In the workshop
Jerrythurston decided that using an Swmjumbo, noted in its day for being a bit sharp and for world trials use, wasn't nearlyexciting enough, so he'sgot hold of a Kdx450kawasaki.
Jerry blames me, I blame Jerry but work restarts on various projects and more is done to the Triumph.
Iblame editor Britton totally, this is all his fault. Although I have been playing with the idea of a fast, light, (and potentially road legal) two-stroke for some years, I have always managed to resist the temptation. Then Tim rocks up with project IT and it's all come flooding back.
Before I know it I'm combing the internet for something to scratch the overwhelming itch, handing over a wedge of notes and wheeling my newly acquired Kawasaki Kdx450enduro into the workshop.
Why a Kdx450?simply because I have never owned a Kawasaki before and if you are going to have an Enduro, have a big one! It is big too, everything is supersized, I'm 6ft Sin so on most bikes I look like a grown up on a mini-moto, but this one fits me well.
Now for the restoration plan. As the Kawasaki is largely complete I am going to keep it together for the time being. Rather than trying to sort worn parts then do trialfits against new paint and plate I'm going to do a mechanical restoration first, make sure it is all together, correct and working, then strip it totally for beautification.
Pleasingly, most of the bike looks good. The frame is undamaged, the forks look great and operate smoothly and the wheel rims (aside from a few scratches and scrapes) are good. The rear mudguard is incorrect but will do for the time being.
The front sprocket is knackered which is hardly an issue but the rear looks as new. The previous owner has fitted a new seat cover so that's saved me a few quid. 'Tyres,grips, air filter and all the rest of the consumables will be replaced as a matter of course.
There are down-sides, the clunks from the Uni-trak rear suspension as I hauled it onto the work stand, are not a good sign, grabbing the rear wheel I've got an inch of up and down at the rear wheel from the combined play in the linkages, side play too so the swing-arm bushes are also shot.
There is always a reason why somebody stopped riding something and it doesn't
take long to find the reason why this one was set aside. The top fork yoke has a big crack in it where somebody has overtightened the pinch bolt, this could have been a major set-back but I have huge luck, finding a set in the UK, bought and delivered for £50, result!
First proper job, clean out the fuel system. Starting with the fuel tank, the bottom of which is covered with a layer of awful brown varnish, then working through the fuel tap, also full of the same. When I pulled the carburettor, even though it still had foul smelling 'once fuel' in it, the chamber was also a quarter full of the same goo, presumably two-stroke oil that had dropped out of stale fuel and solidified. An evening was spent disassembling, scrubbing with solvents, then with clean petrol eventually the system was clean. I now have a ready-to-go carburettor that opens fully and shuts with a satisfying and positive click when the twistgrip is released.
Pulling the fuel tank off for cleaning also allowed me to get a couple of squirts of pre-mix down the plug hole to give the bore and rings a chance when I give the kick-starter a few swipes to test for spark. Not only does it have an excellent spark, the all-important kill switch is working, which is reassuring.
Through the handy little window in the crankcase I can see that the gearbox oil is up to the mark and looks clean too, but as oil is cheap and gearboxes are not, it is drained and a fresh litre of 10/40 poured in. This done, I'm happy that I can attempt a start. Fresh two-stroke mix into the tank, fuel on, choke on and kick, there is an encouraging pop from the exhaust and next time ..... Wham! The KDX is running and it sounds great. A few tweaks of the carb settings and it settles to an idle so it appears the seals are good. It's a bit scary how instantly it blips with only a tiny twist of the wrist, lots of respect when I eventually come to ride this one I think.
That's the excitement over for a while it's time to get it back onto the build stand and see what else needs attention.