Cafe inspired Kawasaki GT750 project ... yup you read it right

[XooM]

Intro:

After being without road bike for nearly a year I decided that something had to be done about this predicament.
The whole cafe racer and brat style is something I really got sucked into and after months of checking out the projects on PSB and DTT I made the decision. Find something that needs some work, modify and fix where required and voila, I got mysef a ride.

What I was looking for is something that is registered and running, cheap - under $1000, something that is known to be reliable and it had to be bigger than 250cc - the bigger the better. Not asking much really.

After few months of searching the gumtree and PSB and compiling number of Excel spreadsheets to make sure I stay within the $2000 budget the bike was found.

The bike

Bike was found on PSB and I picked up running and registered example plus the whole spare bike for the price well within the budget. And as added bonus bike came with workshop manual and even 1982 Two Wheels magazine review. You wanna read something funny read the reviews for now 30 year old bikes back in the day.

Enter the mighty GT750

This is what they looked like from factory
Kawasaki GT750.jpg

And this is what they looked like on the day I picked them up.
Day 1.JPGDay 1a.JPGDay 1b.JPG

And so the journey begins ...

[XooM]

So what the hell is GT750 coz' I've never heard of them until I started looking into buying one. Bike is based on early air cooled 1980's GPZ750. Difference between GPz and GT is shaft drive in lieu of chain and massive 23 litre tank and bar some styling diferences that is pretty much it. The idea behind it is no fuss long distance tourer with some "handling" based on its more racier GPz brother.

Day 1

As I said the bike runs but overall it is in pretty average condition, the previous owner has not ridden it for over a year or so and even before that it was sitting doing nothing for years.
From what I can see so far

Pros:
Runs and engine doesn't blow smoke
Tires look good
Only 32000 kays (assuming the odo is legit)

Cons:
Almost every part is coroded, faded or oxidised
Spare bike is in really bad shape (not sure how many parts can be reused)
Unknown history except what the previous owner told me about it

The day I brought it home

Good bike front.JPGGood bike rhs.jpgGood bike rear.jpgGood bike lhs.JPGGood bike dash.jpg

[Pato]

Subscribed. Nice purchase. Keen to see it evolve.

[XooM]

Some of the inspiration photos

Idea for tail
monk11_04.jpg

Colour - keeping it simple, the engine and tail will most likely be matt black.
cb750kz_02.jpg

And it will have some brown or gold highlites (not really sure where or how)

Just some cool bikes
KZ1000 alternative.jpgkz1000finished009.jpg

[XooM]

Subscribed. Nice purchase. Keen to see it evolve

Yeah I'm keen to complete it 12 weeks so expect regular updates.

[Rex Havoc]

Good stuff. It's a good looking bike to start with and definitely has the potential to be cool looking Bratcaf. Those wrenchmonkees bikes are brilliant and it'll great to see your finished product.

[HDK]

Yeah I'm keen to complete it 12 weeks so expect regular updates.

Massive effort man, obviously not your first build. Looking forward to watching the transformation.

[whowalks]

So what the hell is GT750 coz' I've never heard of them until I started looking into buying one. Bike is based on early air cooled 1980's GPZ750. Difference between GPz and GT is shaft drive in lieu of chain and massive 23 litre tank and bar some styling diferences that is pretty much it. The idea behind it is no fuss long distance tourer with some "handling" based on its more racier GPz brother.

your making me feel OLd
I rode around OZ on a XJ750p similar bike but the GT looks cooler (mine had a bloody big copper fairing on it mind you every one noticed me and slowed down to 60kph so I could get passed easily LOL

I also owned a Z750 1981 vintage

[XSorXpire]

The z750 is one of Gav's (GD Engineering) favorite bikes.
He has one with a current model front end bolted on it waiting to put a highly modified (960cc) 750 engine in it.

Need any help he may be worth a chat.
I have a fair few parts for them too.

[EFFelant pilot]

another GT750 fan here, had 4 of them over the years and clocked over 250,000km on them, best UJM of the 80's for my mind and if you were committed (silly) enough you could play with the fast boys on most public roads, the fuel level sender was a compulsive liar and the self cancel solenoid in the indicator switch is not moisture resistant, choose your tyres with care, tranzac still have a jig for a 4-1 header/collector, that flows really well, throw the carbs in the bin and get a set of 36mm flatslides, chuck a set of Gpz750 cams in it (and Gpz ECU if you can score one), make sure the shaft drive is healthy and not flogged out, leaking or dry anywhere. waiting in anticipation to see what sort of cosmetic improvements you can come up with. If the two you have are P1 models, see if there has been any strengthening added to the front downtubes of the frame, some of the earliest ones broke just below the headstock. The P2 and P3 models had more meat there. Retro shocks is a choice of Hagon, YSS or Ikon, scout out which suits you best for price and appearance to go with your overall look. 82 non antidive Gpz750 forks and a bit of playing about will springs and fork oil will help too.

good luck, looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

[Marty MOOSE]

I'm following this too. I've never owned one but can remember reading a two wheels at school the year they won bike of the year.

MM

[GD Engineering (Gavin)]

They used to cave inlet valves in..... easy fix. Man, those motors just won't lay down either....... probably the most reliable motor I've ever owned, they just smoke more but keep on keeping on.

[whowalks]

When I had my Z750 there was dude getting around on a black and gold Z750 with clip ons, 4 into 1 exaust and single seat mod, this looked great and was basically a stock bike
the GT isnt that far differant from the Z

Pic of my ol bike (not actual bike but same model)

[AndyS]

XooM,
Not sure if thsi is any use;

Login

[AndyS]

Shit, that didn't work.
Try Do The Ton, there's a lot of threads about GT750's guys building cafes out of them, parting them out etc etc etc

[XooM]

HDK
Massive effort man, obviously not your first build. Looking forward to watching the transformation.

Actually mate this is my first ever proper project. I know basics of bike maintenance and can find my way around the bike but that's about it. Biggest "project" I've ever done before this is to prepare my SV650 for racing.
But I'm not looking to do any major mods and the bike itself seems "forgiving" so what the hell ... better than reading about all the other half finished projects on the net I say.

AndyS
Shit, that didn't work.
Try Do The Ton, there's a lot of threads about GT750's guys building cafes out of them, parting them out etc etc etc

I,ve been researching for weeks about this bike. The stuff on DTT is mainly about Suzuki GT750 (which also seemed as more popular bike too so most of the hits come back for this)
I did find some useful sites tho like Z Power and Z1 enterprises however most of my purchases will be off e-bay as I am trying to keep it within the budget.

I am not planning to get rid of this thing any time soon so another more through rebuild may happen down the line but we'll see.

EFFelant pilot and Gav I will pick you brain later on especially once I get to the engine and carbs (engine will need a head gasket replaced as it is leaking although not badly, and carbs will run some cheapo pod filters so I will need to rejet them. Never touched set of carbs in my life so that will be another new experience )

[AndyS]

The stuff on DTT is mainly about Suzuki GT750

Sorry XooM, should have checked. Good luck with the build though.

[EFFelant pilot]

If you are going to run pod type filters with CV carbs, getting a clear airflow to the balance orifice at the inlet side of the carb is a PITA, the only sure fire cure I have found is to have a tube about 40mm long between the pod and the carb to let the incoming air settle down to a smooth stream at the carb inlet. There is also a real cheap and nasty fix to this issue but I wont go there.

[XooM]

I decided to start the dissasembly slowly, firstly to make sure I don't damage any bolts and secondly to learn my way around the bike and suss out the best way to keep the parts so I don't loose my way at assembly stage.

As I was checking the bike before the purchase I realised the front brake action was pretty much non existant. My guess was that the pistons were most likely seized so the first thing on my list was to pull the brakes apart and check them out.

And would you know it the second bolt I touch on the bike became stubborn little bastard.

First problem bolt.JPG

Luckily I bought some Locktite freeze and release spray so I decided to give this a go. Now normally I am pretty sceptical about those sort of sprays but this stuff actually works.

And would you believe it it was not the piston. It was sheer lack of any brake fluid in it. All that was left was some sludge and cristalised brake fluid.

Front brake reservoir.JPG

Brake hoses, banjo bolts and connection bits (its a technical term ) seemed pretty bad but the spare bike seems to have relatively new ones so score ... the spare bike just paid for itself.
Brake pads are actually pretty good too so I will be keeping those and even though discs are coroded I will clean them up and replace only if they are warped.

Forks will definately need to have seals replaced and since I will run the bike without the gaiters some dust seals are on the purchase list as well.
Although it all looks pretty crap in the photos I am confident it will look ok once I sandblast, clean and paint the bits and pieces.

Forks close up.JPGFront wheel before.jpg

Now that I know brakes are more less ok I decided to put them to the side and continue with dissasembly. I will look into braided lines but this is still in maybe column. Let see how the budget holds up for now.

[XSorXpire]

Drop all the nuts, bolts and bits into zip lock bags and write where they come from in permanent marker.
It will make it easier to put back together.