'78 KZ1000 makeover

79MKII wrote:

I thought I'd take your first set and "test it out", you know, to help you see how it works. I'd prefer a long term test...maybe 20-25 years? We'd have to find out how they perform over the long run. Just sayin I'm there for you if you need me...

:laugh:

I've heard you're nice like that

i'm diggin that carbon! And the subframe too. Me thinks you will be working on this bike for a long time... :laugh:

It is not my intent to work on this bike for a long time Nelson. I will admit, this build has morphed somewhat, but the basic vision is unchanged. I have a little more work on the subframe before I can finish a couple of the welds, then I need to grind and sand everything smooth, then prep for paint. I need to pay up with irishwill (when I have the chedder) for his triple trees, then I have to finish aquiring the parts I need to do the engine and send my head off to Larry C. At some point I need to fab a new battery box and electrical mounting panels, but I need an AGM battery to use for the mock up. Just about everything I need to do requires a hefty outlay of coin, and I'm not working as much as I need to to facilitate this build. It turns out feeding my girls is more important. So, in my spare time (I've got alot at the moment) I'm trying to make parts that no one else in the world has :whistle: In the hopes that selling a few parts will fill in the gap and alow me to continue putting my engineering experiment back together :laugh:

Adam, you could do what I did on the battery box. Most of the battery makers list dimensions on their web site. Just pick out the battery that you will use and make a mock-up battery out of cardboard. That will give you something to do in mean time while waiting for epoxy to dry.

you think you can produce some sets than you might wanna look into the making of a decent production plan....you could be selling 20-40 sets a year in no time....i would bet you could sell 60-100 sets of these before the folks with the cheese and desire get satisfied...maybe more,as folks who then see their buddy with a set would want one and it could snowball....if you had some signiture detail that only your sets could legally run...ghost paint @ copyrighted ..i'm no buisness or legal brain....but like say the E47" points cover....then folks would seek "your" set to complete their unobtainium bikes.....because only "your" sets would fit the quality and bragging rights cache.....
I think it could fly for sure ..

testarossa wrote:

Adam, you could do what I did on the battery box. Most of the battery makers list dimensions on their web site. Just pick out the battery that you will use and make a mock-up battery out of cardboard. That will give you something to do in mean time while waiting for epoxy to dry.

Josh, could you post a link to the battery you used? That is a great idea, I could cut out a piece of foam in the batteries dimensions and use that to layup the box. That would move me along a little faster.

You may be right Craig, and I have been wondering what I would do if this actually got out of hand. At some point I need to sell my 914 to make room in my garage for proper layout tables and cloth storage, and use a bit of the money to buy a roll of cloth and 5 gallons of resin. I think you're right though, it may grow beyond a hobby, especially if I step out and start molding MKII and GPZ parts, or other high demand vintage Jap parts like CB or GS stuff. Who knows...I keep telling myself I don't really know what I'm doing, I'm just experimenting and learning....but thats how everyone starts out

If I have time tonight, I'll get the part number off the battery and post the link.

here is a usefull link.
i just got the dimentions from hear and ordered a bat elsewhere.

www.yuasabatteries.com/pdfs/2009_yuasa_apps_specs.pdf

The model that I got was an Everstart Maxx ES14BS. It measures 5.75"x6"x3.5". Here's a link to a battery that crosses to it from another manufacturer: www.batterymart.com/p-Big-Crank-ETX14-Battery.html

Apparently I am incapable of finding a link at Wal Mart. Make sure to click the "Specifications" tab about half way down the page for the dimensions.

Thanks for the battery info fellas. I got back to the nuts and bolts of things a little bit today. Inbetween screwing around with the Z1 tail, I started to work on the top subframe mounts. Now, I didn't want anything missaligned, so I figured the safest way to do this was one side at a time. I was glad I did it that way, since as soon as I cut the left subframe top tube it sprung down 1/4". I little tweeking with a crow bar brought it back into alignment

I made the cut as close to the sidecover tab as I could to give me as much room as was available with out messing with anything I didn't have to.

I cut out steel disks with a 1.25" hole saw to cap the ends of the tubes and provide a mounting point for tabs. While I was grinding off the remainder of the subframe welds off the main rear hoop, I got into the subframe tube a bit. I gotta watch what I'm doing! :blush:

After some measuring and marking, I cut out the tongue of the joint from some 3/8" steel and tacked it to the main tube. Please excuse the tack welds, they will be removed prior to getting fully welded