Newbie needing advice

[Guest]

I definitely can help. cool 2 stroke. looks so different in the us. we got enduros. no one would street such a small bike here at that time. I can help you wire it in a modern way when it comes time. I am an expert because I did that bike already. ran mine premix. I keep the battery box and carry 2t oil in it.

harnesses today got a lot more simple. that corroded thing with 2 terminals. you have my permission to chuck it. modern part is like 4$. that carb is a bitch with a design flaw. 2 easy out of manual fix's for that too.

your first purchase should be a flywheel removal tool. rotary valve engine works almost as well as reeds and is a big improvement over piston port. nice platform for an engine swap too.

[fastbob]

I definitely can help. cool 2 stroke. looks so different in the us. we got enduros. no one would street such a small bike here at that time. I can help you wire it in a modern way when it comes time. I am an expert because I did that bike already. ran mine premix. I keep the battery box and carry 2t oil in it.

harnesses today got a lot more simple. that corroded thing with 2 terminals. you have my permission to chuck it. modern part is like 4$. that carb is a bitch with a design flaw. 2 easy out of manual fix's for that too.

your first purchase should be a flywheel removal tool. rotary valve engine works almost as well as reeds and is a big improvement over piston port. nice platform for an engine swap too.

 

What is this obsession with battery eliminators ? And what on earth do you mean by " You have my permission " ? What modern part is $4.00 ? And could you please tell us what the design flaw is with the carburettor ? Mate , you just need to tone it down a bit . Read some of the restoration threads in here and look at the pictures . Now make an honest comparison with your bikes ( or at least the ones that we have seen ) If hacking a bike down to it's bare essentials is your thing then good luck to you but some of us have a more fastidious approach to motorcycle restoration .

[johnny]

Hi, Thanks for the honest appraisal Fast Bob and advice ftw. Yep it is a shed but it was cheap, very cheap. Stripped it a little and see that the frame has been bodged a bit here and there with some shocking welding. Will need to sort that. Plan is as follows...

1. Read as much as i can re the bike and two stroke engine rebuilds.

2. Create a parts missing list and a parts to restore list.

3. Strip it down to the frame.

4. Get the frame dipped or stripped weld and repair.

5. Coat the inside of the frame and paint the outside.

6. Build some kind of bike table and then start on the engine.

Just need to locate a factory Kawasaki workshop manual that is not £40 and I'm set.

Cheers

[fastbob]

Hi, Thanks for the honest appraisal Fast Bob and advice ftw. Yep it is a shed but it was cheap, very cheap. Stripped it a little and see that the frame has been bodged a bit here and there with some shocking welding. Will need to sort that. Plan is as follows...

1. Read as much as i can re the bike and two stroke engine rebuilds.

2. Create a parts missing list and a parts to restore list.

3. Strip it down to the frame.

4. Get the frame dipped or stripped weld and repair.

5. Coat the inside of the frame and paint the outside.

6. Build some kind of bike table and then start on the engine.

Just need to locate a factory Kawasaki workshop manual that is not £40 and I'm set.

Cheers

 

You might be able to download PDF from Manuals lib .

[Guest]

I definitely can help. cool 2 stroke. looks so different in the us. we got enduros. no one would street such a small bike here at that time. I can help you wire it in a modern way when it comes time. I am an expert because I did that bike already. ran mine premix. I keep the battery box and carry 2t oil in it.

harnesses today got a lot more simple. that corroded thing with 2 terminals. you have my permission to chuck it. modern part is like 4$. that carb is a bitch with a design flaw. 2 easy out of manual fix's for that too.

your first purchase should be a flywheel removal tool. rotary valve engine works almost as well as reeds and is a big improvement over piston port. nice platform for an engine swap too.

 

What is this obsession with battery eliminators ? And what on earth do you mean by " You have my permission " ? What modern part is $4.00 ? And could you please tell us what the design flaw is with the carburettor ? Mate , you just need to tone it down a bit . Read some of the restoration threads in here and look at the pictures . Now make an honest comparison with your bikes ( or at least the ones that we have seen ) If hacking a bike down to it's bare essentials is your thing then good luck to you but some of us have a more fastidious approach to motorcycle restoration .

 

I will not talk down to anyone. not even a noob. I owned this bike and did a tolal restomod. scoot rec reg is now one unit and costs 4$.

2 easily repaired design flaws in that carb. the main is in the bowl. watter collects and ruins the seal btween the o ring and the bowl. then the bike always runs rich. the repair is simple. teflon tape. just wrap it before you close the bowl. the other problem is the needle easily swaps out to modern neoprene tip.

fastbob this bike has AC igniton on its own stator coil. runs without a battey even when there is a battery. the stator is easily repaired from 6 to 12v. why would you even consider keeping corroded antique electroncs? the r/r is only for the lights on this bike. only the lights run dc. battery or no battery it still needs a r/r for dc.

I have the missing pages of the manual in my head.

I don't agree with other posters. the chrome is beautiful and the frame probably will clean up nice. my first priority is checking the crank and the bore. I press my own cranks.

[fastbob]

So you're saying that so much water collects in the float bowl of this particular carburettor that it rises to the level of the gasket and somehow damages it's sealing properties . Would the water not have to displace all of the fuel in order for this to happen ? And why would a seal that's impervious to petrol be so affected by water ? Teflon tape ? Do you mean PTFE tape as used in domestic heating systems by any chance ? And all this water , how does it get in ? The only route I can think of would be via a pod style air filter . If the air box is correctly installed I can see no more reason for this carburettor to ingest water than any other . It can't be through the bowl gasket because if water can get in then petrol would most certainly get out . It might help if you were to make yourself just a little bit clearer regarding this matter .

Edited August 11, 2019 by fastbob

[Guest Richzx6r]

So you're saying that so much water collects in the float bowl of this carburettor that it rises to the level of the gasket and

 

I some how think you have problems if your getting water in to your float bowl.......aka your filling your tank with the wrong stuff

[fastbob]

So you're saying that so much water collects in the float bowl of this carburettor that it rises to the level of the gasket and

 

I some how think you have problems if your getting water in to your float bowl.......aka your filling your tank with the wrong stuff

 

Well I think that's what our new friend is suggesting .

[Guest]

So you're saying that so much water collects in the float bowl of this particular carburettor that it rises to the level of the gasket and somehow damages it's sealing properties . Would the water not have to displace all of the fuel in order for this to happen ? And why would a seal that's impervious to petrol be so affected by water ? Teflon tape ? Do you mean PTFE tape as used in domestic heating systems by any chance ? And all this water , how does it get in ? The only route I can think of would be via a pod style air filter . If the air box is correctly installed I can see no more reason for this carburettor to ingest water than any other . It can't be through the bowl gasket because if water can get in then petrol would most certainly get out . It might help if you were to make yourself just a little bit clearer regarding this matter .

 

on a modern carb there is a drain in the bottom of the carb. tiny amounts of water collects and sinks to the bottom of the bowl harmlessly. in the kd ke kh 125 the main jet is in the drain. tiny amounts of water collect in the o ring that is supposed to seal off the main from the bowl. not the gasket, the o ring corrodes and if you wrap the outside of the o ring with ptfe tape before replacing the bowl it fixes the problem. this design is antique and bad, that's why they don't put the main jet in the drain anymore.

this is the order I thing the op should go.

1 get and read the manual. welcome to 2t you need to read how to split the cases.

2 get a case splitting tool, you do not need the original kawaka tool. I have a steering wheel puller and it works fine splitting the case.

3 get a flywheel puller.

the main crank bearing needs to be inspected and the bore needs to be checked for damage if the crank is shot.

fastbob, the 6 to 12v conversion happens at the r/r. I'm posting the wiring diagram. remember this is only the lighting side. the ignition is primitave but effective. it runs ac full wave unregulated. its unregulated because it has a dedicated ac stator coil. effective because ac is full wave by definition so it need no conversion. putting a brand new ignition on this bike is as easy as replacing the points and condenser.

here is the 4$ modern scoot r/r. could this be any easier? and if you would like the trade secret circuit diagram and explanation of how it works I also can post it and explain, but be warned I'll have to bring up trump to do it. sorry.

been learning a lot on this site. I've always been a fan of brit engineering. always wanted to know how and why you guys ride such small bikes. now I have the answer. at that point in history the rd350 was the 2t bike here in America. that frame is really nice. I see the rear sprocket is already street ready. you did really good for a noob. you picked a good platform. in America the 2 stroke ban kicked in in 1986. that bike was never imported here. all our ke kd kh have a single down tube frame. you might be lucky and have cdi. lucky they switched to 12v in 1992. there is no way I could have known this. you still will be good with the scoot r/r though.

https://sites.google.com/view/kh125uk/uk-history

[johnny]

Hi, all.

I have to confess some of all of this is lost on me at the moment. But I am saving the pages as i go to make up an advice journal of sorts. Have got the frame stripped of all components and am now deciding whether to media blast or chemically dip the frame. Also i have a stupid question. The fuel tank has some fuel in it, barely any but enough too slosh around. The valve on the bottom is operational but i can't get the fuel to drain. I have left the tank outside my garage in a box, as don't want petrol in an unsealed container in there. what would you advise doing to drain it?

Thank you all again.

[fastbob]

Hi, all.

I have to confess some of all of this is lost on me at the moment. But I am saving the pages as i go to make up an advice journal of sorts. Have got the frame stripped of all components and am now deciding whether to media blast or chemically dip the frame. Also i have a stupid question. The fuel tank has some fuel in it, barely any but enough too slosh around. The valve on the bottom is operational but i can't get the fuel to drain. I have left the tank outside my garage in a box, as don't want petrol in an unsealed container in there. what would you advise doing to drain it?

Thank you all again.

 

Probably best to try removing the petrol tap altogether . Try not to get old petrol on anything , it can smell really nasty and it's hard to get rid of .

[johnny]

Hi,

That worked perfectly. Can anyone recommend a cheap and cheerful stand to raise the bike up for working on? I dont want a full length lift just i suppose a jack for under the frame that i can then work on the bike.

Thanks

[skyrider]

yea im looking for a little hydraulic lift myself

[dynax]

Have a look at machine mart https://www.machinemart.co.uk/c/vehicle-lifts/?p=1&s=pricelowhigh

[johnny]

Hi.

So kh125 frame is now blasted, horrific welding ground back and redone. Fork restoration about to begin. I am looking for advice on an engine swap. Can I use a kz125? Any ideas on alternatives?

Thank you!!

[johnny]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me if the cylinder head on my KH125 has a nikasel bore? I ask as i believe that if it is I will need it relined rather than honed. Any help appreciated!

Many thanks

[johnny]

Hi. So I have moved further along with the bike. See photos. Can anyone suggest an alternative exhaust for the bike as I cannot find a good clean one anywhere.

Thanks.

[linuxrob]

Good before pics, always a good reminder how it looked and where thing go. Nice bike stand. You have made a lot of progress since your last post. Looking good will look brand new when finished.

Regards

[johnny]

Thanks linuxrob,   Just trying to figure out where to run the wiring along the frame so that all the connections are in the correct place.

Any ideas?

 

Ta