BIKE OF THE YEAR
Son and dad duo Kevin and Malcolm Wilson figured on a quick freshen up for their low-miler Zephyr 550 – but things took off!
Another reader and another special restoration/special for the Bridgestone competition!
Just before Christmas 2019 I found a Kawasaki Zephyr 550 for sale locally. All the key shiny bits, indicators, mirrors and instruments were present and in good condition, so I was a happy man.
Okay, so the seat was filthy with years of accumulated grime and dust, but it was sound. The downside was an awful knocked together homemade exhaust and dreadful abuse to the tank paintwork, with a tank protector that looked like it had been glued on with a large tub of horse glue.
The plan was to source a second-hand exhaust, tidy up the tank, give the mechanicals a go-over to pass an MOT and sell on for a quick profit. Of course, things didn’t work out like that! Being the classic Z-style machine, it didn’t take long for both Malcolm (my dad) and I to decide a decent restoration was on the cards.
The bike was stripped down and dad took possession of the chrome bits and engine casings, foot-pegs and anything else that should be shiny and got to work with endless tubes of Autosol and a massive tub of elbow grease! The frame and all its associated fittings were sent off to IPF Powder Coaters for refinishing and I got to work tidying up
Cam top cool! the calipers. Most of the bike’s components had previously been painted badly, and/or covered in grime or overspray, but surprisingly everything cleaned up like new. When the frame came back from the powder-coaters, that was it, the bar was set, everything had to be perfect now! We re-thought the restoration, rejecting some components we had earlier marked fit for use and sourcing good used or NOS replacements.
While I got on with the mechanicals, dad (Malcolm) went into internet overdrive. Genuine new-old-stock Kawasaki parts can still be found, and Motorcycle Spare Parts Ltd. and our local Kirkcaldy Kawasaki were of invaluable help. For the parts that were no longer available that well-known internet market became the go-to source. Aside from replacing practically every screw, nut and bolt, replacement parts included new brake lines, all bearings, a new headlight rim and reflector.
A nice touch was to bring back the luggage hooks from the edge of the grave. They are now nicely finished in gunmetal complete with new rubber end caps. Major items requiring attention were the rear shocks, the exhaust and the wheels, which were now deemed too far gone to be brought back with a tube of Autosol.
By this time our sights were set on a good sympathetic restoration, keeping it original, but we both thought that as an added twist looking back to the little Kawasaki’s heritage, taking styling cues from the big Zeds of the 1970s. Another nice touch in keeping with this vision were the replica Z1 grips in glossy black found on ebay.
It was now time to get on with that motor! Rather than a total strip down, steam clean and rebuild
ABOVE: Paintwork is a real homage to the original Zeds. (which we thought unnecessary with the genuine low mileage on the clocks), we redoubled efforts on the casings, taking out the worst scratches with Scotchbrite mops on the bench grinder. My unenviable task was to get to work degreasing and removing the old rattle-can paint from the barrels, and having left the choice of finish to my old man, I then brought his wishes to fruition by repainting with PJ1 and spending hours and hours rubbing down and polishing the edges of the fins. The crankcase was finished in Technicq Thunder grey. It’s a great gunmetal shade and surprisingly easy to work with. The end result is tremendous, and very reminiscent of the early Zeds.
The fork legs were not too bad for their age so I stripped them down and polished them on the bench grinder, hand finishing before rebuilding them with new internals. The rear shocks were usable but were not presentable so were sold off and replaced with Hagons. With chromed spring and black piston they really look the business. The brake calipers were in a shocking mess but were perfectly serviceable so were stripped, cleaned and refinished in the same gunmetal, the piston brackets in PJ1 for a nice
contrast and rebuilt with new brake pads and Wezmoto brake lines.the wheels were sent off to We Restore Alloys in Kirkcaldy for a complete acid bath strip, ceramic ball polishing and finishing with highlights in black satin. The results are absolutely astonishing. This completed the rolling chassis, leaving two major problems: the exhaust and the paintwork.
We searched for an aftermarket exhaust, but nothing was cutting the mustard. Decent aftermarket exhausts are available for the bigger Zephyr 750 and the 1100, but very few options for the 550. Through hours on the internet we discovered Den at Alldens Exhausts, who makes exquisite, bespoke stainless exhausts. After chatting with Den we decided to have a replica of the standard exhaust made in polished stainless steel, but without the box-shaped silencing chamber. Again the results were stunning.
With the exhaust fitted and with a remote tank rigged up it was time for the first start-up, which it did on the button, but something wasn’t right. Opening the throttle just bogged the engine down. Balancing the carbs improved it somewhat but it was still not perfect. There was nothing for it but to take the carbs off for a close look. I had ignored the carbs up till then in the hope they’d be fine: silly mistake, I know!
On stripping the carbs, we found two had wrong float needles and jets, and adjustments were wildly out of specified tolerance. One air screw was jammed in place with the brass head chewed off. My theory was a previous owner had fiddled with the carbs in the hope of getting the old cobbled together exhaust to run smoothly.
Very carefully drilling out the jammed air screw and a carb rebuild kit later, we were rewarded with a smooth-running engine with a snappy throttle response. Also we were treated to a nice, throaty, deep exhaust note from the Alldens exhaust!
Throughout the build we had been throwing ideas back and forth as to which way to go with the paint job. We both love the classic Z1 schemes, particularly the striped tank, but it was when dad Malcolm spotted a Z2 (the 750 version of the Z1, only available in Japan) that settled us on the final choice, a dark metallic red with a gold stripe and white pinstriping along the bottom of the tank, extending to the tail, and two black stripes extending up and over the tank.
It was a bold scheme to translate from a big bike to the diminutive 550 (now affectionately renamed by us as a Z3, to use Mr Kawasaki’s naming progression), but SJH Bodyworks in Glenrothes absolutely nailed it, interpreting our vision and producing a finished scheme that totally transforms the bike into a beautifully scaled down version of the big Zed. Not that you would notice the scale, it looks absolutely right, and is maybe what Kawasaki should have done in 1990.
Needless to say, the extent of the restoration has gone way beyond commercial good sense, but as we both love the outcome, the bike is a keeper!
With the bike finished in the depths of a somewhat snowy winter and with lockdown still in place as I write this, we’ll have to wait till Spring when we can get it out on the road and show it off at some bike meets.
Neither of us can wait. You’d never guess this bike was 30 years old!