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Project Kwak Z400F

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.Chris.
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PostPosted: 21:29 - 06 Jun 2015    Post subject: Project Kwak Z400F Reply with quote

Just thought I'd introduce the 1985 Kawasaki Z400F project that I've been getting stuck into of late. I'm not particularly well at the moment so progress will probably be fairly slow - I'm trying to do things little and often.

As far as I can tell, the bike's been off the road for a number of years, although exactly how long is a bit of a mystery. Could be 2002 or 2008 - there isn't much history with the bike. My guess would be 2002. Either way, it hasn't been used for quite a while so will need a good going over.

At present, the bike is completely dismantled. It's not in a terrible state, although there is work that needs doing, both mechanical and cosmetic. Many bits are just in need of a good clean-up. Some parts are a bit of an unknown quantity - the engine being perhaps the most obvious example.

My first priority has been the frame - it's perfectly sound but had some fairly unpleasant looking rust developing in the rear section, which needed to be dealt with before it got more serious. Ideally I'd have just sent it off to be shot blasted and powder coated, but money is tight and I'm keen not to spend too much on this bike.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC07984_zpsysqjpsqg.jpg
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC07981_zpspoqdy8uc.jpg


Therefore I degreased the whole frame using Gunk and a pressure washer, before using a rotary wire brush to take the rusty bits at the rear back to sound metal, to which a rust converter was applied. The non-rusty bits in the vicinity were just sanded back. I then applied two coats of Zinc 182 primer, before a couple of coats of gloss black paint. My main concern was to keep the rust at bay, rather than making it all pretty, but the finished result doesn't look too bad, if I say so myself. In fact, I now wish I'd done the entire frame in this way!

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC07998_zpsgo2klysq.jpg
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC01055_zpsbjpvqgpq.jpg

The swinging arm is the rustiest part of the bike. Despite a good jabbing with a screwdriver it hasn't gone into holes, but the surface is flaky and you can hear what are presumably rust particles rattling around inside if you give it a shake. Therefore I think it's probably best to replace it with a better one, although to preserve this one I've given it a similar treatment to the rusty bits of the frame as mentioned above.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC07985_zpsg9tbu8gs.jpg
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC07992_zpseywzbtba.jpg
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC01058_zpsujicfr6r.jpg

Meanwhile, I drilled out the pop-rivets holding the fork brace into the front mudguard, which was pretty rusty. Again, it recieved a similar treatment to that mentioned above, and is now ready to be riveted back into the mudguard once that's been cleaned up.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC07997_zps397uodww.jpg

That's as far as I've got so far - I'll try to keep this thread updated when there's progress to report.
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Shreeve
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PostPosted: 22:14 - 06 Jun 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Finish looks good and you've no doubt saved a small fortune, it's not perfect but projects like this don't need perfection Thumbs Up

Surprised the swing arm came up as well as that mind, looked horrendous.
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Just_James
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PostPosted: 22:36 - 06 Jun 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

You've done a good job with that frame.

Looking forward to see more Thumbs Up
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.Chris.
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PostPosted: 23:14 - 10 Jun 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the kind words Smile

Inspired by the reasonable look obtained on the rear section of the frame, I decided to rub down and re-paint the two main 'cradle' rails to match. Unfortunately the tin of paint was beginning to run out by the second coat, so the quality of the finish isn't quite as good, but it still looks a lot better than it did before.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC01073_zpsy8xjld4b.jpg

Overall I'm pleased with the result, but in future I'd do the entire frame, rather than trying to re-paint parts of it again.

I've also cleaned up some of the rear suspension components. Everything looks to be in reasonable condition, with no major play in any of the joints or pivots.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/d9cb3ed7-6255-4423-9bfb-b2c76248f17e_zpscbt3iich.jpg

This little piece, in particular, was absolutely caked in greasy muck. One thing I'm not sure about is whether the rubber seals need replacing - they seemed to be very loose around the joints, to the extent that they probably weren't keeping very much in or out of the joint. I'm rather hoping they don't need replacing as a full set of seals seems to be almost £50 - an absurd sum for a couple of tiny bits of rubber!

Not sure whether the rear shock is any good, although it looks much nicer after being cleaned up.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/b599f7e8-36af-4054-a303-30f0d69601ee_zps3aiyxb5r.jpg

The logbook has also come back in my name. Amusingly the bike has no fewer than 17 previous owners - A fact I didn't notice when buying it. Quite a turnover!
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bypass2
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PostPosted: 00:09 - 11 Jun 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

You have done a good job on the frame there mate.
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.Chris.
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PostPosted: 21:52 - 02 Jul 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

A wee update.

Over the past few days I've painted the side stand, centre stand and upright thingy that bolts between two parts of the swingarm (not sure what it's called!). Unfortunately the tin of paint I'd used for the frame and swingarm had run out, so I had to use brush-on Hammerite for these parts.

After cleaning and greasing all the bearings, I also fitted the swing arm, shock, etc. I'm still trying to source a better swingarm than the one I have, but in the meantime I want to make some progress.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08160_zpsryngiqux.jpg

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08161_zpscdl2arhk.jpg

Next step is to clean up the engine and its mounting hardware, and then fit it into the frame. As you can see, it's a bit dirty but not terrible.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/b713839a-b8ba-47de-b065-a699ca9affe1_zpsbpgeovhe.jpg

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/a8528346-27d5-48c7-b959-0cab3d6b9944_zps2duc1uee.jpg

I've also ordered a Haynes manual as I'm tempted to adjust the valve clearances once it's in the frame, but before the whole bike is back together. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell it's a shim and bucket arrangement of the type which requires you to take the camshafts out to make any adjustments.
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.Chris.
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PostPosted: 23:41 - 08 Jul 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Done a bit more over the past couple of days. As per the plan, I gave the rear of the engine a quick clean-up and degrease. This is the part that's most difficult to get at when the engine's in the frame, so I thought i'd clean it up now rather than later. The rest of the engine will be cleaned up when it's in the frame and the whole thing is easier to move around.

Whilst the engine was on its side I thought I'd remove the old oil filter, and also check that no water had got into the sump. Annoyingly, the oil filter housing bolt was stuck incredibly fast - so fast that it rounded off, despite using the correct sized socket. A mole grip was tried, to no avail. Fortunately it did eventually come undone once I'd hammered a slightly smaller imperial socket onto the mashed-up remains, but it means I've got to buy a new bolt Evil or Very Mad.

Another problem I discovered along the way is that the airbox is in a bit of a state. It seems to be cracked almost the whole way around the front, with quite a large split on one side. It looks a bit like someone's tried to lever it apart at some point, although I can't think why. Can't find another, so I've used gaffer tape to hopefully make this one vaguely airtight. Not pretty but should do until a better one turns up.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08167_zpspp5iciyb.jpg
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08169_zps45k5savw.jpg
https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08175_zpsryr6znmi.jpg

After getting rid of the stinky old oil filter, I fitted the engine into the frame by rolling it on its side (on a bit of old carpet) before passing the frame over it and bolting it up to the mounts. Unfortunately I managed to put a few scratches on the bottom frame rails' new paintwork, which will need touching up in due course Mad.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08174_zpszrfaw5ge.jpg

My next priority is to get the bike mobile, as it's now a bit of a lump to move around the garage. The plan is to fit the front end first, which means replacing the leaky fork seals.
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paintpot
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PostPosted: 18:53 - 09 Jul 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

looking good,nice to see it as your going along
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.Chris.
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PostPosted: 23:31 - 12 Aug 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thought I'd update this thread.

As per the plan in the previous post, the bike is now mobile. Fortunately, the fork seals that I had thought were leaky aren't. The staining on the fork legs and gaitors was actually grease that had been smeared on the stanchions to preserve them. There seemed to be absolutely tons of the stuff in there so I presume some of it had found its way out of the gaitors' air vents and down the fork legs. Happily the grease has done a good job of preserving the stanchions. Both are in good nick, although one of them has some strange marks on it, that look a bit like it's been rubbed by something. There are some very small, pin-like marks in the centre of the rubbed area, so I wonder if this stanchion has had a small amount of pitting which has been filed down and treated with araldite. Either way, the seal isn't leaking so if it has been repaired it's a decent job.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08197_zpsh1fazdor.jpg

After cleaning everything up I decided to re-paint the fork legs, as there was a fair bit of paint flaking off. Evidently this wasn't the first time they'd been done as half of an old sticker was still attached to the leg, under a coat of paint. Seeing as the bike has been off the road for ages, I also decided to replace the fork oil. Unhelpfully, the Haynes manual recommends 5W20 oil, which doesn't seem to be available anywhere. I went for 10 weight in the end, on the recommendation of a guy in a local bike shop. Although the old gaitors were OK, I thought I might as well replace them seeing as I had a suitable new set lying around.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08193_zpstdlnlxix.jpg

Having dealt with the forks, the yokes were cleaned up, the headstock bearings cleaned up and re-greased. Finally, the forks were fitted, followed by the front wheel. I then put the bike up on its centre stand (straining my back a bit in the process Mad) before fitting the rear wheel.

Both wheels will be coming off again at some point, as I'm going to replace both tyres. It's a bit of a shame, as the front is quite a nice Bridgestone and looks in perfectly good nick, but the date code suggests it was made in mid-1997, so probably best replaced. The rear is a 'Cougar' (not a brand I've come across before) and was made in 2001 - still rather old and it has a slow puncture, so it will have to go. Both of the current tyres are 10mm larger than those specified in the manual, being 100/90-19 at the front and 120/90-18 at the rear. Looking at replacements, there doesn't seem to be an awful lot of choice in matched pairs, mostly due to the 90/90-19 front. I'm currently thinking of going for the Dunlop Arrowmax Streetsmart, as they seem to get good reviews and aren't too expensive.

With the bike on two wheels, I've further built up the front end, fitting the handlebars and switchgear, along with the instrument console. The rear brake has been connected up, and I've trial fitted the fuel tank and seat. Having the bike mobile also means that I've been able to de-grease the front of the engine, which wasn't accessible before.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08206_zps6mzvifl2.jpg

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08202_zpsncdeb4n5.jpg

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08207_zpscnygd1gy.jpg

As you can see in the pics, the carbs are now fitted to the engine. They were cleaned beforehand, although I'm not sure it was particularly necessary as they weren't very dirty inside. I'm more concerned about the diaphragms. None seem to be split or otherwise damaged, but they seem to give the pistons a rather odd action - towards the bottom of their travel they have a section of much greater resistance before you can feel the diaphragms 'give'. Not sure if this is normal but I hope it is, given the price of replacement diaphragms!

Finally, I've stripped the front brake for inspection. All seems to be OK, and the brake was working before I took it apart, albeit with grease-contaminated pads. Although I was pleased that the caliper pistons are in good nick and can be re-used, one of the bleed nipples snapped off and has resisted all attempts at extraction, snapping no less than 3 of my extractors. Gaaargh! Fortunately, I've managed to source some replacement calipers very cheaply, so I'm just going to use another caliper body.

Where next? Probably getting the front brake functional, or possibly repairing and installing the exhaust system.
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Slacker24seve...
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PostPosted: 07:15 - 13 Aug 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

I put Pilot Sports on my OH's YBR in (I think) the same sizes. They were good enough on a YBR. They were ok on that, your bike might be a different kettle of fish.
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.Chris.
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PostPosted: 11:22 - 13 Aug 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Unfortunately they don't seem to be available in the correct size for the front wheel. I don't imagine the YBR would have a 19" front wheel as it's quite an antiquated size. More likely it would be 18", which would give much more tyre choice. You can get the Michelin Pilot Activ in 100/90-19, but not 90/90. There's really only a couple of options at that size. The rear is much less of a problem.
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stevo as b4
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PostPosted: 18:21 - 13 Aug 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's looking good so far! Thumbs Up

And I do like my Kawasaki's in white/blue, as it's a nice change!

If I ever fix up my old KMX I'm tempted to do it in Suzuki RM Yellow and blue just for the hell of it, and the fact that I'd like a TS125X too! Laughing
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.Chris.
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PostPosted: 14:02 - 04 Oct 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Update! Unfortunately I haven't managed to make as much progress as I'd have liked over the past month or so, but there are some developments to report.

I've repaired and refitted the exhaust system. Although it looked to be in fairly good nick, closer inspection and a good jabbing of suspect areas with a screwdriver produced a few holes that needed repairing. Areas that were accessible for welding were repaired thus, otherwise gun-gum was used. These repairs seem to have worked for the time being, although I have since discovered a slight blow in the area of the bolt on the collector. I have actually managed to acquire a brand new Motad stainless steel system for this bike for a very reasonable price as part of their stock clearance, but I feel that it makes sense to eke every last bit of life out of this system first, particularly as it still looks perfectly presentable.

After fitting the exhaust system I fitted a new oil filter and oil pressure switch. The latter had unfortunately been damaged when I'd dragged the engine across the floor, so a new one was needed. This had to be ordered from Kawasaki and was unpalatably expensive for something so simple and tiny! At least the part was still available. Once that was done the engine was ready to be filled with oil. For the time being, I've just used cheap car oil as a sort of flushing oil, which will be changed fairly soon to get rid of any residual muck. Juding by the colour of the oil that has appeared in the sight glass, there's plenty still to be got rid of.

Rather annoyingly the new oil filter bolt I'd ordered was far too long, so I've re-used the old one for now, tightening it with mole grips. Replacement with a correct-length item will now have to wait until the oil is changed again.

Next the wiring loom was fitted - unfortunately the Haynes manual does not have a diagram showing the correct routing, so I'm going on what I remember and the few pre-strip down photos that I have. I think I've got it right but I'm still not 100% sure about which side of the headstock some of the wiring goes.

Perhaps the worst job I've had to do so far on this bike is fitting the airbox. As usual, it seems like the frame is welded up around it! That's maybe a slight exaggeration - it would have been much easier had the airbox rubbers not lost almost all of their elasticity. As it is, I had to support the engine from below with a jack, remove the exhaust, front engine mountings and rear top mounting, which allowed the engine to be pivoted forwards. This just about allowed me to get the airbox in between the frame and carbs, albeit with great difficulty. I think I now understand why so many similar bikes get fitted with pod-type filters!

With all that done I was desperate to see if the engine would run, so in went some petrol and I hooked up a spare battery I have lying around. After quite a bit of churning, she did fire up, although only on two cylinders initially. Cleaning the plugs saw her running on all 4, albeit not very well and she wouldn't idle properly. After a bit of fruitless tinkering, I decided that what was probably needed was for the engine to get properly warm and to clear its throat a bit, so I took it for a bit of a run. This seems to have at least partially done the trick, as it's now running considerably better than before, although not perfectly. It still doesn't seem to return to idle very well, often taking a few seconds to slow down from 2500 to 1500rpm even with the throttle closed. I'm not quite sure what this could be due to - it could be running a bit lean as there's no air filter fitted at present, or it could be some other carb fault. Here's hoping it's not the latter (other than balancing, which will be done in due course) as I really, really don't want to have to remove the carbs and airbox again!

Here's a quick video of the engine running. For some reason on the video it sounds like it's running rather worse than it actually is. You can just hear a little bit of (what I think is) primary chain rattle, which these engines are prone to developing. Nothing like as bad as my old GT550, though.

The bike as it stands:

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08285_zpscottsrqs.jpg

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08283_zpsoem5at2o.jpg

Having established that the engine is serviceable has given me a bit more optimism that the bike will be on the road before too long. It's nice to see the list of jobs getting smaller and smaller. What's next? Getting the front brake working, finishing off the electrics, and installing the rest of the bodywork. Then that's pretty much it before MOT time.
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.Chris.
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PostPosted: 00:41 - 29 Oct 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gah! Decided to remove the carbs and airbox, as I wasn't happy with the way the engine was running, particularly when cold. It would only start on full choke with quite a bit of coaxing with the throttle, and even then ran rough - I'm not even sure it was firing on all 4. It seemed to oscillate between idling far too low (requiring constant blipping of the throttle to keep it going), and then all of a sudden increasing to about 4000rpm, then dropping again. When warm it was much better as can be seen in the video I posted above, but still not as smooth as I would like. There also seemed to be a bit of a stumble if you tried to accelerate quickly from low revs, although this may be due to the lack of air filter element at the moment.

Before removing the carbs I checked the fuel level in the float bowls using a clear plastic hose. This seemed to indicate that the level was sligtly low in one of the carbs, and too high in another.

Once I'd got the carbs off I discovered a few more problems. Removing the tops of the carbs to clean the choke mechanism I took a closer look at the diaphragms, holding them up to a strong light as suggested in the Haynes manual. This revealed very small (pin-prick like) holes in two of them. Bugger! Fortunately new diaphragms are available for this model of carb (TK26V) but at £38 each they're not cheap. Doubly annoying is the fact that I held back from purchasing a set of GT550 carbs on ebay the other day (also TK26Vs, but with different jetting), which would have provided all the spares that I need at a far lower cost than a pair of new diaphragms. At least - I assume that it would be OK to replace just the pair of holed diaphragms, rather than having to replace all 4 at once?

Rather oddly, now that I've got the carbs on the bench one of the float valves has also decided to stick open, as when I turned the fuel supply on to test the fuel levels again, petrol started pouring out of one of the overflow pipes Rolling Eyes.

As you might imagine I'm a bit fed up with this bike at the moment!
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Sean.S
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PostPosted: 18:11 - 29 Oct 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

it looks like youve painted over a fair bit of rust Confused for the sake of £80 you may as well of had it all shot blasted and powdercoated professionally. you'll regret it when the rust comes eating back through the paint
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stevo as b4
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PostPosted: 19:22 - 29 Oct 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry but I have to say this to a self proclaimed expert, that's been biking a year or two, is 2-3machines into their career, and could not sort out a fuel pipe issue and a tank of stale fuel on a CRM, without needing to visit 2different motorcycle shops to get it to start and run.

Your knowledgeable opinion and voice of experience is not valid here I'm afraid!
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Copycat73
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PostPosted: 19:38 - 29 Oct 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

a little cheaper here..

https://www.nrp-carbs.co.uk/kawasaki_carburettor_diaphragms.htm
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.Chris.
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PostPosted: 20:26 - 29 Oct 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi,

Thanks for that link. I'm not sure but I think the prices in that list are excluding VAT. Here's the product page for that diaphragm in the NRP shop, which says the price is £31.50 + VAT, i.e. £37.80.

As for 'painting over rust', I did make sure I got rid of all traces of rust in the areas that I repainted, including using a rust converter on the bare metal. What's probably confusing you is the pitting caused by the previous corrosion, which makes the paint finish look slightly uneven. The finish that I have achieved is by no means perfect but my main motivation for the re-painting was to get rid of the rust that existed and to prevent any more from forming. Hopefully I've achieved that, but time will tell.
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Copycat73
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PostPosted: 20:52 - 29 Oct 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

try ringing quoting the price off the old site with a debit card at hand to pay with and see where that gets you price wise 161 832 8646
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A100man
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PostPosted: 14:00 - 30 Oct 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good stuff. I love a good 'wirebrush and hammerite' style resto - which is pretty much what I'm doing with my XJ550/600 - although mine is taking a lot longer.

Carbs it seems are the achilles heel of all these 80s four pots it seems. Buggers to get clean, and not helped by rusty tanks and rock-hard rubbers.

I recenty tried the wintergreen oil treatmenst on my airbox rubbers
and it seems to work quite well, so that may also be worth a try.
'Hanging idle' can also be down to leaks on the inlet rubbers too - so I'm told. Would be interesting to learn if the diaphragm replacements fix it in your case.

Good luck with it.

PS Mended my FZ exhaust with weld & gun-gum too Wink
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Sean.S
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PostPosted: 02:18 - 31 Oct 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

stevo as b4 wrote:
Sorry but I have to say this to a self proclaimed expert, that's been biking a year or two, is 2-3machines into their career, and could not sort out a fuel pipe issue and a tank of stale fuel on a CRM, without needing to visit 2different motorcycle shops to get it to start and run.

Your knowledgeable opinion and voice of experience is not valid here I'm afraid!
what was that, a verbal bitchslap?

its got nothing to do with knowledge, its merely common sense. Like you say i know absolutely nothing and even that occured to me...

Anyway ive got no desire to argue with strangers on the internet so i apologise if you took offence to such a simple comment Thumbs Up
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.Chris.
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Joined: 09 Jun 2007
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PostPosted: 18:32 - 01 Nov 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been having a further look at the carbs and have identified another potential problem. One of the choke valves appears not to seat completely, presumably with the effect that there is still some air leaking past it and fuel coming out of the jet, even the choke knob is pushed home. It's difficult to get good close-up pics with my ancient camera, but you can hopefully see what I mean.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/1111_zps54g8urao.jpg

Above is a picture of the suspect carb. You can see that even with the choke plunger pushed all the way in, there is still a small gap through which air could potentially leak. This is on no. 4 carb, which is not one of the ones that has a duff diaphragm.

Compare this to one of the other carbs (below) and you can see the difference:

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/2222_zpscn8dgskj.jpg

It's hard to work out exactly why this is happening, but what I think is going on is that there is some sort of rubber O-ring in the choke plunger area that has either swollen up or become displaced. Have a look at these pics:

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/3333_zpsnt3z5dw7.jpg

Above is the carb with the non-seating choke plunger. You can see a rubber part in front of the plunger, which is what I presume is causing it not to seat properly.

Below is one of the other carbs. On this one you can clearly see the needle which is obscured by the rubber part on the suspect carb. It's hard to make out but you can see at the front of the plunger something that is either a very much smaller o-ring, or just a patch of discolouration at the top of the needle.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/4444_zpspp3y70fu.jpg

What's puzzling is that on the parts fiche and exploded diagram in the Haynes, there doesn't appear to be an o-ring or other rubber part in that area. Googling the part number of the plunger (16016-1023) turns up one or two pics, none of which show any rubber parts on that end of the plunger Confused.

Next step is to get the plunger out and have a look, but of course it's not quite that simple! The screws holding the individual carbs to the rails are stuck absolutely fast, and I'm reluctant to get the impact driver out for fear of damaging the carb bodies. The brass caps to the plungers also seem to be stuck on very hard, and won't budge with an ordinary spanner. Access to them is very tight - too tight for a normal 12mm 1/2" drive socket, and you can guess which which socket is missing from my much slimmer 1/4" drive set Rolling Eyes.
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Chris
1985 Kawasaki Z550F
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DOS
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Joined: 29 Jun 2006
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PostPosted: 23:13 - 01 Nov 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

It might be worth checking if carbs off a Z400J will fit and if you can find them.
No diaphragms but you will need to take the diaphragm out of the fuel tap as it works on vacuum I think while it doesn't on the J.
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VFR Vince
Two Stroke Sniffer



Joined: 15 May 2015
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PostPosted: 13:54 - 03 Nov 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sean91 wrote:
stevo as b4 wrote:
Sorry but I have to say this to a self proclaimed expert, that's been biking a year or two, is 2-3machines into their career, and could not sort out a fuel pipe issue and a tank of stale fuel on a CRM, without needing to visit 2different motorcycle shops to get it to start and run.

Your knowledgeable opinion and voice of experience is not valid here I'm afraid!
what was that, a verbal bitchslap?

its got nothing to do with knowledge, its merely common sense. Like you say i know absolutely nothing and even that occured to me...

Anyway ive got no desire to argue with strangers on the internet so i apologise if you took offence to such a simple comment Thumbs Up
i agree with what sean91 said, just the shotblast alone is usually around 40 pounds so when painting a rusty frame it would make sense. not only will it prevent any rust from reappearing and bubbling the paint, it will also reveal any little pinholes left by the rust, if any (and thats from someone with over 20 years of experience) @stevo as b4: i find it unnecessary to verbally attack somebody on the grounds that he may not have been riding for as long as you.

@chris: looks like its coming along nicely so far, the white on black is a nice contrast. liking it Cool

vin
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.Chris.
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PostPosted: 14:48 - 08 Nov 2015    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just to clear this up - I have not painted over any rust! The areas that I did paint were taken back to bright bare metal, mostly with a rotary wire brush, and any pitted areas treated with a rust converter.

As I said at the begninning the object of this is to spend as little as reasonably possible on the bike, and stop rot taking hold in the swinging arm and frame. Hopefully I've achieved that. I'm also not attempting to make the bike look pretty - I'm not painting the tank, wheels, or engine casings, all of which are to a varying extent imperfect in terms of their paint finish. The only exception to that may be one of the side panels, which is off another bike and is matt black at present.

By all means, if I was doing a full restoration, or money was no object, then I'd send it off to be done profesionally. Neither of those apply in this case, hence the route I've taken.


Anyway...

The plot thickens as far as the carbs are concerned. Shone a torch onto the choke plungers to get a better look, and had a very gentle prod around with a piece of wire. It seems that all of the choke plungers have some sort of rubber piece on the end, of varying thickness Confused. No. 4 is the thickest (and causes the plunger not to fully return), followed by no. 3, then no. 2 and no. 1 are so thin as to barely be visible. What's odd is that this rubber piece isn't shown in any of the parts diagrams. I suppose it may be there to seal off the jet orifice that the needle of the choke plunger fits into.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08365_zpsuwvpvihd.jpg

Here is the carb diagram. The choke plunger is no. 26. As you can see there is no rubber part shown on the end. The only other possibility I can think of is that on no. 4 carb the O-ring marked as no. 25 on the diagram has managed to migrate along the plunger, but this seems highly unlikely to me.

Not helping matters is the fact that I can't remove the end caps in order to remove the choke plungers. As you can see in the pictures below, they're in a very tight corner so I can't get anything to both fit on properly and have any room to turn! What's probably needed is a crow's foot spanner but even then I'm not convinced they'll undo, as they seem to be pretty stuck and are made of quite a soft material.

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08372_zpsj7z7ekcz.jpg

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08373_zpsaxxxz2jr.jpg

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08374_zpshntcmc0b.jpg

https://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/chrisd87/Z400F/DSC08375_zpseerzvoms.jpg

I'm not really sure what to do, to be honest. I could try buying a crow's foot spanner and seeing if I can undo the plunger caps. Otherwise the only options I can think of are to re-assemble the carbs with new diaphragms as necessary and see how it runs, or to try and acquire another set of carb bodies which hopefully won't have the same problems. Any suggestions?

Meanwhile, I've taken delivery of a new set of Dunlop Arrowmax Streetsmart tyres, which I got for a very good price from mytyres.co.uk.
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Chris
1985 Kawasaki Z550F
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