KAWASAKI Z550F
John Vassallo finishes the fourcylinder Kwak.
Hello readers and welcome to my final foray with the Z550F! Firstly, I hope you all have kept busy like me, during this second lockdown. Reading bike magazines helps. Or it has me, so that’s good!
Last time out, I wrote that the bike was pretty much ready for its first test ride. I’d gone over everything, the engine was running sweetly, but I still had no idea how it rode. So it was exciting stuff, taking a big (well, middleweight) four-cylinder bike for its first run in 17 years.
With the tank empty, I added a gallon of fresh fuel from a can. After starting it up the choke soon came off and it was ticking over and warming up nicely. It was time to be a man and throw my leg over the old girl!
Pulling away was a magic moment, hearing that sweet four-stroke make noise. It ran through the gears well, although gear selection was difficult. Maybe the lever just needed moving up on the spline? I also noticed the speedo wasn’t working. With that Motad pipe fitted it was very quiet. The gentle exhaust note reminded me of Kawasaki police bikes in the programme CHIPS.
I felt the front brake needed a little attention: maybe a re-bleed needed. In braking another fault showed up: a hole in the tank! Oh no! A small spray of fuel came from in front of my left knee, quite high up on the tank, so I’ve got a few jobs to do then.
Time to get back on the phone to Jason at Kawasaki Heaven for a second-hand speedo cable: I compared the new one to the existing, and it was clear the old one was broken. Yes, I should have noticed this before! After checking it fitted, I poured oil down the new one until it came out the bottom. The gear selection was next. I was having to angle my foot quite
low to raise the lever. A simple adjustment of moving it up one notch on the spline made a difference.
Next to tackle was that annoying hole in the tank: firstly finding a suitable product to repair it. Back to my local motor factors, East Kent Components. Their helpful staff
soon found me something called Petro Patch Putty. As the name suggests, it is fuel resistant. Fuel drained, it was time to prep the hole. I removed surrounding paint, leaving a good 5mm border of bare metal for the putty to bond to. Then I tapped the hole gently with a ball-peen hammer, making a bowl shape for the putty to sit in. This made the hole bigger, so more paint needed removing to maintain the 5mm border of bare metal.
I then cut off an estimated amount of putty I thought was suitable for the job, then began kneading the two parts together, until they’re one colour and warm. Once happy with it I applied it to the hole, forming it to a suitable shape.
The advantage here is it’s not a valuable classic, so the repair doesn’t need to look fantastic. As long as that leak stops, I’m happy. The packet says to leave for 24 hours for the final cure. Afterwards I put the same gallon of fuel back in and swirled it around: leak free! Good stuff then. I highly recommend this product. At £7.50, it’s a good price too. Those front brakes still needed looking at. I re-bled them, making them feel slightly better.
Surely the Kawasaki was now ready for an MOT? Sadly my regular MOT testers
Tagg Racing hd sadly closed only weeks earlier. They were popular and even used to advertise in these very pages. A company called Ashford Mots was recommended so I booked a slot. On arrival I told the tester of the bike’s long lay-up and briefly told him what I’d done. After the test he went to his office staff. On return he told me the bike had no actual MOT history, but had passed: great news eh?
Obviously pleased, the next available day I brimmed the tank for a decent ride, only to find another ruddy fuel leak! With the bike home the seat and tank came
off again. Something I’m well practiced at now. This revealed a further two holes in the ageing tank. Luckily I had just the product to fix this! More putty applied, and another 24-hour cure, it was repaired.
Now leak free, it was time for another test ride. The lovely 550 four-stroke has loads of torque and I found myself selecting top gear quite soon: so much different to ringing its neck, like on an LC. It’s nice seeing how slow you can go in high gears. Then opening the throttle and feeling judder-free acceleration. Rear vision from the mirrors is good, although I’ve now removed them. Bikes look better like this I think. John Nutting pointed this out to me a few years ago.
After 200 miles it was time for a second oil change due to the 17-year lay-up, and another new filter from Z Power. A friend, Chris, joins me at weekends on his 1966 Tiger Cub. He pointed out my slack chain, so that’s another job. With the main spindle nut slackened, and half a turn to each adjuster, the chain travel was back within tolerance.
While down there, I noticed the near-side front foot-rest was splitting: armed with my Toolzone super glue it was soon bonded together nicely. Having a working speedo was nice, but I felt it was inaccurate, perhaps reading too high. Another friend Steve, on a modern (2004) Z750, followed me to confirm my suspicion.
This led me to fitting a 12v socket to accept a sat-nav, which reads speed accurately. I fixed it to the front of the frame, near the horn. You can also charge your phone from it. A test run showed my speedo was reading roughly 10mph out. I then marked on the dials where 30, 50 and 70 mph really are.
A few more rides followed and I found one more job to do: painting the engine. The black was flaking off the fins, letting down the overall appearance.
Yeah I know, should’ve done this when the carbs were off!
I bought a Laser Tools 20-piece wire brush set from EK Components. It’s ideal for awkward areas. Preparation done, I used Wilko BBQ and Woodstove black on the barrels, hoping it will stay on. Then a dab of silver on the head fins: it looks great.
In the two months since the MOT I’ve put nearly 800 enjoyable miles on the bike. The engine is a credit to Kawasaki, given the time it stood doing nothing! I didn’t intend a full restoration, just enough to have it running and riding. It’s been fun doing, and to have the opportunity to write about it. I do hope you’ve enjoyed the read. Now for some winter riding!