Kawasaki H1 1971

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Horse
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by Horse »

JackyJoll wrote: Sat Oct 14, 2023 4:40 pm Riding at sensible speeds can cause a buildup of oil residue in the exhausts, which burns and smokes a lot when you eventually do nonsensible speeds.
A friend asked me to take his KH250 for a ride to clear it out. He'd only been 30mph commuting on it :?

Onto the M3, flat-out. About 45mph :( After about half a mile there was a big cough and the bike gradually accelerated, leaving a smokescreen across all the lanes.
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by mangocrazy »

Skub wrote: Sat Oct 14, 2023 8:00 pm
mangocrazy wrote: Sat Oct 14, 2023 4:45 pm One could always do sensible speeds at non-sensible engine revs (i.e. in the power band) everywhere, however this does tend to encourage RLAT.
Yeah,the H1 has already been instrumental in achieving my first 3 penalty points at the grand old age of 68. The evil needs a strong hand.

'It was the bike what made me do it, officer!'
- didn't work in the 1970s, unlikely to work in the 2020s... :D

Glad to hear you've popped your cherry... :mrgreen:
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by Skub »

mangocrazy wrote: Sat Oct 14, 2023 8:50 pm
Skub wrote: Sat Oct 14, 2023 8:00 pm
mangocrazy wrote: Sat Oct 14, 2023 4:45 pm One could always do sensible speeds at non-sensible engine revs (i.e. in the power band) everywhere, however this does tend to encourage RLAT.
Yeah,the H1 has already been instrumental in achieving my first 3 penalty points at the grand old age of 68. The evil needs a strong hand.

'It was the bike what made me do it, officer!'
- didn't work in the 1970s, unlikely to work in the 2020s... :D

Glad to hear you've popped your cherry... :mrgreen:
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by Ian »

There's only one way to see if it's oil residue in the exhausts, swap them for some Higgspeeds!
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by Skub »

Ian wrote: Sun Oct 15, 2023 12:29 pm There's only one way to see if it's oil residue in the exhausts, swap them for some Higgspeeds!
A bag of sand for the privilege too. :o
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by Ian »

Yeah they're not cheap. Yours is so original it would be a shame to spoil it 🙂
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by Le_Fromage_Grande »

:wave:
Skub wrote: Sat Oct 14, 2023 8:00 pm
mangocrazy wrote: Sat Oct 14, 2023 4:45 pm One could always do sensible speeds at non-sensible engine revs (i.e. in the power band) everywhere, however this does tend to encourage RLAT.
Yeah,the H1 has already been instrumental in achieving my first 3 penalty points at the grand old age of 68. The evil needs a strong hand.
All of my 15 points were got on two strokes.
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by MingtheMerciless »

Years ago I got stopped on my KR1-S at the top of the M23. It went like this:
“That’s just a 250 isn’t it”
“Yep”
“Fuck!! We’ve been doing over a 140 since Gatwick trying to catch you”

I didn’t have the heart to tell them I’d had to back off the last 5 miles as it was starting to get hot!
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by Skub »

A tiny little oil seal down the tacho drive tunnel is weeping a little,but it looks like I'd need to take off the clutch casing to get at it properly,so....I've decided it isn't leaking bad enough yet. :lol:
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by MingtheMerciless »

Skub wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2023 6:08 pm A tiny little oil seal down the tacho drive tunnel is weeping a little,but it looks like I'd need to take off the clutch casing to get at it properly,so....I've decided it isn't leaking bad enough yet. :lol:
Image
I'd class that as a self lubricating seal and ignore it, trying to fix it will no doubt involve snapped things and stripped threads.
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by mangocrazy »

I'd class that as 'looking too hard for things to worry about'...
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by Skub »

MingtheMerciless wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2023 6:33 pm

I'd class that as a self lubricating seal and ignore it, trying to fix it will no doubt involve snapped things and stripped threads.
mangocrazy wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2023 7:23 pm I'd class that as 'looking too hard for things to worry about'...
I think you are both right.....but it's a long Winter. :lol:
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by Ian »

Keep an eye on the cable to make sure it doesn't get too oily. I once had oil creep up a cable and mist the inside of a clock.
It wasn't a Kawasaki but I bet 'A' clocks are a lot rarer than later models.
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by JackyJoll »

My friend Mr Bodger, who lives in my shed, asks if it’s a rubber-cased seal that withdraws upwards.

Image

If so, sometimes you can screw self tapping screws (or similar) into it and pull it out. Take note of the writing on the seal first.

Of course, if that doesn’t succeed, you’ll have destroyed the seal.

Is there any wobble in the tacho drive spindle? That’s tough on seals.
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by Ian »

Generally that spindle is pretty well supported, the bottom end below the gear goes into the casing and the top is in a steel boss which fits into the upper part of the case below the seal

It's not difficult to remove the cover, what's more challenging is keeping the oil pump oil tight the plastic washers on the banjos are pretty feeble but the bigger issue is the risk of stripping a thread on the oil pump, the metal is soft and the threads fine.
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by Skub »

It looks like it would draw upwards and I have a new seal to replace it when I fancy,so those ducks are in a row. The spindle appears pretty solid.

I'll probably leave the job for now,or at least until a slight weep becomes more of an issue. I wouldn't be above using the self tapper bodge,ta!
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by Skub »

Ian wrote: Sun Oct 29, 2023 10:34 am Generally that spindle is pretty well supported, the bottom end below the gear goes into the casing and the top is in a steel boss which fits into the upper part of the case below the seal

It's not difficult to remove the cover, what's more challenging is keeping the oil pump oil tight the plastic washers on the banjos are pretty feeble but the bigger issue is the risk of stripping a thread on the oil pump, the metal is soft and the threads fine.
Yeah,those tiny fine threads on the oil pump are not to be messed with. There's plenty of oil pumps about with stripped threads,as thee knows,I'm sure! I'll not be going there unless it's very necessary and thankfully at the moment it's not. There is a little misting around the banjo joints,but I'm led to believe they all do that sir,so it doesn't concern me at the present.
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by Ian »

Yeah they really do all do that, my first instinct was is it 2T oil that's got down the thread...
Just wipe it out with a tissue once in a while and put up with it until it becomes a problem.
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by JackyJoll »

Sounds like it’s an oil leak of the magnitude that I don’t usually repair.
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Re: Kawasaki H1 1971

Post by Ian »

Best solution I found was Graham Dyson rebuilt me a couple of cranks with labyrinth seals and no rubber seals except at the ends. Then I binned the oil pump and check valves and ran it on premix, it coped fine with me over revving on the track.
That's a bit of a radical solution though !