Planet Minis

Z

Those decals are obtainable, but obsolete from honda of Japan and other Honda parts suppliers. I'd do what you can to save the decals...

jmurray192

Ive seen some good airbrushing done. When I got my tank repainted the sander scratched the hell out of my tank. They called in a awsome airbrusher and I couldnt tell that anything happened. I know of one here in salem oregon that does this and it costs around $100+ but worth it when your dealing with non-existant OEM decals. There are remakes of these stickers but I dont think anything beats oem.

rjpracing

how are the forks and triple tree? did they twist if so they may have rebent the fork tubes?call me if you have any questions on how to check them?

RySem

I can shed some like on the shifter shaft issue. That pilot in the center case was never meant to provide support for the shaft on a semiauto engine...this support came from the pilot in the clutch cover. With the special clutch, you have to cut that portion off as evident in your photos. I just had to do with with my 5spd install. What I did was lay some weld bead on the shift shaft where it rides in that hole and then turn it down in the lathe. The amount of slop without doing this is unbelievable. The amount two bros tells you to trim off the shaft seems like a lot as well. I just kept facing it off in the lathe until it felt like just enough play between the shaft and the clutch cover.

ShapeShifter

Yeah, the slop is too much for my standards.

Since shift shafts are fairly easy to come by, the weld 'n' grind might be in order.

However, now that my oil pump shaft parts finally arrived from Honda, we just got the tranny and cases all mocked up and what I have decided to try for the shift shaft is a strip of .005 brass shim stock that I wrapped tight around the shaft a couple times. It works perfectly but I will have to "glue" it in the hole in the right crank case with Loctite 609. If I can get the Loctite 609 to keep the brass shim from migrating I should be good to go. If not, I might have to go with your method.

ShapeShifter

I am trying to get as much riding in as possible before the weather turns. This bike needs a steering stabilizer in the worst way. My shoulder hurts from the get-off but I cant pass up a sunny Fall day...

Also I am thinking of putting the 124 Superhead in a different bike.......

nickypoo

looks awesome shape id absolutley love to have a ZB. you have a PM

ShapeShifter

Well the brass shim thing did not work. I was never really happy with that idea anyway. I decided to do what RySem did and add material to the shaft then turn it down on the lathe. It is total "shaft abuse" but it came out better than expected.

My friend Paul is not only a retired jet engine mechanic, but he is also a retired Honda mechanic. He has worked on hundreds of these horizontal motors over the years and he is extremely meticulous. In fact, annoyingly so. But at least I know he will check my work and make sure it is done better than perfect. He is absolutely flabbergasted that we had to use a cut down shiftshaft from an autoclutch for such a high end tranny/clutch build .

He's right, of course, and sloppy shifting is one of his (many) peeves, so he was more than happy when I decided to weld 'n' grind the shaft so that it is rid of that ridiculous amount of play. While I had the welder out, I also welded the two piece shaft/arm together. Paul also removed a slight amount of material at the travel stop endpoints so that the pawl on the shift arm and the wheel on the star stopper now work in perfect harmony. It shifts like clockwork on the bench. I cant wait to get it running....





A cheap and fast way to get the correct shift shaft.

cdoublejj

nice work on the shift saft, now thats us'n the nogin.

ShapeShifter

"Now that's thinkin with yer dipstick, Jimmy! (Whack!)"


The Superhead is installed and tuned and waiting for the custom pipe to arrive. I needed to tune the carb with an open pipe so I butt-rigged a Supertrap pipe. Since you cant reach the air screw on the carb with the tank on, I had to use a seperate plastic fuel tank, similar to this:





This was a raspy pipe setup....





I also made a Toddegawa oil cooler bracket




I'll have to strip the annodizing off those fittings to make it look decent. All I need now is to find and oil breather can that fits and she'll be done. Oh, and the pipe.

DGAF MATTY 420

i never really got into these but this thing is sweet!!! looks great!!! i cant believe how clean it was when it was shipped! nice bike dude

ShapeShifter

Thanks, dude.


I have been riding it with the stock pipe and got it up to 110 kph on the flats. It should go faster with the new pipe, but the handlebar position at that speed feels a little sketchy.... I already know the brakes wont stop me at that speed.

I don't see what all the fuss about the 5 speed and bump-start issue is. I have been starting it in neutral without any hint of a problem.

The shifting is the nicest on any bike I have ridden, mini or full size. Done with the flick of a toe. At first, I did not trust it because it was lacking the extended play and "chink" feel that it used to have. I wish my Vstrom shifted this nice.

Waiting on the pipe...

Connex

Looks so new.

Z

Your pipe is leaving KS tomorrow via Fedex ground.

ShapeShifter

Hey Dan, where are all the MotoshopZ "Cyber Monday" specials?

tmas

You got your seat recovered?
tmas

Z

Our "Cyber Monday" deals included a 50% discount on all parts ordered. Unfortunately, the deal just ended at 4pm central time today.

The special ran from 3:59.59 pm to 4:00.00 pm CST.

You just missed it.

ShapeShifter

No I still have the Monkey R seat. The black one I got from Rsym along with some NSR parts for my next ZB 12" build. The black seat is missing the "glove box" underneath which allows my breather tank to fit.


-


Dan, you need a more timely marketing strategy

ShapeShifter

-

When this bike was pure, I specifically wanted an up-pipe that fit in the exact same position as the stock pipe, thus keeping the overall configuration as pure as possible.

If I had not crashed this bike and ruined it's virginity, I would be down right pissed-off about how this pipe fits. I am stuck with the pipe now and all I can do is learn to live with it and let it grow on me.

After the expense and long wait for hand-made craftsmanship, I was expecting.... well, more.

I understand that these pipes are made to order and every picture I have seen of them is just a little bit different. This one is way different. It is just amazing how there is meticulous attention to detail in some aspects of the pipe, and blatant negligence of design in others.

The pipe is a three piece design: header, mid pipe, and tail pipe. Each section has a small amount of rotational and telescopic adjustment, but ultimately the pipe can only hang one way. The mid pipe has a tab and an adjustable hanger that locates the mid pipe on the stock exhaust tab on the frame (my frame does not have one so I used a strap in the same location). After that, the spring that holds the tail pipe and the mid pipe together hooks on clips that have to be more or less aligned. Once these things are attached in this way, there is no question about how the pipe is routed. Any deviation or forced deflection would damage all three pipe pieces and/or cause the pipe to rub on the frame somewhere.

After figuring this out, much to my anger and dismay, I understood why they included a hanger bracket for the tail pipe. These pipes are not supposed to use hangers for the tail pipe, only a strap to the stock frame lug. So I thought they had sent an extra piece. Nope, it is not an extra, it is supposed to be used. But wait.... this bracket isn't even the right one.


This pic shows the mid pipe tab and hanger bracket. The tab is almost hitting the frame. Oh, and this wonderfully stout locator bracket interferes with the seat. Freakin' brilliant design.




In this pic, notice how, because the pipe does not fit the way it is supposed to, the heat shield is in a position that digs in to my Achilles tendon, another brilliant design feature. Also note the tail pipe hanger. A beautifully made piece that is completely wrong. I had to find a spacer and mount the tail pipe strap from behind. I ended up putting an acorn nut on the exposed threads.



I had to remove the mid pipe hanger in order to use the seat (I am fond of using a seat). However this allows the potential for the tab on the mid pipe to migrate and hit the frame.

So what's wrong with the pipe?

1. Heat shield digs into back of leg.
2. Mid pipe hanger interferes with seat.
3. Not routed like specified on manufactures website (nor any other photograph of same pipe).
4. Tail pipe hanger is completely wrong.

Whats good about the pipe?

Well, I was told they were chromed steel, but this baby it 100% high grade stainless. A magnet will not even slightly attract to it so there is no iron in it. So this is a highly redeeming quality and a nice surprise. The finish is fantastic! The fit, not so much.....


Looking at the bright side, this is the only one like it in the world and does look pretty cool.





I'm done bitching. Next and final build step will be mounting the Hayabusa steering dampener (somehow......).

big pete

wow...that pipe has a noticeable difference between the other ones I've seen.