I've been working on restoring my old Z650, which has turned into a much bigger project than I originally expected. But with no indoor workshop, rain and "real life" commitments are making it difficult to find complete days when I can work on the bike.
So I'm setting myself a winter project which I can do under cover in the dry. I have two spare engines for the bike, as well as a spare head, pistons and barrels. They're all in poor condition and have various problems or faults.
I'm going to start working through them, seeing how far I can get restoring them without spending any major cash. It is possible that I will come across problems that are a complete show-stopper, or I may be able to get one working engine out of it. But if nothing else, I find working on engines quite therapeutic compared to messing around with fuel systems and electrics !
Although I haven't got a workshop, I do have a shed I can use for jobs like this. The first thing to do was to move the engine into it, which was an interesting job involving a wheelbarrow ! I put the engine on a table that's in the shed for an initial assessment and clean.
As you can see, the engine is cosmetically poor. It's been standing for a long time (actually, around 15-20 years), and for some of that time it was outdoors under a tarpaulin.
Obvious problems include a lot of rust on exposed steel parts and furry white corrosion on alloy bits. There's also the original reason I removed it from the bike, which is that the thread on the output shaft was badly damaged when the sprocket dropped off while the engine was running. I am hoping it might be possible to re-cut the thread, but it might be a case of splitting the crankcases to change the output shaft completely.
The first job is going to be giving the outside of the engine a good clean. This won't be to restore the original finish, just to clear off the debris of decades so that when I start opening it up I don't end up with dirt getting inside the engine.
The toothbrush you can see in this photo is one of my favourite tools for this - I just use it with clean water to scrub the alloy and it removes most of the surface white furry corrosion.
After doing this for a little while, I realised that the table was maybe not strong enough to hold the engine's weight. Oops ! So I moved it onto the shed floor. As you can see, the table has acquired a few dents !
I'll update this project as it progresses. Don't expect it to be a quick process - it's a winter project, which I'm planning to do at a relaxed pace, and fully accepting that there may be nasty things I find when I open the engine up that stop the whole process dead in it's tracks .
Indeed, it's a big project. Keep it up to your skills
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looking forward to seeing the progress!
Thank you ! It's going to be a slow job... I've spent time over the last couple of days cleaning off years of corrosion and dirt, but it is very much a case of doing a little bit at a time. I've got a real-life job that has to take priority !
All of the best with your project. Years ago a friend of mine had a Z750, and I had a GSX750, we had lots of fun on those two bikes!!
Nice ! I took a GSX750 out for a test ride once, at the time it felt really fast compared to the GSX400 I owned. But the GSX400 was a nightmare, great fun to ride but with major (and expensive) design flaws - a small sump combined with an oil level window that was an inch or so too low. It didn't feed enough oil to the top end, and destroyed them every couple of thousand miles. But it was a huge grin-factor bike while it lasted, and very pretty, like a baby Katana 😁
15 to 20 years of climate, rust and damages, just by taking that challenge up you deserve my respect, and im amazed on that decision, i hope to see the end of the job with a full bike going on, big hug and see you around :)