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Z's 1988 Honda ZB50 Restomod Build - A ZB's Life

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Discussion starter · #181 ·
8/24/08 "Bar ends for Bars:?:"



I had an extra set of red Daytona bar ends lying around so I decided to put these to good use. I had these on the bars, but decided to go with the Nasa bar ends that have more detail then the plain Daytona pieces.



Do bar ends really need to be used for bars?



On the entire ZB50 frame, there is no open-ended tubes except for tubing used for the seat support.



Completely worthless mod from a functional standpoint, but better then having the parts sitting on the shelf collecting dust. Causes no interference with the seat or taillamp and adds a touch of color to the rear of the bike. The OD of the bar ends are about 1mm bigger then the tubes, but blend nicely with the seat installed.



Standard bar ends for 7/8 bars do not fit. However, Daytona gives two sets of rubber bushings with their bar ends and I used the smaller set of bushings and trimmed them down.
 

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Discussion starter · #182 ·
9/24/08 Front Master Resi Swap



I'm a big fan of Nissin Master cylinders for the minis. The lever is the right length and they have all the big-bike functionality. There are numerous front master choices, and you really can't go wrong as long as you acquire the right size master for the caliper you plan on running. Since I'm running a Brembo 4 pot, I opted for the correct 1/2" size master. The downside to the Nissin units is some feel the resi is on the large side for a mini, but it doesn't bother me. On my Monkey and CT with similar Nissin units, I merely installed a billet cap to dress them up, but wanted the ZB50 bars to be cleaner.



KPB-motorsports in Germany is kind enough to make a very simple resi pod for both Brembo and Nissin Masters. Shipping was quick and they are good people. I acquired a bare aluminum piece for my project and picked up an anodized black unit for Glenn for his project.



The instructions KPB supply failed to mention that people with normal adult sized hands will have to finesse the parts together so they don't destroy the seal inside the Nissin Master. If you are small or have girlish small hands, you'll be good to go! If you have anvils for hands, have fun! People without a good pair of snap ring pliers need not apply. Mine are not good and I always forget to purchase a nice set until I need 'em and use what I have. They did the trick for this simple install.



I'm sure this will be an absolute treat to bleed and will be discussed at a later time.



For the record, these come with a disclaimer "Show use only" to cover the manufacturers butt, but I don't envision any issues in functionality. From other people's product reviews, there has been no "next of kin" reports of deaths or grave injuries reported from use of this product. :D



As with anything, purchase at your own risk and get something you are comfortable with. I'm happy with how this came out.
 

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Discussion starter · #186 ·
9/25/08 "Tank you very much"



After sitting on my crappy painted for well over a year, I finally became motivated to get the tank reshot the way I wanted it.



The best way to find a custom painter is by talking to the local heavys in the big bike scene. I was recommended by numerous people to talk with Bob Bond who has won numerous awards and is as oldschool as the come. Great person and one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.



Bob Bond Art-Graphic Artist,Pinstriping,Airbrushing,Logo Designing,Gold Leaf Craftsman,AutoArt Magazine, The Art of Bob Bond.



My original plan was to take the tank to Bob and have him fix it. The logo was misplaced and a complete mess and after consulting with Bob, it couldn't be fixed without looking like poo. However, Bob does not shoot paint other then airbrushing. He hand-brushes/airbrushes everything and is as good as you are going to find. Seeing how I wanted the ZB logo in a semi-ghost pattern on the tank, he recommended me a good paint shop who would shoot my HOK Kameleon and made inverse ZB stencils for me to have sprayed.



For those of you who don't know what inverse stencils are, it's a "negative" of the logo you lay on the tank and when sprayed, will be a close match to the original ZB50 logo. I'm happy with the detail of the logo. If you take standard ZB50 logos to a painter, it's a whole lotta work to have the logo replicated on the tank. However, if you take an inverse of the logo, it's a pretty darn easy job with less room for error.



If anyone wants the inverse stencils and plans on custom painting the logo onto their tank, hit me up. The hard work is done.



The pics don't do the tank justice. The airbrushing I had done for the ZB logo matches the MR exhaust on the bike and changes hues in the light. It's a ghost pearl fade starting with a gold moving to a blue with shading in between, the same as the exhaust on the bike. Something that can't be demonstrated until I get the tank out in the sunlight here in the near future.



I'm 100% satisfied with how the tank came out. I'll mount this tank on the bike once it's 100% dialed in as I have a habit of hamfisting things and wouldn't be happy if I ding up the tank pulling it off and on rejetting the carb.



***Edit*** Before I forget, the stock or OEM ZB50 decals are offset due to the "Honda" graphic placed underneath the ZB logo. If you look at a stock tank, the "ZB" logo is not in the same spot on the right and left of the tank due to the "Honda" script. Since I had the script omitted, I had the decals laid in a better position on the tank. If you look at the tank from the top, my painted ZB logos are symmetrical from right to left. I understand why Honda did this with the original graphics, but wanted the logos to be symmetrical with this project. If you omit the "Honda" decal if you choose to custom paint, have the decals put in the right spot rather then putting them where they were originally or your tank will look funny when viewing from the riding position. Just my opinion.



Keep the rubber side down ladies and gents.



Dan
 

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Discussion starter · #188 ·
10/20/08



Mocked up the R-design taillamp. I bought this piece 3 years ago for another project and it sat on the shelf collecting dust.



.:::R-Design Racing Company I "think" the owner of r-design now lives in Thailand and I don't know if they are in business any longer. They used to be located in Belgium. Len is a good guy and I haven't contacted him in years.



I will be running an OEM ZB50 bulb to prevent any voltage issues with the ZB50 electrical system.



Note - The seat will be recovered black and other then taking a couple of pictures, I won't be running the tail cowl when riding the bike. While I like the tail cowls for the look, they are as functional as a wet noodle coupled with the Monkey R seat for the average sized adult. Since the seat is black, I had the underside of the tail cowl blacked out so it will blend in with the black seat. I'll probably paint the bracket as well.



Without the tail cowl installed, the taillamp is flush with the seat. I had some brackets lying around and made some spacers so everything lines up correctly.
 

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#189 ·
Z...



The former owner of R-design, Reggy, lives in Thailand now indeed. I think it's been about a year since he moved over there.

He sold R-design to a shop by the Belgian coastline Corky's Scooter & Dax Shop - Home



Reggy claims to be developing new engines for our bikes.. But he always said more than he actually did. Less talk, more action...





Anyway, great bike, and superb paint !





Greetings from Belgium

Niels
 
Discussion starter · #191 ·
11/20/08 "Once you go Black, you never go back"



Recovered the seat in black. I went with standard vinyl with a slight grain. My butt sits on the seat, so I didn't want to go too fancy and didn't want something really grippy. Consider this basic black. I utilized a used Monkey R seat as a base. I had a NOS seat, but hated to recover it and another board member ended up purchasing it.



The R-design taillamp is simple and fits nicely in the cutout of the seat.



Please ignore the CT in the background, as it's not finished and I'll do a complete writeup on it in the near future.
 

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Discussion starter · #194 ·
1/15/09 Oil cooler lines - Done!



If you look at the previous pictures, you'll see I actually had the oil cooler plumbing done. However, I never took pictures of the assembly when I was building it, and someone else needed these pics in January, so I took some and post pictures in the order they were taken for the purposes of this build.



Earl's Autoflex 6AN stainless braided hose. Earl's swivelseal fittings.



I spoke of this a couple of pages back, but here's the thread on how to properly cut and install earl's fittings along with a shop where you can purchase all the fittings and lines.



http://www.planetminis.com/f14/earl-s-plumbing-101-oil-coolers-94451.html#post988395





I'm running a Takegawa 5 row oil cooler with the rock guard and anodized blue oil cooler guard. I buy these pieces individually since I don't need the extra parts takegawa provides with the prepacked kits and it saves a couple of $$. I'm also running the Takegawa Thermostat that will open up oil to the cooler at 70 degrees celcius.

  • Takegawa 6AN adapters for the oil cooler
  • 10mmX1.25P to 6AN Earl's adapters on the Takegawa Clutch case
  • (2) 120 degree earl's 6AN swivel seal fittings (one for clutch, one on oil cooler as shown in picture #1
  • (1) 90 degree Earl's 6AN swivelseal Fitting on the clutch case that goes under the engine
  • (1) 150 degree Earl's swivelseal Fitting on the oil cooler that goes under the engine shown in Picture #2
Bottom line is there's more then one way to skin a cat here, and Takegawa sells prefabbed lines for this very setup (note - Expensive) for those people who don't want to fab their own lines.



Depending on your application, the degree of the fittings depends on the builder.



If anyone needs the Earl's Part numbers for the above or needs help with plumbing another project, hit me up as I have the information and can save you some time.



Keep the rubber side down, ladies and gents.
 

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Discussion starter · #196 ·
big pete said:
Is there any benefit of running the oil cooler off the clutch cover rather than the head?
Click to expand...


Some say running the taps off the clutch doesn't starve the top end for oil (if you for some reason would run low) and provides more oiling to the head.



If you have a provision, tap off the clutch. If not, don't sweat it.



In my case:

  • Thermostat controlled oil cooling system. Oil won't flow to the cooler until 70 degrees celcius is achieved.
 
#197 ·
Z said:
Some say running the taps off the clutch doesn't starve the top end for oil (if you for some reason would run low) and provides more oiling to the head.



If you have a provision, tap off the clutch. If not, don't sweat it.



In my case:

  • Thermostat controlled oil cooling system. Oil won't flow to the cooler until 70 degrees celcius is achieved.
Click to expand...
the takegawa motor has a thermostat? how else does it differ from the norm?



edit: thanks for the visuals and providing descriptions for those of us who are impaired like myself.
 
Discussion starter · #198 ·
supernes550 said:
the takegawa motor has a thermostat? how else does it differ from the norm?



edit: thanks for the visuals and providing descriptions for those of us who are impaired like myself.
Click to expand...


~E,



All the newer takegawa clutches have a provision for the thermostat. On my specific clutch case, it's the gold bolt down where the oil lines are. You have to purchase the thermostat extra and the clutch covers come with a dummy bolt that lets the oil flow through normally when you tap your lines off the clutch cover.
 
Discussion starter · #199 ·
3/26/09 "The Start of Real Time"



After a month of two of updates in past tense, we are now in real time. This means the updates will be much less frequent but will be more important as I see no reason why this bike won't be done over the next 3 months. The downside is I've been saying this for 2 years now. :D



I'm in no hurry, have no set deadlines and will be finishing other bikes ahead of this one since riding season is around the corner here in KS, except for the freak snow storm we have coming over the next couple of days.





Order of project completion:

  • ATC88 comes first (so the boys quit asking to ride my bikes)
  • 2003 Monkey,
  • 1998 Z50R Baja,
  • 1988 ZB
  • 1993CT will be finished up last.
I'll cover these writeups in the near future.



With the above said, the small ZB mod I want to discuss today is of great importance on working towards finishing this specific build.

Disclaimer: The following information dabbles in satire. Proceed with caution. If you miss this comment, you may think I'm serious and I will find this entertaining.

This mod should be one of the last parts purchases for this build :)rolleyes:) before I pick up the custom brake lines and tune the bike in and ride the wheels off of it.



After walking around the bike looking at all the specific componentry, I couldn't help but notice I needed to upgrade the Ă–hlins shock. Is this even possible to upgrade an Ă–hlins? While the Ă–hlins shock is definitely a premium product and is one of the better ZB50/NSR50 shocks on the market, Ă–hlins, in their infinite wisdom, built a premium shock with one shortcoming. They installed a plastic knob on the resi with a drag coefficient of a Mack Truck. I've calculated this will cost me 2.13 mph WOT with the gearing I currently have on the bike. Completely unacceptable and must be immediately addressed. Same goes for the Ohlins sticker. Why do companies put stickers on their product that add to the drag coefficient? More on this in the future.



After spending countless hours scouring the internet, my upgrade choices were a WP shock, Nitron or Quantum (NSR50 application). After I checked out the costs on these products, it came to my attention some of these models cost more then a used automobile with Quantum being one of the most expensive shocks the world has known for an NSR50 application.



The Quantum shock is purple and was eliminated.

The Nitron shock is some ugly green and was eliminated

The WP shock doesn't have a remote resi and was eliminated.

The rest of the shocks on the JDM market don't measure up to the Ohlins and weren't considered.



Completely defeated, I decided to keep the Ă–hlins and it's notable shortcomings and go in a different direction and upgrade the Ă–hlins.



After 18 months of scouring the internet looking for a low profile billet knob for the Ă–hlins resi (must be anodized blue) I was defeated. After all this effort building this bike, I couldn't believe nobody made a billet knob for these applications. Blasphemy! :headache:



I then called Ă–hlins, and they make these, so I purchased one and you'll see it compared to the original below.:D



Note: On a scale of 1 to 10, this install is not for the shadetree mechanic. 1 being an easy install, and 10 being very difficult. This is a 10!



You have to remove a screw on the old knob and reinstall the new knob!



The rub is their is 2 springs and 2 ball bearings behind the old knob that you must not let shoot out when the old knob is removed. Then, Ohlins keys the knobs so they only go on one way and one must remember where the 2 ball bearings are supposed to go. Now how in heck am I supposed to keep these types of things straight? I forgot to make a CAD drawing of the old knob and the locations of the ballbearings and springs when the old one was removed. ARG! After futzing around with the knob for 4-5 hours and what seemed like days, I figure it out, dab some grease on the inside of the assembly and reinstall the screw. I'm glad I figured it out, because I was ready to ghost-ride the build down the driveway into the street or part it out to all the PM classified parts vultures.



The downside to this mod is I'm giving up 3 grams in weight. 3 grams! After more Kurlon math, due to the lower profile of the knob, I should gain my 2.13 mph back on top end from the lower drag coefficient and effectively rid another piece of unnecessary plastic from the bike.



WIN! :banana:



Keep the rubber side down, ladies and gents.
 

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