Well, my life has been turned upside down in the last month and a half. I got kicked out of my house meaning I have been homeless for about a month. I have fixed the starter, but the starter solenoid burned out in the process. No big deal really, they are cheap and easy to replace, and I can still start the bike by bridging the contacts. The right side carb to airbox coupler was so deformed and hardened that I could not get it back on. I found a cheap fix at the local hardware store though... I went to the plumbing section and got a 2" to 1.5" rubber coupler. I had to cut off a section at each end, but the thing works perfectly. The bike is 100% operational at this point minus the starter solenoid.
The crap part is that now that I have finally worked out 99% of the problems with this bike, I am forced to sell it. I both need the money, and do not have a place to store it. I have not even had a chance to bring it outside my little neighborhood or get it past 45mph. I had full hopes that this would be my starter bike, but it doesn't look like it is going to happen. It has been quite an adventure the short time I have owned this bike, and it has been a very rewarding experience. I hope I can own another bike in the future, but for now, I'm just a normal driver. I have to give huge thanks to you guys at the Kawasaki Twin Owners forum, the KZRider forum, and the Vintage Kawasaki forum... with out your help, I would have sold the bike for parts. I am interested in this bike and everything that goes with it going to a good home, so if interested, it is for sale. Contact info can be found here on this blog.
I will leave this blog up for as long as it stays up for the general information and discoveries I have made in my short motorcycle journey. Thank you and have a great day!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Updates (5/14/09)
Ok, so I got the bike re-assembled. Everything sealed good, no more leaks! I got the bike started up, and it ran good, readjusting the cam chain tensioner fixed the noise problem.
BUT!
There is always a but... Once I got it back together, the starter decided to go out! This really makes me angry because the previous owner told me he had the starter rebuilt, and when I took it apart it didn't seem so. I cleaned everything up on the inside of the starter, and everything appears ok, but it is completely unresponsive. Now I await a new(old) starter from eBay.
As far as the upgrades concerning the GPZ camshaft and higher compression piston, those will have to wait for another day. This is good because it allows me more time to accumulate parts, and more time to think in-depth on the project. The camshaft from the GPZ bike does not have the correct output shaft to spin the points ingnition assembly. Therefore I will have to get an aftermarket, fully electronic CDI ignition... but that ok, because it will complement the other upgrades quite nicely. Also, the reason I didn't change out the pistons, is because at the moment it saves me time and money. I will most likely upgrade to dual pod airfilters in the near future, but the rest of my mods will have to wait until all parts are compiled. I hope to be able to put on the new pistons, camshaft, ingnition, and 2-1 exhaust all at once.
More to come...
BUT!
There is always a but... Once I got it back together, the starter decided to go out! This really makes me angry because the previous owner told me he had the starter rebuilt, and when I took it apart it didn't seem so. I cleaned everything up on the inside of the starter, and everything appears ok, but it is completely unresponsive. Now I await a new(old) starter from eBay.
As far as the upgrades concerning the GPZ camshaft and higher compression piston, those will have to wait for another day. This is good because it allows me more time to accumulate parts, and more time to think in-depth on the project. The camshaft from the GPZ bike does not have the correct output shaft to spin the points ingnition assembly. Therefore I will have to get an aftermarket, fully electronic CDI ignition... but that ok, because it will complement the other upgrades quite nicely. Also, the reason I didn't change out the pistons, is because at the moment it saves me time and money. I will most likely upgrade to dual pod airfilters in the near future, but the rest of my mods will have to wait until all parts are compiled. I hope to be able to put on the new pistons, camshaft, ingnition, and 2-1 exhaust all at once.
More to come...
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Disassembly
I've got it torn apart finally and some great news, as well as major plan changes. I got the carbs off, and they seem to be all in good working order. The head is off as well, and this is where the good news comes in. The cylinders and pistons are perfect! Not a scar, scratch, knick, ding, mark, or deformation ANYWHERE! This means I'm going to save myself some trouble and not even remove the block. I also found the cause of the nasty noise coming from the engine... LOOSE CAM CHAIN! The previous owner improperly instally the cam chain tensioner and it was way loose and smacking the chain guides... fixed! Although, I did note the bronzing in the head and outer cylinder walls into the bottom end, telling me that the bike definitely got hot during its oil-less jaunt.
Carbs gone:
A nice look at some inside... and that bronzing I was talking about:
Dirty pipes in need of elbow greese:
Off with its head!
Now... can I put it back together?!? Heh, wait and see... More updates to come soon!
Carbs gone:
A nice look at some inside... and that bronzing I was talking about:
Dirty pipes in need of elbow greese:
Off with its head!
Now... can I put it back together?!? Heh, wait and see... More updates to come soon!
Major Updates!
I have made a lot of progress into this project the last 2 days. Very big changes! First thing that happened it that I got rid of that horrid purple color on the bike. She is now flat black (pics below). Also, I got started on dis assembly. My plan has changed quite a bit now.
Out with the old nastiness:
New ugly/temporary freshness:
Out with the old nastiness:
New ugly/temporary freshness:
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Update (5/1/2009)
I finally got enough money for gaskets! I am getting super anxious to get started here, but I have been plague with horrible strep throat for the last 2 weeks. I have decided I'm going to try the build with the rings that are on the GPZ pistons already, as it seems nearly impossible to find rings for this motor. If you have a source please share! My 2nd option for rings would be to bore the cylinders, and get some oversized pistons and rings... but that is way too much money for me any time soon, not to mention almost more than the bikes worth in its current state. Anyway, stay tuned because I am hoping I can post a video of me riding the thing in the next week.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Where I'm At (4/28/2009)
I figured I would take this video as the "before"... So I have some sort of reference to how much better it sounds when I'm done with the rebuild. I just need money for a gasket set, piston rings, oil, and a torque wrench. Then I can get the work underway!
Monday, April 27, 2009
KZ305AE vs. KZ305AE
The Kawasaki KZ305 motor was used in several different bike. It was used in the 305 CSR as well as the EX/GPZ305 sport bike. I now have both the 305 from the CSR version and the 305 from the GPZ version.
Main differences:
Even though these motors are the same in a nut shell, they have a few key differences. First thing is that the GPZ version of the KZ305 twin produces 6hp more than the CSR versions. How? Simple really, the GPZ KZ305 motors were produced with a more aggressive camshaft as well as a higher compression pistons that bumped the bike to 9.7:1 CR compared to the CSR's 9.5:1 CR. Also, on the later GPZ305s the ignition was an seperate electronic ignition where as the CSR used a "points" ingnition system.
My goal:
My goal is to use the cylinder block, camshaft, and pistons from the GPZ motor. I need to figure out how to make the output shaft on the camshaft from the GPZ work with the points ignition on the CSR head cover. In the end, with a good tuning, less restrictive intake and exhaust, GPZ camshaft and pistons, I hope to possibly bump into the 40hp range.
If anyone finds errors or mistakes please e-mail me!
My spare parts GPZ305 motor:
Main differences:
Even though these motors are the same in a nut shell, they have a few key differences. First thing is that the GPZ version of the KZ305 twin produces 6hp more than the CSR versions. How? Simple really, the GPZ KZ305 motors were produced with a more aggressive camshaft as well as a higher compression pistons that bumped the bike to 9.7:1 CR compared to the CSR's 9.5:1 CR. Also, on the later GPZ305s the ignition was an seperate electronic ignition where as the CSR used a "points" ingnition system.
My goal:
My goal is to use the cylinder block, camshaft, and pistons from the GPZ motor. I need to figure out how to make the output shaft on the camshaft from the GPZ work with the points ignition on the CSR head cover. In the end, with a good tuning, less restrictive intake and exhaust, GPZ camshaft and pistons, I hope to possibly bump into the 40hp range.
If anyone finds errors or mistakes please e-mail me!
My spare parts GPZ305 motor:
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