Body Panels Anyone?

The place to talk about your Tandem!
twintandems
Newbie
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun May 02, 2010 1:13 pm

Body Panels Anyone?

Post by twintandems »

Greetings.

I am the proud owner of 2.5, possibly 3 KR250A's. Whilst I have been repairing the various body panels I got with the bikes I had the idea of taking moulds off the best panels. This would allow me to make up a 3rd set of panels for the third bike. Is there anyone out there who would be interested in buying individual or all panels to replace panels that are beyond repair? Externally the panels would look identical to the original the main variation would be with fixings.

Let me know if you are interested and which panels you would require.

I have also had made up 8 sets of the stripey KR250 decal, in red, that goes on the middle panel on red and white KR250A's. I am not sure whether any other KR250A's that used these decals. I am selling a pair for $15 AUD plus postage.

What is the secret to starting a KR250A? Persistence!!! Surely there must be some do's and don'ts. I think I might resort to some rollers and hope that once it gets warmed up it will be easier to start or always park the bike on a hill. Please, for my sanity.

Mike
dougindoors
Heavy Smoker
Posts: 364
Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2009 9:12 pm
Location: rochester kent

Post by dougindoors »

hi mike nice to see you joined the forum, im sure there are some kr owners in here that will be intrested in panels. parts are a bit thin on the ground in the UK so we need all the help we can get, keep up the good work =D>
1984 Kawasaki KR250A
no projects, OOPS!1987 Kawasaki AR125B4
Every 2 in 1 poeple are schizophrenic
If you can not fix it with a hammer it must be electrical
2 Smokey and they bandit
250 drummie
Heavy Smoker
Posts: 193
Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2009 4:29 am
Location: Sydney Australia

Post by 250 drummie »

Yes me :D I need the centre panel between the top fairing and the belly pan for the right side pm sent.
250 drummie
Heavy Smoker
Posts: 193
Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2009 4:29 am
Location: Sydney Australia

Post by 250 drummie »

Just clean out the carbies and make sure the choke plungers are working and not stuck and that the slides are returning to fully closed.
StrokerBoy
Premix Junkie
Posts: 1087
Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 9:43 am
Location: Yorkshire
Contact:

Post by StrokerBoy »

Yeah, the middle panels that join the top fairing and the bellypan are the hardest ones to find, definitely worth making some of those to fit the OE mountings. The smaller panels either side of the top fairing are always in demand too. Most other panels are readily available, unless you can make tanks too ? :lol:

The starting problems are caused by the disc-valve timing being slightly out, there's a section in the manual on how to fix it. Shuffling the bike forwards/backwards in gear can help take the free play out of the two crank dampers and ease starting. Or make it worse of course ! Push-starting often works as it turns the engine over a bit faster than kicking.
Kawasaki KR250 Tandem Twin (x4) & KS-II 80,
Yamaha RD350LC,
Suzuki GSX-R750RK & RB50 Gag.
twintandems
Newbie
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun May 02, 2010 1:13 pm

Post by twintandems »

I am progressing with the preparation of the body panels ready for priming and top coating. I have 3 'hand cover' panels, a pair with provision for RV mirrors and 1 plain panel. I gather that the majority of KR's had plain panels. Which do fellow KR enthusiates want? If it is plain then I am going to have to get hold of one to make it's mould. For starter I will make moulds of the belly pan, middle fairing panels and the hand cover panels. When I make the panels I will make them using Kevlar which will make them extremely robust, I am not going to same unbreakable because someone eventually will prove me wrong.

I would like to have a go at making a petrol tank. There would be no problem getting a suitable resin that is petrol resistant. The advantage of a 'glass' tank is that the problem of rusting tanks would be eliminated. I think it is definitely 'doable'. How many people would be interested in a tank?

I spent another half hour this afternoon attempting to start the bike. The best I could achieve was 6 firings without it catching. I tried preheating the spark plugs, but it didn't seem to make any difference. I tried with full choke, partial throttle, half throttle. Partial throttle seemed to get the closest to starting. I did try 'bump' starting it without success. I will have to bypass the neutral switch 'cut out'. I am hoping that once I get it running it will become easier to start. Maybe this is wishful thinking!!!

Thanks for your help so far.

Mike
Sheik Yerbouti
Heavy Smoker
Posts: 121
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 1:43 pm
Location: South Oz

Post by Sheik Yerbouti »

Try getting a syringe and squirting a little raw fuel down the throat of each carb before giving it a kick. My conclusions from swearing at my bike were that the crank dampers dont have anything to do with bad starting. Its more likely a combination of a fairly weak standard ignition and old dead crank seals. The seal arrangement on the disc valve side is a bit dodgey anyway. Dont bother shimming the crank dampers, I did it and it makes no difference. Each cylinder has its own ignition pickup anyway so timing between them is not critical.

Oh and fibreglass tank is a big HELL YESS from me. Go on, do it you know you want to.
User avatar
ScottaKR
Premix Junkie
Posts: 1521
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2007 2:52 pm
Location: Australia

Post by ScottaKR »

I did the crank dampers on mine ages ago when it was being difficult and found that it did make a difference, although it certainly wont make up for weak spark (my Tandems current issue) or carbs that are clogged up with gunk.
On the subject of adding fuel to a hard to start engine, I normally pull out the ballance pipe between the carb mounts/manifolds and squirt some some form of volitile aerosol down there. Of course you should probably check your plugs before you do that to make sure your not adding fuel to an already flooded engine (been there, done that 8-[ ).
KR250 Tandem Twin (Naked) :mrgreen:
KR1 Red/White
KR1S Track Bike (has been put on hold for now)
ZXR750 H1 (Winter project)
StrokerBoy
Premix Junkie
Posts: 1087
Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 9:43 am
Location: Yorkshire
Contact:

Post by StrokerBoy »

The Japanese are convinced that the crank-damper/timing thing is the key to poor starting. I can't say 'cos I've not actually done my own bike(s) yet. Weak sparks and poor sealing aren't gonna help either. It seems that any part of the bike that's not 100% can cause a problem. As ScottaKR says, a blast of EasyStart or similar into the airbox or intake stubs can help.
Kawasaki KR250 Tandem Twin (x4) & KS-II 80,
Yamaha RD350LC,
Suzuki GSX-R750RK & RB50 Gag.
twintandems
Newbie
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun May 02, 2010 1:13 pm

Post by twintandems »

The FIRST thing I did before I even attempted to start the bike was spray some 'Start ya Bastard' down the throats of the carbs. That didn't work. The longer I persist the closer it gets to starting. It is actually sending out reasonable amounts of smoke from the exhausts so I think it can't be too far of starting. If I could get the engine to turn over 5 times instead of the present 3 it would start. that is why I think by-passing the neutral switch and giving it a 'bump' start, to me, seems the next logical step. Find a reasonable hill and hope that it starts first go.

If I have a weak spark it could either be coils, leads or plugs. Recently I had a whipper-snipper that wouldn't start and changing the plug solved the problem. It was either that or wait 2 weeks for the mower shop to come to the same conclusion and charge me an additional service fee. Fitting a battery shouldn't help? The plugs on the KR look new, the leads ancient and the coils unknown. As the KR is 12V theoretically I could use any 12V coil to get the bike started. If the coil works then I know the original(s) need replacing. I have limited experience with bike coils. Are there generic coils as for cars or does one buy KR coils? I think I will leave the shimming as a last resort and concentrate on getting a good spark.

I have had a look at making glass tanks and I think I would make the 3 (2 sides & bottom) part mould directly from the std tank with the exception of the filler cap mounting and seal, and the part that locates the tank on the rubber bungs. I haven't yet got to the stage of undercoating the panels and tank. Hopefully I will get that done this Friday and next week I should be able to give them a top coat ready for producing the moulds. Then the fun starts.

Thanks for all of your input. It is pleasing to be able to enlist help when my own knowledge becomes exhausted.

Mike
Sheik Yerbouti
Heavy Smoker
Posts: 121
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 1:43 pm
Location: South Oz

Post by Sheik Yerbouti »

You need to use a coil thats been designed to work with CDI ignition. Regular coils wont take the extra primary voltage for long. I think you could safely substitute something from another bike with CDI.
User avatar
ScottaKR
Premix Junkie
Posts: 1521
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2007 2:52 pm
Location: Australia

Post by ScottaKR »

OK, you shouldn't need to bypass teh neutral switch if you want to try to bump-start it, as the neutral switch only cuts ignition if the side stand is down (prevents you riding off and having it catch on the road as you go through a corner).
Have you taken the carbs apart and cleaned (thoroughly) & adjusted them? If not, do so now. Does your spark look visually weak? Need some more specific details of what youve checked (and how) to get much further with diagnosing this.
KR250 Tandem Twin (Naked) :mrgreen:
KR1 Red/White
KR1S Track Bike (has been put on hold for now)
ZXR750 H1 (Winter project)
User avatar
smithyrc30
Heavy Smoker
Posts: 287
Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2006 11:49 am
Location: Torquay, Victoria, Australia

Post by smithyrc30 »

twintandems wrote: I have had a look at making glass tanks and I think I would make the 3 (2 sides & bottom) part mould directly from the std tank with the exception of the filler cap mounting and seal, and the part that locates the tank on the rubber bungs. I haven't yet got to the stage of undercoating the panels and tank. Hopefully I will get that done this Friday and next week I should be able to give them a top coat ready for producing the moulds. Then the fun starts.

Mike
Sorry to hi-jack a thread on starting, but fiber glass for fuel tanks is mentioned here and it is worth noting that with the current focus on CO2 etc, a lot of fuel now has Ethanol in it.
Ethanol attacks styrene based resins, well dissolves them would be a better description.
There is a sealer that you can use, can't remember the name of it just now, but I'll look it out. Some of the more expensive epoxies are ok, but not all.
It you do make a glass tank and don't seal it then your starting issues will be a whole lot worse because the dissolved styrene gets in the carbs and literally glues them together, jets slides, the lot.

There you go, managed to get something about starting into it.... :D
twintandems
Newbie
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun May 02, 2010 1:13 pm

Post by twintandems »

Scott, I tried bump-starting it and it didn't even fire it just made a noise of an engine that doesn't won't to start. When I tried kicking it immediately after it fired but didn't start. I have cleaned the carbs and checked the float levels. What carburettor adjustments were you referring to? I have not adjusted the idle speed or sychronised the carbs. I am waiting until the bike runs before doing those. I bought a set of plug leads but they are too big to fit into the coils so I have reverted back to the originals making sure that the copper core is bright at each end of the leads.

I am going to give trying to start it a break over the weekend. Maybe someone will come up with a 'brain-wave' or I will go over the ignition thoroughly swapping bits from my other bike in the hope that there is a faulty component and replacing it allows the bike to start.

Thanks again for you help.

Mike
1 Red/White KR250, 1 Green KR250, 1 KR250 rolling chassis and box of engine bits, KLR650 Tengai
twintandems
Newbie
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun May 02, 2010 1:13 pm

Post by twintandems »

Hi Smithy, Thanks for your input. Furane based resins appear to be the most resistant to most solvents, fuels and other nasty liquids. Before I buy any resin I will check with a company like FGI for advice on the best resin to use for the tank. Are you interested in a tank?
1 Red/White KR250, 1 Green KR250, 1 KR250 rolling chassis and box of engine bits, KLR650 Tengai
Post Reply