TOPIC:

For the not so cool, I decided since I had the head off, I might as well pill the cylinder just to be sure, since it was smoking some last time it ran. Well good thing I did, turns out the previous owner managed to overlap the oil expander rings on two cylinders which have managed to chip off the very ends of two of the expander rings. The rest of the rings look great, but better safe than sorry right? So I will add a re-ring to the parts list The jugs don't look bad at all, still showing the hatch marks from the last ring job. Oh well, time and money. Maybe I will appreciate it more when done? At least I will know where I stand when she's all buttoned up.

I hope to get the fender eliminator / taillight mount goin this weekend. I'll try and get some pics up if it turns out like I think it should. If not, I will lie, and say I changed my mind at the last minute

Looks good. I always liked the tail piece on the KZ650 it should be fine on your bike.

Let me give you a pointer about that taillight. Make your electrical connections so that you can remove them. What I did was wire the new light into the old KZ1000 taillight plug, so it plugs into the factory harness like normal. The reason that I say this is that you want to leave the taillight disconnected when you first get the bike running. That way you can check the condition of your charging system. I had a bad regulator and the bike was charging at about 17.5VDC at 4000 rpm. That was too much for the taillight, and it killed something on the circuit board. I had to get another light along with a new regulator/rectifier combo to fix the problem. Another $150 down the tubes on that deal. I could have saved myself $50 if I had checked the electricals first.

BTW good call on the superbike bars, they're my favorite. Natural riding position for my gorilla arms, and they look right on the bike.

So have you decided on a paint scheme? I can't remember if you already said something about that.

looking good so far.
i like the 650 duckbill it looks good there.the leading axle front end tho has me thinking i might want a 77-80 dual disk front end perhaps.
just thinkin.
the front end you have is fine,but the leading axles always perplex me .
not a deal breaker,just a head scratcher.

keep us posted,

leon

Thanks for the tips fellas. And thank you Josh for spending the money to make sure that no one else had the same issue . Seriously, I have learned alot of life lessons the same way, ever try and chase down a charging issue on a Ford? Replace battery, replace alternator, and finally replace voltage regulator. Which ever order you decide, it will be the last thing you try that was the original problem. Ask me how I know? Who needs a trouble shooting chart right?

I had the same issue with the "look" of the LTD forks. I definately don't like the looks compared to the same year J model forks. I wonder if I could just switch out the lowers, and have everything else bolt up? Couldn't be that easy though could it. Will do some research on that one.

Right now the paint scheme is.....ready for it....gloss black! I ran through a bunch of color combos in my head, but I kept coming back to black, always classy. Awful tempted to do some silver racing stripes on top, ala Josh. It could be the decepticon version of his paint scheme.

Took the cut off wheel to the seat pan this evening, no turning back now. Now before anybody gets worked up that I destroyed a rare vintage 82 LTD pan, it was ugly to start with, and the thing was FUBAR when I started. Sand blasting took care of the cancer issue, and some spot welding and a hammer got her close to original shape. Looked like an elephant had sat on it. I made sure after I fixed it to sit on it again myself to make sure my large ass wasn't the problem. Took about 3 - 4 inches off the back, and will rebuild the bracing on the back for rigidity and to match the contour of the 650 tail piece. Otherwise fits just fine. Gonna try and go with the ZRX look for the finished seat. More to follow...

So my sacrificial ZRX seat arrived, as I hadn't actually compared one with my LTD pan, I wasn't sure how it would work, but it looked like it might work from the pictures. I was fortunate that the seat arrived in like new shape! From the looks of the foam and the cover, it doesn't look like it was used at all.

Here is my cut down LTD pan...





I had to trim the foam a tad, but overall it looks like it was meant to be..







It's just sitting on there for now, as I need to trim up the edges of the pan, and paint for rust protection. I'm very pleased so far. Thank you to Mark for the inspiration

I'll get some more pics once it's all buttoned down.

pretty danged close.
(the front of it looks like it might want to match up to a square tank )

can't wait to see how it turns out.

keep us posted,

leon

Marneman wrote: So my sacrificial ZRX seat arrived,

Here is my cut down LTD pan...

I had to trim the foam a tad, but overall it looks like it was meant to be..

I'm very pleased so far. Thank you to Mark for the inspiration

Glad i could help.
That seat looks like it is going to blend right in, now that u have created a step in the kz pan.
i think u are going to be pleased with the look.
Keep up the good work.

Hey, how's the seat comming out? do you have it finished yet? Im in the middle of looking at different seat options for my 81 kz and wanted to see how yours is comming out. I would like to narrow my pan to conform to the frame more and make it sit as low as possible. I know it's a lot of work and certainly not a bolt on process. I hope your progress is comming out easier than mine.

1 thing i forgot to mention. the zrx seat is well known as an uncomfortable seat. 1 big part of the cause is the downward slope . if u look closely u can see that it has a forward downward slope. if u can trim the foam to flatten this out u will reap large comforting rewards.
i can't feel the slope itself as much as i can feel the seat of my pants trying to pull back as i am riding. i learned of this after i had inserted the gel pads. all i had to do was level the foam.

Isn't there guy on the ZRX forum who will take your stock seat and make some mods to improve the comfort level? I think his user name was Wog or something like that. Maybe I'm having a Nadsian infarction in my brain, but that seems to ring a bell some where.

testarossa wrote: Isn't there guy on the ZRX forum who will take your stock seat and make some mods to improve the comfort level? I think his user name was Wog or something like that. Maybe I'm having a Nadsian infarction in my brain, but that seems to ring a bell some where.

Thats pretty good Josh. no you dont nadamania. lol
Yes there is a MR WOG seat mod on zrxoa.com
i have posted the info in my build and passed on on here and there. thats where i learned about the forward slant to these seats.

Sorry, but I haven't had a chance to do more on the seat yet. Although in looking, the LTD pan actually slopes up in the front. I am hopeful this might counteract some of the comfort issues. Actually there was a nice piece of memory foam inserted under my stock seat. I'm thinking of grafting it into the ZRX foam for added comfort on my middle-aged butt.

On a side note, I just got done clearing my painted parts with a can of SprayMax 2K clear. I think it's turning out awesome for a rattle can job! I bought a second can, thank God, cause I managed to drip a nice bead of forehead sweat right onto the top of my tank when clearing it!!
Just friggin figures huh. Oh well, if everything went perfect where would the fun be in that. I will scuff it out once it cures out and give her a nice second coat. I was suprised, no runs to speak of and minimal orange peel where I got into too much of a hurry. I'll post some pics of the finished product soon.