Born Again Bikes completed Kawasaki projects

grandpaul

Author, "Old Bikes"
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1999 Kawasaki ZRX1100, personal salvage restoration

I found this wrecked ZRX leaning against a pole in the downstairs "graveyard" at Joe Gregory's bike shop in Laredo in 2004, when I was on a treasure hunt for some needed parts for some other ongoing project; Joe has the best salvage operation within 150 miles of my shop, so I'm there pretty often.

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I had it running inside 4 hours, with a new battery and a tank bra to cover the caved-in rear section. Fairing and fender were still trashed (photo shows the god side), and humongous heavy OEM muffler still neded to be addressed.

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Joe connected me with Universal City Kawasaki to pick up a tank, fairing and front fender quite reasonably priced, he also sold me a nice carbon fiber muffler and a new clutch lever. The rest, I found online, mostly through ZRXOA.

The engine was in great shape, the forks, radiator and fairing/headlight mount were all tweaked and needed significant re-work. The meter cluster was trashed (as were the tank, front fender, lever, muffler, and fairing already mentioned). I bought a set of nice low mile tires from Joe and had him install them, as well as re-balancing the wheels. I flushed and rebuilt the forks, carbs, clutch and brake systems. A bit of Rust-O-Leum spray paint touchups, and the bike was ready for some of the most amazing throttle-only wheelies, and 130+MPH speeds I had ever experienced up until that point.

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I gave the bike to my oldest son who rode it hard quite a lot, then one of his "friends" wrecked it and basically rashed it from top to bottom on both sides. After refurbishing it again (nothing too serious or expensive, thankfully), I rode it a year or so then gave it to my younger son who then traded it back to my older son, who then sold it. "Musical bikes" or something like that...
 
2001/2003 Kawasaki ZRX1200R - my personal modern sportbike

After selling the '99 Rex (above) I started kicking myself every time I thought about it; I should have NEVER sold that bike, it was a good runner and PAID FOR!

However, through the wonders of serendipity, I was on another treasure hunt at Joe Gregory's and, lo and behold, in the EXACT SAME SPOT, leaning on the exact same pole, was ANOTHER ZRX!

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It had all the SAME damage (tank, fender, fairing, meters, radiator, forks, clutch lever), PLUS bent frame, bent front rim, broken left footpeg, trashed forks, broken blinkers, and trashed fairing mount.

I was able to find everything I needed including a spare frame and engine on ZRXOA. I went ahead and tore the bike all the way down to the frame and had it powdercoated, I also had my painter fix the replacement tank and paint the replacement fairing to match. The bike got a new battery, tires and chain, plus some assorted stuff like grips and mirrors.

One item I am especially proud of was taking two trashed meter clusters, carefully cutting workable mating lines, and building one good cluster from the remains-

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This bike gets ridden almost as much as my 2000 Triumph Legend, but when Sally & I go out on 2 bikes, she rides the Legend (more often than riding pillion with me, I wonder why?)

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A shot of my younger son and I goofing off on our private road

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2001 Kawasaki ZRX1100

After rebuilding my 1200R, I had so many parts left over, I figured "why not", bought another engine, forks and rear wheel and started in on my 3rd 'Rextotation.

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(Inverted forks in the photo ended up on a client Norton resto/mod)

This one had to go through the salvage title process, and I ended up with mismatched paint, a single front disc setup, and a black front fender; but apart from that, the bike turned out quite nice...

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On the other hand, I lost several hundred dollars in starting from scratch; I bought parts from over TWENTY members on the ZRXOA forum! It was fun, anyway.

"3 Rexketeers"

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1974 Kawasaki H1 500 triple

BEFORE

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Inside story: I bought this bike in the most serendipitous deal ever, at the Sandia Classic swap meet in Albuquerque in 2008. I had been racing in Formula 500 class in AHRMA, on a borrowed H1 that blew a cylinder liner at Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City the week before. I scraped together just enough to buy the bike (what do you suppose the odds were, that there would be a viable donor H1 at the swap meet that weekend?), yank the engine, and stuff it in the race bike just in time to get through tech and collect 2 more 3rd place finishes, then 2 more finishes at Barber's that October. I didn't know it at the time, but the engine had a holed middle piston; still, it dragged me to 3rd place in the final Formula 500 championship standings!

Jeff in a frenzy in the pits at Sandia, donor bike in the background-

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Swap meet engine with a holed piston brings home the goods!

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After the season was over, I pulled the engine out of the race bike and returned the poor thing to the owner, Jeff; his boss ended up paying for a complete Scott Clough rebuild at no cost to me or Jeff, so there were smiles all around!

I got the remains home, partially disassembled the bike, and had my painter work his magic on the tank, sidecovers and tail. While the painter was doing his thing, I swapped out the burned piston and overhauled the carbs, going up one step richer on the middle cylinder. I fixed a few small items, refurbished a lot of other rough stuff, and put it all back together...

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It sold on ebay for a tidy profit.
 
My "big baby" 1980 Kawasaki KZ100 A4

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Apart from the oil cooler, quarter fairing, and headers, this bike is totally original. I bought it in 1985 with 32 miles on the odometer from a local all-brands dealer, they had it in a warehouse and it was forgotten for a couple of years.

Fairing is a Tracy 2000, I'm trying to have some copies made, I think they're really nice alternatives for late 70s / early 80s standard bikes instead of going full cafe racer. Header I have on it at the moment is a Vance & Hines, the one in the photo is a MAC. I could never find a Yoshimura pipe for a 1000, only for 750s; I like the constant-diameter tailpipe on the 750 Yoshi pipe.

I actually FLIPPED this bike without serious injury or damage, just a torn throttle grip & footpeg rubber, and a small scratch on one of the original mufflers (still hanging in the rafters). I couldn't get it to turn in a fast right-hander and bit a straight 4" curb at about 40MPH, flipped STRAIGHT over and landed back on the tires but fell over, tearing a big hole in the butt of my BRAND NEW Levis jeans (the most expensive damage of the accident).

A few years ago, I swapped the head, trying to remedy a seemingly incurable stumble off-idle, but have since learned there is a minor fix that stabilizes the ignition.

The photo above represents TWO tear-downs to the bare frame to do touchups, install new tires, change bushing & seals, multiple carb overhauls, two complete valve jobs, and regular tune-ups for over twenty years of regular service. Plus, three different headers, 2 Tracy fairings, and twice returning it to stock for show.

I've had numerous offers to sell the bike to various Japanese buyers and buyer's reps, but have declined offers exceeding $10K AS-IS, somewhat scruffy, rusty and faded...
 
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