past Events this year saw a ride in March to Yamba for the weekend to meet up with members of the Australian Kawasaki Riders and Owner Network (AKRON).
GPz's Downunder
A number of people pulled out of the Tassie 2010 trip due to cost, so I decided to organize a get together of GPz900R owners and supporters during the Superbikes at Phillip Island from Feb 27th to March 1st (not officially confirmed yet). Needless to say I wont make the GP this year and will leave it till 2010 when I have more holidays and some money saved. All are welcome to the GPz Downunder event... even Karen and Mick in emerald ;)
Restoration Updates
I have unwrapped and arranged the engine cases for the z900 Wayne at Specialized Blasting Services did another great job water blasting the alloy clean, I still need to install the electrical harness and fit a battery after the motor goes back in and I still need to write it up in the web site but its getting there. I have uploaded the engine dis-assembly pictures to my hotmail live site and now built a page on this site documenting the process, its not complete but getting there.
Work on the z1A has haltered till I order some more parts and the 78 z1000A2 is getting a few odds and ends done when time permits. I will be getting the rear wheel spoked and a set of Metzlers for it soon, that will get it rolling. When the z900 engine is back together I will disassemble the z1000 engine and get it cleaned also. I am thinking of doing it in gloss black, not sure yet!
Book Progress
As many of you know I started writing a book about 2 years ago on restoring classic Japanese Motorcycles. It was about 75% complete (I had though 90% but now decided to add more ) despite a marriage breakdown and other issues my friend Joanne was diligently proof reading all the chapters but is no longer available so I am back to finalizing 3/4 of the book myself. I am still looking for high quality custom classic motorcycles, so far I have Dave Sloans' z650 and a few choppers sorted.
Current projects:
My other (future) restoration projects list has slimmed down a bit since I sold off a number of machines. I will start on the z1000G once my z1A is complete and on the road. The first ongoing restoration project bike is a 1974 Kawasaki z1A which is under going a complete restoration. I am hoping to return it back to factory original condition. I am at present assembling the engine and trying to ensure that the frame components are back to standard. The second project is a 1978 Kawasaki z1000-A2 which is going to have a few tasteful modifications but will generally be restored back to near factory original. This bike has undergone a total strip down and rebuild and is now being assembled. Progress photos are being uploaded every 5 weeks or so.
Just to show that I am not totally biased about Kawasaki's, I have two (2) Honda CB750/4's. The first is being built as a totally custom cafe racer. The second (not yet started) will be a 70's chopper! Thanks to the support I have received from the Z-Owners Community, your questions and encouragement has been appreciated.
Select from the Index below to see the current status of each bike (some are sold but I will keep the pages alive):
Parked in front of Mt Lindsay after on the way back from the Yamba 2009 ride.
Latest News! June 2009
Update - Sold all Honda parts and the 750 cafe racer project as well as the z1000G.
Rode to Dalveen for the Granite Gnome Rally.
Sold both the GPz1100B1 and the ZX1100A1, 2 down 11 to go. Need to finance a legal case against my estranged wife so my only liquid assets, my bikes need to go, will try to keep the z900A4, the GPz1100B2 and the GPz900R. Will be contacting my honda friends to see who wants the 2 Honda's as parts bikes as they are disassembled at present.
May 2009
Picked up 2 GPz1100 (ZX1100A1), one is a goer the other needs some work.. z900-A4 engine stripped, cleaned and ready to assembly, starter clutch removed from kz650 and parts ordered for it.
April 2009
Rides and rally's.
March 2009
Picked up a 1980 kz650F1 from Sydney. Engine runs and it rides OK, needs starter clutch work and fork seals as well as a cleanup and full service. The z900-A4 engine has been stripped and photographed.
February 2009
Fixed some broken site links and worked on mirror site at freewebs using a newer design format. lots of work still to do.
November 2008
Work on z900-A4 continues, service on GPz1100B2 after GP trip. Frame brackets to be repaired for gear sack. House nearly destroyed in Mini-Cyclone!
October 2008
Philip Island GP!
September 2008
Heading to GP at end of September
August 2008
GPz1100B2, minor issues, GPz900R cooling system repairs, z900 rebuild in progress.
July 2008
z900 rebuild well underway. Purchased GPz1100B1 DFI fitted and working.
May 2008
GPz1100B2 roadworthy obtained.
April 2008
GPz900R registered!
z900-A4 frame repaired, work on GPz1100B2 progressing.
March 2008
Gpz900R completed, z900-A4 stripped and getting frame straightened and repaired.
March 2008
GPz1100B2 ready to receive registration. GPz900R Registered and running.
February 2008
GPz1100B2 Purchased and initial work started.
January 2008
Not much to report.
December 2007
GPz is together and rolling, 3 of 11 body pieces are complete and ready to install. z900 pissing oil (on the bright side my left boot is really shiny :)
November 2007
Work on the GPz is roaring ahead, some of the bodywork is in getting painted, front end is assembled, brakes installed and bled, new disks fitted and swingarm bearings fitted ready for swingarm installation.
October 2007
Lots of work on the z900-A4, strip of the rear of the GPz900R and lots of alloy and steel parts cleaned up and clear coated.
August 2007
Rebuild of the callipers on the GPz900R and assembly of the front headlight of the z1000A2 as well as the Koni shocks and rear end.
July 2007
Rebuild of the carbs on the z900-A4, parts arrived for the Gpz900R and z1000A2
June 2007
Assembly of the front end of the z900-A4 and some ignition work.
May 2007
More work done on GPz 900R and Z1000A2, Forks on z900A4 in getting hard chromed.
Aprill 2007
Purchase of 1985 Gpz900R - Pictures to follow.
March 2007
Evaluation of the z1A project to finish it off.
February 2007
Some work done on re-assembling the GPz front end. Chrome parts for the z1000A2 came in. Some assembly work on the z1000A2
January 2007
Still getting parts for the GPz900R roadworthy project. Parts coming in for the z1000A2, ready to assemble the front end. Ready to start on z900-A4 carbs then need to do z1000A2 carbs. Conondale Rally was a blast - 4 days of work and partying! Go the Z-Owners!!!
At last! I have found the chopper I want to build, this must be one of the coolest looking CB750 choppers I have seen for some years and I intend to build something in this style.
-oOo-
Last updated 8th June 2009
Contact me using my Gmail account(s):
z900collector AT gmail DOT com
or
"sid DOT young AT gmail DOT com" <- HINT - Read it out loud.
If you have contacted me in the past, send me an update, I'm always keen to hear how other project bikes are going.
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