ZX7R Cylinder Head Disassembly - Ep11 | ZX7R Restoration | Tom's Workshop

With the rolling chassis completed. I can finally get back to the engine work. First up is the cylinder head. In this video I'm stripping it down and cleaning everything up ready for a full inspection.
Tools:
Valve Spring Compressor: amzn.to/4bnrNmq
Valve Cleaning Solution: amzn.to/44IqWuf
Cylinder Hone: amzn.to/3TrpXuD
50-75mm Micrometer: amzn.to/3tk34yN
Telescoping Gauges: amzn.to/3RqMEMV
Ultrasonic Cleaning Tank: amzn.to/3GLx3me
Ultrablast (Vapour Blasting): www.ultrablast.uk
Subscribe to follow the progress!

[@MrPADDYOT]

Great stuff, I cannot wait to see the re-assembly.

[@575ban]

Now then Tom. I have to say, you are getting far more involved than your first impressions gave, are you getting a bit obsessed with the green beauty 😍. Cracking work Tom, I'm pleased to see you are doing the best job you can and not letting this summer giving you a deadline. I'm guessing 2025 is the year the ZX7R will be ready for road use? You should arrange a dabut meet for all ZX7R owners to bring their bikes for a gathering. I'd do my best to attend 👍😁

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Haha yeah it’s naturally the way that there is always another level to go to, but I think to some extent, once the engines finished, the rest should be much quicker as it’s just cleaning, painting, refinishing and reassembly. Having said that, yeah it’s definitely not this summer 😂

[@andersonlopesdasilva885]

Parabéns Tom por este trabalho incrível e dedicação nas edições. Sinceramente espelho para todos nós proprietários desta incrível máquina. Sou de Minas a Gerais, Brasil e ansioso pelo resto dos vídeos!

[@michaelwoodward-vx5xw]

looking forward to your next vid assembling the head don't forget new valve seals and cyl bolts just to remind you. Great job hopefully this will inspire more owners to to tackle their bikes

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Cheers! Yeah I’ve got valve seals ready to go, and I’ve replaced the corroded head bolt. From my research, on this bike, they aren’t single use like they are on some. I know on some models they stretch under torquing.

[@jh-tech5546]

Nice work! Vapour blasting works really well on the valves too.

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Yeah I’d seen some good results from that, I had a fear that I’d send mine off and lose track of where they went so I’ll have to save that for when I have my own cabinet 😂

[@HalfdeadRider]

The head looks awesome, I just had some calipers aqua blasted at the weekend and they came out really nice too, spent the day today painting them Cadbury purple that matches my bikes Violet perfectly 😎

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Nice, yeah it definitely leaves a good finish. Strong colour choice!

[@HalfdeadRider]

@@tomsworkshopprojects the ZX9r is lightning blue amd Violet, the cadbury purple matches perfect, have four pot Tokico's on that i paimted two yeara ago, thought id refurbish some original six pots amd do the same 👍

[@Evo_Spec]

New subscriber and I just binged watched all ZX7R episodes. Keep up the great work and I look forward to the end results!

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Cheers! Appreciate that 👍🏻

[@andyb2311]

Very interesting watching this, love the details of how you show how things work, love the content

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Cheers!

[@kevintyler7900]

Your sense of humour is great!! Keep up on the good work on THE best 750 of the 90s!

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Haha goal #1 is hopefully have a nice tidy bike at the end of it, but a close second is never to take myself too seriously 😂

[@alanrobins]

Another excellent video Ever so proud of you

[@corpsefpv3154]

I'm looking to get a zx7r that may have some head gasket issues and this series is super beneficial! Definitely subscribed.

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Nice! Good luck, I hope it's straightforward to solve!

[@jeangaelcognat4988]

Merci pour le partage et le montage de cette vidéo très instructive...great job

[@niilarustua3093]

Thanks man! Your videos about ZX-7R rulez! I have one really muzzy project. It has even crackled cylinder head and many parts somehow broken or painted. Like the whole bike came from the stone age forest or something. They must have been those young guys with some beer while it happened but they really tried to make it out some type of street fighter this time. Im not sure if im lucky or unlucky to have it now. So thanks for the videos about it.

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Haha I know that kind of project, hope there’s not too many horror stories ahead!

[@rtrgearheads]

Coming along well! I just got finished waiting on a cam chain guide for the inside of the valve cover to be shipped to me from Japan. Got the engine back in the bike last night and hopefully might be starting it tonight

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Nice! Hope it goes well! I just got that same part come through for the head cover. Though the thought of that going back on seems a while away yet 😂

[@rtrgearheads]

@@tomsworkshopprojects had to pull the top end back apart one my green one anyway, since it dropped a valve. Haha. My blue one starts and runs nice. I’ll be getting fairing kits for both of them soon. It’s funny to think that my green one was originally just sold to me with the blue one as a parts bike

[@rtrgearheads]

@@tomsworkshopprojects kzbin.infonxCOhf60zHE?feature=share

[@barrbr8610]

Love your job men..

[@charlesemerson6763]

Very nice.

[@turboboy0]

back in the day (mid 90's), my friend bought a zx7r and rebuilt it to his liking since he bought it wrecked. i was still a Suzuki guy (lasted until around 2021). now I'm loving my 2019 zx14r.

[@nitro_head]

She's gonna be so sweet!!

[@3rror_unknown_user]

New sub her keep up the amazing work mate.

[@antonios2846]

Great job that this amazing bike deserves. Greeting from Italy and from 1999 green P4 owner!

[@heatz711]

i put the valves in a drill then soak some scotchbrite in WD40 to clean them also doubles as a good test to see they are straight

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Nice idea 👌🏼

[@multishit6664]

Worst advice in the world. soaking in carb cleaner like berrymans (nasty stuff) works if they are seating correctly and not out of spec. NEVER use ANYTHING abrasive.

[@garyb931]

Ahh my weekend is complete! Been waiting an eternity for this vid Tom.

[@davidbird380]

Excellent stuff. These bikes are such head turners. Green and purple. Red and white. Lovely. I’ve worked out that 10,000 miles on a bike wears stuff out like 30 or 40k does on a car. And any bike with twin headlights is just what all bikes should have.

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Haha yes I definitely agree, love twin headlights, I think that may be a qualifier in any future bike I own 😂

[@spirobouloukos511]

Great work Tom! Looking forward to the next episode!

[@kenwolfe5697]

Coming along nicely! It’s going to be a smooth running machine

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

I hope so! At the very least I’ll know it’s healthy and got many miles left in it 👌🏼

[@dennisobrien2578]

Nice

[@tj7048]

good!😊

[@KensWorldRestorations]

Something about the look of cast aluminium freshly vapour blasted...love it. I'm just about at the stage where I can start focusing on these same bits. This video is really helpful even if it's a completely different manufacturer, the process is nearly the same. Hope you get this thing running again soon, and when you do, she'll be really smooth.

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

I know right, I’ve always found it satisfying to watch but I wasn’t quite ready for how good it would feel holding my own part in my hands. One thing for the next chapter of garage space is definitely a vapour blasting cabinet 😂

[@markhowlett8070]

Outstanding work sir. Great video

[@michaelwoodward-vx5xw]

I tried to fit HID's but it was a pain with ballasts and all the excess wiring this before LED bulbs, try Auxito Y13 H4 should be straight swop

[@uhtred7860]

I'm doing a full restoration of my 87 FZR1000, and the head, namely the valves are giving me grief. At least half the exhaust valves are worn to the point of needing replacement, but you just can't get them new any more, the model was only made for 2 years before they changed the design in the EXUP. Every now and then i find one on ebay. 😮‍💨

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Ah that sucks, are there any full heads knocking about or donor engines? I guess that’s a pain to have to spend so much to get a few bits.

[@maurizioarrivabene8182]

Is it really beneficial to blow against the valves, while they work in the opposite direction? Compression of thencylinder should close them i guess?!

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

It’s a pretty rudimentary test I agree, you’re only getting the impression of how good the seal is, but the strength of the valve spring should be able to hold it with enough force to form a decent enough seal to not let air past that way. I think the technique is important not to insert the blowgun too far in as you’re really just raising the pressure.

[@michaelwoodward-vx5xw]

jumping ahead a bit Tom are you going to upgrade headlights to LED bulbs

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

I haven’t thought about that yet to be fair, but I’m open to changes like that if they improve safety but don’t affect the style of the era. I used LED indicators on the FZR and it just required the respective relay to get the flashing frequency correct

[@michaelwoodward-vx5xw]

why did you not put the valves in the ultra sonic cleaner or even better in a bead blaster

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

I did put them in the ultrasonic tank , but the solution I currently had in there wasn’t really strong enough to break down the carbon. But I didn’t really need to go as heavy as the bead blaster, they came up clean enough with the abrasive pads.

[@dennisobrien2578]

WTF dude did you find some sort of setback?

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Nothing scary yet, thankfully 🤞

[@hardcoregamningchannel]

This guy is a fucking genius.He's no certified mechanic but he can fix and restore the fuck out of that bike with little resources.I watched all the videos on the zx7r because i wanna buy one.Thanks for the vids mate.

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Haha cheers mate, I’d hold the applause until we see it running again 😂 but that’s definitely my attitude: “let’s work out how to do this and show everyone”

[@Kurlach]

No no no, don’t do that thing of appealing to the KZbin algorithm by having a gurning thumbnail! They make everyone look like they’ve just been released from a secure mental facility. Your content is good enough without it.

[@tomsworkshopprojects]

Haha love this. It is a still from the video, rather than one of those wanky posed pics you see. I too, find them annoying. I just found that image funny 😂