Making a simple seat pan
Look! Up in the sky. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Superman, who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel with his bare hands… Well, it’s not really the man of steel. I was giving a lot … Continued
Building a bobber-style saddle (1 of 3)
I’ve never built a saddle. I’ve never even shaped the foam or covered the foam. I’ve never made, cut or bent a saddle pan. My experience with saddles has been sitting on them and searching the internet for a Mustang … Continued
Lubricating a motorcycle
Lube-It-All. I wonder if the title of this post might be a good name for an oil-change franchise. Or, it may be a good name for a medicine that treats constipation. It’s catchy in both instances. Moving right along… An … Continued
Inspecting and repairing electrics
The internet is a rumor mill. It’s got rumors about everything, even my ZN. The internet rumor mill says that the ZN’s coils are marginal, at best. Way back when this project was began, one of the first things I … Continued
A new horse in the stable
There are many days—in fact too many days—where I feel like I’m the statue rather than the pigeon. I don’t know why it’s like that and frankly I don’t care. Okay, that’s not true. I definitely would like to know … Continued
Soda blasting on a budget
The motor on the ZN was crummy, although not as crummy as the wheels. I never ever saw wheels as dirty and heavily oxidized as the ZN’s. I started the cleaning at the rear because rear wheels are usually worse … Continued
Bobbing the tail
Fun stuff here! While the majority of the work up to now has been necessary or hopefully makes the ZN run better, bobbing the tail may be cosmetic for the most part but it’s probably the first thing people notice … Continued
Assembling an exhaust system (3 of 3)
Here’s the last of three posts on the exhaust system. This post deals mainly with painting something that can produce over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. I’m painting the whole system—header pipes, collectors, cross-over and tail pipes. So, I’m getting straight to … Continued
Assembling an exhaust system (2 of 3)
Welcome back to the exhaust (go here for part 1 if you missed it). There was a slight interruption of progress here, but it’s back to it. First things first, close the holes that I purposely drilled into the exhaust … Continued
Installing shorter shocks
Back in the day, the 1100 Kawasaki was a muscle bike. It started for Kawasaki in 1972 with the Z1, if in fact I’m remembering the day. Built to be badass on the street, the early Zs were a force … Continued