Now that 2023 is coming to an end, I decided to review what little work I’ve done on this project and make a plan to get more done in 2024. Through the year I’ve been doing major renovation work on my house and keeping all my vehicles maintained rather than tackle project work, hence little in the way of actual progress and not much published work on bike projects.
<TODO> Picture of Frame and parts.
During the year I decided I needed to get more of the discreet parts that are needed to complete a build and have them ready for use in the initial assembly of the frame. A chance visit to a bike shop (more specifically walking past the service bay) allowed me to see electrical connectors on a modern Ducati and I realized the old style connectors from different bike parts I had accumulated was not going to yield me a good reliable build so I hunted down those connectors and the crimp tools needed. This should ensure a more reliable harness which I will hand build.
<TODO> Picture of Electrical Connector Kit
<TODO> Picture of zx10 connectors.
Next I was looking at fuse boxes and electrical parts and decided that in order to mount them I needed to use a more permanent integrated mounting method so I purchased various Nut Cert kits so that I could mount parts securely and neatly into their new locations inside the frame.
<TODO> Picture of Nut Cert Kit and some metal brackets.
During the process of hunting down parts I came to the conclusion I was ready to start doing a rough assembly of the frame and start tack welding in the battery box, electrical connector brackets and mark out where the swing arm mounts will fit. I still need to get the rear shocks so that’s on the to buy list after I get some headlight ears and rear blinkers.
I had already spent some some time starting to put some of the major items back together, starting with the forks. And as stated in a previous post ( https://sidyoung.com/replacing-fork-seals/ ) I also used these forks in my book where the bare bones of the z650 was pulled apart and photographed.
One of the components I’m keen to get mounted is the front guard I picked up from a zx10. which should fit between the forks. I will need to fabricate a pair of “L” shaped brackets to mount it to the lower fork legs.
Rear Suspension
Engine State
When I originally stripped the bike I kept the engine intact (except for the clutch), the alloy was in a terrible state but should clean up OK. The internal state however is unknown and could be totally seized, I will strip it down and check out everything. The clutch basket was removed by me and I sent two in to get the studs drilled out and modified so I could fit new cush drive rubbers. I even wrote that up at the time here: z650 Clutch Cush Drive Replacement.
Wrapping up……
As work progresses on the z650, I will add some more content here and update the date. During 2022 I want to complete the frame mods and have all the brackets welded in for battery, electricals and seat mounting.
I have someone lined up to weld the swingarm with the new shock mounts and I will use the original shocks as a mock up till I get some suitable new ones. I also want the front end assembled, and the brakes sorted. I know I will be putting a GPz900R caliper and master cylinder on it as well as some HEL brake lines. That leaves the wheels to get it up off the floor and it wil lstart to take shape as a bike!
z650 Related Posts:
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