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'05 Gen 1 With A Retro Look!

10K views 72 replies 26 participants last post by  Drewski 
#1 ·
I'm an older guy that rides mostly 70's vintage Kawi's. I can't seem to leave well enough alone however, so they always seem to get modern upgraded suspension, brakes, wheels, tires, etc. They're really fun to ride and I never come home without a grin plastered on my face. :smile2:

I'm a Kawi Guy through and through, and now I've been thinking about a 'different' kind of project. I've been inspired by another zx10r owner to initiate another project. A relatively modern bike, with retro 'clothes'! :surprise:



We started out with this:





The idea was to strip the bodywork off it and replace it with some 70's - 80's bits. :nerd:










As usual, I try to keep it all-Kawasaki if I can. :eek:ccasion1




Here's where we're at today.





There were lots of cable, hoses and wires to 'hide' and we're almost done with that. We have some painitng to do to tie it all together and then it'll be time to hit the road and see what we've got here. 0:)
 
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#12 ·
I have a funny feeling that I know who is doing the fabrication work. Does he only have one speed (hehe)?

(if my suspicion is correct, you've got the right guy working on it ...)
 
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#13 · (Edited)
while you have it stripped down, could you take pics of the main ,headlight, kill switch, and ignition switch harness routing. i'm trying to get mine run factory style since the previous owner who put it together just threw everything onto the left side of the bike rather then running it correctly. so if you can take some pics and PM me that would be great

BTW nice job with the retro look. but what are you doing with the original fairings when your done?
 
#23 ·
You guys are insatiable! :smile2:

We'll, we had our first successful day on the zx10r on Saturday!! Whoo hoo!! :grin2:

All is well, but it wasn't smooth sailing right up to Friday. :frown2: After a couple of days at the shop wiring up lighting, tidying up the wiring loom, hoses, etc, I found a puddle of oil under her. :surprise: It didn't take long to find the 'issue'.








The PO busted up the drain plug and the cases where it threads in... he could have mentioned it before I bought it!! :eek: His 'repair' was more than a little sub standard. He slapped a little JB Weld on it, left the o-ring off and sold it to me. :frown2: Sealed it up just long enough to git 'er sold. :|

So it looked like the weekend was in jeopardy. However, putting our heads together, we came up with a plan. We remembered about some epoxy we have used in the past to patch up an old lawnmower engine block and another gas tank leak. All were successful and have lasted 10 years or more. So...





We drilled out the drain plug, tapped it for a plug, used a little plumbers tape on it, threaded it into the threads that were left and epoxied it in place. :smile2: We ran the engine a few times to heat the block up to see if it might leak, but no troubles. :wink:








So... on the road again!! :biggrin: I slapped some foam down on it for a quick-n-dirty seat and off I went for a day's ride!! :smile2:











To get it on the road, we just squirted some black paint on the fairing, side covers and tail. :wave: There's a 'real' paint job and seat in it's future for sure. :helmet:
 
#26 ·
Ya, mine could have been a LOT worse. :headshake:

I should clarify that it's not the MAIN drain plug. I'm no expert on these beasts, but it appears that it's a secondary oil drain mid-way up on the right side of the engine. :smile2: Our solution was a simple one and we had all the bits necessary to get it done. :ayyy:
 
#31 ·
I hate seeing a gen 1 get hacked up, but since the cases were already buggered I guess its not as big of a deal. Drew, just think of all the nice H2 750's that suffered similar fates being "customized".....
Glad to see a fellow triple-owner on this board though! RING DING DING
 
#36 ·
Well, we found another oil leak. It's a cracked pulse(?) cover on the right side of the engine not far from the other leak. It's not too big of a deal as the part is still available from Kawasaki. Got a new cover and gasket on the way! :smile2:




Also, I'm not totally stoked about the 'look' of the seat. :frown2: It looks good from a few angles, but it looks like we stuck a 'breadbox' on it from many angles!! :surprise: That and the fabricated side cover panels are getting chucked on †o a growing pile of spares, and a new sub frame and much smaller cleaner looking seat are in the works!! :grin2:

If you've liked it so far, stay tuned. I think this is gonna be really sweet. :wave:
 
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