Finally an update..
Yeah I know it’s been a while again since I posted anything here, but here’s the latest in the saga of the Z750 twin. I have been trying to get out with the Thursday night gang as often as possible, which means as long as it’s not raining and the bike is ok. So a few weeks ago we met up at our usual rendez-vous point and Graham was riding an RD he had been rebuilding for someone. The usual ride was had to the pub, all made it there safe, had a couple of diet cokes and left in the dark to go home.
Again a pretty uneventful ride back, and coffee was prepared at my house for the guys. I’d been talking to Graham about getting his opinion on the Z750, so I offered him the chance of a lifetime ride on the Kawasaki which he accepted. Pete and I stood listening to the bike disappearing and then the sound of the exhaust as Graham rode around the small estate where I live. He came back and said the bike had nearly killed him and it didn’t do right hand turns. A claim I refuted as I never had a problem. He took it to turn it around, and came back saying the steering locked as he was turning. Strange.
We all tried the steering for bearing play, or sticking and all agreed it was fine. We recreated Grahams turning by diving the forks as we turned the handlebars (he was braking hard both times as he turned, something I rarely do as I brake in a straight line ready for the turns) when we noticed that on turning right the exhaust was hitting the mudguard if the forks were compressed quite hard. I knew the mudguard was a dodgy aftermarket one size fits all affair, and when we checked it was sticking out a long way at the rear of the wheel. Also the left hand exhaust downpipe sits a bit further forward than the right hand one, hence it only doing it one way.
So true to my usual form I rushed the bike into its parking slot, and vowed to look at it soon. Three weeks later, I decided it was soon and removed the mudguard (funds are short to buy another at the moment) and packed it off the wheel a bit closer than it had been and hopefully giving more exhaust clearance. Marking the mounting lugs on the brackets I pulled the mudguard out, and drilled the new holes. Refitted the mudguard, pulled the brake and turned the handlebars, success it now misses the exhaust. Went to wheel it back into position and found the mudguard now rubbed the wheel.
Yes the spacing had been ok when it was on the wheel, but the strengthening for the bracket was inside the mudguard and a bracket for the speedo cable pushed the mudguard over slightly, causing it to hit the wheel. Cue the swearing and much hitting with a hammer to clear it. Then cue defeatism and retiring to watch TV and miss another week of the Thursday night gang.
So today I hit the mudguard with a hammer again, and it clears the wheel now it looks terrible but it’s rideable. I also set about a spare tank I have in the garage with a view to a bit of a colour change, as I have almost a full set of coloured parts to paint and swap without messing up the ones on the bike currently. I’ve removed the paint, and a lot of hidden filler which was filling dents in the tank. So I now have a nearly bare tank, some rubbing down paper and some primer. See you soon for more krazy Kawasaki kapers.