Turning 100

Mon Nov 13 11:04:25 PST 2017

Hey Tim,

Sorry about the late feedback on this. Thanks for the tip about the fan. 
I checked it out and it looked fine. You could also feel the airflow 
from the side vents when it was running, so no issue there. I took the 
thermostat out and checked it in hot water according to the manual, and 
sure enough - it was the thermostat. It's supposed to open at 80 - 84 
deg. C but it didn't begin to open until 92 deg C (1 mm open) and it 
didn't open completely until 95 deg. C. No wonder she smelled hot. Got a 
new one from motorcyclespareparts.eu and everything is back to normal :)

Ped
'96 "Black Stealth" GPZ
Denmark

Den 07-10-2017 kl. 18:01 skrev Timothy Linke:
> Ped,
>
> Your original fan could be warped, I put one of these on mine and never had
> any issues.
>
> http://www.oemcycle.com/Item/product/900019467
>
> On Sat, Oct 7, 2017 at 10:08 AM, Ped <gpz1100abs at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I totally agree, Bill. What a bike. I've owned mine for 20 years now, and
>> next year I'll have to add the digit '2' in front of the others
>> (kilometres, of course). Just 4 days ago I returned home from this year's
>> longest trip - 2900 kilometres (1800 miles) in 5 countries over 10 days,
>> and not one single kilometre on motorways!
>>
>> http://www.pedmail.dk/efteraarstur.jpg
>>
>> I had a meeting in Belgium on Tuesday and Wednesday last week and a
>> motorcycle event in Austria Friday to Monday, and since I had the time to
>> do it, I decided to go the whole way without riding the 'Autobahn'. All of
>> the countries are very nice outside of the motorways, but especially the
>> trip from Leuven (Belgium) across the northern part of the Ardennes, across
>> the northern part of Luxembourg, across the Eifel area, over the Mosel and
>> the Rhein was a wonderful ride. Not to mention the Austrian Alps, of
>> course. Now it doesn't matter so much any more that winter is approaching,
>> and the GPZ will spend some months in the garage.
>>
>> There is a segment missing on the map - the segment from Vienna to
>> Hamburg. I cheated and took the Autozug (Auto train) instead. A good
>> choice, because the day the home trip started was the day that Autumn came
>> to Europe. Generous amounts of rain and storm on the way to Vienna, and the
>> same from Hamburg and the rest of the way the day after. Other than that I
>> had dry and warm late summer weather throughout the trip.
>>
>> I did notice on this trip though, that it tended to run a little bit
>> warmer than usual. Every time the traffic slowed down the temperature meter
>> would go up, and the fan would kick in and run for much longer than usual.
>> This is normal during summertime, but it doesn't normally do that in autumn
>> temperatures. It also smelled hot a little bit. At normal speed there were
>> no problems, and the temperature meter stayed where it's supposed to. I
>> checked the coolant level, which is okay. The radiator doesn't seem to be
>> clogged either. This weekend I will inspect the thermostat and hope to find
>> that that's the culprit. If it turns out to open normally at the right
>> temperature, any ideas as to where I should look next?
>>
>>
>> Ped
>> '96 "Black Stealth" GPZ
>> Denmark
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Den 07-10-2017 kl. 16:07 skrev William P. Zeller:
>>
>>> A week or so ago, my ZX <https://www.facebook.com/phot
>>> o.php?fbid=912181732177275&set=a.181762335219222.46473.10
>>> 0001563719117&type=3>clock <https://www.facebook.com/phot
>>> o.php?fbid=1540136146048494&set=a.181762335219222.46473.10
>>> 0001563719117&type=3>turned past 100K miles (160K km). (photo <
>>> https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=912181732177275&
>>> set=a.181762335219222.46473.100001563719117&type=3> from '15)
>>>
>>> One of the disappointing things (!) is that Kawasaki neglected to include
>>> the sixth digit so now my bike appears to be nearly new, with only 430
>>> miles (692km) on it.  I suppose at some point I'll be compelled to open up
>>> the speedo case and paint a numeral "1" on the face.
>>>
>>> It so happened I was able to visit MCC Motorcycle Center in Villa Park,
>>> IL yesterday on my errands.  It's a very large Ducati-Triumph dealership
>>> that's been around forever but just built up this new location.  There were
>>> so many Bonnevilles on the floor I could hardly count them all, and the
>>> rows of Ducatis were downright intimidating.
>>>
>>> In conversation with the salesman, I had the opportunity to recall my
>>> ZX's service history over the sixteen years I've owned it. (For reference,
>>> it was a "crate bike" sold new in March, 2000 to a guy in Downers Grove,
>>> IL, from whom I bought it in August, 2001 with 2230 miles (3600km) on it-
>>> he couldn't stand the ergonomics, specifically the ridiculous handlebars.
>>> The price was $4400).
>>>
>>> Basically, I've changed the battery twice, the OEM having gone some nine
>>> years at least, and the chain once, at 48,000 miles (77,250km).  It's
>>> still, heaven help me, on the second chain.
>>>
>>> I replaced the okay-condition rear shock with one off a crash bike
>>> obtained from a lister here in order to get a shock with 20,000 fewer
>>> miles.  I am on the third headlight bulb and replaced on taillight bulb,
>>> although all have been since replaced with LED types.
>>>
>>> The steering head bearings have been replaced twice, most recently about
>>> two years ago when the bike was rescued from a post-divorce storage
>>> situation that was none too favorable.
>>>
>>> That's it for service.  I know I've never owned another bike so reliable
>>> and trouble-free.  Even my GL1800, which has a few more thousand miles on
>>> the clock owing to its considerable service in two-up travels, has been a
>>> little more demanding.
>>>
>>> Back in August '00, I was thinking the ZX was a holding bike til I got
>>> replacement for my traded-off Concours, but such turned out not to be the
>>> case.
>>>
>>> Nowadays I have to confess to thinking about getting another bike for the
>>> ZX's uses, because, after all, it can't last forever, and besides, there
>>> have been one or two technological advances in the last 21 years (modern
>>> suspension, anyone?) and I have to confess to giving thought to the Honda
>>> DCT automatic transmission as the arthritis of my many years of being a
>>> carpenter makes clutching sometimes unpleasant.
>>>
>>> But still... nothing seems as comfortable or as suited to as many
>>> purposes as this thing and it still goes along pretty well.  Given the mods
>>> making it more to my liking, full Givis, Heli handlebars, and dozens of
>>> little touches, how could a new bike really replace it?
>>>
>>> And, cost so little over time?
>>>
>>> What a bike.
>>>
>>> Bill Zeller
>>> Lemont, IL
>>>
>>> P.S.- I still have the valve shim kit here, although Art Johnson
>>> requested a half-dozen.  The kit is low on 2.30 and 2.40 but otherwise
>>> intact.
>>>
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