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Mark's '86 Concours 1000 project

M

m60shooter1866

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Hello.

I haven't had a bike in over 20 years and missed it a lot. I was recently given an '86 Concours 1000 from someone I'd never even met before.

I recently brought the bike home and it's definitely going to be a project before I get it on the road, so I thought I'd start a thread about it's progress.

I'll warn that this is going to be a slow project. I still need to clean out a space in my garage enough for me to actually work on it, which will be a project of its own.

I'll start with some photos and post updates as they go.

Picking up the bike.
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On the way home.
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Rolled out into the driveway for a pic or two in the sunshine.
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Mileage when I brought it home
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One of the first things I'll need to deal with is the rusty gas tank and cap.
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7FDCEAD5-917D-42BD-91EA-56748FB6C0DB-XL.jpg


The first thing I'm going to do (based on what I've read on this forum) is check to ensure no rods are bent, then if that looks good, I'll start with the gas tank, then a carb re-build.

It's going to need tires before I call it "road worthy", that's for sure.

Happy to have any suggestions as I go along as to what I should focus on after that.
 
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Iā€™ve used POR-15 on many bikes and always had excellent results. When I got my ā€˜00 way back in ā€˜07, it had the typical rust hole down on the lower ā€œwingsā€ of the tank. Found a decent used tank, in the proper color. First thing I did was clean the tank and POR-15 it so to prevent it happening again.
 
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My 86 had the tuliping (they were not hardened properly) issue with the intake valves. One cylinder (#4) intakes let go ~ 55,000 miles and the rest were razor thin. Just something to be aware of as you run it. Keep track of how much adjustment on the intake side you have left as you put on the miles. I don't think there is anyway that you can check for this at this point.
 
What was happening was the valve clearances, religiously checked/adjusted every 6,000 miles, were going away very quickly because the valves were tuliping. I ended up doing a compression check one day and found low numbers. I dumped in way too much oil to see if the numbers would change (valves or rings?) and boy did the numbers go up. I decided that meant the rings were bad, buttoned everything up and traded it for a new 2001 C10 that very day. I stopped by the dealer a few weeks later and the sales guy told me that all 16 valves were so bad on that bike I had traded in, "you could shave with them".

I don't know about relying on a compression check to diagnose this condition; I might have gotten much better data if I had used a lot less oil. My guess is I drenched the valves and the rings which gave me ridiculously high numbers. I think it would be better to keep track of the clearances because the newer harder valves, after broken in, easily go 25K miles between inspections if you don't live at the redline. If you set the valves in this engine at max spec and they move more than (swagging...) 0.003" in 6,000 miles you need new valves.

If you do a valve adjustment and then a compression check right away, and don't have numbers close together and between like 180 - 195, you have a compression problem and should figure out why. If you have only 27K on that engine the valves should be OK, especially if they were adjusted once or twice.

That's my $0.02 opinion and it's worth everything you paid for it. :)

That is a sweet looking 86 you got there. Happy wrenching/riding to you.
 
brooke.benfield said:
What was happening was the valve clearances, religiously checked/adjusted every 6,000 miles, were going away very quickly because the valves were tuliping. I ended up doing a compression check one day and found low numbers. I dumped in way too much oil to see if the numbers would change (valves or rings?) and boy did the numbers go up. I decided that meant the rings were bad, buttoned everything up and traded it for a new 2001 C10 that very day. I stopped by the dealer a few weeks later and the sales guy told me that all 16 valves were so bad on that bike I had traded in, "you could shave with them".

I don't know about relying on a compression check to diagnose this condition; I might have gotten much better data if I had used a lot less oil. My guess is I drenched the valves and the rings which gave me ridiculously high numbers. I think it would be better to keep track of the clearances because the newer harder valves, after broken in, easily go 25K miles between inspections if you don't live at the redline. If you set the valves in this engine at max spec and they move more than (swagging...) 0.003" in 6,000 miles you need new valves.

If you do a valve adjustment and then a compression check right away, and don't have numbers close together and between like 180 - 195, you have a compression problem and should figure out why. If you have only 27K on that engine the valves should be OK, especially if they were adjusted once or twice.

That's my $0.02 opinion and it's worth everything you paid for it. :)

That is a sweet looking 86 you got there. Happy wrenching/riding to you.
Click to expand...
connie_rider said:
You could also put air pressure in thru the plug hole and do a leak down test or listen for a leak.

Ride safe, Ted
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info!

I'll deff do a leak-down, valve adjust, compression test before I start other things. I think my first thing will be to check for a bent rod. If it has one, not much point in going much further with it. I'm not equipped to do an engine overhaul.
 
The best thing about the early Connieā€™s was the seat. I hated the butt-cup on the ā€˜03 model, so I replaced it with an ā€˜86 seat. Allows more movement fore and aft, promoting long-distance comfort.
 
The later (94+) seats also have low-density foam. After about 40 minutes, I could feel the seat pan through the foam.
Very comfy for first 30 minutes, not so much later.
 
Thanks Alan and Jorge.


Iā€™m a short guy. My 06 stock seat with the butt cup doesnā€™t suit me at all.

Iā€™m gonna get some high density foam and make me a flatter seat
 
ONOBob said:
Thanks Alan and Jorge.


Iā€™m a short guy. My 06 stock seat with the butt cup doesnā€™t suit me at all.

Iā€™m gonna get some high density foam and make me a flatter seat
Click to expand...
If you could try a Corbin with a gel pad, you might like it. When I had a Corbin, I tried it and it felt pretty good. It was too low for me. Might be something to do at the rally.
 
ONOBob said:
Thanks Alan and Jorge.


Iā€™m a short guy. My 06 stock seat with the butt cup doesnā€™t suit me at all.

Iā€™m gonna get some high density foam and make me a flatter seat
Click to expand...
Woo Hoo!!
Ono, you're in luck.
I found ya one.
It even has a backrest!!

www.ebay.com

1994 94-06 Kawasaki Concours ZG1000 Seat Saddle Rider Passenger Backrest Assy | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1994 94-06 Kawasaki Concours ZG1000 Seat Saddle Rider Passenger Backrest Assy at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

OK, ok,,,,, I wuz just funnin'.
Here's a good early model.
Bit pricy, but for a rich guy like you, noooo problem!
And it's whut ya need with a whole lot less work..

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1762386094...6wJXGuoHdwHZeW5v+dGha1lj+w==|tkp:BFBMotK2lddj

Ride safe, Ted {Glad I kud help}.
 
connie_rider said:
OK, ok,,,,, I wuz just funnin'.
Here's a good early model.
Bit pricy, but for a rich guy like you, noooo problem!
And it's whut ya need with a whole lot less work..


Ride safe, Ted {Glad I kud help}.
Click to expand...


Rich? Me?
Ted you are obviously cornfused.... again.
I did buy piece of vinyl off of Amazon, $13.00
And piece of high density foam Super Max foam (density 1.8 with a %25 IDF (LB) rating of 100
from the Foam Factory.........
$65.00 but enough to make 3-4 seats( mistakes)

I'm a gonna see what I can come up with.
I'll let ya try it next time I see ya.
Bob
 
This might be easier..
(Not as cheap, but easier)

www.ebay.com

Kawasaki ZG 1000 CONCOURS Fits 1986 Model Seat Cover | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Kawasaki ZG 1000 CONCOURS Fits 1986 Model Seat Cover at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

www.ebay.com

KAWASAKI ZG1000 Concours 1986-1993 Custom Hand Made Motorcycle Seat Cover | eBay

THIS IS A CUSTOM HAND MADE QUALITY SOFT VINYL FULL SEAT COVER FOR KAWASAKI ZG1000 CONCOURS 1986-1993. CUSTOM MADE SEAT COVER WITH 1/2" FOAM SEWN PLEATS. PLEATS ARE 2.5" WIDE. THIS COVER DOES NOT MATCH ORIGINAL SEAT COVER AND DOES NOT HAVE KAWASAKI LOGO.
www.ebay.com

Ohh, Ohh, OHHHH. Look whut I just found.
Better price that I saw earlier and a new seat cover.

www.ebay.com

KAWASAKI GTR1000 1986 2003 86 00 03 SEAT SADDLE NEW COVERED ZG1000 | eBay

FOR KAWASAKI GTR1000, YEAR 1986 - 2003. Removed from Kawasaki GTR1000, year 1986. SEAT, NEW COVERED. Here for sale is Sold as pictured. Item is in good condition.
www.ebay.com
 
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mgoodrich said:
My 86 had the tuliping (they were not hardened properly) issue with the intake valves. One cylinder (#4) intakes let go ~ 55,000 miles and the rest were razor thin. Just something to be aware of as you run it. Keep track of how much adjustment on the intake side you have left as you put on the miles. I don't think there is anyway that you can check for this at this point.
Click to expand...

Not really being a red line kinda rider, my intakes started showing change ~50K, and around 72K were getting ridiculous. The exhausts stayed solid. Got a new set of valves, pulled the head and carried stuff into an auto machine shop on the way to work. They called me a little after noon and I picked the finished head up on the way home from work. Bike was running in two days and I headed off to Lake George for a COG rally that w/e.
 
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