DOHC's blue Z1R Refresh

wrote:

Great looking machine. Did Truedisk cut your rotors?

Oops.  I skipped that.  Thanks for reminding me.  Yes, I sent my front rotors out to be machined by TrueDisk.  I posted this in another thread, but the rotors were scalloped with grooves that aligned with the hole pattern.

kzrider.com/forum/11-projects/615805-197...case?start=24#847644

I have no idea how it happened, it came to me like that.  Maybe someone put some really aggressive pads on it?  But the disks look fantastic now.  I highly recommend TrueDisk.  Great work, great service, great price.  I was really impressed.

The front brakes on this bike always felt really wooden and uninspiring.  I’ve always wondered if that’s just what Z1R brakes feel like, or if it’s the scalloped rotors or the wrong brand of pad.  Another quirk of the Z1R is that it has a cable operated remote from master cylinder, mounted on the lower clamp.  I guess the fairing didn’t leave enough room for the reservoir.  So maybe my cable is binding?

So I figured, screw the scientific method, I’ll just change a whole big bunch of things all at once and see what happens!

I switched from EBC to SBS pads.  I have the rebuilt front calipers with trick phenolic pistons.  I filled up the cable with spray cable lube.  And toss in a new front tire for good measure.  Maybe it will help?



 

100% agree about TrueDisk. Tom is a great guy.

That last picture I posted is what I was really impressed with.  He resurfaced right up the the edge of the center hub.  It's really hard to find any spot with a noticable step.  But the tool never touched the paint anywhere, on either disk.  That takes serious skill, effort, and attention to detail.

I noticed but I just thought you paid to have the rotor repainted. Knowing you didn’t then I agree. Made skills!

wrote:

Anyway, I got all balled up in this and went back and forth between various sizes of BT45, BT46, and Roadrider Mk2.  In the end I got the Roadrider Mk2 in 100/90-18V and 120/80-18V.  The sticker on the front tire actually says “(3.50-18)” under the metric size, which seemed like a good sign.  We’ll see how it works out.

 

How do you like your Avon's so far? I'm curious about their cornering and wet road response. I currently have BT45 that I got from 4wheelonline two years ago. They have worked well but I would like to try a different brand this time.

wrote:

wrote:

Anyway, I got all balled up in this and went back and forth between various sizes of BT45, BT46, and Roadrider Mk2.  In the end I got the Roadrider Mk2 in 100/90-18V and 120/80-18V.  The sticker on the front tire actually says “(3.50-18)” under the metric size, which seemed like a good sign.  We’ll see how it works out.


 

How do you like your Avon's so far? I'm curious about their cornering and wet road response. I currently have BT45 that I got from 4wheelonline two years ago. They have worked well but I would like to try a different brand this time.

wrote:

wrote:

Anyway, I got all balled up in this and went back and forth between various sizes of BT45, BT46, and Roadrider Mk2.  In the end I got the Roadrider Mk2 in 100/90-18V and 120/80-18V.  The sticker on the front tire actually says “(3.50-18)” under the metric size, which seemed like a good sign.  We’ll see how it works out.



 

How do you like your Avon's so far? I'm curious about their cornering and wet road response. I currently have BT45 that I got from 4wheelonline two years ago. They have worked well but I would like to try a different brand this time.

Just wrote out a bloody big post about these tires and it disappeared AGAIN
These are a very good all round tire, I just fitted some to my sons KZ650, the have a very neutral feel, don't track lines in the road and are confidence inspiring, because of that I've just fitted a set to an early 1980's Kawasaki race replica I'm building. My mate, who is a very respected racer here in Australia , on my recommendation, fitted a set to his gorgeous CB750 Honda, he said so far they've performed flawlessly rain hail and shine. He recently did a 2000 odd mile trip on them and I put over 1000 on them on my sons bike, I wouldn't recommend them if i even suspected they were not good. 

I was just looking at a Z1R listed in Bring-A-Trailer.   bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-kawasaki-kz1000-z1-r-2/

I noticed that front rotor shows the same scalloping as mine.  So I'm not the only one. 

 

wrote:

How do you like your Avon's so far? I'm curious about their cornering and wet road response. I currently have BT45 that I got from 4wheelonline two years ago. They have worked well but I would like to try a different brand this time.

First, I'll mention again that this bike sat for about 7 years before I put these tires on, so I can't really compare the old and new setup.  Also, I think the last time I rode in the rain was probably 20 years ago, so you're not going to get a wet handling report from me.

I've ridden about 50 miles so far, and put them through some twisty roads.  I will say that I'm completely happy with them.  As 750R1 said, they have a neutral feel are confidence inspiring.  The initial turn in is very smooth, the bike tracks through the corner smoothly, and I have no idea where the traction limit is but I've leaned the bike over a fair amount with confidence.  I have no head shake or wobble of any kind.  They work.

I did notice one place where they did track grooves in the road.  There is a bridge near my house that has a concrete road surface with lines scored in it parallel to the direction of travel (to avoid icing I'm guessing).  The bike did track the grooves on that bridge.  It wasn't bad, I wasn't concerned at all.  Nothing spooky like the old steel grate deck bridges I used to ride on.  A bit of pressure on one side of the bar was enough to mostly stop the tracking.

Here is a screen capture of the bridge road surface from google maps.

 

Here are some pictures of the tires on the bike.  The front has plenty of fender clearance, and fits on the wheel well with a natural sidewall curve.  The rear has sufficient clearance to the chain guard.  As I mentioned earlier, a 130 tire cut through it in the past and you can see the slot.  The rear sidewall is not terribly squished with the 120 on a 2.15" rim.  I'm happy with the sizes I chose.

 

I know that squirrely feeling of the steel grate decking oh to well. 

 

wrote:

I know that squirrely feeling of the steel grate decking oh to well.  

There was one on my way to work when I was in high school.  I remember being surprised by how easily the rear wheels on my clapped-out '77 Malibu would spin on the steel when it was raining. Steel decks don't seem very safe for cars or bikes.

I just looked on google maps.  That same bridge is still there.