'fingers KR1-S C2 tinkering with a mostly stock bike

Show us that box of bits in your shed!
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philfingers
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'fingers KR1-S C2 tinkering with a mostly stock bike

Post by philfingers »

Well here’s a few pics as it came to me.

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17k miles, 4 previous owners, the last of which had it 8 years and it sat in his living room apparently
It’s pretty much standard and stock. There’s different chain guard, screen I think maybe pattern and the front brake lines are braided.
Fairing has had some repairs, paint work is good but the plastic welding hasn’t been done great, so will need re doing. It’s got some particularly nasty washer holding the fairing on. One side panel is totally the wrong green

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But I managed to find a good std sidepanel on ebay for £25

So for it’s first MOT with me it needs a sidelight fitting, the bulb and the holder were missing for some reason. That done, it went for the MOT and passed.

First ride showed a particularly saggy rear shock, only just effective brakes, and the powerband didn’t really remind me of the KR1 of old I had the use of 22 years ago.

I bought a Penske CBR 929 Fireblade shock. Thinking that I could make it fit. At 285mm the ‘blade item isn’t bad but by the time I’d sourced a suitable clevis/fork it would have been too long at 295mm +. So it’s for sale

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The plan was to rebuild the standard unti myself, i did a fair bit of digging trying to find the right seal block but when I removed the shock the shafts was pitted. So the shock is off to Rev's Racing for a rebuild. www.revsracing.co.uk . I've used John Gaskell for over 20 years, his work is top class and reasonable priced too. I ordered a 425lb 7" Faulkner race spring off ebay, £24.50 from 'jjcraceandrally'. John's going to up the damping a bit with a extra shimming. He'll make a new shaft too. If I think about it I'll get the stock spring rate measured when I go over to collect it.

Whilst it ran OK I decided to remove and strip the carbs and drop them in the Ultrasonic Tank. They weren’t that dirty on the inside or outside, non the less, no hard in a clean. Reset the floats and inspect the insides to make sure they were all setup correctly

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Went to Cradley Kawasaki for a few fairing bits. The outer washers for the fairing-frame mounts are NLA, I had two of their last 3. Also a gear selector shaft seal, as this was weeping, the only leak from the other wise pretty clean and oil tight motor.

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The fork seals were starting to weep, so I decided to change them. I had a set of correct ID and OD seals, bit thinner than required at 8mm instead of 10mm. Should be OK I reckon. I made a tool for removing the internals of the fork. There’s large nut on the other end too, for holding the internals whilst removing the lower bolt.

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Fitting something like this

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Handy way of removing the stancions

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All stripped!

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And another homemade tool for setting the oil level

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Works like this, set the level, over fill and drain off the excess. I upped the grade slightly by about 2.5w

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Whilst I had the front apart I took the pads out, to find some Armstrong pads, which explained the poor braking. Pistons and seals looked good, and lever is firm so I’ll order some new pads shortly.

So linkages for the KIPS were toast. The balls were even missing on some of them. So I found these to fit, they look ok for £2 each. Use the existing rods.

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I set the KIPS up properly, so they’re fully open. I whipped the pipes off at the same time to inspect the pistons and rings- all looks good. Fitted a used GPZ600 chain guard, as they're the same as the KR1-S ones and at £6 delivered it was cheaper. Then drained the oil and removed the gear selector cover and replaced the seal. All going well until I decided to try and remove the ECT (Engine Coolant Temperature) Sensor. The spade had come loose and the gauge needle hops around. So all well until I tried to remove it and it was seized solid. It got butchered. But hopefully the one I found which is considerably cheaper than the £37 Kawasaki wanted will work ok.

More later. . . .. . . .. .
375
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Post by 375 »

Looking good there Phil i like the home made tools,
When i done my kips links i used new stainless bolts as the originals get stuck.
Keep the photos coming :)
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Post by headcoats »

Can it yer old boiler
philfingers
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Post by philfingers »

thanks guys.
375- yes the bolts are st/st as of last night
HC- LMAO! :D

right, out into the garage for some more. . .. . . .
philfingers
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Post by philfingers »

Some more from this evening

one bad ECT!
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Pistons look ok
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KIPS linkages with st/st bolts.
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correct chain guard
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New oil seal holding the oil back
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What's this hole near the frame number, looks like it's been drilled after the frame was painted. Anyone any ideas?
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Expansion pipes look in nice condition
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More tomorrow hopefully, when should have the new ECT and some EBC HH pads too
philfingers
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Post by philfingers »

Well the new ECT arrived to day, looks a little different but works fine and a lot cheaper than the Kawasaki unit. Had to make a short wire up to adapt to the stock spade receptacle used.

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Post by buzinc »

Where did you get the ECT from and how much?

Buz
philfingers
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Post by philfingers »

Buz- A local trade place, had to order it in. Let me try it first and make sure it works properly. Cold the temperature on the gauge is Ok, warm the only test I could do was heating it up with a gas torch. Once I get my shock back from Rev;s I'll be able to try it. Cost about £11 if you want one posted
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JanBros
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Post by JanBros »

check the sensor as per the manual on page 15-26 to be sure it gives the correct info to the gauge :wink:
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Post by ARC76 »

I had a look and one of mine had that hole in the headstock too.
IF IT DOESNT MAKE IT FASTER LIGHTER STOP QUICKER OR BRING ME SEXUAL SATISFACTION IM NOT INTERESTED!
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scooble
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Post by scooble »

I would also be interested in knowing where you got the alternate engine temperature sensor from as I need a new one for my NC30
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Post by dave32 »

Looking at the piston skirt and ring lands,there is alot of "blowby" evident,also the vertical lines on the skirt ususally occur when an engines put under too much load from cold or/and running crappy cheap oil thats not up to the job.
The blowby is probably caused by the rings being worn out and not sealing as well as they should or less likely a worn bore,i doubt its the bore though as the plating usually just starts flaking off around the rear boost port or above the exhuast (actually it ends up looking like its been eroded rather than simply fell off).
One thing with the Kr's is even when the piston looks ok it and measures up within spec it wont stop the ring pegs falling out when they've had enough(mileage or hard use from cold is the main cause).
Personally for peace of mind i would put a new set in,you know where you are then with the mileage (change at 3 to 4000 road miles and you won have any probs),and run a decent oil if your not already,my favourites,Motul 800 Road race,silkolene pro 2,Bel ray H1R,they work fine in the pump even though they say pre-mix on the label.
You may find the power being down/feeling not as lively as you expected is down to the pistons/rings being worn out.
Really its the main thing that needs keeping on top of,there very reliable if you stick to it.
also ditch the NGK plastic bodied plug caps and fit some of the rubber/water proof ones they do,they fit so much better and dont get loose after a few times being removed.
You may find (i know i did),that using decent 9 rated plugs (B9EGV) for road use is better as they dont foul up so easily when riding slow,but are still cold enough to remove heat when you use it as inteneded.
On the piston front,Mitaka are the most widely available and seem to last ok,you dont need to remove the head either just lift the whole lot off together(saves disturbing the head gasket).
ATB
Dave :D
philfingers
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Post by philfingers »

JanBros- yes I could if i'd thought of it, but it's back in now! Should have it running tonight, the rear shock is being delivered later

ARC76- thanks!

Scooble- lets see if it works on the KR. Another NC30 owner too, see http://s188.photobucket.com/albums/z143 ... %20VFR400/

dave32- thanks for the info. When the std ring pegs let go is it as a result of worn rings or a poor piston. Years back a mate of mine was working for a main dealer and said then (10years ago) that Kawasaki would still change pistons under recall if the bike had never been supplied with some under the recall. I was under the impression the original pistons supplied were superceeded. I seem to remember reading OE rings are NLA so the only option would be new piston kit, ie Mitaka. Am I correct?
Have you got a part number for NGK plug caps. You're right indeed those ones I have on the bike are $h1te. Hopefully the power thing will be solved now the KIPS have been timed up correctly!
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Post by Luders »

Yes you're correct, you will only be able to pick up some OEM pistons as NOS, if you're lucky, as they are now NLA from Kawasaki.

I use the NGK plug caps...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NGK-PLUG-CAP- ... 20c9c24b74
philfingers
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Post by philfingers »

Thanks Luders, I ordered a pair of black ones
Plugs are NGK BR10 EIX - any comments guys?
I rode the bike last night, suspension with the 425lb spring on feels much better, not sure I wouldn't go for a 450lb one tho next time. I'm 11.5st. Damping feels much better. Set the preload to 162mm from memory, but probably needs a little more.
temp sender seems to work, really it's only a guide anyway but it sits on the second mark of the gauge when warm. I have no idea if the 'stat is working, but it does seem to work. I'll leave it ticking over for a good while at some point and see if it gets any hotter. In the 100 or so miles i've done on the bike so far it never gets really hot, then I've not ridden it in traffic

Phil
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