Ye Gods! I bought one!

[africajim]

Update,,,,, the monster's alive!

Saturday wasn't too bad, it rained quite a bit but my special brolly for work came in handy jammed into the bumper of the Landrover to give me cover from the weather. Carbs stripped and rebuilt but wound till battery pack went flat and no go, the backfires were impressive though, may have unnerved the neighbours so gave up for the day.
Sunday was even colder with wind and hailstones between the sleet showers! I changed the spark plugs to give it a fresh start and after much winding it burst into life! A change of fluids, oil and filter and it should be ready for it's MOT next week some time so hope the document comes in soon so I can get it road taxed. Not bad for a week and all done in a car park! Roll on fine weather for a test ride! As soon as I get it on the road I'll post up some pics.
Cheap hack for winter, £16 to put it on my Ebike policy so hopefully on the road and just over £300! Simples!

[lexicon39]

Sounds like you've been busy. I'm impressed considering the weather we've had here and the fact that you're working in a car park! I once had to apply for a V5 , it came back in four weeks so you might be on the road this year. Look forward to more photos.

[africajim]

Thanks. Last weekend wasn't so bad, at least it was mild and dry, I got the brakes, clutch and engine unsiezed and moving, the evenings were reserved for little jobs due to darkness and got the petrol drained and replaced and the plastics all fitted, again mild, but this weekend's been pretty grim weatherwise, especially as I had to remove all plastics, seat, and tank to get the airbox and carbs off! Stripped down the carbs, cleaned and replaced, then today fitted new plugs so been quite a task but well worth it!
The neighbours were walking past commenting on my sanity but hey, I've got a running winter hack for peanuts, who cares? I'm happy, that's the main thing. As Steve T pointed out, no garage now, I had a good workshop, garage and shed big enough to take half a dozen cars at the farm I used to live at, now in a small flat in Lossie it's not quite so handy! But I've proved I can still muck about with old bikes, even here! I am currently looking for a new place with a garden, drive and shed so hope to move in the future, I've enjoyed mucking around with the old Kawa so more projects are planned!
I hope it doesn't take a whole month for the docs, I know it says 20 working days but they've been quicker with docs the last couple of yrs. Fingers crossed any how. I'll take pics once I've stuck it up some mountain alright!
Thanks for reading folks, hope it's been of interest.

[Steve T]

Oiy!

'Urry up & get it sorted, then there's no excuse for not going out & getting dirty

Looking good by the way

[AIRWOLF]

I'm impressed with the progress Jim, . . specially working in a car park

[africajim]

Ok, I put more petrol in tonight and fired it up, first push of the button, damned good starter considering the ground is solid with the frost tonight, well below zero!
So the hard work's done, over to Wullie Young's on Saturday for an MOT and it's just the V5 to come before I can tax it.
Amazing what you can do in a car park in Wintertime with an old Kawasaki and an industrial brolly!

[africajim]

Well, contacted local dealer today regarding my test, he says "bring it in" so I do! Leaving the house, hmmm, thinks me, this thing is very slow!" So, I takes it the 6 miles to the local bike shop for it's MOT, I find it pulls like a bucket of sh*te! 50mph on the flat, 4th, 5th or 6th gear! A mile from the shop it backfires and picks up a little,,,,, hmmmm, seems it's got TWO cylinders and isn't quite the slouch I thought it was!
To cut a long story short, it passed it's MOT but has serious problems running on two cylinders, ran fine in the shop during the test but on the road it's intermittentl! As it doesn't backfire too much I reckon it's a fuel problem rather than electrical. I couldn't feel my fingers when I got home so decided to cover the bike up and look at it later!

Calling Steve T, calling Steve T,,,,, you're a carb man, any chance you could take a look at mine???? I've stripped them once and I would do it again but damn it's cold here in the car park in Lossiemouth! Good news is it'll run fine to Lhandbryde, just like riding a 250! Ha ha!

Ok, admittedly, I've started early on the rusty nails tonight, but it was damned cold today! I couldn't feel my fingers for god's sake! It's so bad, the whisky's done and I've taken to drinking Fiona's Morgan's and coke! Fnarrr fnarrr!!!!!

This Kwakersaki is almost on the road but I still need the V5 to get a road tax, heated grips are a must and I have to specify TWO CYLINDERS are compulsory,,,,, not random! I'll soon have it ready to test ride, if I can get the cylinder issue fixed! So far, it feels ok on the road, took it home by the Lhandbryde to Lossie back road, very twisty, seems quite planted. The brakes seem to make the bike dip badly, no more than expected though, but it should make a good hack. A Kawasaki, no doubt, perfectly good at what it does but focussed, not a Honda! Good thing? Bad thig? I don't know! (I can't get it to wheelie though, damned 250's!,,, although it might have been a 350?) It will be a 500 soooooon!!!!!!

The local dealer says it was a bargain though, but his son was unnimpressed I turned up on a Kawasaki! (He's a Suzuki man really!)

The Kwakersaki saga continues!

[Steve T]

Jim,

Sorry for the delay - only just seen this.

Re your carb/back firing problem - Call and arrange a garage booking time that suits us both (I'll not expect you to strip it down in the drive like we did with your Vara exhaust swap )

[africajim]

Hi Steve, just got a letter from the DVLA today, says they're dealing with my request and it'll be processed 16/12/09????? WTF?
Why go to the bother of telling me that? JUST DEAL WITH IT! Goddamn! Then I have to allow 5 working days for arrival before I start bitching about it? I could colour in a blank sheet of a4 paper with all the details and MAKE a V5 in less time than that! DVLA? You've got to love em!

Any how,,,, that means there's no rush to get my KLE running properly as I can't get a road tax for a couple of weeks yet.
Soooo, any time you're available mate, I'm off this weekend but on call the following one, not that that's an issue really, unless I get called out!
It doesn't take long to strip it down though, 4 screws hold the fairing sides to the tank, two studs hold the tank down, 1 screw holds the left side panel, key removes the right one, 2 studs holding seat on, 2 studs holding the airbox in then 2 jubilee clips holding the carbs. Simples!

[africajim]

Latest update,

It was dry but cold up here at the weekend but Sunday was a nice day and the temp actually rose above freezing in the afternoon (0.5) so I hit the car park and stripped the old Kwakker!
Side panels off, seat off, fairing sides off, tank off, airbox off, carbs off then stripped them and cleaned them. Refitted the lot and fired it up! It runs a dream now! Apart from not being able to feel my fingers I was delighted to get it all sorted out.
All I'm waiting for now is the V5 doc so I can tax it. It has to be registered in my name before I can tax it. I've also ordered heated grips so it'll be nice and toasty when I get it on the road next week!

Thanks for the offer Steve T, not required due to weather conditions and my tenacity! Hopefully we'll get out for a decent photo shoot in the near future mate!