Skip to main content

Project Z750 part 1

I have a friend who currently can't ride.

they left their 2004 Kawasaki ZR750 outside for the past 7(ish) years. I have taken on the task of resurrecting it.

It was not "layed up", there was no preparation for leaving the bike for an extended period. it was parked up one day, and now years later I am looking to get it back on the road. it was on an optimate for a while, but due to where the bike was (outside) coupled with the optimate being needed elsewhere, it's had no power for the last 3 or 4 years.

so, to the bike. as it was left outside; under a cover most of the time, but wind and dogs have way of removing covers, so there were periods where it was outside and at the mercy of the elements.
Having decided to get it back on the road the first step was to take off the spider infested cover and have a look. Obviously the battery was dead, but that meant that the alarm battery was also toast.

this was not good news to me as the battery for the alarm unit is internal and not replaceable. the alarm keyfobs batteries are also non-replaceable, and that meant that the alarm was a gonna.

I took off the seat and removed the battery. optimistically I attached it to an optimate, but even they can't work miracles. I also looked round the bike and it isn't good news. the chain is a rusty mess, the brake calipers and pads look past saving too. but i'll come back to those if i can get the engine started.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Project Z750 part 16

The piston puller has arrived. it looks like a pair of pliers, but works opposite so that when you press the handles the "nose" of the pliers expands. the idea is that you put the nose into the piston, grip very hard and turn and pull the piston so that it comes out. the theory is great, but actually using one isn't. in use you are trying to grip as hard as you can, and at the same time trying to pull the piston out of the caliper (as well as maybe turning it if it's stuck like mine). it took a herculean effort to get one of the pistons out, I was gripping as if my life depended on it, trying to twist the piston and pull it out of the caliper. when it turned (a little) it gave me renewed hope of getting both pistons out, and eventually the piston was out, so just one more left. so now on to the fifth and final brake caliper piston. I put the piston puller tool into the caliper, gripped with all my might (no laughing please) and twisted. Well something mo...

Project Z750 part 18

I have done a bit of reading on how to clean brake caliper pistons, and found an article that said you could use fine wet and dry to clean corrosion off them [ http://www.motorcyclenews.com/new-rider/choosing-kit/2006/november/jan26-05-how-to-service-brake-calipers/ ]. as it suggested using 1500 grit wet and dry, I decided to be cautious and start with 3000 grit. I cut the wet and dry into strips about an inch in width. I put some wd40 onto a strip and started polishing the rear piston. After quite a while I started to notice the difference. it was getting cleaner. well, it was working, but it was going to take a long time. well, I was patient and I really didn't want to rush it and ruin the pistons. Over the next couple of weeks, I polished all of the pistons using the 3000 grit wet and dry. As it seemed it was going to take the rest of my life using 3000 grit wet and dry, I decided to take a risk and bought some 2000 grit. yep I was really pushing my luck here. I cut the 20...

Project Z750 part 14

I thought that some photos would be in order rather just all that plain old boring text, so here is a front caliper and it's pistons:  This is the caliper before I managed to get the slide off. the pistons show a before polishing started and part way through. Here are the pins that hold the pads into the calipers. again you can see the before and part polished (I hope you can tell which is which) I thought I would show a picture of the rear caliper in pieces: there are more bits for a single caliper than I realised. The rear is a single piston caliper. and one of the front calipers. the front calipers are twin pistons (as I hope you noticed) I dont think that I will be able to remove all of the corrosion from the caliper pistons, so it looks like I will be getting all new caliper pistons. I'll order them once everything has been cleaned thoroughly.