Kawasaki Concours Forum

The C10, aka Kawasaki Concours - The Original => The Bike - C10 => Topic started by: sport rider on January 05, 2019, 04:46:28 PM

Title: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on January 05, 2019, 04:46:28 PM
here's a seat prototype.  I think the seat area is a bit long and the overall length is as well.  if I cut down the front, that'll slide the whole thing in.  probably 2 inches.

I blacked out the bottom of the tank in the rear.  trying to achieve a good cafe-style line front to back.

I'm pretty sure I'm going with bright yellow for the tank, front fairing, and seat, with black padded seat insert.  There will be yellow inserts in the sides covering the battery area.

any constructive thoughts?   ;D
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: works4me on January 05, 2019, 05:31:46 PM
The first picture reminds me of of Munch Mammoth
circa late 60s.
That’s not a bad thing.
I’m sure a few of us lusted after them back then.
Google images for inspiration.
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on January 05, 2019, 06:29:05 PM
I'm thinking it's going to be more like a Clydesdale rather than a thoroughbred.  Majestic in their own way.  :)
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: MAN OF BLUES on January 06, 2019, 06:47:32 PM
nekid Conni's rock....

I've got one...
ya can't paint yours in Chameleon flip-flop green, or use the name COGZilla tho...

rock on....

Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on January 06, 2019, 08:33:52 PM
I'm thinking of going yellow.  However, Kawasaki green might be good.
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: Cholla on January 07, 2019, 12:29:23 PM
I have an easier way.
Just buy a 900 Ninja.
I know the fun is in the creation.
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on January 07, 2019, 06:23:21 PM
I have an easier way.
Just buy a 900 Ninja.
I know the fun is in the creation.

I know....I know....

but honestly, none of us are ever going to learn that.  :))
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on January 28, 2019, 01:55:18 PM
I pulled coolant logs front and rear and replaced seals last week.  for the front log, I removed the oil and water coolers.  Also removed the headers.  I have a way-cool 4 into 1 version coming sometime.  (Thanks Ted!)

I pulled the clutch slave cylinder off.  frozen tighter than a camel's azz in a snowstorm.   decided it was far cheaper to get a used one for 12 bucks from fleabay than fuss with this one.

also took the petcock apart and I'm going to rebuild it.  ordered the kit for that.

Got a new key made for the ignition and have that back on too.

slooooooooooow progress.  :(
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on January 28, 2019, 02:06:02 PM
BTW....I think I'm going with Ford Competition Orange.
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: gpineau on January 28, 2019, 07:54:53 PM
Orange?  How about flat black or Burgundy? Keep going. I am anxious to see what's next.

I still have my eye on that 86 Connie rat rod on ebay. So far haven't been able to talk him down on price.  But I will wait another week and see if he softens a little. I  think if I go it running it would be a great project for a trike conversion as well as another EFI retrofit. I fgound a trike kit for $1800.

Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on February 02, 2019, 12:46:58 PM
after toying around with ideas on the seat, I decided to throw the old seat back on.  I removed the vinyl first.  I cut along the lower part of the pan to expose the frame section just under the seat.  My thought is to have the seat covered in black with an orange rear section.  seems like that's a pretty decent looking line to catch your eye from the tank back to the rear of the seat.
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: gpineau on February 15, 2019, 10:41:58 PM
I see you put the carbs back on. Without the airbox what is holding up the back of the carbs?  Are the boots strong enough to support the weight of the carbs and the filter pods?

I pulled my carbs out of the box an found one of the carbs was loosed for the bracket holding the all together and there was a fuel feeder pipe between carb 3 & 4 is missing. Nowhere to be found.
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on February 18, 2019, 11:50:58 AM
carbs seem to sit fine, but I don't have them tightened up yet.  I need to get some new throttle cables installed before final assembly.
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on February 18, 2019, 12:07:10 PM
Thanks to Ted and Blaise Borjakowski, I got the 4-into-1 exhaust delivered.  put it on and buttoned up the radiator and oil cooler.  added some rattle-can orange to the tank just to get an idea.  Still quite a bit to do, but coming along.
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on February 22, 2019, 09:32:02 AM
new throttle cables came in this week, so last night I got them installed.  nice to have the throttle snap back now.  :D

I got fluids added back in.  problems with the ring seals on the rear coolant log.  had to remove and install a few times to get it sealed up properly.  I realized that I had a split in the ring.  fortunately I had another on hand.  that was a bit of a pain in the butt cause I put the carbs on before filling, so had to remove them.  reinstalled after I was sure there were no leaks.

attached is a current pic.  not much looks different except that I have the front fender painted.  the tank is still a work in progress.  I have further sanding and buffing to complete that.  I still have to clean the inside and seal it before it goes into service.

this weekend I'm going to swap over the tank and battery from the 05 and work on getting the motor running.  wish me luck!  :o
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: robertv on February 22, 2019, 10:48:48 AM
Love the progress and the orange is actually a good color on the cafe style! Keep up the good work and look forward to the end result!
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on February 23, 2019, 01:01:00 PM
SHE'S ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Since the tank cleaning/sealing isn't done yet, I swapped the tank off the 05 along with the battery.  Put petcock on prime for a minute or two, then back to run.  turned on the switch, pulled the enricher, only cranked a short bit before the first burst came out of the pipe.  A bit more cranking and coughing and she settled into a high idle.  didn't have to run long before I took it off choke and adjusted the idle to a pretty smooth output.  I let it sit and run for a good 15 minutes or so as the antifreeze burned off the exhaust wrap.  while on the center stand, I ran it through all the gears.  everything engaged and shifted normal.  then backed her out of the garage and went for a very short run up the street.  she didn't seem to hesitate at all, but I didn't have her under much power though.  I got up to third and gave her a kick.  clutch started slipping.  easy enough to replace.

All in all, I'm happy as a pig in mud!  300 bucks, a bit of sweat equity and a few $ more.  she runs!  I've got about 700 bucks in it now.  I just bought some known good carbs rather than try to rebuild the old ones.  I've heard enough horror stories from Steve about tearing old carbs apart.  decided not to put him through that yet.  :)  I probably will eventually though.  I'll eventually turn to getting more performance out of the bike.  that'll mean several additions along with going back to the air box and proper carb tuning.

For now.....HAPPY!!!!!!!
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: gpineau on February 28, 2019, 10:23:33 PM
Looking good. Great progress. I like the tank as is.

It will be  while before I  catch up with you. The carbs I got in a box have some missing pieces. 

I got a used airbox off ebay I am going to try to repair it and see if it is usable. 
Right not it has pod for filters.
 I may just go ahead and do EFI on this just to for fun and annoy people.
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on March 01, 2019, 08:39:45 AM
if at first you don't succeed......well......   :o

BTW...it's in the house to dry.  I used the por 15 cleaner and etching.  need to get it good and dry so I can put sealer in it.  it's still damp after sitting overnight.  I'm probably gonna steal the wife's hair dryer and see if I can burn it up.  :D
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on March 11, 2019, 02:03:31 PM
a little progress is better than no progress at all.  While I've been waiting for tank sealer to cure, I got and installed the headlight bracket.  I already hooked up the headlight...plug and play.  Now ready to wire up the front turn signals!
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: gpineau on March 14, 2019, 05:16:26 PM
Nice. Where did you get the headlight?
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on March 15, 2019, 10:22:28 AM
place called Dime City Cycles on the web.  Classic British Style 7' Chrome Headlight Assembly.

also purchased these for the brackets.  https://www.ebay.com/itm/MAX-Blade-High-Quality-CNC-Machined-Headlight-Brackets-42-43mm-Diameter/173827041235?hash=item2878e627d3:g:AjIAAOSw6JZcgca6 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/MAX-Blade-High-Quality-CNC-Machined-Headlight-Brackets-42-43mm-Diameter/173827041235?hash=item2878e627d3:g:AjIAAOSw6JZcgca6)

but be aware those were 43mm to fit the ZRX1100 fork tubes on the front of my bike.

Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: MAN OF BLUES on March 15, 2019, 03:32:23 PM
place called Dime City Cycles on the web.  Classic British Style 7' Chrome Headlight Assembly.

also purchased these for the brackets.  https://www.ebay.com/itm/MAX-Blade-High-Quality-CNC-Machined-Headlight-Brackets-42-43mm-Diameter/173827041235?hash=item2878e627d3:g:AjIAAOSw6JZcgca6 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/MAX-Blade-High-Quality-CNC-Machined-Headlight-Brackets-42-43mm-Diameter/173827041235?hash=item2878e627d3:g:AjIAAOSw6JZcgca6)

but be aware those were 43mm to fit the ZRX1100 fork tubes on the front of my bike.

nice.... like button "pressed repeatedly"....

I have a couple sets of those headlight brackets (Emgo iirc), from my COGZilla build... another good "shell/assembly" is the old KZ1000/Z1 era, ones... have some of those also, as I have a '78 KZ1000Ltd in my collection...

did you get your Gage cluster yet?...
the one from a GPZ900 old bike?

lemme know, I'll dig up pics of the "mounting" I made for COGZilla... easy, cheap, and mounts to the upper tripple tree fork clamping bolts...

keep up the good work....
(oh, strip that exhaust wrap, and steel wire off a.s.a.p. as it will eventually cause the pipes to split/corrode... seriously...  been there...)
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on March 18, 2019, 10:06:05 AM
nice.... like button "pressed repeatedly"....

I have a couple sets of those headlight brackets (Emgo iirc), from my COGZilla build... another good "shell/assembly" is the old KZ1000/Z1 era, ones... have some of those also, as I have a '78 KZ1000Ltd in my collection...

did you get your Gage cluster yet?...
the one from a GPZ900 old bike?

lemme know, I'll dig up pics of the "mounting" I made for COGZilla... easy, cheap, and mounts to the upper tripple tree fork clamping bolts...

keep up the good work....
(oh, strip that exhaust wrap, and steel wire off a.s.a.p. as it will eventually cause the pipes to split/corrode... seriously...  been there...)

I decided not to go with the cluster.  it was bigger than I want, and there's not going to be any mini-fairing/screen covering it like you did on COGZilla.  I'm getting two small aftermarket gauges.  one is electronic which will have tach and various idiot lights.  the other is the speedo which will be mechanical to use the stock cable.  I'm thinking about getting another set of mounts like above an fabbing a bracket to attach the gauges to.  hopefully they will sit above the headlight and just forward of the ignition key.

for now I'm going to get the exhaust connections completed and then work on the back end for the seat/lights/plate build.

Still got a clutch plate replacement to do, but that's an easy one.  :)
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on April 04, 2019, 07:57:45 AM
After my electrical ups and downs last week got resolved, I turned my attention to the clutch.  did the install last night.  Just need to re-fill with oil and test ride a bit.  that will have everything basically completed except to get the exhaust connected and to build the seat/signals.  Progress feels good!
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on April 12, 2019, 09:51:40 AM
I had a HUGE positive breakthrough in my project yesterday.  I was able to hunt down and make contact with a guy who had done a C10 cafe build back in about 2013.  he had posted some of his work on the COG forum back then and was a COG member at one point.  you may remember this one because he took the approach of cutting down the swingarm into a single-side swingarm.  BTW...I asked him about that last night and he said that was a fail and he went back to a standard swingarm.

anyway...he was able to give me some photos and ideas for the seat and rear end configuration which will be helpful in completing my build.  very pleased!  :)

attached is the pic of his bike.  note the swingarm is back to stock.
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: gpineau on July 10, 2019, 06:38:53 PM
What progress have you made.  No photos for a month or more.  :(
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: sport rider on July 11, 2019, 07:16:18 AM
well, let's see.

took bike to muffler shop to have mid-pipe installed.  bike fell over on the traiiler and did just a little damage.  notice the tire tread on the tank.  :(

bought a parts bike which had good plastics.  Needed the tank after above mishap.  when I'm done scavenging some parts that I need, I'll sell off the plastics to recoup some of my money on the cost.

dealt with overheating problem which ended up being the fuse and holder.

second pic is where things stand now.  Time for serious effort on the seat and cowl.
Title: Re: C10 Cafe Project
Post by: gpineau on July 11, 2019, 09:00:21 AM
How's that saying go...."If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all"
 Looking good though. Nice recovery.