It’s a bank holiday weekend in the UK so consequently it’s cloudy, showery and changeable on the weather front. So as I won’t ride in the possibility of rain I decided to do some maintenance on the Z750 twin. Nothing too drastic, some minor lubrication and simple routine stuff was all I had in mind, about ten minutes of fettling in other words.

Firstly I decided to grease the rear swing arm bushes, which Kawasaki made provision for on the Z750 B1 by putting in a grease nipple on the swing arm. I retrieved the grease gun from my company van, and found it empty as I had left it. Located the grease cartridges and changed it. That sounds easy enough as I write it here, but it took 20 minutes to find the grease cartridges and to coax it into the grease gun which didn’t seem to want to screw back together afterwards.

After some persuasion and naughty words (the wife and kids were out so it was ok to use them instead of words like “oh bother” and “deary me”) I was ready to hit the grease nipple with the nozzle. Kawasaki saw fit to give us a grease point, but not to make it accessible. You can see it between the frame and the rear brake line I have ringed it on this blurred picture for you

It even looks accessible until you push the grease gun nozzle in the gap. I tried several different ways, and a lot of the swear words I knew before getting the nozzle on the nipple and pumping grease on the swing arm at the same time as into the nipple. I spent the next ten minutes with a bit of stick and rag cleaning the excess grease off the swing arm to prevent it falling on the tyre while I am riding one day.

With the swing arm having got as much grease as my blood pressure was going to allow before breaking out of several veins in my brain, I set about the simple task of lubricating the chain. Have you ever noticed how the nozzles of cans of spray (such as the chain spray I was about to use) have a habit of going missing?

Having located the chain spray nozzle I realised I was unable to spin the rear wheel to access the entire chain. I had to get the bike higher in order to get the rear wheel off the ground. I found a piece of wood, placed it carefully under the centre stand and heaved the bike up the extra height. The wheel spun freely and I lubricated the chain. It has been said at times I work on the wrong side of safety, decide for yourself now

I noticed the wood had moved as I was about to take the bike back down off the stand, it didn’t fall so it must have been safe like that right? You can comment below if you’d like to

By now the 10 minute routine lube jobs had run into an hour and a half, and I decided I’d had enough for one day. It is after all a holiday so I am going to rest now.

Today I decided it was time the poor old Kawasaki’s engine had some fresh oil. It was last changed when I first bought the bike and it has done some work since then, and the oil was only going to be in for the initial start up, and a few miles before it got changed to kind of flush the lubrication system out.

The oil change has been on the agenda for a while, but today I finally got out the washing up bowl (don’t tell the wife) to drain the oil into and got underneath with the spanner and let out the old lubricant. It wasn’t in bad condition really, but it’s gone now to be recycled, and the new oil is in.

I just couldn’t be arsed to change the oil filter though as that meant removing footrests, gear levers, engine side covers and more faffing around. That’s a job for the next Z750 twins next oil change, when it may also get some other new parts, but at least the oil is good for a few more miles of engine protection duties.

It’s that time of year, cold, wet and miserable, when for me anyway motorcycling loses its appeal somewhat. I know the ruffty tuffty biker types will be making faces and pointing at me for that remark, but laugh away, I’m staying warm and dry for now.

So with the absence of any Z750 activity there has been a dearth of posts, as I’m sure people reading a site about Z750 twins won’t be interested in reading about me sitting by the fire watching telly. There is a little news though.

I bought some motorcycle trouses from Ebay to wear in case of a dry day even if it’s a bit cold during the winter. Problem was the manufacturer got the sizing wrong, and the xl just doesn’t fit my lithe body. I mean it can’t be me can it?
Well I have lost a stone and a half since I bought them, and they do button up now so a few more pounds should see me in them

On another note, the Lonesome Twin Forum went down, and unfortunately this has become a common ocurrence meaning the Z750 twin owners of the world lose contact. So some of the members have got together and started the Z750 Twin Forum to keep us in touch. Why not visit and see who’s there?

So that’s about all for now, till next time, Take Care out there.

Taxation

I paid up for a whole years tax on the 31st October so the Z750 is on the road for at least 12 months more. That’s tax, MOT and insurance paid for a while now anyway
Next to put some of our liquid gold priced petrol in the bike.

A Great Start To A Weekend

What better way to start the weekend than to get on a Kawasaki?
How about getting on a Kawasaki Z750?
Or even better getting on your Kawasaki Z750 twin?
Going a step further how about getting on a Z750 Twin riding to the mot station and despite having mot’d 3000 bikes in the past 12 months, the mot tester remembers every detail of last years mot?

Yep this year the mot tester remarked on the bikes failure last year and immediately checked the forks to see if they were parallel, which they were with the new yokes. Thoroughly tested brakes, bearings spokes, headstock, forks and everything else for the mot and then wrote out the new mot certificate so it’s safe for road use for another year.

Next the road tax is due at the end of October but that’s days away so no need to worry about that yet.

After finishing work today I dragged my unwilling carcass out into the cold to finish putting the Z750 twin back together. I tightened the steering clamp mounts, and refitted the newly painted clock assembly.

Then I polished up the front mudguard and put it and the cable and brake hose guides back on the forks. It all looks rather nice as my wife has painted the fork sliders and a few other parts.

Next came the hard work, I got the missus to hold down the back of the kawasaki, while I pulled up the forks to fit the front wheel in place. 3 attempts later and the wheel was in, then I refitted the clamps, one of which had been held in by a bolt instead of the stud it should have. I removed a stud from some old forks using two nuts and loctited it into the forks I’m using.

Next I refitted the front brake calliper after smearing the back of the pads, and the slider bolts with copper grease as they used to squeal badly. The pads are worn but servicable for now, so I will replace them in the near future. Once the calliper was bled out and the reservoir topped up, the brake was back to its old self, probably not the best thing, but apparently that’s just how they are on these old Z750’s - crap.

Another major drama is refitting all the wiring into the headlight bowl, but while it was all exposed I repaired some old bodges which had been done to the wiring harness. I refitted the headlight, and it’s adjuster bracket, then tested all the lights and run the bike up, all worked ok.

Finally a quick last check of all the bolts to make sure they’re tight and then a road test. The steering never felt heavy before, but it feels lighter now, either psychological, or the taper bearings made a real difference, not sure yet. The front end all seems to be better aligned, so that’s made it worth while.

Finally, back on the stand for another check around the bolts and clamps and check for play in the headstock bearings now they have settled a bit. All good, so tomorrow it’s in for its MOT test, watch this space.

Am I On A Roll Or What?

Tonight, I got home from work to find the new taper bearings for my Z750 twins’ yokes had arrived. So all enthusiastic like I ran out and knocked out the old ball bearing races. Not as easy as it sounds in writing, I had to use a lot of brute force and even snapped one race in two getting it out.

I drifted the new bearing shells into the headstock and the bottom race onto the bottom yoke shaft. Packed them all with grease and fitted the replacement yokes into the headstock. Looked nice, so I adjusted the bearings and fitted the top yoke and handlebars.

I then trial fitted the forks, and with the first one in the second slid nicely and squarely into its own holes. So much easier then the first time I fitted forks to this Z750 as that time they had to be forced into position.

I then slid the forks out and cleaned up the chrome surrounds which hold the headlight and indicators. I placed them in the yokes and went to refit the forks. The left hand fork no longer slid nicely in place. I removed the surrounds and cleaned the insides with emery cloth and pushed them over the forks off the bike. I then greased the insides and refitted them to the bike. This time all slid into place with minimal force.

I retightened the lower yoke clamps on the forks and called that it for the day. I am spending some time cleaning and painting the parts which are inaccessible when it’s all together or rather my wife is doing it for me. Once they are painted and dry I will refit the rest of the front end and see how it all looks then.

All in all though another great evenings work.

Following the recent post about the possible yoke replacement on my Z750 twin, I decided now’s the time. I finished work and started removing bits with the intention of doing just a little of it.

I started by removing the headlamp unit, and then the clocks as an assembly. Intending just to look a little further I started removing the handlebar brackets. Then the front mudguard and brake calliper followed.

After a bit of umming and aahing I decided to remove the forks and just leave the yokes in the headstock to hold the handlebars. Once the forks were out I decided to undo the top nut and see whether my bike had taper bearings in the headstock. So I cable tied the handlebars in place on the headstock and undid the nut, then removed the yokes.

So it’s now all in bits, I have old style roller bearings but some new taper ones on their way. I also cleaned and painted the headlamp unit ready to go back on. I also checked the bottom yoke which is definitely twisted, and I have the new ones to go on when the bearings arrive.

More soon…

Petrol Shortage Over And A Late Ride Out

Today I sent the long suffering out in her car with a petrol can to get some juice for the Kawasaki. When she got back we aimed a gallon of unleaded into the tank and wheeled out the old girl.

As Big Gay Als (bum) Bandit needed an mot he had come to my house on that, and mot’d it around the corner at Stratford Road Motorcycles. We got suited up, and went for a ride to Northamptonshire to visit the owner of The Lonesome Twin Kawasaki Z750 Forums to see if he was still around, and sort out some problems with the website.

I made the executive decision to take the scenic route up the A5 instead of the M1 motorway for this journey. It was gorgeous, the sun shone brilliantly and there was no wind, and taking it easy through the countryside on the Z750 enabled me to take in the autumn colours of the trees.

We encountered a lot of other bikers, out making the most of the crisp but bright autumn day, along the way. The journey was only around 20 miles each way, and seemed to go quickly in both directions.

The guy we visited had taken his Kawasaki Z750 twin off the road for repairs, but we enjoyed a bit of a chinwag about bikes, websites, and friends old and new. Before long it was time to go home again as Big (not quite so) Fat Gay Al had to get back to collect his offspring.

The journey back was also event free, but I took a bit of a detour and went under a bridge to hear the echo of the roar of the Z750 twins single predator pipe. NIIIIICE

Now I’m just waiting for some headstock bearings and then I will dismantle the front end to replace those yokes (see the last post) before it’s winter rest.

Time For A Quick Z750 Update - How To Avoid Running Out Of Petrol

It was a couple of weeks ago when Big Gay Al and I went out on the Z750 twins. Before we set out on a short ride I checked the level of my petrol tank, no fuel gauges on a Kawasaki Z750 Twin so it’s open cap and check by eye time. Looks like there’s some in there so we’re off.

We headed up to the A508 which is a nice twisty kind of road and makes for a fun ride. Having covered around 10 miles I pulled in a petrol station and checked the fuel level again. OOOPS the petrol was lower than I thought, and not knowing which postion of the fuel tap is on, and which is reserve means it’s a bit hit and miss. I check my pockets, and Al checks his, between us we had ventured out with ?0.00 so no chance to fill up here. GULP

We headed back home in fuel saver mode, or at least I did, Big Fat Gay Al was doing his best to ensure my last dregs of fuel wouldn’t take me home. Taking it easy, and hoping we managed to make it home, and checked the fuel again. It was below the higher of the pickups, and getting close to the lower one. So I guess it was already on reserve and nearly finished it.

So the bike has been off the road since, but that meant we could look closely at the forks which seemed to be out of alignment with each other. On close inspection it appears we have a bent bottom yoke, which on reflection would coincide with the bent fork on one side when I got the bike as the yoke is twisted on the opposite side.

Luckily I have a spare set of yokes so Big Fat Gay Al took them to work and removed the paint from them. Last weekend I bought some primer and black paint and repainted them in gloss black ready to be fitted. I also located a friend who has some taper bearings for the headset, so I can fit this upgrade at the same time as the new yokes.

Expect to see some pics of the process of yoke replacement soon.