RACNRAY
Expert Class
FAST OLD GUY
Posts: 178
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posted September 04, 2010 09:58 AM
34 YEARS!!
Well,it's September, which means this is a month of celebration, reflection and giving thanks.
It was September 1976. I was just outa high school that i started my carreer in the South Florida M/C biz. Up to that point i had been employed in a foriegn car repair shop, and all of my schooling was centered around automotive stuff. My dad was a heavy equiptment mechanic so at a very young age i had been exposed to mechanical stuff. He was always tinkering with stuff and i followed.
He brought the first m/c home December 1973, and that started my love affair for bikes. As we posessed mechanical skills we did our own maintenance. I eventually bought a Suzuki TM 125 m/xer that required lots of upkeep. Eventually the kickstart mechanism failed, and when your stalled out in the woods in the mud, a kickstart is a nice thing to have!
My dad showed me how to pull the engine, and since the starter stuff was inside the cases, showed me how to split the cases. I remember looking at all the "stuff" inside that engine and just being overwhelmed at what my young eyes were trying to relay to my feeble brain. But we fixed the starter, and i had such a sense of pride and accomplishment!
Good ole dad not only planted the mechanical seeds in my early years but after buying a BMW from Palmetto Kawasaki he became friendly with the owner, Ceasar. Dad found out Ceasar was looking for a kid to come in and do the "gopher this/gopher that" stuff. I was interviewed and got the job.My first day was on a Saturday, the day after i left the automotive field and my job at the car shop. I have not looked back since.
During that first day i was given the job to assemble a 1976 KZ900. The skoots back then were highly disassembled into wooden crates. After breaking the crate down what i saw was the BIGGEST skoot i had ever seen, missing so many of it's parts! All these boxes were stuck into the nooks and crannies of the crate, and I had to put this thing together? That day? I remember what i said to myself, and i will always remember it..."what am I gettin myself into?"!
Well, what i got myself into has been a most rewarding carreer. I have also been blessed with owning my own Hi-Po m/c shop, which will be celebrating it's 20th year anniversary come this November.
Imagine what i have seen over 34 years. When i came into the biz the skoots were very primitive compared with what we are blessed with today. Everyday is a learning experience for me, not only with the technology of the modern skoots but in how to run my shop and how to be a better person.
I am blessed with the support of so many fine people that entrust their skoots to my shop. I also can never be thankful enough for my mechanic Mark and apprentice Mickey. They strive to uphold the standards that i believe in, and many times they teach me new lessons.
So i extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone for helping in so many ways to make my life what it is today. I could not have done it without you all!
RACNRAY
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no chicken strips on this south florida boy's skoots!!
  
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dubious
Needs a life
Needs more time to ride!
Posts: 8442
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posted September 04, 2010 10:45 AM
Congrats Ray!
Passion is what makes people succeed.....
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natural selection.....
destiny will overcome intervention.
Some are not worthy of the effort.
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CrotchRocket
Moderator
Bracket Racing with Betsy
Posts: 8038
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posted September 04, 2010 11:27 AM
Nice goin Ray!!!
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Jason Miller StreetBike Seminars
*****DragRacers do it better, because they dont cut Corners*****
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INTIMIDA2OR
Needs a life
RED rider!
Posts: 13081
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posted September 04, 2010 01:13 PM
Congrats! 
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'06 Passion Red ZX-14
*Lee*
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CraigChrist
Pro
BAWLS
Posts: 1043
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posted September 05, 2010 05:30 AM
I still remember "helping" my dad rebuild my PW50 that was totalled after I crashed on the landing side of a table top at practice only to have a guy on a yamaha banshee come over the top and pancake it with me barely able to get out from under it in time.
For most people it was the thoughts that went through their heads at the time that are memorable... For me it was the look on my dad's face when he told me to pull the spark plug wire off while it was still running. (what an asshole) lol. After that, It was helping him work on anything that he would let me, or riding his 850L around the yard at the age of about 9 years old lol. I was lucky enough to grow up at the drag strip and have a dad and grandpa who were always working on something. I'm a third generation motorcycle drag racer, and plan on passing it on to my daughter if she will have anything to do with it.
I worked at a motorcycle shop in high school, but never did more than assemblies, and bullshit work. All of my knowledge has been gained by trial and error or biting off more than I can chew and calling my dad so that he can help trouble shoot over the phone from 1600 miles away lol.
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60ft-------1.42
1/8th------5.97
mph-------119
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c-low
Novice Class
Posts: 100
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posted September 06, 2010 09:07 PM
congrats!!!!you wouldnt happen to be doug ray at spencer cycles would you?
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RACNRAY
Expert Class
FAST OLD GUY
Posts: 178
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posted September 07, 2010 07:06 AM
THANX ALL...I was just reminissing and thinking about the grand unveiling of the Z1R in 1978.
This skoot was a big departure for Kawi. It was gonna be the "superbike" for 1978. When the first Z1R came in at the dealer it of course had to be assembled that day as the owner was gonna ride it home. I was already a commisioned tech at that point but Ceasar did not want it assembled by the regular guy. He pulled me out of the service dept. and had me do the assembly. I got the cardboard covering and the plastic sheeting off, and all of us were standing there with our jaws on the ground and our you-know-whats hard. Man-o man this thing was the shiznit!! Factory 4 into 1 exhaust, first skoot back to 28mm carbs since the 73-75 Z1's, 18" front wheel, styling that was outa this world, and that gorgeous silverish-blue paint job. I put that skoot together and was the first to test ride it. Unfortunately it turned out to be somewhat of a flop, as it had a small gas tank that had it goin on reserve too soon, the handling was no better than a standard KZ and maybe worse, front brakes that were weak (cuz Kawi hid the cable operated master cylinder under the front fairing), rear shocks that were prolly ok for a 350 pound person and a seat that absolutley sucked. But put a pipe, stacks, electronic ignition and good coils on and it was a fast skoot, and of course nothin looked like a Z1R!!
A company called Amercan Turbo Pack (ATP) had developed a bolt-on turbo kit for the Z1R, and they would purchase Z1R's directly from Kawi, install the turbos and then sell them to the Kawi dealers. The first kits were very primitive, the exhaust header leading to the turbo was what we called a "log" header and was so ineficient that combined with the large turbo boost was not seen till 5000 rpm. The second generation of turbos had what was called a "spider" header and that helped to spool the turbo up quicker so we saw boost at a lower rpm. Those turbo kits had adjustable waste gates, so it was just a matter of time befroe i started getting Z1R's in with twisted cranks and cracked pistons. One guy had run so much boost that not only were the top lands on all 4 pistons were severely cracked, the crank (Kawi had multiple piece pressed together cranks) was twisted in the center, piston height between cyl's 1/2 & 3/4 were off by 3/4"!! The dealer had purchased a Rottler boring bar which i kept it bizzy, i installed many MTC 1075cc turbo piston kits back then. I had even bought my own valve grinding equiptment so i could do valve jobs, and was learning the intracacies of improving on the factory 3 angle valve jobs, experimenting with 4 and 5 angles. Since those old KZ's were low pressure oiling systems the turbos were also taking a beating. The center bearing (which on those old Rajay turbos was actually a bushing) would get wasted, and sometimes also take out the turbine shaft with it. I rebuilt many Rajay turbos back then!!
The Z1R was not in Kawi's line-up for 1979, but re-appeared in 1980 with a larger gas tank, and Kawi did the right thing and put a 19" front wheel back on the skoot to improve the handling. The skoot was painted black, but the few changes made to it were not enuff to make it a success.
It was a neat time to be in the biz back then, and being so young as i was the knowledge I was aquiring was priceless. Two or so years earlier i was at the foreign car shop rebuilding Volkswagen engines, dirty crusty engines that were no fun to pull and work on, and here i was experiencing a level of technology and learning stuff i could have never imagined.
Man...memories!!
RACNRAY
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no chicken strips on this south florida boy's skoots!!
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Big_T112
Pro
Posts: 1061
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posted September 07, 2010 07:33 AM
I had a 78 Z1R, I loved that bike. I remember at the local parking lot hang out some guys wanted me to run a guy that had got a "new" bike. When we showed up at the road we all ran on it was a brand new 1979 Honda 6 Cyl. CBX. It was silver and big. I had a pipe and 29 smoothbores, He out ran me from a stop, roll and top end. But my bike looked better
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