2015-04-03 KwaqKer First Ride

[dcarver]

KwaqKer First Ride

An amazing day. Was dreading going to CA DMV to re-register a bike not registered since 1994. What could possibly go wrong? Visions of CHP inspections, endless DMV hurdles filled my child-like egg shell mind (Jim Morrison, An American Prayer, get it!)


Would you belive that in 6 minutes, I was out of CA DMV with a new tag? Me either, but it's true. I scheduled an appointment, drew number A001, (head of line, first served).. Presented the prominence, pink slip, new dealer registration, and pretty much every registration since 1979...

Which resulted in this, a 2016 tag for all of 86 USD.

Trailered the old gurl to Creston, I'm not yet ready to trash her on the AlCarver highway, although that time will happen soon enough.


Ahh, how purrty is she?




Finally



Well, we did not get all that far. Riding the 2-2-9 is the perfect road to break in a new engine. Lots of throttle to seat the rings, lots of de-cell too. Perfect.


Problem was engine over-heating. Sigh.


When she got this point, I stopped, let her cool down, and headed back to the house.


On this ride, found the following things need fixing -

1. Overheating. Big issue. Perhaps
   Not 'Burped' per manual to eliminate air bubbles?
2. Incorrect readings - bad instrumentation?
3. Low coolant levels (checked - OK levels)
4. Impeller not pumping water?
5. T-stat not opening?
6. Radiator needs cleaning?

[*]Rear brake - not there. 2 or 3 inches travel before some braking effect.. Useless as is
[*]High beam / Low beam headlight not working... troubleshooting says the switch at handlebar is hosed
[*]Speedometer - at first, thought the bike only had 4 gears.. rpm vs. mph not correlating.. I mean, 5.5k rpm = 50 mph? Nooo. The speedo/drive is messed up, responding slowly.
Observations -

• what a wonderful bike! For being as heavy and as old, still remarkably flickable into corners. Very much FJR like. Can't wait to get the rear brake up to snuff
• clutch... oh my, what a fine, delicate hand is needed - throttle control, speed, and lever action need be precise for the perfect shift
• some noise from the top end and rhs flywheel
• want this bike to be a SS1k ride, so need to get deficiencies in order
• Ray performed MAGIC on this bike - all the issues listed above are minor (hopefully)

 

[Niehart]

LIKE

 

[puppychow]

That old girl can still dance!!

 

[rushes]

There's not much better than putting older machinery back in service. :thumbsup:

 

[lonerider]

Your DMV could give ours some lessons in efficiency, IMHO. One of my old Suzukis had me wondering if it was getting too hot; temp gauge would creep up in slow traffic. It has two sensors, one for the fan and another for the gauge. I rode it till it was almost in the red and took a few readings with an infrared thermometer at various points on the motor, turned out everything running well within limits, the gauge sensor just gave high readings before it was necessary. Never had any other symptoms of overheating like steam or puking coolant.

 

[Twigg]

Love posts like this, and what a wonderful old bike.

They are tough ... in decent order don't worry about making them work hard. My introduction to LD Riding was only four years ago and it happened by riding an SS1000 in the most awful weather, on a 1977 Yamaha XS750 that I rescued from a barn. It's still one of my most memorable rides.

Part of the fun, for me, is tracking down and fixing the problems you have identified, so just have fun with it.

 

[exskibum]

Kudos for getting the old girl home and photographed on central Cali roads again, Don. Bigger kudos to Ray for even getting that complex mass of gears and chains back together, running, and most importantly: outta his shop. But . . .

Presented the prominence, . . .

Prominence? Am I missing something here, or do you mean "provenance"?

want this bike to be a SS1k ride, . . .

HUH!?! I get accidentally doing 1,000 miles, or doing it surreptitiously, but logging, certifying and admitting to it? For the Candybutt Prez? Say it ain't so, Don! Gonna have to draft candidates upon your DQ from office. Where's Brundog?

 

[dcarver]

Kudos for getting the old girl home and photographed on central Cali roads again, Don. Bigger kudos to Ray for even getting that complex mass of gears and chains back together, running, and most importantly: outta his shop. But . . .

Presented the prominence, . . .

Prominence? Am I missing something here, or do you mean "provenance"?

Prominence : the state of being important, well-known, or noticeable : the state of being prominent. What can have greater provincial provenance than a KZ1300 with prominence?

uh

want this bike to be a SS1k ride, . . .

HUH!?! I get accidentally doing 1,000 miles, or doing it surreptitiously, but logging, certifying and admitting to it? For the Candybutt Prez? Say it ain't so, Don! Gonna have to draft candidates upon your DQ from office. Where's Brundog?

Oops. Foiled again. No time to work on her today, got to get KrZy8 back together first...

 

[Panman]

Smart thinking done, only one at a time apart.

 

[FJRay]

That's where the temp ran the whole time for me and it never went higher. Perhaps that's where the thermostat wants it. The thermostat is new and the impeller is the best of the two sets I had to work with. The radiator seemed to flow well when tested with garden hose pressure.

The rear brake was a problem but responded well to cleaning and honing. If you got that kit you should be good.

Not sure what noise you are hearing but maybe you haven't heard it for a long time and need to adjust your ears.

Have fun with the old girl but be nice.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Congrats on the first ride DC!

Exciting to get the 'ol gurl back on the road again!!

--G