Update

So it has been a long time since I posted on here, but it doesn’t mean that I haven’t done work on the kz200. I updated to a new iPhone and lost most of my info off my old phone which had a crap load of photos of the build.


Here’s the update, I had Larry at Fishtown Custom Cycles hardtail the frame for me. I have purchased another basket case kz200, cleaned the carb, went over the engine and got everything running. Rebuild the front suspension, got the roller up and moved the engine to the new frame. The little KZ doesn’t look like a KZ no more. So from now on I am referring to the bike as “lil bastard”.

Here some photos of the new beginning for this little home build:

 

More Work And New Ideas...

I hooked up with this guy in Washington State over the internet and bought a big box of spare kz200 parts for $30 including shipping. It took two weeks, but it got here today. Boy oh Boy am I happy with this purchase. The box had a few things that I don’t need and hopefully I will end up selling these parts, but it also included brand new fork seals, brand new shiny starter, engine covers that are in real bad shape on the engine that I am working on are in immaculate condition in this box. The best of it are the grease seals for the steering stem and ball bearing assembly, SWEET…


So besides all that I got myself a grinder and been cutting and polishing some metal. I cut off a seat lock. I ravaged the welding and was worried until I put the grinder to work again and grinded the metal smooth. I then practiced some of the striping on the rear part of the frame that I am planning to chop off. Pictures are below and I am happy with the result.

I decided that I am going to take the chassis apart again, strip it completely and get it powder coated with the bars and everything else. In addition to this I started to take the motor apart. Took the cases off and the engine threw up on me. Yes, through up on me with a mixture of goo, old oil and rust. I spoke to a friend of mine who is a mechanic and he offered to soak the entire thing in parts cleaner over night for me at his shop. That beats it sitting in a bucket of diesel in my garage, so I will take the engine to his shop tomorrow. Some photos below:

Still Working On It!

I haven’t blogged about my project for a few weeks. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t do any work on it, just no time to sit down and blog about it. Plus this takes discipline and I am still working on mine.


I’ve spent some dollar also. I had to get a new front axle, which was not a problem. The axle holder bracket however was a challenge. The part is not manufactured any longer and the junk yards and the vintage gurus on the internet were no help. The picture of the part is below:

After ordering the part twice for different KZ models with no luck, I ended up modifying the bracket from a KZ450. By making the holder fit on the front fork I had to make sure that the axle will stay put, I drilled a hole through the end of the axle on the side of the bracket (left) and put a locking pin through it.


I traded the stock gas tank to a 2.2 liter small custom peanut shape tank and some other spare parts for a 14” handle bars and decided to do a mock up roller assembly. I started by making steering bearings using bearing grease and loose bearing balls, which I ordered on line. They were like $4 for a hundred of each size. I needed two sizes:

After that was complete I followed with the assembly of the front end and the wheel, rear shocks , rear wheel and the handle bars. Mocked up the tank and this is what turned out:

New tools and updade on the progress

So my birthday has passed and I got a lot of goodies from my friends and family. My collection of tools is now enriched by a Hitachi drill, a set of drill bits for any occasion, a motorcycle jack, an impact driver, a work bench and a brand new torque wrench.

While looking over the parts I noticed that I am missing a lot, I mean a lot. On the bright side I am planning to build a bobber, so I will not need most of the body parts that are missing, but the mechanical parts, that can pose a problem. Luckily, all the parts that I looked up so far are available on line and they are relatively cheap. As I have already posted, the bike cost me $25.00. At this point it looks like I will have to put in another $200-$300 to complete it. That will be done gradually (when my better half is not looking).

All the parts are laid out on my garage floor, most have been cleaned, at least the ones that are needed for the chassis assembly. Now that I have my frame secured on a lift I am going to proceed with that. After I am finished with the chassis, I will start on the engine.

Below are some pictures of my layout:

More Cleaning and Missing Parts

Had about an hour to work on the project last night, nevertheless a little bit of progress. Didn’t get my shop manual yet, but I found this site with super duper expensive kz200 parts. I am talking about a front axle for $150. I just purchased the part on ebay for $14.00 with free shipping. The good thing about this site is that it has all the diagrams for the bike with OEM part names and serial numbers. I used some of those diagrams to look at the assembled front end that I have. I disassembled it, cleaned the front suspension with some soap water. Then proceeded to work over the fork with sand paper and managed to get almost all of the rust off. I finished it off with NeverDull wadding solution and now it's not quite like new, but in much better condition than before. I did the same to the steering stem and the washer-spring.

I took off all the controls from the handlebars, disconnected all the wiring and then stood there in silence scratching my head. Everything that I touch I notice has missing parts. Missing fork cover, missing axle (which I already ordered), missing bolts, missing washers, MISSING KEY?

Yes, missing key, which means that I am going to have to find a new ignition switch or see if I can get a key made for the old one. Anyway, that is for later. For now I must stick to the plan and get the wheels, suspension and handle bars assembled.

Yet, before all that I still have a lot of cleaning to do. Not to mention expanding my list of missing parts.



Will post new photos of the clean parts next time, for now here’s our new and improved garage. My wife and I spent 3 hours cleaning and rearranging. She also bought me a 260 piece Craftsman mechanic’s tool set, which is making my work on the project much easier.

Cleaning the frame

A very wise man, my father, once told me that only an idiot learns from his own mistakes. A smart man opens his eyes and ears and learns from mistakes of others. Following that theory, I hit the World Wide Web in search of previous projects on the KZ200. I found some, most in Indonesia, but some were more or less local by English speaking folks. Unfortunately there are a lot of photos of restored and rebuild motorcycles and not too much detailed information on the process of rebuilding the KZ200.


I have noticed that a great deal of experts in the field of motorcycle repair name one thing as the most important tool in fixing any motorcycle. That is a shop manual for the specific machine which is being worked on. So that was my next step. I found a shop manual for the 1978 KZ200 on line for just $10 plus $5 shipping. I will first use the manual to catalogue all the parts that I have and then figure out their assembly.

Meanwhile, the shop manual is in the mail and I spent a few hours last night to take the engine off the frame and clean the frame. Taking off the engine was not difficult. It took some time because I had to be careful with the bolts. Most of them are rusted so I had to make sure not to break any. The majority of the time was spent on cleaning the frame. I used automotive cleaner and a few rags. I need to go to a store and buy some brushes to get into some crevices on the frame that I couldn’t get to with a rag. Overall I think I did a nice job. Below is the picture of the frame. Compared to the photo of it that I posted yesterday, there is a big difference.

Today, I am going to an auto supply store and going to get some solutions and chemicals to start cleaning the engine and the rest of the mechanical parts.

How it all begins

So, there is this almost 32 year-old guy. Just a guy, who works hard, loves his family, has a load of responsibilities and always manages to find for himself more unneeded work, worries and drama. He enjoys all the finer things in life those, which he can and can’t afford. Life cannot be perfect, especially for him. He likes spending time with his wife, his friends and riding his motorcycle. An idea came to this man, to build his own motorcycle in his garage. To do the work on the weekends and for a few hours after work during the week, that is instead of sitting on a couch watching television. The problem with this idea is that he had never in his life held a proper mechanic’s tool, never changed an oil filter and does not really know how an engine works. This creates a challenge.
Well being that I am that guy and the abundance of information on line about the subject of motorcycle repair and restoration is vast; I am taking on this challenge. My birthday is coming up soon, so after telling my lovely wife my plan and getting a surprising word of approval from her (not that I need one, but we are a unit and should discuss these type of things), I went on line and found a taken apart 1978 Kawasaki KZ200 that I picked up last night for a whopping $25. The plan is to rebuild this motorcycle in no more than a year’s time.
All of my family and friends have been notified that if they are getting anything for me for my birthday this year it should be some sort of a tool. I have already purchased some metric tools in the past and plan to get many more.
From some of the research that I have conducted so far this is the mode of operation for this project:

Install the wheels
Suspension
Handle bars to get it up & rolling
Install the motor
Final drive
Start on the electrics
Move onto peripherals & sheet metal; fenders, tank, cables, controls, linkages etc...
Fluids, check spark & compression, set the points, introduce fuel & fire it off

But first I need to clean this baby part by part (it’s been sitting in someone’s garage for three years in parts and everything has an inch or two layer of dirt on it). Then I need to catalogue everything and figure out what is there, what needs fixing and what needs replacement. Only after that I will start the steps described above.

I am not planning to work on this every day, so I will not post on this blog every day, but I will try to go on after every session and talk about the things that I’ve done, my success, my errors and all that I learn in the process.

Below are some pictures of what I am starting with. The bike and I are both the same age, but I'd like to think that I am in abit of a better condition.