Bike of the Month Mar 2011.
Owner: Steve Sharp's 1170R Project (AKA: Ginger Bear of the Z1OC), UK.
The inspiration for this concoction of parts came from several sources & what I wasn’t sure
about I made up as I went along!
Things that inspired me were Lime Green ELR’s, My own Lime Green, Purple & White ZX7R P2,
the engine in my own GPz1100A2, & building something using all the knowledge I’d gathered
whilst building my modified Z1000A2. That’s what this bike is, the sum of all of the above.
The Project started late November 2009, the original frame was completely scrap,
as the side stand mount had been torn off, a replacement frame was deemed an easier option,
while sourcing that I had three donor engines to choose from.
I took the best parts from two of them;
a real bonus was discovering one of them was fitted with an almost new Wiseco 1170 kit.
Front forks were always going to be USD’s.
I had two pairs of ZX9R forks stashed & a set of Hayabusa as well.
Initially I started the build with the Busa forks, as they were in excellent condition,
but found it was going to be very difficult to mount a conventional mudguard,
so they were swapped for a pair of late ZX9R forks,
that would take the six pot’s that I had already invested a lot of time & money in.
This proved to be the most expensive option; I bought new chrome stations,
had the ‘feet’ powdercoated & the upper aluminium outers, polished then anodised black.
Back end initially started with a braced TL1000 swinging arm,
but I was worried that might look a little ‘heavy’ so it was substituted for an unbraced
GSXR600 SRAD item.
By this time I had sourced another frame with ‘documents’, so I removed the pressed steel footrest hangers,
then turned & threaded some boss’s to mount the rearsets.
I inserted these into the rear frame rails (behind the engine),
& sent the whole lot off to be welded & powdercoated,
around two weeks after this I had a letter from the vehicle licensing authorities telling me this frame
had been marked as exported & they couldn’t issue any registration documents.
I frantically contacted my powdercoater & was very relieved to find out that the job hadn’t
been started. So then I had to source frame No.3 & start the preparation all over again.
Engine work all went fairly well, although I had to fit some ‘bigserts’ into the head,
as nearly all the cam cap threads had been stripped, repaired, then stripped again.
The only other problem to note was that the head/barrels leaked like a sieve,
so that all had to come apart again, the problem being traced to the too locating dowels being
too long, as both the block & head have been skimmed.
Paintwork is a story all in its self.
The only thing I was sure about was that it was going to be mainly Lime Green.
I had wanted to include purple & white, but after some thought I decided to leave purple out
of the paint equation, as I already had it included in the wheels, so that just left white to get
into the design, that’s where the chequered flag came from, not 100% original I know,
but it works well & I did scour several painters websites looking for something ‘realistic’.
Fortunately for me I found a good painter only a couple of miles from home.
Working with him was a joy, I found he would listen to what I wanted,
bouncing some good ideas around. For example,
I wanted the side panels to have a Kawasaki font used,
but not the original eighties style,
so I opted to use the same style as a ZZR1100, but adding a larger GSXR or Honda ‘Type’ R
after the figures, well my painter came up with the idea of using the ‘R’ from the graffiti style
ZZR graphics….. Perfect.
Electrics have all been heavily modified; Loom is a Modified Unitrak item,
with all redundant wires being stripped out.
There is no longer a traditional key; instead I have fitted a RFID keyless ignition
that just requires you to pass a fob over a sensor. Ignition is standard Kawasaki,
but with Dyna coils & leads.
Instrumentation in now a Koso digital dash,
LED indicators have also been fitted.
Induction is by a set of Mikuni RS 38mm Flatslides, with individual K&N;’s,
Exhaust is a ‘MAC’ header/collector, with a one off link pipe,
that have been ceramically coated, the end can is a very modified Kerker ‘K’ can,
that now has a ‘very big bore’.
Owner: Steve Sharp, UK.
GB's Eddie Lawson inspired Special.
Engine: GPz1100 UniTrak, Bored to 1170cc Fitted with Wiseco Pistons
Carburation: Mikuni RS 38mm Flatslides / K&N; Filters
Exhaust: ‘MAC’ Headers, One off Link Pipe. Both Ceramically Coated
Modified (Big Bore) Kerker ‘K’ Can
Ignition: Standard Kawasaki CDI. Dyna Coils & Leads
Electrics: 12V with RFID Keyless Ignition. KOSO Digital Dash
Frame: Z1000J Footrest hangers removed. Rearset & Cooler Mounts added
Front End: ZX9R B4 Forks, ZX7R Wheel & Brakes. XJR 400 Mudguard
Rear End: GSXR600 Swinger. Modified for Chain Run & Twin Shocks
ZX7R Wheel GSXR600 Calliper, modified ZX7R Disc.
Polishing: Mikey’s polishing Services. Bristol. 07770 580363
Paintwork: TJC Designs. Bristol. 01179 672233
Powder Coating: Reality Motorworks (Griff’s). Bristol 01179 042339
Seat Re-sculpting / upholstery: Steve Adams (Lucky 7) 07958 990962
Fabrication (Tank Filler / Link Pipe): Pete Sutton Fabrications 07966 582434
The whole build/saga can be viewed at, www.z1ownersclub.co.uk
Go to the projects section & look for “GB’s Mean Green 1170R”
We will be featuring a different bike each month on kz1000r.com
that we feel is deserving of the title "Bike of The Month."
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