Kawasaki H1 1971

[Skub]

Especially when they are paid to....

[JackyJoll]

Especially when they are paid to....

You sound like an angora young man.

[Ian]

They cant get enough of them (no wool involved)

[Skub]

I'd say adding me to the mix will pretty soon neutralise any chick digging shennannigans.

[Skub]

Well,it seems I patted myself on the back too soon. I was out on the bike today and fuel began pissing from the bottom of the middle carb,so either a stuck float/dirt holding the needle valve open,or a hole in the float bowl overflow pipe.

At least the 'off' position on the fuel tap works!

Onward and upward.

[Bigjawa]

Well,it seems I patted myself on the back too soon. I was out on the bike today and fuel began pissing from the bottom of the middle carb,so either a stuck float/dirt holding the needle valve open,or a hole in the float bowl overflow pipe.

At least the 'off' position on the fuel tap works!

Onward and upward.

Smack it with the handle of a screwdriver.

[JackyJoll]

Teething troubles when you put a bike back on the road.

As said, whack the float bowl.

[Skub]

There's not much room in there to whack the middle carb bowl,so I'll whip the carb out today for a look.

[Ian]

Check for the Viton rubber tip lifting on the float needle. Ethanol absorbs water and it gets under the Viton tip, corrodes and the rubber tip lifts. Doesn't need much to stop it sealing.

Especially if it was standing for a while before you got it with fuel in the carbs.

[Skub]

Carbs off today for investigation.



No leaks in the float bowl overflow pipe,the floats are sound,but on the middle carb the needle valve was slightly grooved,plus the float tang wasn't closing it properly anyway.

I replaced the needle valve with viton tipped ones from Mikuni and although the other two carbs looked ok,I just did them all while I was in there. I had to reset the float height too,as the new needle valves sat a little lower than the old ones.


I stuck the carbs back on and turned on the fuel. No leaks and the bike fired up and idled ok even without the airbox.

I'll put the airbox back on and do a test run,but hopefully that's the leaks sorted.

I'll also have to get the l/h engine casings sprayed up properly,as the spilled fuel has damaged the paint.

[mangocrazy]

Nice work. I think needle valves and seats should be replaced every 10k miles anyway, just to avoid problems. And it seems to me that two strokes are more sensitive to wear in those parts than four-strokes. Part of the problem with my LC was worn needle valves and seats. Replacing them (and a jetting change) transformed my LC, removing the massive hole in the power curve between 5000 and 6000 rpm.

[Taipan]

Nice to be able to work on something so easily!

[Skub]

Nice to be able to work on something so easily!

Getting the airbox back was a....learning process.

[Yorick]

Nice to be able to work on something so easily!

Getting the airbox back was a....learning process.

On my GT750, getting the carbs back on, was, ahem, challenging

[Skub]

I had a break in the r/h HT lead and there was plenty of length to repair by cutting a bit off. I then came across at least part of the reason for the electrical interference.
In essence,this little spring clip sits on the end of the HT lead and locates on the top of the spark plug. The two rightangled spikes punch into the HT lead for connection. What looks like a plug cap is really just a rubber shroud and judging by the 'welding arc' that was jumping to the cylinder head,it's no surprise it induces electrical noise.
I hadn't come across this arrangement before and the spring stayed in the rubber shroud when I pulled it off,so it was all a bit until I got the drift. Every day's a schoolday.


Incidentally,there are folk on the bay looking a tenner for this 'rare part' and it can still be bought off Kawasaki for £1.10. Folk forget there is a surprising amount of new old stock stuff still available.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

You should try getting the carbs off and on any inline 4 4 stroke with a cradle frame, much swearing and Vaseline is involved.

Four strokes are just as prone to problems with float height, they just take longer to hole a piston.

Kawasaki UK are really good for parts for old bikes, Cradley Heath have a lot of stock, and for second hand parts try John Bose (I may have misspelt his name) in Wrexham.

[mangocrazy]

You should try getting the carbs off and on any inline 4 4 stroke with a cradle frame, much swearing and Vaseline is involved.

Hah! I see your IL4 carb woes and raise you with a bank of 4 carbs in the Vee of a VFR750. Heat, mallets and red rubber grease is involved.

And swearing, of course.

[JackyJoll]

Incidentally,there are folk on the bay looking a tenner for this 'rare part' and it can still be bought off Kawasaki for £1.10. Folk forget there is a surprising amount of new old stock stuff still available.

Think I’ll dismantle the clothes pegs and make a fortune!

[Skub]

You should try getting the carbs off and on any inline 4 4 stroke with a cradle frame, much swearing and Vaseline is involved.

Four strokes are just as prone to problems with float height, they just take longer to hole a piston.

Kawasaki UK are really good for parts for old bikes, Cradley Heath have a lot of stock, and for second hand parts try John Bose (I may have misspelt his name) in Wrexham.

I did a fair bit of carbs off and on with my Z1 back in the 70s,but for pure horrible the prize went to my GPZ900R,not so much the carbs,but the stock air box. There was a very small lip on the carbs and every time I had the airbox fixed on,it pulled off again when I tried to use the fixing points on the frame...back and forth,back back and forth...until after many hours of fun..

I calmly removed the airbox from the bike and stabbed it repeatedly with a screwdriver,then booted it up and down the driveway in a frenzy. The plot was well lost. The fucking K&N pods I then had to buy were only slightly less bother to grip the carbs and much worse for carburation.

Life schools ya.

[Ian]

WTF, have you got the original surface discharge plugs too? That's taking originality to far, I'd be saving them in a drawer for posterity and putting some NGK plug caps on.