TOPIC:

Jo - no idea about oil gauge issue - have you managed to clean it? The penny tip was fantastic in the end, I managed to realign the exhaust mount with the pillion footpeg because of it.

Finally managed to get the exhaust off and hence the centre stand. Now I need a new flanged nut before reinstalling the exhaust. Would be interested in maybe putting a new one on some time in the future, as this one is rusted pretty bad and again, remnants of this red gasket material which shows up everywhere on the bike can be found here as well.

Parts have been ordered, including a complete gasket and o ring set, which I hope will solve the compression issues. The range given in the manual was something along the lines of 129 - 180 PSI, so I am definitely a bit low.

Getting parts for a petcock rebuild to hopefully fix the leaks, as well as the new cam chain tensioner. Here are pictures of it dissaseembled. I'm wondering if the missing washer from the top screw was what led to the crack? Maybe uneven distribution of pressure or something?

"Parts have been ordered, including a complete gasket and o ring set, which I hope will solve the compression issues. The range given in the manual was something along the lines of 129 - 180 PSI, so I am definitely a bit low."

Sham,
Unless the head gasket is the leak, a gasket set will of course be needed for re-assembly. In order to gain back compression from leaky valves or worn rings, you will need a valve job and new piston rings at minimum. It could need a new piston and a overbore. These will regain the compression. It would be best to try and find out where the compression is going, try reading through this current thread, if you haven't already.
www.kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/537474-cy...ession-test-failed--

Good to hear the penny trick worked yea I just broke down and laid the bike down on a couple old tires pulled the right side engine cover and hit it with carb cleaner a couple times hit it with some liquid gasket and reassembled it probally wouldn't hurt if I ordered a gasket set miself but it has been 105-110 (40-43 c) here the last couple weeks with the high humidity I has been staying inside but got my new tires and got a new brake cable made so I will prolly dig up a new slip on muffler and ride it til it leaks lol just can't figure why it runs so smooth with or without the original filter but looks like I will get to leave the carb alone

Thanks for the link - it was a good read and I will definitely try to do the poor man's leak test to see if I can hear where the leak may be coming from. I guess it could also just be the calibration of the tester itself, as it does seem to run ok. Definitely hoping its not the valves - rings I can replace but recutting the valve seats looks a bit complicated, which I assume also means pricey down this end of town.

Its a long wait now, so I'm starting to think about how I want the seat and possible relocation of electronics in relation to it.

This series by Kott Motorcycles was pretty good just to get an idea of how one goes about making a seat from scratch. I believe there are many other ways, but it seems doable if you had the right tools.

vimeo.com/13475410

And a pic of the bike's profile, for me to start thinking about possible lines for the seat.

Yea it really is amazing how the lines along the tank and seat can toataly change the look of a bike with my tank and seat it almost looks like a compleatly different bike than yours can't wait to see what u come up with oh and how bad was it pulling that muffler I still need to pull the straight pipe part of mi muffler thats still attached lol

Hey Joe - the muffler wasn't hard at all. It's attached to the exhaust by a clamp like those on fuel lines, and then to the frame of the bike via the bracket at attached to the pillion foot peg - its the nut furthest towards the rear. In my case, the difficulty was in the fact that this nut was rounded, but otherwise it was pretty simple.

I picked this up yesterday amongst some trash.

I really like it, but I know its not really compliant anymore in terms of surpassing the recommended 5 year life span.

Its a AGV CX5000, from May 1988.

Cleaned it up a bit - the soft foam was removed and the lining ripped, but otherwise its pretty neat i think.

Yea mi pipe is just ridiculously rusted inside due to the muffler missing meh worst case scenario I will just cut it lol and yea that is a sweet helmet somewhere I have a jacket that woul Might I borrow the box this evening if you don't mind to much? d match that helmet lol also your issues seem to be contagious my plug is carbon fouling now can't rev over 3k can't go over 30 mph but compression is good carb looks new inside getting 11 volts to the coil this bike is going to drive mi crazy lol well a quick word to the wise I just realized after multiple times in the carb there is no pilot screw plug it is mising yup I toataly overlooked an easy cause of rich condition........

Hey Jo - ha glad to hear you found the issue - I'm surprised it was running so well without it for so long? It pretty much sounds like you were running exactly like I was. I tried ordering a new plug from z1 in my last order, but they said that they're discontinued now. Here is what Rob from z1 told me in an email:

" I’m aware the aftermarket Suzuki passage plugs have been used on some Kawasaki models by trimming the plug to fit. I’m not certain this is the case for all Kawasaki models though. See the following link - www.z1enterprises.com/ListItems.aspx?keywords=kl18-46%20passage. If you wish to add the KL18-4689 passage plugs to the order, respond to Chris or I through Email."

I'm definitely holding onto that helmet though finding a suitable foam to give it back its shape kinda defeats me at the moment.

I finally got the chance to do the leak test on the bike, getting the bike to TDC was a pain just in terms of the losing all that oil from the alternator, and how without the cam chain tensioner it was much harder to turn. At some points it even felt like it was stuck and I had to use a bit of force. Now that I think about it, I know I was suppose to make sure the chain was tight, but without the tensioner I suppose it wasn't...bad?

Using a very small displacement air compressor with a air brush nozzle attachment, I shoved that into the spark plug hole and tried to listen for a leak.

A leak coming from the intake valve = an issue with the intake valve
A leak coming from the exhaust valve = an issue with the exhaust valve
A leak from the crankcase vent = issue with piston, rings and/or bore
A leak from the head gasket = an issue with the head gasket

...and to be honest, I'm not sure I heard a leak at all? The loudest "sound" was coming from the spark plug hole itself where the air brush attachment was. And as I tried to listen for a leak, that was really the only sound I could hear, though perhaps around the head gasket it got slightly louder? But don't think I heard anything from the intake, exhaust valve or crankcase vent. Which hopefully means any compression "issues" I might be having are either from a faulty compression tester, or can be fixed with a gasket kit anyways, which I'm waiting for.

So overall, if I haven't done any damage by turning the crankshaft without the chain being tense, then its all good for now and continue on waiting...

It would be Much better for a Leak Test, to have a proper tool for it. This is a Gauge that will show the Percent of leakage, Important. But if nothing else, you should have a screw in fitting at the plug hole, or a Rubber tip on the Air Nozzle, and held in place by a helper, so there is No leak there at the plug hole. If you suspect the head gasket, spray some soapy water between the head and cylinder, it will bubble where any leak is. If you remove the head, I would Strongly recommend that you take the head to a good machinist for inspection, and be prepared to spend $ for a Valve Job. Bring the Valve Stem Seals from your gasket set, and your Camshafts w/ Caps. They'll make sure all is good to bolt it back down. Its completely up to you, but I would pull the cylinder, and inspect the piston/ rings, and at minimum replace the base gasket, but best to hone and re-ring if Piston/ bore is good.

It seems 16012-1001CAP,RUBBER is still available from kawasaki but I just went to a local salvage and got one for free they are great about if it is something small like that they don't charge they even have me a free nice and shiny chrome horn so got front brake cable ordered new tires are on and fingers crossed lol also I seem to remember something about if motor turned clockwise can throw off timing remember u saying something about that but anywho good luck to u now if the weather would just cool a but here I might finish mine we was the second hottest place on earth the other day (iran beat us for an hour lol)

Hey Motor Head - ha I must admit that wasn't what I was hoping to hear. Back when I first started this I was all gung ho about rebuilding the engine, but having had it running, I'm not so sure. I will order the piston rings since the parts still haven't been shipped just in case - it sounds like a great idea, I'm just not so keen on how long it might set me back time wise. I will try to somehow provide a better seal to do the leak down test.

Jo - sounds good. I'm planning to make a trip to the wreckers too just to see what its like. I've never been and I'm thinking I probably want to start looking into second hard parts now - maybe an exhaust pipe to replace my rather rusted one?

Well fitting wise I have know guys who drilled out a sparkplug using a vise amd the ceramic broke off then jb welded a small pipe type blower nozzle into it yup its redneck central here and yup I also got mi a muffler from the wrecker yard was for a 650 suzuki twin well the mounting screws lined up so just cut off the header pipe and a quick weld later done lol cost all of 20 dollars cuz it wasn't a big maker and it had about a quarter inch of grease covering real nice chrome looking bad helps the price over there at rons lol