'78 KZ1000 makeover

Wow, has it really been this long since I posted in my own thread? Damn, I struggle, but I digress. I was able to steal a little time yesterday to start digging out my garage and pull out my projects. I got as far as filling the recycling and trash cans, but I made a dent. It's progress :whistle: Speaking of progress, iwas able to make a small stride in my bike. Nothing exciting; I was able to get my fork repaired. I'm not sure if I had mentioned it earlier in my thread, but my super cheap modern forks came with a price: the right side had a cracked axle clamp. Seems the guy was fond of the "if tights tight, too tights better!" mechanics mantra. I knew I would need to fix it sooner or later, so I kept an eye on ebay for a replacement fork. The problem is that most sellers are asking as much for one fork as I paid for the pair So I decided to get a damaged fork ($16) that had an intact lower leg. I sent that with my broken fork to a suspension friend that swapped the lower legs out for me. It's not much, but it is progress of sorts

wow, that sucks. i never would have thought that it would actually break. he must have torqued on it with all he had. glad to hear u found a cheap fix.

Adam posted something about his bike! Yay!!!


Some people's kids man.

leon

Awesome! I'm surprised you didn't TIG that fork back together. Just kidding, I would have done the same. You know we are expecting weekly updates now don't you. Glad to see you get back on this project. I would hate to see this one get neglected.

Don't think for a second I wasn't tempted to try it Josh. The more I thought about it, the more I figured I'd rather not rely on my newbie TIG skills to hold my front axle in place at 120mph..... :whistle:

Miracle of miracles, I worked on my bike today :pinch: I had wanted to add some lateral and shear bracing to the bottom shock mount, and I never got around to it till this afternoon. The bottom shock mount before I did anything looked like this:



I added a top shear plate to keep the mounts square, but it left a small gap at the front of the plate:


I filled the gap by cutting a strip of metal, and TIG welding it top and bottom. It's not pretty, but no one will ever see it when the bike is assembled


Then I wanted to put in some corner lateral bracing on the outside of the mount ears. Nothing big or heavy, just a little extra to keep those ears from wanting to move side to side. Without the corner bracing:


And with the 1.5" braces:


I can definitely tell that my tig skills need some work, especially in the hard to reach spots! Tomorrow I plan to get some of the electrical stuff mounted, or at least some of the electrical mounts installed.....perhaps I'll start working on the battery box if I have time.

Once the electrical gear and battery box mounts are in place, I'll strip the frame down, clean up any buggared welds and paint the sombitch. It's time this bike starts coming together!

its great to see u motivated again.
Keep at it.

Excellent!!

Definitely good to see this thread up and running again.....now it's time to get the bike up and running!

progress as promised!!!!!!









is it just me :dry: ,














or are you



















TAKING FOREVER????????????????????????????????? :pinch:








:lol: :laugh: :woohoo: :silly: :evil:




leon