2 Mechanics said no, but that was a decade ago. We have some better technology now. Everybody Needs A Craig shirts still available! thebeardedmechanic.shop/
That's a KZ1000J2, highly collectible and worth a lot of money. It was the platform for the 1000 Eddie Lawson replica. It was never used on CHiPs TV show... those were the KZ 900 and KZ 1000 C1 and C2 models, completely different bikes. Remove the fairing, sissy bar, crash bars and those goofy hand grips, and restore it to stock form. That bike absolutely deserves it! I hope you know what you have there, they only made it for 2 years.
@@wakkogn9351 Valve covers square first gen Round. There's company APE make all kinds goodies to drag race. Make a kit to first gen head on bottom j motor its the other way around. Beefer cam chain tensioner. end 80 j started not all j have same cams GPZ bigger cams than kx stuff like that. Im bummed cause all i got a couple 1200 bandits. I'll get threw it.kaw triple owned a million wish i had one now.
I’ve got to say you’ve become one of my favourite channels to watch. So glad that you left bikes and beards and started your own channel, way better content. Keep up the good work both of you.
Craig does actual bike work and restoration (to a certain point) vs Bikes and Beard is an entrepreneur and just a bike enthusiasts. So, for actual bike content, Craig is much better. For just entertainment and nonsense, bikes and beard is better
@@TicTacFungusShawn went pure cringe these days. He is running a business and cringe click bait seems to get views from the younger audience! It’s not for me but obviously it works.
I don't think Craig left B & B, but the other way around. Shawn moved to Tennessee and his employees stayed in Pennsylvania. What I love about this channel is that he works on the bikes I knew and grew up with. Craig is a natural in front of the camera. As for Shawn, his channel is now pretty sad, tbh.
I just made a video about fixing the sight glass on master cylinders. The replacements are cheap online, or if you're in a bind a US dime fits almost perfectly to get you going in the meantime!
Man I tell ya there's very few channels where I can sit a full half hour without skipping through it. Cleet cboys Steve Wallis bikes and beards rc sparks, and you especially you cause I'm not only learning. You also make me laugh, and you do that quite often. Like gootentight. I would have never known that was German for tight lmfaoooooooo. Keep it up Craig you are rocking.
A friend of mine had one of those and it was wicked fast. You do a really good job of narrowing down issues. Very methodical. A lot of people overlook the obvious things.
I love seeing more of the restoration process! You mostly just show you getting them running (which is great) but you give great tips on everything else too!
Craig, always a pleasure watching you work. A gold mine awaits you if you’ll set up a shop in Dallas Texas. You’d be the only one here that is knowledgeable, isn’t lazy and has a good attitude towards life and people.
I worked at Vetter Fairing Company in 1977 when that fairing came down the line. There was a terrible fire in January 1977 that destroyed half the building. Luckily, a large piece of roofing fell over the Windjammer SS mold and saved it. Craig Vetter was cranking out 425 fairings a day by April when I came along. His brother, Bruce, made the soft tanneau covers and assorted bags. Both walked away millionaires in the early 80's.
I think Craig Vetter is too ill, or maybe even dead by now. His website has nothing newer than 2016. The feet-forward, low drag contraptions were fun to follow.
I bought a brand new 1979 KZ 1000 LTD in 1980. Great bike. I put a Pacifico Shadow Classics fairing. Road it for 5 years and then got married. Anyway, my dad liked mine so much he bought a 1980 KZ100 LTD. He put the windjammer fairing on his. He sold his when I sold mine. Good times. You always bring back the best memories. Thank you.
Those air cut-off valves are a future problem waiting to happen and can be deleted with a small piece of rubber cut to block the pin hole. Only thing they do is prevent intentional off throttle pops/bangs Today's parts will always fail within a year and OEM ones are $100+ for a set of 4 carbs.
I love that I can watch a motorcycle channel that is clean. No foul language or jokes, etc. I loved watching chips when I was a kid! Seeing this bike brought back a lot of memories! Looking forward to seeing it run!
That was my experience. Actually, it was one side of the rubber damper on the idler sprocket for the tensioner that disintegrated, making the chain run slightly twisted and shave metal off one side of the sprocket that killed them.
I really liked the joke about omelets and your exhaust.. which had me thinking... maybe you should consider making an episode about cooking.. omelets or burgers.. dont know why, but for some reason many of us seem to really like the way you tell things...and do things.. it would be interesting to find out if that screen appeal applies to everything you do.. You are a very likeable guy.. the backbone of america kind of guy... keep the videos coming.. I really like them.. thanks for all the lessons so far and the future ones as well.
Minimal repair is most practical for cost benefit ratio, going through old bikes rebuilding everything before knowing if the whole thing is worth it afterwards, or a cost without benefit, is very entertaining.
@@The_Bearded_Mechanic hahaha, you certainly are. Now I'll be hearing John Kay singing Born To Be Wild with Steppenwolf, when I watch your videos. After cracking open a couple transmissions and carburetors, I learned anyone who does is walking on the wild side, then after going to Universal Technical Institute in Houston's branch of the Phoenix school I learned why in microscopic detail. Great work and channel, thanks for the laughs.
I love the more in-depth videos like this. Sure getting the engine to run is cool and exciting, however a deeper look into other systems like the brakes helps show all the things that go into a running and safe bike.
Yay. It's Friday. My buddy was all over these back in the 80's. He finally got one and it's all he talked about, lol. I didn't get it at the time. All I cared about back then were my two-stroke road bikes. But watching this decades later and now I get it. That thing is awesome. Another good one here. 👍 Cheers!
I bought one in 1981 it came in boxes and milk crates. I was riding it the very next morning. It had way more get up and go than it did stop. And is zero brakes when it got wet. Thank God I live in Arizona
Please take all the cruising crap off that poor bike and return it to street screamer. Throw on a 4-1 header and some pod filters and it will be what it should be, a hot bike. Reminds me of the Kawasaki H2 750 that I picked up that was dressed up like this. It’s a crime.
Another great video! You guys are knocking it out of the park! The back and forth between you and Dan is priceless! Go Bearded Mechanic, keep moving forward!
The dynamic's of you and Dan are spot on. This is my favorite RU-vid channel. Love my VTX Honda and would love to see a video of you too working on one. Thanks for all the great videos.
I just rewired one of those vetter fairings last year. Those things make any bike a touring bike. Id find some vetter saddlebags since it looks like the mounts are there and have yourself a quick, 40+ year old bagger.
The pig/chicken line is to illustrate the difference between accountability and responsibility. Farmer Brown walks out on his porch and announces to the pig and chicken that they’re going to supply breakfast. The pig goes nuts, running around the barnyard while the chicken calmly sits on the fence. Pig sees this and says “Didn’t you hear what Farmer Brown said?” Chicken says, “You don’t know the difference between accountability and responsibility.” Pig is dumbfounded, and asks what he means. The chicken says, “I’m responsible for the eggs, but you’re accountable for the bacon.”
Hello from Wales! First visit to the channel - enjoyed the video! Over my 40+ years riding, I had several big Zeds - Z1000H, Z1000ST, Z1100 - all great bikes. Removing and refitting carbs - especially the CV units - isn't the easiest task - you can't get the airbox back in if you fit the carbs with it removed. If it helps you - this is how i used to do it:. The effects of time and heat makes the rubber ducts from the airbox to the carbs harden, making them difficult to squeeze the carbs out. Ideally, consider replacing them: NOS parts are unlikely to be available now - the last time I did a Z1100 I managed to get some 3rd party Japanese made replacements which fitted well. If you can't replace them (or even with new rubbers), you'll find that warming them up to just past hand hot with a hairdryer or heat gun will make them much more pliable and easier to get over the mouths of the carbs. Push the carbs into the rubber manifolds on the head first - and when they're fully seated, tighten the clamps - it stops them trying to escape while you fight with the intake rubbers.
I absolutely love these videos.. I've been binge watching older older ones from this channels inception. Thanks for making these. I can't wait to see the bike in one piece!
I rode a few of those, except they had saddle bags and a single seat with a duck bill on the back of the seat. And oh, it had red and blue flashing lights on the front.
Just a few years ago the KZ and the old Z1 were largely forgotten. My dad sold his 75 Z1 for 3500 in 2009 (I still haven’t gotten over that) now the prices on these things in good shape is going crazy. I’ve seen z1’s pushing 20k and the 70s kz900s and 1000s pulling 6-8k easily
These early J models were famous for twisting crankshafts. I have changed my share. Kawasaki would make us put a punch mark next to the engine serial number to indicate the upgraded crank. If you raced one, you would send the crank out and have it welded. I absolutely love what you guys do. Thanks for sharing
Thank you Craig and Dan for another Fun Friday video! Hope y'all have a great weekend, from down here in Abita Springs Louisiana, home of Abita Beer.🍻 Cheers!
I used to sell loads of brake discs for this era of Kawasaki for some reason they were out fast. Seeing this brings back lots of memories from back in the day . Great job 👍
Your answer to the Honda commercial slogan that put Honda on the map' was close but not quite right. You said " you FIND the nicest people on a Honda", but, the correct slogan was " You MEET the nicest people on a Honda". Sorry too be so damn picky. but, if we're doing it, let's do it right. being A BIG Honda FAN, 3-350 motorsports and 2 Goldwing's, 1 Goldwing trike, I use this slogan on all my Harley riding buddies. P.S. I love your videos as your talents remind me so much of a technician that worked at our local Yamaha, Kawasaki, Ducati dealership in Fairfield, iA. Keep up the good work. Also love to watch Sean's videos. Thank you guys
Wait a minute, nothing is done yet and your calling it a wrap ? Your just kidding there is a Part 2 right ?? I have to say it looked like an easy job when you rolled it to the shop but it quickly turned into as you say a "can of worms" . Can't wait to see the fixing side of this job :)
I had a similar year cop bike. I road it all over California, Nevada and Oregon. It still had the CHP fairing & paint minus the badging. Never failed to part traffic like the red sea when I got on the freeway and gassed it hard in the fast lane! Lol! Best $1k I ever spent!
I love this channel! I was so glad that he started this with Sean moving (bailing). lol jk. But they both are very entertaining and together are even better! Yea, I'm requesting future collaborations
I had a police model back around the 2010's. It was in ruff shape and I bought it off another Marine but I cleaned it up and turned it into a daily rider for the next two years. most comfortable smooth running bike I ever had. Wasn't expensive at all to repair. There was a company that made aftermarket Gaskets for this bike based on original specs.
You can find the police bikes around but prices are high,always wanted one of those.Police bikes had a factory fairing,that one is an aftermarket vetter..classic.
I’m in the process of restoring my 2003 Suzuki savage ls650 , mine looked like your a couple of weeks ago, mounted new tires, new front brake pads and my brake fluid looked like yours, had to rebuild the calipers and the master cylinder, rebuilt the carb , I have spark and it will putter if I use carb cleaner but still having issues trying to get it to run through the carb , I’m not going to give up yet! Like watching you guys having success with your projects gives me hope
I bought one of these KZ1000Js brand new in June, 1982 for $3450.00 out the door. Unfortunately, it also cost me my girlfriend at the time. She thought that my spending that money on a bike and not her was a problem. It's possible in retrospect it wasn't so unfortunate. It was to replace my '77 KZ650, which I had run up to 80,000 miles of perfect, no-repairs riding joy. And, which made me a Kawasaki guy for life. Yet the J model never got the full-on love-it thing my other Kawasakis got. It was a bit vibey, unlike that utterly smooth KZ650, and kind of awkward at low speeds, also unlike its predecessor. Since in those days I was commuting heavily into Chicago, such things were really important. I never did have any trouble with the bike, but despite my fooling around a little with the ergos, it never fit me perfectly and was sort of put aside for a pair of wobbly, slow BMW airheads. Finally a Concours 1000 came along- I traded a Triumph Trident for it- and it was off to the races with my first 100K+ miles bike. The J-model was a big disappointment for Kawasaki, as it never built the cache the Z1000 had and it went pretty much nowhere, comparatively speaking. I racked up 48,000 miles on mine, no repairs, and sold it to a brother-in-law. A solid, dependable design, though, that Kawasaki continued for nearly forever as the KZ1000P police bike. It was really excellent in that role and served for seemingly decades. (N.B.- Can I send you a complimentary box of nitrile gloves?)
I love this because I have the big brother original to the 1000, a 1973 Z1 900. I bought it back in 1976 from the local Kawasaki shop for $1500. It had been wrecked, the guy ran into the back of a car with under 2000 miles on it. Frame is fine but they had to replace the forks, wheel and tire, and the fender.
I love the kz1000, they made them up to the late 2000s in police form....great start for a retro period cafe racer whilst having a low mileage well looked after bike
@@harleyrobertson6746 I know I've owned few first gen second or J even owned 81 kz 1300 with the 6 into 1 I got in trouble on that bike.Sadly all i have now is a couple of 1200 bandits.01 S and 94 gsxr 750 roller with an 01 1200 bandit motor in it. Call it the Hillbilly Bandit.
Omg no way, ive been watching and loving your videos and rebuilding/getting running videos. I got so excited and jumped on this within seconds as my dad had a ‘93 kz1000 police bike 😀
That is one of the nicest KZ I've seen in a long long time. "CHiPS" was a awesome show it's what inspired me to want a motorcycle and the episodes really drove home a message every episode.
You da man Craig!!! 🔥🔥🔥 Ready to see you jump on the TURBO BUSA!!! Yammz definitely needs your expertise! Hopefully you can sort that mess out and I'm here for it
Your experience with the K1 is very similar to mine working on a freebie 81 XS 1100- each step uncovered another replace/rebuild component- she ran for a good few years- did not tally the cost and I never broke a sight glass- good one!
Great videoes and to the newbies to these bikes ive owned and raced 68 big bore kawasakis turbos and suzukis and kdxs and kxs and never have i seen a kawi unfixable lol, that being said im still racing and riding a h2 750 a quad with kz900 engine and a zrx 1200 and a 1700 vaquero! Im glad your glad your doing this bike right!
This takes me back. It wasn't identical to this one, but I learned how to ride on a 1980 KZ1000B4 (1000 LTD) back in the early 2000s. It had a Kerker 4-into-1 header on it, four pod filters on the carbs, and somebody had fooled around with the drive sprocket ratio. It was a riot to ride and I should have died lol. I had to keep your knees tucked while riding the bike above 50mph. If I didn't, my legs would scoop air and force-feed the carbs, bogging the engine down. I kinda miss that bike. It was a sloppy, worn out mess, but it started every damn time and ran great.
Two things that help a ton. A vise to prevent breaking sight glasses and restaurant serving trays to hold your stuff from rolling away into oblivion. Love these kind of videos. Been doing this kind of stuff my whole life.
My last bike was a 1978 GS1000 with an 1100 big bore kit, racing cams. DC1 stage 2 racing ignition, Mikuni 29mm constant velocity flat slide carbs that were jetted and synched for individual air pods, Yoshi header, and many other hop up parts. I do miss it!
Hey Craig, following you from Australia. I had a Z1000J - almost identical - new in 1982, and the photos of the strip down reconnected some synaptic pathways! Hope you get it running, the stock 3 in2 exhaust pipes will be almost unobtainable. Looking forward to the next episode. Stuart @ Melbourne
Man, that takes me back! I had an '81 Suzuki 650 "Temper" that I spent more time working on than riding! It smoked like hell when I bought it and the carbs were way the wrong ones. Got a motor and carbs for about what I bought the whole bike for!
