New member

The old cam chain tensioner is rubbish. Twice while out for a ride, and having parked the bike for half an hour or so, on re starting the tensioner backed off and the cam chain jumped a few teeth. All valves instantly bent, and a major repair job. The first time I thought it was an aberration but the second time I knew there was a serious design problem. For many years I used to modify the existing tensioner so that it still worked but could no longer back off catastrophically, but now I just fit the tensioner from the zzr1100. It bolts straight in and will never fail. Kawasaki was aware of the problem because it later fitted an oil line directly to the back of the tensioner. Not sure if this was successful.

Kawboy wrote:

RickG wrote: Hi Gert welcome to the forum. not a bad collection how about a few pics.
I bought my first Z13 in 1979 and still have it.

I second the welcome. Interested in what you confabulated together to achieve 1502cc. That's massive!! And Oh yes please some pics !!

HI again Gert. Maybe you missed my post. Still would like to know about your overbore work. Thanks KB.

Hi Gert

welcome, you have found the right place. Your name sounds very Dutch - any links to the old world ?

best regards from Switzerland

Holger

Hi Gert,

Welcome to the forum. You might recognise this Z1300 and where the photo was taken? It's been out of action for a few years but I now have it back on the road.



Regards
Paul

Hi Rick,
Sorry I'm a bit slow to reply. Don't get on the computer every day. The big bore kit to 1502 requires 5mm over pistons. I used to use KZ 750 pistons 1mm oversize but these are no longer available. I then found that the 750 Zephyr was basically the same engine and the pistons were the same. But it's been a while since I did the last one and don't know if these are still available. However in future I would be ordering pistons from Ross Pistons in the US. They are forged items, very light and cost about the same as OEM. They will make any piston to order. But a 5mm over piston in the z13 motor requires oversized sleeves. I make them myself from centrifugally cast hollow bar stock. Of course the cylinder block then has to be machined to suit. I do this myself on my mill. Then the crankcases have to be bored out to suit the oversized sleeves., and a special head gasket has to be made. It's an awful lot of work, but the end result is worth it. I've done about ten of them over the years. I posted a full article .on how to go about it on Dread's z1300 web site in the UK. quite a few years ago. I just tried to find it to no avail but you might have better luck.

Hello Holger,
My name on my birth certificate is actually Heinz Gerhard Roewer, My father was Heinz so I was called Gerhard early in life. But slowly that morphed into Gert and that is the name by which I am mostly known and have been most of my life. Yes I am from the old world and was born In Altenbach Germany (between Leipzig and Dresden somewhere). My father was in the Luftwaffe and there was a base in Altenbach to which he was attached since before the war. I left Germany with my parents and sister in 1950 and we joined my father's mother and her husband in Australia. They had been here since the 1920's. I was seven at the time and still have some memories of my childhood in Germany.
Cheers.