Kurt Von Zech

[Zaemo]

If you or someone you know has had any dealings with Kurt Von Zech, could you please send me a private message?

Thanks,

Chad

Please do not post anything below. Thanks very much.

[Zaemo]

Early in the year I made a deal with Kurt Von Zech for a 64 Sportster that I have since regretted. I wanted to warn anyone that was thinking of doing business with this guy - BEWARE. I searched several forums and didn't find anything about him but I certainly wish I had!
There is far too much to write here but I have documented everything. From the beginning, Kurt made promises that he would not be able to keep. He told me things that I wanted want to hear; "My bikes don't leak" or "I'm one of the 3 best Sportser guys" and "My paint work is my specialty" and so on and so on. The reality is, most conversations resulted in him talking about himself until I could get a word in to tell him I had to go. ZZZzzzzzzzzz.
The short story is, the bike wasn't done when he said he would have it ready. No big deal, I expected that. Excuses preceded that date. "I have three other bikes I'm trying to finish and deliver." I told Kurt that he was to take the extra time so that there would be nothing wrong with my bike when I got it. Read that last sentence again because it is important.

What I came to find out was that he wasn't working on my bike at all with the extra time I gave him over and over again. What stings for me is that this is the only time in my life that I had gathered some extra money to buy something done and ready to go that wasn't a project. I do all of my own work on my old cars and I felt maybe I was in a place where with two kids and my work schedule and two other projects in the garage, I might treat myself to a moto that I could just enjoy. I haven't been on a bike in years and years and I didn't want to have to research and learn a new parts book and what's correct and what fits what and what the undesirable parts were regarding these H-D's. More than anything, that's what was stolen from me with this bike from Kurt Von Zech.

I got tired of excuses and waiting and gave him a hard deadline. He said he wasn't ready so I relented and set another for when I returned from overseas. Two more weeks of him working on other peoples bikes, not mine. I drove down to Florida to pick up my bike and the first thing he said to me was, "Do you hate me." Interesting statement I thought. Where was this overconfident bullshitter? He was madly tightening things and adjusting things while I stood there. The brake/clutch handles weren't tight so that was my forst clue he wasn't riding the bike. He told me over and over he would not deliver a bike until he rode it 2 or 3 hundred miles to work the bugs out. He never rode it.

He also removed the nice horseshoe tank with waterslide under clear and replaced it with a dented one claiming the other one was scratched. Well, that one mysteriously showed up on eBay for quite a premium. That was a shitty move. I could now see the the nibs (shit, flecks, dust, hair) in the paint too. Less than average painter to say the least despite what he might tell you.

Oil was leaking from the pushrod tubes. He said you just had to "turn them". The kicker pedal was loose and swinging around, he said "they all do that". Well they do when you don't use the D spring washer. He still didn't have the tach drive in it and a couple other small parts after months of knowing he needed to have those parts. I couldn't understand that.

I got the bike home and after a day or two of starting it, it got very difficult to start. I documented this in the HarleyKModel.com forum. This is when the denial on my part ceased and I realized this guy was full of shit as a mechanic. I had a decent collection of shiny parts, or so I thought. Short version is, the plugs were gapped at 40 thou for a mag bike. Then I moved to the points to find that they had grease on the contacts. Then I discovered the mag wasn't put together correctly and ended up sending it out to Morris. I made Kurt pay $180 of that bill and to his credit he did, but called it a "waste of money." How so I wonder? Excuse after excuse. He claimed I wasn't starting it properly. I wasn't doing it right. Nothing was his fault or the bike's fault. Morris rebuilt the Mag properly. Why would you even build a mag and NOT put a new coil in it? I'll tell you why, because Kurt Von Zech will everything the absolute cheapest way possible and by the cheapest vendor. You will pay for that later, friend. Ask me how.

While waiting for the mag to return, I addressed some other issues. The main one being the rear rocker cover leaking like a sieve. That wasn't happening according to Kurt. ?! Those parts fit together before and didn't leak so...... The mating surface between the head and the rocker cover was terrible to say the least. I pulled that cylinder and removed the head. "This bike is done and ready to go?", I thought? The opposite. I TIG welded the surface and hand filed it flat and installed a new gasket after several fitments. I hope that's fixed it anyway. The head and plug valley filled with oil and smoked.
Smaller issues included the lower tank bolt looking as if it had been gnawed off to length with a pair of nail clippers. While trying to start the bike before the points problem, I had to pull the throttle cable and rout it properly without hard bends and corners and lubed the wire and filed the damage on it. After an hour, the throttle worked wonderfully and smoothly as it should. He claimed it needed to be "broken in." More basic hack mechanic bullshit. Choke lever/spring needed fixing as it just flopped around and wouldn't stay in position. There's probably more I'm forgetting.

With the mag back I thought I might be out of the woods. Some of the missing parts were shipped to me after many calls and firm emails. "I have your box ready to go but it's been raining a lot here." What? I'm shipping your stuff today. Three days pass. "I'm shipping your box tomorrow when I get back from New York." Four days pass. "Kurt, ship my parts. Today." Box ships the following day. Magneto installed I begin kicking again only to discover oil will not stop leaking from the rocker oil tube boss area. I had replaced the neoprene gaskets with stock style cork/rubber jobs. It turns out that there is a crack in the boss of the case between the two oil tube fittings and beyond.

So I pulled the motor and disassembled it myself. I have just sent the cases out for welding as it has proven difficult to find a pair of decent cases. (Dr.Dick has been very helpful, thank you sir.) The cases need additional work, one place being the left side kick shaft bushing is loose in the case where there was a shit repair done previously most like contributing to the terrible kicker slip I had been dealing with up until now.

I understand these bikes are old and there are certain chances to be taken but when someone makes promises to you that are no where near what they can actually deliver, I have to feel like I've been taken advantage of. I could have bought a cheaper bike and done all this myself and never have had to listen to the lies and deal with the frustrations. In the end, I hope my telling this keeps someone from experiencing the same shit I went through. With this off my chest and having received the "plated?" kickstand in the mail last week. I will put Kurt in my past and never have to deal with him again. If you MUST buy a part from him on eBay selling as camaneye2, you'd better beware firstly on how it was assembled and secondly if he actually has it in stock. Do not do any business on a promise because you will be sorely disappointed.

[Hammie13]

I think you've found the reason so man guys on this forum have such vast mechanical experience with these old bikes,it's because there are so few people you can trust to do anything right these days. I do as much of the work on my bikes as possible and if I do it wrong,I learn for it and get it right next time. I don't listen to people who tell me how great they are,I've learned to listen when other riders tell me how great someone is instead. Sorry you had to learn this the hard way,but in the end,he taught you a lot more then you might think he did!

[Mayday53]

It is sad, but we all seem to have the same school of hard knocks. After nearly 8 months and about $7,000, I pulled my bike challenged the builder and we ended our deal but only after he claimed to have bought a bunch of parts, only to discover he had not bought them. Then when I went to get my money back, he hands me a check for $30 and claimed the rest was for labor he had not charged me yet. So, it cost about 7 grand to have him take apart the bike, powder coat the frame and a couple parts, provide about $1000 in parts, and reseal my gas tank. Unfortunately, the new bike builder I am using has had to redo many things the guy did wrong as well. Needless to say, but I will, the crook added several thousands of dollars to my bike rebuild cost.

In the end, I wish I had the skills AND TIME to do it myself...but as I said, we all have those stories of some sort, no matter what business it is in.

[hayleyl]

Gents - remember there are more 'sharks' on land than what there is in the ocean. Cheers Hayley

[Zaemo]

After posting this in the XLForum, another gentleman from Australia came forward with a very familiar story with a bike from Kurt.

http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/show ... ?t=1926046

I know what your saying Zaemo...I to have been stung by Kurt Von Zech, about 95% of what you have written happened to me, careless, shit rough ar
$e workmanship and he still owes me parts. I imported the bike to Australia so I've got no show of getting anything. He also told me he had to put a couple of hundred miles on the bike before he sent it over, that was all bullshit! when I finally got the bike I noticed there was not one spec of carbon in the mufflers. I had to change the carb to a CV adjust push rods, points and timing to get it to run. Then there was the chain joining link ar$e about face, split fork rubbers, push rod oil leaks, fuel tank had a leak from the inside to out had to strip and re seal $$'s, brake hub rubbing on housing as well as broken brake shoes and a lot of other things I had to fix. Then the real shit started happening, kick starter started slipping then BANG a cracked case. This guy has absolutely no respect for these classic bikes nor the people he sells them to. I paid a lot of money for what I thought was a frame up restoration and now I have to rebuild it again. I'm not sure how to attach other threads here but do a search for....''Double Trouble-Cracked Case & Slipping Kicker'' that's me.
http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/show ... ?t=1925429

[sportsterpaul]

These horror stories make me so sad. Every time I think I should just "send it out," I learn shop rate is up to 80 bucks an hour (not that I begrudge them, I would charge $120) or worse, the work is hacked, or worse yet, its $120 an hour and still hacked. Or, best of all, 6 months or a year goes by, and the work is still not started, much less done.

There is something to Dr. Dick's attitude that real men and women do it themselves. When it comes to something that can kill you, making sure it is done right has a very big upside. I asked a Harley buddy who he has work on his bike and he looked genuinely shocked, and said "Nobody touches my bike." It was almost like a privacy or personal sovereignty issue to him.

Here's the thing. I have worked on my own cars and bikes my whole life. But when it comes to Sportsters there are a few things I am reluctant to try. Those are lacing my own wheels, boring cylinders, and assembling flywheels. I might even try doing my own valves next time, especially if I hear a set of Neway cutters work for Ironheads, I assume they won't cut hardened seat inserts on my XR-1000 or Thunderhead bike.

In San Jose there was Kelly Moss, who could lace anything. You were sure you could trust your life to him and you would not be breaking any spokes. There were also a couple engine builders that I would trust to do boring, flywheels, and heads. Interestingly though, one of the most respected shops did the heads on my 1962 and it was botched-- he let his son do the job, his son dropped a valve on the floor and put it in anyway. It was burred and sure enough, when the bike warmed up, the valve would hang and then backfires galore. Even with the comeback, I wonder if he set the valves up too tight, since the bike seems to lose power when it gets really hot, and I have to let it chug along at low speed on the side of the freeway, and then it seems to heal, and I can grab a handful again. Might be clogged gas inlet-- I will figure it out one day.

So my problem is I now need a good engine shop in Tampa. I really like to support local business, so if anyone knows of a shop, even if its the Harley dealer, let me know. I have considered just sending stuff to Dragon Machining in Colorado-- at least they do a lot of work. My problem with the shops in California that I used to use is that they consider me a "friend" which means the "friend" waits for months to pay top dollar since the shops are too busy with "customers". Well heck, what am I? I guess I am the nice guy from Ohio that gets chumped. Its one reason I left California. I also don't like dealing with guys working out of their house-- I like a real business, with a real estimate, and a real invoice, that acts like a professional, and delivers on time, not some semi-bum living in his mom's house trying to supplement his meth dealing with occasional Harley work.

Oh, the other job I don't know I could do is replacing the fork tube bushings. That one though, I could see figuring out how to make some kind of puller, and pushing the bushings seems pretty straightforward.

[EKHKHK56]

Paul, The best tool for snatching those out is a factory one, or make one. You can lap the new ones with old tube. If you have a local dealer that is not too new they may be able to help. I have had all ranges of luck in this K business. Learned early on the language. If there are "no broken fins", its may be cracked and vice versa. If they say "I think it is original", that means a definite re-pop part. And so forth. Back than it was all phones and polaroid shots with letters, maybe There are special parts bins around the world that are labeled "ship these to Alaska". I ordered a weld on hardtail for a project and not only was it twisted and untrue, one leg was actually longer than the other!! One fellow helped a lot, sold me $10,000 in parts, lots of info, than I sent my new tubes, nice legs to him for bushing and fitting work. 1993 never heard back, prepaid the labor even. when I checked on them he was dealing with a flood, next thing I know nothing. Maybe they floated out in to the Atlantic. Someone has a nice set of K forks, somewhere! It happens. I believe Tedd Cycle does bushing work, or did, and Bill`s Custom Cycles in NY is a great business for old parts and used to do all services. It would be good to find someone you can deal with locally though. Face to face Usually cuts the BS factor down, or helps. Good luck, Erik

[sportsterpaul]

There are special parts bins around the world that are labeled "ship these to Alaska".

Oh gosh I have not laughed so hard in months. Yeah, I know what you mean. I too have had great luck with Bill's Custom Cycle for parts. A bike builder in San Jose told me "you have to think-- why was this on the junk pile?" Now maybe it was the chopper era, and the front ends or fenders were tossed for a springer. Lots of cherry carbs out there too. Or maybe that cherry gearcase is not so cherry. Maybe the dealer took it off because it is a porous casting and will weep oil like sieve. But only after you mount it and sell the old one on eBay.

I built my 1962 from a collection of parts from a former dealer in Arizona. He got busted for some felonious behavior and sold the whole stash to a local shop in San Jose. I pieced my bike together. Thanks to the Internet, I now know I have a 63 frame. I put '64 late-model forks on it, just ignorance. Over all, I am astonished and how good things turned out for this junk yard dog motorcycle.

I am pretty much a hoarder, so I used to buy any old Sportster stuff at the swap meets, and then some on eBay. But now I am trying to trim down, in the hopes that if something breaks I can find the parts on eBay or better yet, from trusted dude here, who know way more than me about these bikes.

There was a guy in San Jose who was said to have the factory puller for the fork sliders, but he is long gone. I would try to pull the bearings myself first, and it is great to hear I can hone them with a junk fork tube, that is just what I was thinking. I have several front ends to Frankenstein into one good one for my 1962, and I suspect the 1954 roller is pretty good, and there I would want to keep the parts together rather than just swap them willy nilly. Thanks to you guys, for the first time in 35 years, I actually have some idea of what I own.

[dr dick]

There is something to Dr. Dick's attitude that real men and women do it themselves. When it comes to something that can kill you, making sure it is done right has a very big upside. I asked a Harley buddy who he has work on his bike and he looked genuinely shocked, and said "Nobody touches my bike." It was almost like a privacy or personal sovereignty issue to him.

the thing with doing it your self goes to the nature of these bikes.
they are not cars. ie: for short frame bikes the fit and function isnt built into the components.
instead the care used to fit a component directly relate to how well that component functions.
if you think about that you realize the fitter (mechanic) needs to have education and desire. if either lack so will the result.
he has to go the extra mile and realize new, by itself, dont fix anything.

ask yourself "does my mail order guy possess what he needs to?"
i highly doubt it, thats not his motivation.
but it is your motivation as a devotee to old iron.

that said:
guys who post here obviously have the desire.
from having these bikes deeply in my life i have some education.
ill share that freely.
i dont know everything but i do know how to keep these old dogs in top road going form.

bottom line. to get these bikes solid you need to be a craftsman.
if you wanna know the work is solid, there is only one way to get there.

zaemo- im glad you decide to fix your cases because different dont mean good for these bikes.
as much as you just wanted turnkey, unfortunately you picked the wrong models for that.
the quality of these short frame bikes is a direct result of desire and education that built them.

anything you need to talk about during this build- you have my contact info.