I would never have guessed watching a mechanic doing budget rebuilds on dead motorcycles could be so entertaining.

@CrazyUncleChris

2 ай бұрын

RIGHT?!

@ianhill4585

2 ай бұрын

Gives us hope to have a crack at fixing bikes stored and / or neglected . A few tools and knowledge of the fundamentals, gotta be worth a try.....

@Zend1t

2 ай бұрын

It really is!!

@IArcticFoxOG

2 ай бұрын

Only from these two! Jesus loves you!

@sprintermaximus

Ай бұрын

Totally agree.

That's a KZ1000J2, highly collectible and worth a lot of money. It was the platform for the 1000 Eddie Lawson replica. It was never used on CHiPs TV show... those were the KZ 900 and KZ 1000 C1 and C2 models, completely different bikes. Remove the fairing, sissy bar, crash bars and those goofy hand grips, and restore it to stock form. That bike absolutely deserves it! I hope you know what you have there, they only made it for 2 years.

@wakkogn9351

2 ай бұрын

Danny, what's the difference and how can you tell?

@BrianJacobsen-lc3fe

2 ай бұрын

@@wakkogn9351 Valve covers square first gen Round. There's company APE make all kinds goodies to drag race. Make a kit to first gen head on bottom j motor its the other way around. Beefer cam chain tensioner. end 80 j started not all j have same cams GPZ bigger cams than kx stuff like that. Im bummed cause all i got a couple 1200 bandits. I'll get threw it.kaw triple owned a million wish i had one now.

@TommyTucker0

2 ай бұрын

Gen one engines were 1,015 cc Gen 2 were 998 cc so they could race them @@wakkogn9351

@andrewallen9993

2 ай бұрын

Z1000j. I know, I had one. Brilliant engine and brakes, rubber mounted engine and bloody awful handling.

@coffee838

2 ай бұрын

@@andrewallen9993 kawasaki never figured out handling

Wrong, O Bearded One - it's "You MEET the nicest people on a Honda"!

15:46 You MEET the nicest people on a Honda. It's called a banjo bold because it goes in to a banjo fitting, that looks a little like a banjo.

@kriswright1022

2 ай бұрын

Saved me a lot of typing! 👍

@leslieaustin151

2 ай бұрын

@@kriswright1022yup, me too! On both points. Les in UK 🇬🇧

@thecommentary21

2 ай бұрын

What is a banjo bold? I got a fitting that looks like a banjo, but not getting what a bold is?

@EdJratNight

2 ай бұрын

You aren't very smart are you?

@Animo92

24 күн бұрын

​@@thecommentary21 I'm assuming he means bolt but autocorrect buggered him

Man I tell ya there's very few channels where I can sit a full half hour without skipping through it. Cleet cboys Steve Wallis bikes and beards rc sparks, and you especially you cause I'm not only learning. You also make me laugh, and you do that quite often. Like gootentight. I would have never known that was German for tight lmfaoooooooo. Keep it up Craig you are rocking.

@AvaPxiaO

2 ай бұрын

It has been years since I've been eager to see the next one come out since I've seen all of them. This is like the startrek of motorcycle repair!

I’ve got to say you’ve become one of my favourite channels to watch. So glad that you left bikes and beards and started your own channel, way better content. Keep up the good work both of you.

@Chocolate_dragon

2 ай бұрын

I enjoy Craig's content as well! But sadly now Bikes and Beards without Craig is completely worthless. I unsubbed.

@TicTacFungus

2 ай бұрын

Craig does actual bike work and restoration (to a certain point) vs Bikes and Beard is an entrepreneur and just a bike enthusiasts. So, for actual bike content, Craig is much better. For just entertainment and nonsense, bikes and beard is better

@Chocolate_dragon

2 ай бұрын

@@TicTacFungusShawn went pure cringe these days. He is running a business and cringe click bait seems to get views from the younger audience! It’s not for me but obviously it works.

@PatrickKelly-lz3pv

2 ай бұрын

And no religious crap,

@CaptHollister

2 ай бұрын

I don't think Craig left B & B, but the other way around. Shawn moved to Tennessee and his employees stayed in Pennsylvania. What I love about this channel is that he works on the bikes I knew and grew up with. Craig is a natural in front of the camera. As for Shawn, his channel is now pretty sad, tbh.

I love that I can watch a motorcycle channel that is clean. No foul language or jokes, etc. I loved watching chips when I was a kid! Seeing this bike brought back a lot of memories! Looking forward to seeing it run!

Craig always shocks himself because he's so grounded.

I just made a video about fixing the sight glass on master cylinders. The replacements are cheap online, or if you're in a bind a US dime fits almost perfectly to get you going in the meantime!

@bnations2000

2 ай бұрын

I'm slowly restoring an old Honda VT700 that has a dime in the sight window. Tickled me pink when I first realized it.

Craig, always a pleasure watching you work. A gold mine awaits you if you’ll set up a shop in Dallas Texas. You’d be the only one here that is knowledgeable, isn’t lazy and has a good attitude towards life and people.

Every time Im about to get work done, one of these videos pops up. Thatnks for contributing to my procrastination

A friend of mine had one of those and it was wicked fast. You do a really good job of narrowing down issues. Very methodical. A lot of people overlook the obvious things.

I love seeing more of the restoration process! You mostly just show you getting them running (which is great) but you give great tips on everything else too!

@JimsNBHomestead

2 ай бұрын

Agreed, would love to see a bike completed

It's nice to see a mechanic actually be a mechanic, instead of the video being turned into a rock slo-mo video.

I worked at Vetter Fairing Company in 1977 when that fairing came down the line. There was a terrible fire in January 1977 that destroyed half the building. Luckily, a large piece of roofing fell over the Windjammer SS mold and saved it. Craig Vetter was cranking out 425 fairings a day by April when I came along. His brother, Bruce, made the soft tanneau covers and assorted bags. Both walked away millionaires in the early 80's.

@erik_dk842

2 ай бұрын

I think Craig Vetter is too ill, or maybe even dead by now. His website has nothing newer than 2016. The feet-forward, low drag contraptions were fun to follow.

I bought a brand new 1979 KZ 1000 LTD in 1980. Great bike. I put a Pacifico Shadow Classics fairing. Road it for 5 years and then got married. Anyway, my dad liked mine so much he bought a 1980 KZ100 LTD. He put the windjammer fairing on his. He sold his when I sold mine. Good times. You always bring back the best memories. Thank you.

I admire the fact you owned up to making a genuine mistake when you broke the brake fluid level sight glass. 👍😉

I like that you cleaned the bike up beforehand. 👍👍👍

Those air cut-off valves are a future problem waiting to happen and can be deleted with a small piece of rubber cut to block the pin hole. Only thing they do is prevent intentional off throttle pops/bangs Today's parts will always fail within a year and OEM ones are $100+ for a set of 4 carbs.

I really liked the joke about omelets and your exhaust.. which had me thinking... maybe you should consider making an episode about cooking.. omelets or burgers.. dont know why, but for some reason many of us seem to really like the way you tell things...and do things.. it would be interesting to find out if that screen appeal applies to everything you do.. You are a very likeable guy.. the backbone of america kind of guy... keep the videos coming.. I really like them.. thanks for all the lessons so far and the future ones as well.

im glad Dan participates instead of just being a silent camera man, he's funny!

We had these KZ1000 in our motor fleet when I was a cop. Great bikes but they were known to go through cam chains often...Good Video...Thanks!

@biteme4338

2 ай бұрын

That was my experience. Actually, it was one side of the rubber damper on the idler sprocket for the tensioner that disintegrated, making the chain run slightly twisted and shave metal off one side of the sprocket that killed them.

It's called a banjo bolt, because it goes into the fitting calleda banjo, because the fitting resembles a banjo 👍

I love the more in-depth videos like this. Sure getting the engine to run is cool and exciting, however a deeper look into other systems like the brakes helps show all the things that go into a running and safe bike.

Nice haircut Craig! Keep em coming

Currently have a 83 KZ1100 in garage now. Love it

I grew up around these bikes! I had a '79 GS750 and a GS1000 and a'84 GPZ550! Fun/fast bikes👍🔥

@ocavant

2 ай бұрын

I currently have a 82 GPZ 550. It was a dream bike for me in high school in 1982 and I finally got one now I need to make it run.

There no unfixable bike, there's only cheap and expensive repair..

@HL3AlcAida

Ай бұрын

And skill or no skill.

Please take all the cruising crap off that poor bike and return it to street screamer. Throw on a 4-1 header and some pod filters and it will be what it should be, a hot bike. Reminds me of the Kawasaki H2 750 that I picked up that was dressed up like this. It’s a crime.

@anthonydavis5993

8 күн бұрын

A H2 with a Vetter fairing?! You're joking right... Oh my God. I had an H2, could hardly think of it with a dresser fairing...

you are awesome man, I love 80s 2 stroke bikes and that is what you have in plenty in your videos

@hhstarwars

2 ай бұрын

Long live 2-strokes!

Minimal repair is most practical for cost benefit ratio, going through old bikes rebuilding everything before knowing if the whole thing is worth it afterwards, or a cost without benefit, is very entertaining.

@bookofrevelation4924

2 ай бұрын

Best advice my grandfather gave me was, If it isn't broke, don't fix it.

@The_Bearded_Mechanic

2 ай бұрын

I'm definitely taking a walk on the wild side not doing it in the right order. But I think I'm ok rolling the dice on this one

@bookofrevelation4924

2 ай бұрын

@@The_Bearded_Mechanic hahaha, you certainly are. Now I'll be hearing John Kay singing Born To Be Wild with Steppenwolf, when I watch your videos. After cracking open a couple transmissions and carburetors, I learned anyone who does is walking on the wild side, then after going to Universal Technical Institute in Houston's branch of the Phoenix school I learned why in microscopic detail. Great work and channel, thanks for the laughs.

Yay. It's Friday. My buddy was all over these back in the 80's. He finally got one and it's all he talked about, lol. I didn't get it at the time. All I cared about back then were my two-stroke road bikes. But watching this decades later and now I get it. That thing is awesome. Another good one here. 👍 Cheers!

Another great video! You guys are knocking it out of the park! The back and forth between you and Dan is priceless! Go Bearded Mechanic, keep moving forward!

I know its friday when Craig drops another banger

I absolutely love these videos.. I've been binge watching older older ones from this channels inception. Thanks for making these. I can't wait to see the bike in one piece!

My new favorite channel. Thanks for explaining as you go. Love ya’lls chemistry too. Good guys.

The dynamic's of you and Dan are spot on. This is my favorite KZread channel. Love my VTX Honda and would love to see a video of you too working on one. Thanks for all the great videos.

Great job on this video. Thoroughly entertaining AND informative. So easy to watch. Keep 'em coming. Your channel is definitely one of my favorites.

Watching your videos is helping me mentally prepare for waking up my old bikes for spring A 1976 puch moped and a1980 SR250 Exciter

This starts to be motorcycle vice grip garage and i love it!

Sweet! Another video!

Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm and light hearted humor

you got your, side walls shaved. Looking good, Craig. More, BRAP.. brap.. braaaaaaap ! Lets GO !

Hello from Wales! First visit to the channel - enjoyed the video! Over my 40+ years riding, I had several big Zeds - Z1000H, Z1000ST, Z1100 - all great bikes. Removing and refitting carbs - especially the CV units - isn't the easiest task - you can't get the airbox back in if you fit the carbs with it removed. If it helps you - this is how i used to do it:. The effects of time and heat makes the rubber ducts from the airbox to the carbs harden, making them difficult to squeeze the carbs out. Ideally, consider replacing them: NOS parts are unlikely to be available now - the last time I did a Z1100 I managed to get some 3rd party Japanese made replacements which fitted well. If you can't replace them (or even with new rubbers), you'll find that warming them up to just past hand hot with a hairdryer or heat gun will make them much more pliable and easier to get over the mouths of the carbs. Push the carbs into the rubber manifolds on the head first - and when they're fully seated, tighten the clamps - it stops them trying to escape while you fight with the intake rubbers.

@scottcates

2 ай бұрын

Methyl Salicylate works a treat on hardened Kawi carb boots :)

I used to sell loads of brake discs for this era of Kawasaki for some reason they were out fast. Seeing this brings back lots of memories from back in the day . Great job 👍

Thank you Craig and Dan for another Fun Friday video! Hope y'all have a great weekend, from down here in Abita Springs Louisiana, home of Abita Beer.🍻 Cheers!

Love the way you work through everything, great methodology 👍🏻😎

Great video, very informative good editing. THANKS

I bought one in 1981 it came in boxes and milk crates. I was riding it the very next morning. It had way more get up and go than it did stop. And is zero brakes when it got wet. Thank God I live in Arizona

I love this channel! I was so glad that he started this with Sean moving (bailing). lol jk. But they both are very entertaining and together are even better! Yea, I'm requesting future collaborations

My wife and I watch every episode together. Doin' the learnin' and laughin'. Keep it gootentight.

Nice work Craig, I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the build. 😀

I love this series of restoring forgotten bikes so much. I look forward to it all week.

I just rewired one of those vetter fairings last year. Those things make any bike a touring bike. Id find some vetter saddlebags since it looks like the mounts are there and have yourself a quick, 40+ year old bagger.

Great video! Can’t wait too see the rest of the restoration

I like these videos a lot. They are entertaining and I'm learning a lot at the same time. Thanks a lot for your work! 👍

This is just always fun content. Good job guys!

I had an '81 KZ1000J. It was a barn find that I restored. Great bike. Awesome content Craig and Dan!

Good thing you got this after the snow! Good thing for the bike.

As always, very entertaining and informative. I wish I could get another bike to work on and enjoy.

Excellent content gentlemen! Thank you!

You da man Craig!!! 🔥🔥🔥 Ready to see you jump on the TURBO BUSA!!! Yammz definitely needs your expertise! Hopefully you can sort that mess out and I'm here for it

Omg no way, ive been watching and loving your videos and rebuilding/getting running videos. I got so excited and jumped on this within seconds as my dad had a ‘93 kz1000 police bike 😀

I love the kz1000, they made them up to the late 2000s in police form....great start for a retro period cafe racer whilst having a low mileage well looked after bike

@BrianJacobsen-lc3fe

2 ай бұрын

It's a J motor too plus it was serviced at on time intervals.And its a J motor Preferred block to build a stout Drag motor.

@harleyrobertson6746

2 ай бұрын

@@BrianJacobsen-lc3fe that'd be wicked 😁

@BrianJacobsen-lc3fe

2 ай бұрын

@@harleyrobertson6746 I know I've owned few first gen second or J even owned 81 kz 1300 with the 6 into 1 I got in trouble on that bike.Sadly all i have now is a couple of 1200 bandits.01 S and 94 gsxr 750 roller with an 01 1200 bandit motor in it. Call it the Hillbilly Bandit.

Love the videos bud keep up the good work and the videos coming 😊

These early J models were famous for twisting crankshafts. I have changed my share. Kawasaki would make us put a punch mark next to the engine serial number to indicate the upgraded crank. If you raced one, you would send the crank out and have it welded. I absolutely love what you guys do. Thanks for sharing

You guys do a great job.. Thank you

Great job guys, I'm a sucker for old jappas, especially inline 4s, and I'm learning a lot about quirky repairs 😅 thanks!

It’s gonna be a great day, there’s a new video up from Craig and Dan!!!

you meet the nicest people on a Honda. love these videos.

I’m in the process of restoring my 2003 Suzuki savage ls650 , mine looked like your a couple of weeks ago, mounted new tires, new front brake pads and my brake fluid looked like yours, had to rebuild the calipers and the master cylinder, rebuilt the carb , I have spark and it will putter if I use carb cleaner but still having issues trying to get it to run through the carb , I’m not going to give up yet! Like watching you guys having success with your projects gives me hope

The two black plugs could indicate a faulty ignition coil, even when it works when cold.

Love the work y’all are doing keep it up you will go places….. wish I could

Great episode 👍 I‘m looking forward to see the next episode on this bike.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Finally somebody that washes a bike before they start to work on it. I can breathe now.😂

Very impressed with your work you seem to go through everything I would rather spend a little more and have it fixed right

Just a few years ago the KZ and the old Z1 were largely forgotten. My dad sold his 75 Z1 for 3500 in 2009 (I still haven’t gotten over that) now the prices on these things in good shape is going crazy. I’ve seen z1’s pushing 20k and the 70s kz900s and 1000s pulling 6-8k easily

Love it. My first bike back in 1994 was a 1978 KZ 650.

Great stuff. Really like the by play and video cuts. So much misery on the tubes. None here! Thank you guys.

This video inspired me to find one of these bikes. Just picked up a 76 k750 here in NV. Definitely using this video for some pointers.

Great looking bike...excellent era and worthy are your efforts ❤ ...!

That is one of the nicest KZ I've seen in a long long time. "CHiPS" was a awesome show it's what inspired me to want a motorcycle and the episodes really drove home a message every episode.

Definitely the right bike to spend time getting running again!

Your experience with the K1 is very similar to mine working on a freebie 81 XS 1100- each step uncovered another replace/rebuild component- she ran for a good few years- did not tally the cost and I never broke a sight glass- good one!

The pig/chicken line is to illustrate the difference between accountability and responsibility. Farmer Brown walks out on his porch and announces to the pig and chicken that they’re going to supply breakfast. The pig goes nuts, running around the barnyard while the chicken calmly sits on the fence. Pig sees this and says “Didn’t you hear what Farmer Brown said?” Chicken says, “You don’t know the difference between accountability and responsibility.” Pig is dumbfounded, and asks what he means. The chicken says, “I’m responsible for the eggs, but you’re accountable for the bacon.”

Happy watching your videos from South Africa. This is my favorite channel

Thanks for the video

Two things that help a ton. A vise to prevent breaking sight glasses and restaurant serving trays to hold your stuff from rolling away into oblivion. Love these kind of videos. Been doing this kind of stuff my whole life.

Great videoes and to the newbies to these bikes ive owned and raced 68 big bore kawasakis turbos and suzukis and kdxs and kxs and never have i seen a kawi unfixable lol, that being said im still racing and riding a h2 750 a quad with kz900 engine and a zrx 1200 and a 1700 vaquero! Im glad your glad your doing this bike right!

I had a police model back around the 2010's. It was in ruff shape and I bought it off another Marine but I cleaned it up and turned it into a daily rider for the next two years. most comfortable smooth running bike I ever had. Wasn't expensive at all to repair. There was a company that made aftermarket Gaskets for this bike based on original specs.

I bought one of these KZ1000Js brand new in June, 1982 for $3450.00 out the door. Unfortunately, it also cost me my girlfriend at the time. She thought that my spending that money on a bike and not her was a problem. It's possible in retrospect it wasn't so unfortunate. It was to replace my '77 KZ650, which I had run up to 80,000 miles of perfect, no-repairs riding joy. And, which made me a Kawasaki guy for life. Yet the J model never got the full-on love-it thing my other Kawasakis got. It was a bit vibey, unlike that utterly smooth KZ650, and kind of awkward at low speeds, also unlike its predecessor. Since in those days I was commuting heavily into Chicago, such things were really important. I never did have any trouble with the bike, but despite my fooling around a little with the ergos, it never fit me perfectly and was sort of put aside for a pair of wobbly, slow BMW airheads. Finally a Concours 1000 came along- I traded a Triumph Trident for it- and it was off to the races with my first 100K+ miles bike. The J-model was a big disappointment for Kawasaki, as it never built the cache the Z1000 had and it went pretty much nowhere, comparatively speaking. I racked up 48,000 miles on mine, no repairs, and sold it to a brother-in-law. A solid, dependable design, though, that Kawasaki continued for nearly forever as the KZ1000P police bike. It was really excellent in that role and served for seemingly decades. (N.B.- Can I send you a complimentary box of nitrile gloves?)

Your answer to the Honda commercial slogan that put Honda on the map' was close but not quite right. You said " you FIND the nicest people on a Honda", but, the correct slogan was " You MEET the nicest people on a Honda". Sorry too be so damn picky. but, if we're doing it, let's do it right. being A BIG Honda FAN, 3-350 motorsports and 2 Goldwing's, 1 Goldwing trike, I use this slogan on all my Harley riding buddies. P.S. I love your videos as your talents remind me so much of a technician that worked at our local Yamaha, Kawasaki, Ducati dealership in Fairfield, iA. Keep up the good work. Also love to watch Sean's videos. Thank you guys

I love this because I have the big brother original to the 1000, a 1973 Z1 900. I bought it back in 1976 from the local Kawasaki shop for $1500. It had been wrecked, the guy ran into the back of a car with under 2000 miles on it. Frame is fine but they had to replace the forks, wheel and tire, and the fender.

@BrianJacobsen-lc3fe

2 ай бұрын

Bought an 80 1000s for 200 in 87-88 had the vetter on it. Had to put compleat front end on it. Packed me around pretty good.

You inspired me to get my old 750 Bonneville running again,sat in a dirt floor garage for over 20 years , working on it.

I had a similar year cop bike. I road it all over California, Nevada and Oregon. It still had the CHP fairing & paint minus the badging. Never failed to part traffic like the red sea when I got on the freeway and gassed it hard in the fast lane! Lol! Best $1k I ever spent!

Great part 1 video on the 1982 KZ1000 Craig and Dan 👍👍

I just found your channel!! Great content! Thank you guys, subbed and liked ❤

I had to go through a newer ZG1000 just like you are doing with this bike. It's just a newer version, liquid-cooled, and big factory fairings, and shaft drive. The brake calipers and mounts are virtually identical. I had to fix leaks, forks, calipers, missing motor mount bolts, valve adjustment, carb cleaning, adjusting, and synching, tires, replace a handful of dash bulbs, fix a hole in the exhaust crossover, and a bunch of other stuff I'll remember 3 seconds after I hit "Comment." Bottom line is it runs like a sewing machine, Idles all the way down to 500 rpm if I want it to, runs like a r@ped @pe when I get on it, and never leaves me stranded. The videos you do are the stuff I like to do as a hobby. Buy a DOA bike for peanuts and resurrect it back to a functioning, reliable, sweet-running UJM. I'm deep into XS 650s these days. Plenty of barn finds around, plenty of parts and parts bikes, and I get a nice-sounding, reliable, simple, easy-to-work-on motorcycle I can sell for less than what I have into it. Good thing I was never a businessman, I'd have been bankrupt a dozen times.

i have been waiting for a new video for so long

@The_Bearded_Mechanic

2 ай бұрын

Been a long week?

@arkmobile7800

2 ай бұрын

Yea I’m a big fan btw

Eric Estrada aka ponch. you make fixing bikes look so easy. love your videos and expert knowledge.