1981 Kawasaki KZ750 Resurrection

Your KZ750E came with those stupid loose balls and races!!! Someone must have installed some aftermarket tapered roller bearings at one time. I had both '80 and a '81 E model, and both had those little ball bearings that spread all across your shop's floor when you pull the lower tree!!! The Kawasaki microfishe is correct.

I always used the aftermarket roller bearings that K&L Supply sold over the years in my bikes. Never had a problem like you are having with your bearings ever in the ones from K&L!!!

[Nessism]

Talent? Not so sure about that. Just busting my a*s is all. And speaking of busting a*s...the steering head bearings kicked mine this afternoon. Getting the old bearing races out of the steering neck was a major pain because they don't stick out where you can get a drift or race remover on them. Wound up cutting a slot in them with a dremel and then using a chisel to crack them so they could be extracted. The upper was easy, but the lower is recessed into the neck so it was really hard to work in there. Got it eventually, but it took me a couple hours. Not fun.

Tried to install the new All Balls bearings but ran into trouble. For one thing the races pressed into place with only minimal force. Doesn't seem right but not sure. Put the lower bearing on the stem, and forgot the seal that was supposed to go down first. The stock bearings didn't have a seal like that so guess it's no big deal. The upper bearing sticks up quite tall so that seems wrong. Can't find my old bearing to compare though. Worst part is the lower triple is hitting the steering neck so know something is wrong for sure. Frustrating.

For the most part the Kawasaki parts fishe is really good, but they made a lot of changes on these bikes year over year and sometimes the fishe is wrong. For example, they show loose ball bearings but my bike had taper rollers. I'm pretty sure they are stock. At any rate, need to research this situation and figure out what's going on...

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[alke46]

Really nice looking work Ed. Must be nice to have a talent for these kinds of jobs.. Keep up the good work.
I continue to look forward to your progress.

[Nessism]

Yes, the gauge faces are in good shape. Only thing I did was repaint the orange on the indicator needles. Getting inside these particular gauges was a major pain though. Suzuki gauges are easier to deal with. The crimp bezel for example is cosmetic on these, but not so on the Suzuki gauges. The trip meter needs to be fished though the side of the housing, and there is a double layer thickness housing to boot. Glad these things are done.

[nvr2old]

Yeah, all those pieces look great, Ed. Amazing how nice the gauge faces are, the redline on the tach looks like it just left the show room.

[rustybronco]

And I thought I was anal.
Nice work there Ed!

[Nessism]

Forks are finished. New seals and oil of course. Added Progressive springs (same part number as the GS1000). Also got the gauges (clocks for you UK guys) back together. After struggling with painting the round surrounds, lots of masking, came to learn the glass pops out easily and the inner and outer surround bezels separate. Live and learn. Last photo shows where I smashed the tripmeter reset. Was recrimping the band bezel/clamp and slipped.

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[Nessism]

What kind of clear are you using there? Have you used it before?

Por15 Glisten PC clear. Yes, I've used it before. It's designed to go down on raw aluminum. They have this metal etch product called AP120 which preps the metal before you shoot the clear. Like most Por15 products it cures by absorbing water out of the air. It's thick and not the easiest stuff to spray, then it firms up really fast but takes days to properly cure. I shot some black on the footpeg brackets and the tape left marks in the clear (which was shot yesterday). Not too bad. I'll polish them after the paint properly firms up.

The paint that continues to amaze me if the Nason black urethane. This stuff is without a doubt the nicest stuff I've ever sprayed. It flows out almost like glass and doesn't like to run. Amazing. It's a value oriented product intended for "fleet" usage (what ever that means). At any rate, love that stuff. The Kawasaki gauges were gloss so it gave me another excuse to break out that stuff.

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[jsandidge]

what clear?

What kind of clear are you using there? Have you used it before?

[Nessism]

Also cleaned up and clear coated the fork sliders and footpeg brackets. The brackets had a good bit of corrosion on them so I wasn't able to remove the pitting. Bead blasted off the corrosion and rubbed them down with gray scotchbrite before shooting the clear. They look decent but wouldn't mind finding a better set. Later...

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[Nessism]

Working on the gauges. Condensation behind the glass and corrosion on the outside bezel. Gently pried off the sealing ring and took the units apart. Going to bead blast the housing and repaint next.


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[recycled64]

Then you'd be #34's cousin, right? I actually met Sr at Riverside Raceway for an ACA demo race at a SCCA race in '67

you mean the tax evading Wes Cooley!??

Just like any other politician, only difference is he got caught!!!

Nope, my family is from Oregon. My Uncle was a famous Congressman from that great state!!!

you mean the tax evading Wes Cooley!??

I'm sorry, I just have to ask, I can't hold it in any longer. Are you the Wes Cooley? (Superbike Champion, etc)

Nope, my family is from Oregon. My Uncle was a famous Congressman from that great state!!!