screwing around ■■■
CMM reader John Vassallo is further on with his Kawasaki Z550F project. We are just a little bit behind as we have SO much to cram into the magazine! Bear with ...
It's New Year's Day (ok, I know Bertie is holding features over as he's got lots to put in your issue of CMM... ). I woke up at 8am with a clear head. I'm not sure how, as I'd celebrated the New Year at a 198Os fancy dress at my local. (See? Remember going to your local pub?) Maybe I held back with the booze. Either way, my friend Dave Sims was on his way over to help with my project. What a helpful man he is. I had three tasks for the morning: one, to remove the carbs for overhauling; two, to get the cap off the master cylinder; three, a simple one, to re-fit the front wheel. Firstly then, those carbs, and even worse that standard air-box assembly: the near side air-filter housing came off easily, with just a few screws. Then on to the battery box on the other side, and in front of that, the right-hand side of the assembly. This contained a triangular-shaped filter, I'm guessing for the off-side two cylinders. It measures 10cm by 6cm and was worn completely! This left the main part of the air-box. With fastenings undone, it still struggled as I'd expected. With much wiggling about it eventually came out, leaving room for the carb removal. I'd previously used spray lube on the four clips, which undid easily, then, hey, carbs were free, and finally the throttle linkage. Plenty of room now to clean that engine even further. That cap on the master cylinder next. Doing this on the LC took two of us. (Ahem, we're clearly top mechanics!) One to tap the screw heads, and one to hold the whole thing while it was in the vice. Even though I'd sprayed lube on them a good half-dozen times over the winter, they weren't budging. Dave suggested we drill the heads out, starting with a 4.5mm, then 8mm bits. This worked, releasing the cap and remains of the M5 screws. I also sprayed it black. We saved the simple job until last, re-fitting that front wheel. Now we were free to wheel the bike about again. Two teas and an egg sandwich later and Dave had to go home. What other jobs could I do on my own? There was the sorry looking corroded front mudguard I'd removed in the previous instalment. I needed filler and spray, but where from? Well, there's a good motor parts place about a mile from my house - East Kent Components. I've noticed it's had the same staff for years. Not just behind the counter, but van drivers too. This speaks volumes and their service is great. Back home I attacked the flaky rust with a screwdriver and rubbed down what remained. I then dusted it off with a clean, dry paint brush. Using the ISOPON P38 from the shop, I filled the corroded areas. This stuff is easy to apply and rub down. Once happy with the surface, I sprayed with undercoat and gloss black top-coat.
Next was to free up more screws I'd previously given up on. These were the M4 bolts securing the Kawasaki trim between the clocks and the tank, and the M5 ones securing the trim below the headlight. This also shows the bike manufacturer's name. I reached for the drill again, using pilot bits as before. Yes, it worked, with no damage to anything else. I replaced all screws, plus a dab of copper slip. Looking at the air-filters, I thought: 'Easy, buy new ones.' Finding the triangular one is hard to find, so I decided to make one. I had an old LC one in the shed, which I washed and cut to fit. It's nice using up stuff you've already got. The air-box assembly itself needed a good clean-up; the main filter was in surprisingly good condition. One of the springy circlips had broken. Back to that now shiny black mudguard, which made the rest of the plastic and trims look shabby. As I said previously, the side-panels were good, but needed a little touching up. The rusty headlight trim is difficult to find, and the next local bike jumble wasn't until April (later cancelled, of course.) With this in mind I decided to spray it silver and it looks good I think.
The tail piece was worst of all. Again, no cracks, but corners and stripes both faded. With a bit of masking, I refreshed the white stripes with a gloss spray. For the red I used Ford Sunburst Red, which was a good match. Sadly, the Kawasaki Uni-trak writing had faded. After spraying this black I covered the area with a silver Kawasaki sticker. The tricky bit was centralising it! For this, the best bet is to find a flat surface, then lightly place masking tape along the top and bottom. This makes marking the middle easy. This gave me a nice central line: neat! This left the black trim below the headlight. This looked okay, but the lettering, spel Ii ng 'Kawasaki', had faded. For this I simply dabbed silver paint on each letter with a cloth. It looks great and matches the headlight trim and the sticker on the tail piece.
As I said previously, I sprayed the master cylinder after winning the struggle with the cap. It turns out it was a waste of time as I'm unable to remove the piston. Even with spray lube. Overhaul kits are easily available, but it's good if you can get the old bits out! I've ordered a second-hand cylinder and I'm hoping it's gonna be okay.
Prior to starting this project, editor Bertie said he'd put me in touch with a company called Z-power for parts. I've never used them before, but was familiar with their ads in the magazine each month. Time to make a list then. Firstly the fuel cap I'd broken, then a seat cover, oil filter, caliper overhaul kits and new pads to stop that front wheel. That Iist is bound to grow the further I get, but this will do for now. After sending them a brief electronic mail with photos of the bike, I phoned them. (It's good to talk rather than message.) I spoke to a helpful guy called
Phil, who had plenty of knowledge and was happy to help.
This leaves the carbs to sort out. Not a job I fancy tackling myself. They can't be too bad as it was running, but a job for someone else! Best I have a think who to ask!