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I stopped by the junk shop last night for some retail therapy and found these tail units. Both said "Kawasaki" to me, and the blocky one has a part number on the bottom identifying it as a KZ1300 unit. A couple of eBay sellers think they're worth over $200...
The blue one says KZ to me. It has a doored toolbox built into it, says: "Made in Japan", but no part number that I can find. Anyway, I just like them and might use them for a build. I was ready to offer $50 for the pair, but the proprietor said $40 before I could make my offer. Winning!

Not mine, and not for the faint of heart nor weak of stomach. Just really bad.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/257994510393607/

Dennis and I participated in the 2023 Tiddler tour of Vashon Island today, riding his RZ350s.





It's an island for real, so you gotta get up early and take the ferry (Dennis is still working on his morning coffee)





Not one, but TWO Allstate (Puch) twingles:



Yamahas? Yes, there were Yamahas:

Always lead with a picture, right? Some of you may remember when I bought these modified RZ350 carbs from RB
designs in Portland, but I don't. They're taper bored to, I think, 29mm and have dividers added. Supposedly jetted  and ready to use, and I figured I'd use them someday.
Well, I think it's someday. The RZ has developed a symptom that I don't want to live with any longer. Right at  1/4 throttle, 6000 RPM it slows, as in, loses speed. Crack the throttle open and it takes off. The symptoms are worse when it's hot outside, and I can just notice it on a cool morning, so I believe it to be a rich condition. My theory is that either the needle jets or the jet needles have worn and have screwed with my ratio. I'm ready to pull the carbs off, examine the needles and jets to check my diagnosis, then chuck the scientific theory out the window and put the modded carbs on. I will open them up and check the jetting first, and the fuel level. This should be fun. 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/8722767121097814/

Not far from me if anyone is interested...maybe Dennis could be talked into a road trip!

I admire organization and aspire to be more so. I have lots of toolboxes and a weakness for little wooden boxes (even the occasional cigar box) that I use to organize drawers. Laura and I had a fantastic day of yardsaling yesterday, and I had asked her not to allow me to buy another toolbox, but...



I told her I wanted to dismiss my request, because this old Craftsman machinist box was just too cool. I think I have come up with a suitable use for it:



Still room for my VM slides, needles, springs and assorted parts. Pretty happy with this acquistion!

My mother in law has a picture on her wall; who knew Yamaha Power Valve System comes from Latin?

I posted a picture of my RZ on FB the other day, as I sat on the patio after riding home from work. Got some nice comments, answered a couple of questions, and then someone asked if my front fender wasn't on backwards! This isn't the pic I posted, but for example:



It's an aftermarket fiberglass fender I bought on eBay when my ex-wife's horse fell on my bike and broke the OEM piece, and I put it on probably ten years ago. Multiple pictures of that bike on the internet, RZ owners have seen it in person (Dennis) and this is the first mention of it being backwards!



So I fixed it. Nobody has yet noticed that it's white, not red!

Laura and I were out and about the other day and finally stopped into a local junk shop we'd been talking about: old tools, military stuff, automotive memoribilia, LOTS of bicycles and the usual whatnot. There were a couple of old motorcycles inside, including a CZ, and outside:







I'm going to have to go back when I have time to dig through the piles a little more! I hope it wasn't all just a dream...



Let me know if you see something you can't live without!

Going to the races tonight with my sons and good friend Dennis! Will there be orange on the podium?

I'm considering a Hagon shock for my RD350LC project bike; a fellow on Facebook has one for $400, which seems reasonable. It has some ride height adjustment, preload and combined rebound/compression damping. What do y'all think of these features for this price? I only know of Hagon's reputation.

With all the house, garage, bike and mower projects, I needed something more to work on, so I bought a trailer. Needed something to haul riding lawnmowers from time to time, as many as four dirt bikes at a time and who knows what else? This was a Jayco tent trailer once upon a time, but now it's a 7' by 11' frame needing a deck. I am leaning towards wood, and a friend who works in a mill can get me free lumber with a catch: it's not long enough to run lengthwise. It's more or less 2x6 boards, but it's 3-ply laminate with a finished thickness of 2 1/8". So here's my question: is there any reason besides basic weirdness not to deck a trailer with boards running side-to-side? I'll have to buy lumber if I'm to run the boards lengthwise, and I'm notoriously thrifty, so the free boards are appealing to me. What does the hivemind think?

15% off until the 19th of February; use code ilovemoped

We're all moved into the house we bought...except all my stuff in Dennis's garage! I now have a little garage all my own, and I have to fit all my good shit inside, as well as find space to work on things; organization will be critical! Some before and after move-in:






Here's what I've perpetrated so far:






Need shelving, work benches and the ability to go without sleep.

What I can tell you is that life is full of surprises. This year, my 2nd wife and I divorced, I had a heart attack, reconnected with the one who got away 34 years ago, bought a house with her and married her.



Today I am going over to our house to start making shelving and work benches in my garage. My bikes will be indoors and I will have room to work on them, and my new bride, Laura, likes to ride on the RZ with me!

Anyway, I have been kinda quiet on here for a while, and I thought I'd let y'all in on the why. Hope to be posting progress on the RD, the LC, the RZs...and maybe a couple others 

Not mine, but it's near me:

https://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/mpo/7548566154.html

12% off until November1st, use the code kinderbueno

I may have posted about this before, but it's been a busy year and my memory is not my best feature. I'm moving and had to get this rolling in a hot minute, so the front end went on temporarily. Got me excited about this project again! '85 RZ350 with FZ600 swingarm, Fox shock, 600 or 750 Katana rear wheel, CBR600F4 forks and triple clamps and CBR929RR front wheel and brakes. Gilles tooling clip-ons. The forks are on the wrong sides, I know. I was in a hurry, remember?















Temporary home with friends; next stop is with me, so I can work on it again. And the RD. And the LC. And put the CBR suspension/wheels/brakes on RZ #1...winter is coming, right?

The things I do for my kids! Time for new knobbies, and I've put seven on in the last week; two skinned knuckles, but no pinched tubes! All three boys have new rubber, as well as my buddy Ron. Maybe this should have been in the 4-stroke blasphemy category 



My bike has gotten no love. That Michelin is a soft-terrain that's at least 15 years old, but it won't wear out! I have a set of gummy Shinkos waiting in the wings for it...maybe I can change two more tires without snake-biting a tube.

Not mine:

https://seattle.craigslist.org/est/mcy/d/carnation-1974-rd350/7497557053.html