KAWASAKI Z1300
Ralph finishes the mighty six-cylinder.
He’s finally sorted her... our Ralph completes the last couple of jobs on the mighty six before getting ‘The Beast’ back on the road.
There is palpable excitement in the workshop this month as ‘The Beast’, as my beloved Godier Genoud Z1300 A5 is better known in the Ferrand household, can finally sniff the scent of Tarmac. There is a list of final fettlings to be carried out and I could not allow myself to rush any element of the final preparation, but I was truly animated and full of nervous trepidation knowing that true elation was so close at hand. First up was to re-repair one of the chrome-plated side panels covering the air-box, which these days are as rare as rocking horse poop. One of the mounting pegs had been broken off in the past, as so often happens with side panels, usually when being tugged in the wrong direction by someone with more muscle mass than cerebral activity. It had been previously repaired, but sadly the bond had failed. I decided to use Supa-fix, which is basically a high-quality industrial cyanoacrylate glue (Super Glue) and a filler powder. It is a great way not only to stick things together, but also to create fillets and fill holes. Once I had thoroughly degreased all the parts to be re-bonded and created a key with some emery cloth, I glued the mounting peg back in place with the adhesive. I sprinkled the filler powder all over the joint and then dropped the glue on to it, which soaked into the sand-like filler and set in seconds, creating a fillet, not unlike a weld, and making the repair far stronger. The repairs made with Supa-fix can be filed, drilled and even tapped. Since making this repair I have ridden many miles on the bike and removed the panel a few times, and the repair has stood the test of time. The next job of replacing the front of the air-box, which feeds the mighty twin choke carbs with oxygen, was somewhat less onerous. With anything rubber it will always be far easier to fit with a bit of lube. I usually use red rubber grease, which I apply with a gloved finger (ooh, matron!). The rubber and metal seal
(92093-1025) between the main body of the air-box and this manifold is sadly unavailable from Mr Kawasaki, and mine has had to be repaired in several places. I do notice that z1300.de seem to have made a pattern one, so I feel a twitching in my credit card. This cover is fixed in place by two long M6 JIS screws, which require a number three JIS screwdriver. Whilst you are unlikely to do any damage using a No 3 Phillips screwdriver, using smaller ones will, and this is why so many screws were destroyed on Japanese motorcycles back in the day. The quality of the screws was blamed, but the reality was that the blame lay with ignorance as to correct usage of tools, though this was great news for the purveyors of impact drivers and cap screws. I am a fairly recent convert to JIS screwdrivers and I would caution that there are Phillips bits being sold on ebay purporting to be JIS. I know, I got caught. I only knew this when Laser Tools released a set of JIS screwdrivers and I realised how good they were. Even an old dog like me can learn the odd new trick. As I had fitted new piston rings and given the bores a light hone, the engine would need to be run in, which meant that I had to use a mineral oil for the first 500 miles. I chose to use Rock Oil as they research the lubricants they create, in my mind producing good quality motorcycle oils. If you use a semi or fully synthetic oil the engine parts will not bed in properly. With classic bikes I usually use a semisynthetic oil of the grade specified by the manufacturer. Never be tempted to use car oils just because they’re cheaper! This greedy bike demands 6.5 litres of golden goodness, which had to be dumped after the 500-mile run-in period, where it was replaced with Rock Oil Guardian Semi-synthetic, which stays for 3000 miles, or a year. Always change the filter at the same time as the oil. Filters and oil are much cheaper than re-bores, pistons, bearings, and the like. I next turned my attention to coolant. As with all my boiler bikes, I use a coolant made up of 50% Ethylene Glycol-based anti-freeze and 50% distilled water, or de-ionised water in the more modern parlance. Because of the aluminium alloy head and blocks used on modern(ish) motorcycles, it is important to use this mix, not only if you are masochistic enough to ride in sub-zero temperatures or cruel enough to store your loved one in such cold conditions, but it is important to have the corrosion inhibitors to protect the engine internals. The good bits of antifreeze can deteriorate over time and so one should check the efficacy of one’s coolant from time to time. The easiest way to do this is with an antifreeze tester, which is effectively a hydrometer. The one I use is effectively a clear container with discs of differing densities. There is a bulb at the top, which is used to force the air out of the container. When the pipe at the bottom is placed in the liquid to be tested and the bulb is released, then there is a decrease in pressure in the container, so atmospheric pressure acts on the
coolant, forcing it into the container. Depending on the specific gravity of the coolant, some of the discs will float, indicating the amount of healthy ethylene glycol remaining in the fluid and thereby informing you of the temperature required to freeze it. The discs are colour-coded and, depending on how many float, the chart printed on the tester will indicate the depth of temperature the engine will be safe at. The container of antifreeze claims it is good for -35°C, but once diluted 1:1 with distilled water, the tester suggests that -15°C is my lot. Given the beast isn’t likely to leave my heated workshop until the outside temperatures reach the teens and all the salt is gone from the roads, that will do me just fine. The coolant was then poured into the radiator, gently. It has a habit of belching and if you try and fill it too fast it will effectively be sick on you as pockets of air come up through the water, whilst filling it helps to squeeze radiator pipes to expel any trapped wind. Once the radiator is full the pressure cap should be replaced. The reserve tank was then filled to the full mark. There will still be air in the system, which must be bled out. The method dictated by Mr Kawasaki goes against my nature, but without an alternative I had to obey. The booklet tells you to remove the 10 amp fuse for the radiator cooling fan and then run up the engine until the temperature gauge needle goes into the red, or ‘H’ line as the boys at KHI describe it. They say that this will take around fifteen minutes. I obeyed, but the needle didn’t seem to be exactly flying up and then all of a sudden I had a boil-up. My immediate reaction was to turn off the engine, but I then refitted the fuse to get the fan to start blowing cooling air through the radiator and restarted the engine so that the pump would start circulating the now cooling water through the engine. This indicated
that the temperature sensor for the gauge was dog ‘n’ ducked. Naturally the genuine part was no longer available, but by punching the part number into worldwide ebay search boxes, I eventually located a very expensive NOS (New Old Stock) item in the States. Once it arrived, I had a more believable temperature gauge. The last job was to balance the carburettors, which isn’t the easiest, as I have never seen a vacuum gauge kit made for a six, and although one can only alter the throttle between the twin choke carbs, i.e. not the individual venturi, I discovered when I first got the bike that it is best to monitor each choke’s vacuum as they don’t tend to be identical, and you need to have all the readings to make a valued judgement. Most Zeds have little stubs you attach to the analyser’s tube, but the big six has blanked-off threaded holes in the intake manifold that you screw fittings to. The screws that blank off the holes when not in use have soft aluminium crush washers to seal them, which should always be changed. I had to screw fittings into 1, 2, 3 and 4 initially, and balance carbs 1 and 2. Once completed, I then hooked up the vacuum analyser to 3, 4, 5 and 6 to balance carb 3 with 2.
The adjusters are on the throttle linkage and are awkward. The hex driver at the top of the adjuster screw is tiny and none of my very small metric spanners would fit. I found that a 10BA (British Association) spanner fitted OK. The adjuster screw lock nut is more usual fayre. I usually get all my carbs within half a centimetre of mercury, but that is impossible with these carbs, due to the lack of adjustment between the individual butterfly throttle valves. Getting them within the prescribed 2cmhg is possible, but I’m a perfectionist. Refitting the vacuum plug bolts is a pain, and I found the best way was to stick the washer under the head with a dab of grease and then started them in their threaded holes with a telescopic magnet. The photo explains it better. I went through the bike with a fine toothcomb to ensure that everything was as Kawasaki intended and then rode her to the MOT testing station ten miles away. It’s actually about five, but who wants a direct route when riding a big Zed? Poor John always struggles with her on the brake tester as she’s two inches higher than a stock thirteen and he’s not a human giraffe. The twin, six-pot Harrison Billet calipers biting on Brembo discs were never
going to be a problem. John knows that I always go through my bikes very carefully before a visit, but my mockery of his height sharpened his eyes to see if he could find something I had missed. Instead, he had to content himself by mocking my excess weight! I always enjoy a trip to Unity Road Motorcycles for an MOT, as John is properly old school and we always have a great laugh about the absurdities of modern life. All that was left now was to tax her and enjoy! cmm