ZX7 J2 Rebuild

[sixstring]

Visit my rebuild blog here: http://zixiaozx7.blogspot.com/

I got ahold of this rough J2 about a week ago. The plastics were in good shape but just about everything else needed some attention. The main problem being some serious engine knocking and shot suspension.

So after a few hours of work, here's what the bike looks like:

Battery box and undertail - gross


Cockpit fixtures look good


Getting the subframe off



Gas tank is in decent shape


Body plastics arn't bad either


Oooooo... color matched seats


The rear hugger came with this little guy attached to it. Apparently one of the previous owners is an anime fan


D&D end can sounds nice... Would still rather have a muzzys


The headers and midpipe are a different story. Yikes! Apparently all ZX7s suffer this ****** header problem. Even the late P models are plagued by rusty pipes. Anyone notice the exhaust is WELDED onto the mid pipe? Odd no?


Airbox to be tossed and replaced with pod filters


Carbs are in surprisingly good shape


Closeup


Manifolds in good shape


An indication of the neglect this bike has gone through


Engine cover looks surprisingly clean



I'm currently cleaning the subframe and the rust/calcium cacked bolts. Next I'll be removing the radiator, headers, and ultimately the engine. I'm also trying to decide if I want to redo the coating onthe subframe/frame or just clean it up a bit and call it a day. Decisions decisions.

[sixstring]

Stopped working on the bike for a few days to make plans for the garage. Did some more tearing into tonight. Tonight, I managed to take off the radiator, headers, headlights and instruments, wiring harness and rear wheel.

Taking off the radiator was a huge mess. I wasn't sure exactly what the correct procedure was so I just started unplugging hoses. I managed to catch most of the coolant that came out but things still got pretty messy. Ended up through half a roll of shop towels.

Look at all those pipes! I wonder which one to remove first...



With the radiator removed, the headers came next. The pipe was basically welded into a one piece unit. Because it was so big and I was alone, it was a bit of a pain taking it off... and I'm rewarded with the filth thats built up on the engine cover. Gross



Headlights came off pretty easily.


The wiring harness was by far the most time consuming thing to remove because I had to take pictures of the wire routing, where wires were hooked onto the frame and of course label each wire on the harness to it's corresponding component. I hope all this work makes putting the bike easier to put together.

This picture makes note of the main wiring harness' routing but you can see all the lables I put on the cables


And after a long and grueling battle, the beast lays defeated on my floor


The rear wheel also came off without much incident.


Good god the swingarm is FILTHY. This pictures does NOT do justice at all to how down right raunchy this piece is.


The area behind the front sprocket cover also deserves mention for being especially nasty.


So thats where my bike sits now. It's basically ready to drop its engine so I can crack it open and have a look at whats causing it to knock. Some more pics:










Peace

[matthew]

Great write up so far. I'm looking forward to the progression of your project.

[TheDirty]

Great write up so far. I'm looking forward to the progression of your project.

+1...

[Rotten_Ronnie]

I've subscribed.

Thanks for sharing!

[omnivore]

Way cool. I love old ZX7's.
I'd pass on the pod filters though. Unless you are building a highly tunes racebike, it may just cause carbeuration glitches on humid days, cold days, rainy days etc etc.

Airboxes don't hurt performance anymore like they did 30 yrs ago. Besides, the pods will only have access to hot air under the tank being blown outta the rad. The airbox gets a dose of cool air thru the hoover tubes from the nose of th ebike.

[arekzjawin]

Peace

Kawis bleed green..

[Freestyle72]

Nice build man. Love the level of detail and the pictures. Keep it up.

[ROOKIE]

good stuff bro.
I'd like to hear how this build goes.