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Mark from Oregon.

M

m60shooter1866

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Guest
Howdy!

I'm being given an '86 ZG1000 with approx 25k miles. It's supposed to run, but needs a bit of work. Going to pick it up in early March and thought I'd do some learning about it before I go get her.

It's been well over 20 years since I've ridden a bike. Looking forward to getting back in the saddle.


Anyway, back to the learning!

-Mark.
 
Welcome Mark.
You sound like a lot of us. Quit riding 29 years ago and got back into it with a Connie.

In my case, I bought an 86 that didn't run well and had a ""bunch"" of broken plastic.
Repaired everything and repainted it. (Red) Rode it for many miles and then moved on.
Had a blast!

Be careful: The Connie, RED, and COG are addictive.
I'm now on my 4th {or is it 5th (??)} RED Connie.

Ride safe, Ted

PS: Did I mention that I'm partial to RED Connies.
********* (But Silver-dammit is a close second in my book).
 
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Welcome Mark!
The C10 is a great bike. You'll find that there are a LOT of aftermarket items for it and lots of used parts available for them.
You'll find a lot of really knowledgeable people here that are very willing to help out.
 
m60shooter1866 said:
Howdy!

I'm being given an '86 ZG1000 with approx 25k miles. It's supposed to run, but needs a bit of work. Going to pick it up in early March and thought I'd do some learning about it before I go get her.

It's been well over 20 years since I've ridden a bike. Looking forward to getting back in the saddle.


Anyway, back to the learning!

-Mark.
Click to expand...
Welcome Mark!

Wow, tremendously lucky to have such a machine given to you like that.

The C-10 is a delightful way to get back into the world of motorcycling. And given you’ll be doing some work to restore the machine you’ll have a strong understanding of all the machine’s workings.

Join as a full member, get full access to the C-10 (and C-14 when you upgrade one day) technical databases with LOADS of information, articles and how-to documents. March (when you pick up your new to you C-10) is right around the corner! Also get involved with the group, meet some people and have fun with the other like-minded members in your area or across the nation.

Welcome to the COG; would be fun to see you start a restoration thread.

Wayne
 
I'll likely join the group when I bring the bike home. I want to be sure the "deal" goes through before I take the full plunge. Just reading around here has answered a lot of my basic questions.
This will be my first Kawasaki, and first bike with a full fairing. Does an '86 GSXR 1100 count as a full fairing? Anyway...
 
Absolute it counts! Tiny fairing by comparison, but full nevertheless.
The C10 fairing gives impressive weather protection. An ex-coworker that had C10 and a Gold Wing stated the C10 offered more protection.
 
Jorge said:
Absolute it counts! Tiny fairing by comparison, but full nevertheless.
The C10 fairing gives impressive weather protection. An ex-coworker that had C10 and a Gold Wing stated the C10 offered more protection.
Click to expand...
LOL. It worked great at keeping me out of the weather. As long as I laid on the tank as flat as I could and kept it over 70. heh.
 
I brought the bike home yesterday.

Looking forward to tinkering around with it.

IMG_6021-XL.jpg
 
m60shooter1866 said:
I brought the bike home yesterday.

Looking forward to tinkering around with it.

IMG_6021-XL.jpg
Click to expand...
Yay Mark!

Glad to see you have your new to you Concours. Let the fun and farkles begin!

Maybe start a “my C-10 journey” post and share your progress and questions (that you can’t find answers within the COG and database) within?

Congrats!
Wayne
 
2andblue said:
Yay Mark!

Glad to see you have your new to you Concours. Let the fun and farkles begin!

Maybe start a “my C-10 journey” post and share your progress and questions (that you can’t find answers within the COG and database) within?

Congrats!
Wayne
Click to expand...
I plan to start a thread on its progress. It's going to be a while before I can start in earnest. Have to get some $$ saved up first. But I will post a bunch of pics of what she looks like as received.
 
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Looks like a great project! When you do get it out, it's heavier than anything else you've ridden, it's top heavy, especially with a full tank, mind the parking lot speeds. But, once you get used to it, it's a very nice bike and you will be doing things you thought were not possible on a bike like that! Good luck.
 
I'm looking forward to seeing another thread with some bike rehab action!

I bought a 2002 last fall and have been going through it this winter. It's got low miles and some nice aftermarket stuff on it, but had been sitting quite a while.
 
To be honest, it's going to need a lot of work to get to what I'd call "safe". The gas tank and cap are very rusty, so that'll be the first think I need to fix. And then I'll see how it runs and do a carp re-build and adjust etc. I'm sure it'll need some fork seals and brake work. New tires as well. It'll be a while before I get it on the road.

IMG_6028-X2.jpg
 
Before you do anything else, do a hydrolock test, and then see if the engine turns over with the starter.
Assuming it passes both of those, you'll have learned a bit about the bike and be ready to attack the next phase.

Someone will post the video on the hydrolock test.
(Bud, are you out there?)

Ride safe, Ted
 
You mention the cap is rusty...
There is a screw, visible only with the cap open, that prevents the fuel cap removal unless the top is open.
Many removed this screw. It allows, in a bad situation, removing the cap by taking the retaining screws off, thus allowing you to fill the tank if the cap won't unlock.
 
Jorge said:
You mention the cap is rusty...
There is a screw, visible only with the cap open, that prevents the fuel cap removal unless the top is open.
Many removed this screw. It allows, in a bad situation, removing the cap by taking the retaining screws off, thus allowing you to fill the tank if the cap won't unlock.
Click to expand...
I can open the tank with the key. It's not locked up, but it's corroded. I can fix that I'm pretty sure. The tank might be another story.
 
Without seeing the tank, it's hard to understand how bad your tank rust issue is.
Take the tank off the bike and fill it with water/anything to see if it leaks.
If it doesn't your golden. All we gotta do is get the rust out.
1 way is throw a handful of 1/4" nuts/other in the tank and shake the living heck out of it.
Count them before you put them in.
If your wife's not looking, pack/center the tank, put it on fluff,,,, in the dryer with pillows and let er ripp..
Makes a hell of a noise. (the tank / not yer wife)
If she finds out, the noise can be much worse!!
(Don't ask me how I know)..

Ride safe, Ted
 
White vinegar, Evaporust, or electrolysis are other common techniques to remove rust inside tanks without damaging the exterior paint.

Thankfully none of my bikes have needed it, so I don't have firsthand experience with any of them.

I do use Evaporust a lot for small parts and hardware when I don't want to damage remaining existing finish or plating. If I'm doing a bare metal strip anyway, I'll sometimes use Krud Kutter or other phosphoric acid formulation, as it is quicker.
 
We had an old boat that had LOTS of rust in the tank.
I used Iron Out, which dissolved the rust and left clean steel. I did a couple of rounds to make sure the rust was removed from the seans and crevices.
With using Iron Out on the C10 tank, I think the trick would be to get all the moisture out of the seams before coating it.
Ted, I think your wife needs to know why the dryer had dents. I can help with this...
 
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I'll post pics of the inside (what I can see of it) of the tank soon. The previous owner had a leak on one of the bottom corners that he put some epoxy on and said it hadn't leaked since. but I don't know how long ago that was or how well that'll hold up with time. I've been checking the tech forum for methods to deal with rusty tanks problems. Most of what I've seen so far meets with what's been posted in this thread.
 
Jorge said:
We had an old boat that had LOTS of rust in the tank.
I used Iron Out, which dissolved the rust and left clean steel. I did a couple of rounds to make sure the rust was removed from the seams and crevices.
With using Iron Out on the C10 tank, I think the trick would be to get all the moisture out of the seams before coating it.
Ted, I think your wife needs to know why the dryer had dents. I can help with this...
Click to expand...
Being wise I took steps to prevent denting her dryer.

ie; I securely packed the tank into the dryer by stuffing her pillows around it.
(After all) I didn't want to damage the paint job on my tank, and she wasn't there to say no.

Err; The pillows did smell a bit gassy after the process, so (to keep myself out of trouble) I blamed it on my son.
Shhhh!!!!

PS: I've also used an acid to remove lighter rust and it works fine.
The extreme (dryer) treatment was used to remove chunks of rust.

I used POR-15 and coated the tank after removing all the rust.
Worked great!

Ride safe, Ted

por15.com

Motorcycle Fuel Tank Repair Kit

POR-15's Motorcycle Fuel Tank Repair Kit has everything you need to seal your bike tank and protect from rust, corrosion, and seal pinhole leaks. Order now!
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