1981 Kawasaki KZ750 Resurrection

[GSX1000E]

I doubt seriously that the seat pan looked that good when the bike was new! WTG!

[chuck hahn]

Looks awesome Ed. Love the sheen on the pan. Cant wait to see it all together..gonna be sweet.

[Nessism]

Spent the evening measuring and remeasuring the new/old cylinder and pistons, as well as the original cylinder and pistons again. I'm half way batty now and still scratching my head. The cylinder seems to measure .002" oversize to the stock bore size even when measured in the area where the rings don't sweep. The numbers suggest .004" piston to wall clearance, but using the old feeler gauge between the piston and cylinder wall trick suggests just slightly more than .003". This seems right since I can measure about .0008" of wear with the bore gauge and the stock piston clearance is about 2.5 thousands. At any rate, I suspect the pistons and bores are just fine and I don't need this big bore kit after all.

[rustybronco]

At any rate, I suspect the pistons and bores are just fine and I don't need this big bore kit afterall.

Other than the odd cylinder wall wear pattern of the original cylinders.

How does the new (old) set look? Much better than the originals, about the same, or worse?

[Nessism]

Other than the odd cylinder wall wear pattern of the original cylinders.

How does the new (old) set look? Much better than the originals, about the same, or worse?

New/old cylinder doesn't show that funny pattern but they have a smig more wear. Pistons look slightly better than the originals.

[Nessism]

Finally got my butt in gear again. A couple weeks back I started to bead blast the engine case parts but was about to shoot myself because it was taking too long. Today I dumped the glass bead and slammed coal slag in the hopper. Much better. The finish is a little rough but it's going to get painted anyway so no worry.

Oh, and the valve cover is from a KZ750 Turbo. No air injection junk on top. The oil pan is from a later model 750 that has the oil cooler outlet ports on the front.

P1010994 by nessism, on Flickr

[Flyboy]

Seems like you have a collection of all the best bits there Ed.
Is that how the engine was when you got it, or did you go shopping for the cover and oil pan?
Those bits look good, slightly rough is good for paint adhesion I would think, the paint will smooth it out as it flows.

[Nessism]

Bought the oil pan and valve cover off ebay Stan. Oil pans with the take off are dime a dozen. It took a good while to find an affordable valve cover though. Bought a cooler from a ZR-7. Will have to figure out the frame mounts. And speaking of frame mounts, Kawasaki rubber mounted the engine for '82 (I think), so that's one thing I wish I had. Would have required welding on the frame though so took the easy way out. Still thinking about it though...

[rustybronco]

If the difference between rubber and solidly mounted is that much different, I think I would do it. The cost to weld the brackets on can't be all that great. The rest is obviously just time and effort.

[Nessism]

If the difference between rubber and solidly mounted is that much different, I think I would do it. The cost to weld the brackets on can't be all that great. The rest is obviously just time and effort.

The problem Dale is that I'd need a frame that has the mounts to pirate from, or I'd have to fabricate them from scratch. The photos below show the difference.

P1010487_zpsf6590e2e by nessism, on Flickr

rubbermountframe_zpsfc5d03d3 by nessism, on Flickr

rubbermounts_zps5eaebae9 by nessism, on Flickr

[rustybronco]

I figured fabrication shouldn't be much of and issue for you. The only thing is the lack of a welder.

Are those brackets steel only or do they have sleeved rubber inserts in them for a lack of a better term? It's hard to tell form that picture. If they are all steel, they should be relatively easy to make with nothing more than a hack saw and a bench grinder.

[Nessism]

Thinking about picking up this mount kit so the situation can be investigated more easily... http://www.ebay.com/itm/83-KAWASAKI-...c7263b&vxp=mtr

[rustybronco]

That mount kit would make the frame mounts steel.

See if someone on the KZ(?) site you frequent can get you some measurements.

The downside of the whole thing is it would be a shame to mess up your pretty paint job on that frame.

[SVSooke]

My 82 GPz750 has rubber mounts on the front,just the front mind you.The 750 cruisers are a variation on the Kawi 750 with shaft drive,not sure how much crosses over.I can do mount measurements if you like.

[Nessism]

My 82 GPz750 has rubber mounts on the front,just the front mind you.The 750 cruisers are a variation on the Kawi 750 with shaft drive,not sure how much crosses over.I can do mount measurements if you like.

Fishe shows the sporty/standard 750 bikes using rubber mounted front only, and the cruisers have four rubber mounts. The fronts look doable, but there's a lot going on in the back to attempt a frame mod for the rear mounts.

Kawasaki added a frame cross bar with two tabs underneath the front mounts. What is that for? I can imagine the need for a little extra bracing but what are the tabs for? Support the engine in case the rubber mounts fail?