Picked up a Z!!!!

[ATC-Eric]

So, after a while of searching for a new toy, I finally found something.

Yesterday I drove 550 miles to KC and back to pick up this 1985 Tri-Z

Im in love!



I have never had a bike this fast, so Im glad to finaly take the step up.


Its an 85 that somebody "pimped" out. The fenders have all be painted black (not a real bad job) that is pealing in some places, and the frame is a lovely neon green!!!! The guy told me it was an 86, but after I found yellow on a lot of the bike, Im sure its actually an 85.

It came with a full DG exhaust, some sort of reeds, it has a brand new top end with less then 10 hours on it (dont know about bore) its jetted, and it came with a set of new ITP sandstars and rims!

The front tire is in great shape, the rear holeshots are brand new, bearings seem alright...........

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k300/ericbsemail/DSC00060-1.jpg


http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k300/ericbsemail/DSC00063.jpg


It has sat for over a year with gas in it, so as soon as I got it home, I flushed the entire fuel system and cleaned the carb, it runs like a champ!!!!

Now all I need to do is get a good days worth of riding in to completely work out the gunk.

Near future plans include a new frame because somebody welded the pegs on, new fenders, front brakes (this was a dune bike), and a stainless steel bolt kit to take it back to a more stock look.

Picked it up for $1000

[the great gazoo]

Real nice score! The frame looks yellow in the pics, is the green neon frame job a powdercoat, or a rattle can job?

[Dammit!]

Hit up Aussieduner for some black radiator shrouds.

[ATC-Eric]

Real nice score! The frame looks yellow in the pics, is the green neon frame job a powdercoat, or a rattle can job?


The frame is powdercoated, but doesnt look that great.



Im having some issues on where I should go color wise. I have thought about going to stock, but have also considered a red frame, black plastic. Anybody have thoughts?




Im also having issues with the carb.....I had my first good ride on the thing :eek:

This thing is scary fast! I rode an 86R last week, this Z would smoke it I think. When this Z winds up, its crazy, almost uncontrolable.

It iddles fine, but when you cruize through a gear, it kinda chooses when it wants to "explode" on you. I feed it some gas to go, it will do a bit of sputtering (not choking) then the thing gets out of control crazy!! On the top end its great, and you can rip through the gears, its just the middle ground between the idle and rippin.

You cant keep the front end on the ground! Im very happy with my purchase. There is a lot to work with.


Thanks for any advice,

Eric

[russell56443]

Nice find!!!
A friend of mine told me about his step brother swaping a car for one back in the day,he got it home and off he went only to come walking back about 30 min later,they went and picked it up with a truck and he never rode it again!
He sold it or what ever saying that was the scaryest thing he had ever riden and didnt want to ever ride it again lol!!
Good luck on the project!!

[clutchcargo]

A red frame and black plastic looks good! You can't really go wrong with a stock frame color, because you can always change plastic and make it look good with all of the little detail stuff. Welcome to the Z club!

[Mosh]

looks like you found a nice machine.if your plastic is not cracked,and you want to save some coin,bust out some paint thinner and start stripping the paint on the fenders.then you can use Chainsaws plastic restoration tips on the restoration page of this forum,and start wet-sanding your plastic. if you do this,it will take you quite a long time,but follow his directions and your plastic will look almost brand new.it could end up saving you a few hundred bucks.that is what i did,and all my plastic looked brand new.as far as the frame,from what i have seen,it is not all that uncommon,for the pegs to be welded on. they were a weak design,and if the pegs are nice, and welded up nicely,it is probably bettter to leave them be. they will be stronger.but,then again,frames are usually all over the place real cheap.i love the light switch power band of the z.compared to a 250r,it is nite and day on power delivery. the 250r seams to have a smooth power pull all the way thru,but the z hits and yanks the front end.i think that is fun, but when used for racing,that kinda power hit seems to wear you out a little quicker than a 250r would.but nice find and good luck with it.front and rear fenders are still available,but headlights,and radiator shrouds will have to be found on ebay,or used somewhere.aussieduner,does make fiberglass airbox covers and radiator shrouds,that fit up nice and look nice.

[ATC-Eric]

Thanks for the replys guys. Thats pretty funny about your friends step brother. My brother fell off it last night, now he curses at it. He'll ride it again, but last night he said he never do it again.


Mosh,

Thanks for the tip on fenders, I wanted to find something like that to do instead of spending $300.

I think I will buy a new frame, it will make the whole process a little more enjoyable. That way, all I have to do is just swap everything, instead of having down time when I get the frame re powdercoated.

[Yamaha Tri-Moto]

Very nice. Seems to be in great shape.

[Mosh]

yeah,sounds like you want it mint and the welds bother you. that is cool.i am kinda the same way.i dont really care for trikes that are way modded,unless they are done for one purpose,like drag racing or strictly mx racing.. but for trail and just overall riding, i like to keep them as close to original as possible. keep your eyes open on here. i picked up a z frame and gas tank and seat off a member here, for like 85 bucks shipped to me.you can get some good deals from all the great people on this site.

[willcamach]

that is a pretty nice Z. there are a few new mods comming out for the Z here on the boards including a 310 kit :). you might want to look into those. i just added a pipe onto my Z over the weekend and i cant beleive the difference its crazy now and i Thought it was nutz before. now if i can only get the jetting 100% correct..... lol

[ATC-Eric]

Moshman,

When you say that the pegs are weak in design, do you mean where the frame meets the pegs, or the pegs themselves?

If it is the pegs, do you know if there are any aftermarket "hardcore" pegs out there I can pick up?

Thanks for all the advice.

Eric

[ATC-Eric]

that is a pretty nice Z. there are a few new mods comming out for the Z here on the boards including a 310 kit :). you might want to look into those. i just added a pipe onto my Z over the weekend and i cant beleive the difference its crazy now and i Thought it was nutz before. now if i can only get the jetting 100% correct..... lol




A 310 kit!!!! Are you loco? :crazy:

I can barely handle it now. However, I was considering extending the swinger, and making it a drager though. so the 310 is tempting...........

I didnt do anything to it, so I dont even know the exact setup or jetting. Im tempted to tear the whole thing down to know exactly what it has.

I have had problems with the throttle, I think its just running way to rich. The thing sputters, then blows the @#$% up on you.




one more thing, the cylinder head has 246cm(cubed) on the base. Is this stock? smaller? bigger? Its not black, looks new.


Thanks guys

[willcamach]

its stock mine is silver also, mine is similar to what you descride but it barely sputters only somewhat in the mid range then it expoldes and revs past the moon lol. im staying away from the 310 kit for now also but its planned for the future but first i want to try the phase 2 yamaha wrench report.

[westcoast TRI-Z]

Quote: it kinda chooses when it wants to "explode" on you.

That about sums it up, that's why I love mine. :lol: Congrats on your bike!:welcome:

[ATC-Eric]

Thanks man. It feels so good to be in the Z club:w00t:

[Mosh]

Moshman,

When you say that the pegs are weak in design, do you mean where the frame meets the pegs, or the pegs themselves?

If it is the pegs, do you know if there are any aftermarket "hardcore" pegs out there I can pick up?

Thanks for all the advice.

Ericactually,they are weak in both areas.the bolts only go in the frame like a 1\4 inch,so there is not much threads for support.we helicoiled mine and they seem to work well,but i think it will end up pulling the threads back out in the future. the pegs themself are also weak.the mounting plate is too weak and starts to droop,or bend downward after time.more-so when you jump the bike alot.also where the pegs are welded to the plates,and the pins they kickup on,start to woller out after a time.they were just a horrible design.as of now,no one really makes a ready to go foot peg mod,or beefy set of aftermarkets.but some members on the forum,have had some nice ones made up for them as custom sets.i think they were kinda pricey to purchase or make.you can do a search,on the forum for tri-z foot peg and find some good info on the topic.when i build my 310z, i plan on a whole new peg set-up or welding them on the frame. last thing i want in a drag race,is for one of them puupies to give out on me. :eek:

[ATC-Eric]

Im about to kick this overhaul into high gear! I have a boat load of parts and plans on the way.


I was wondering, roughly, how much have any of you out there spent for a powder job for the frame, and other misc. parts?

[Bryan Raffa]

I spent $100 for the frame and all the misc. parts i wanted....

[willcamach]

$100.00 is a great price i was just qouted $200.00 for a cr125 frame And that didnt include any sandblasting.

[Bryan Raffa]

It cost me $30 to have the frame sandblasted and everything else i did myself in the glass beadblaster for free..hours&hours of standing at that thing!

[ATC-Eric]

So I went to St. Joe today for some riding on the new Z. About an hour into it, I was doing a donut on the dirt, the bike hooked up, and bucked me the heck off!!! It landed on its side, breaking, not bending....breaking the left handlebar off!!! It also tore the noozle for the left fork off:cry: Just another thing added to my list.



While I was out there, it wasnt five minutes and I meet a guy on a 200x. We rode together until my fall. I told him about the site, he said hes been wanting to find some more info on trikes.... so we might get a new member here shortly.



The fall wasnt a bad of a thing, I'm kinda glade it happened (except my but hurting). Thats because I just found out I have some bad gaskets that are allowing coolent into the cylnder, and oil into the coolent. I would rather the old junk handlebars brake, then run into motor problems because of coolent. I also found out after trying to rejet it last night that the thing isnt really jetted like the seller informed me:mad:

So when I say Im glade, its because I have new handlebars on the way, and this is a good time to completely tear her down.

I have a crap load of parts on the way, I'm not going to stop until I have rebuilt every inch of her! Strip, paint, everything!:w00t:

With gaskets for everything on the motor, does anybody have any good suggestions? Weisco? OEM? Tell me what you have had good luck with.

Also, I have been watching some Boyesen power reeds on ebay, would it be a good idea?

Thats all for now,

Thanks for the replys so far guys.

Eric