Kawasaki Photos

I never really took any photos of the Kawasaki after I got it together.  So I ran over to the large vacant lot north of us, and snapped a few in the early evening light.

Kawasaki Exhaust Baffle/Silencer

In an effort to reduce the noise coming out the back of the Kawasaki, I wanted to fit a muffler.  Before I just throw $50-100 down for a commercial muffler, I wanted to try something simple.  I extended the tailpipe about 8-inches, and fit a perforated inner pipe made out of copper and two fittings.  This just slides down into the tailpipe, held on with a pair of rivets.  I had just enough muffler packing material leftover from doing the trials bike, to fit around the perf pipe.  So I essentially made a very small muffler insert.

muffler insert made from copper pipe

Extended tailpipe houses muffler insert

And then....I couldn't get the bike to run.  It started up, popped and farted a bit, then just wouldn't run.  It fouled the plug immediately after cleaning it.  Then I realized I had mixed up my fuel way too rich.  Normally I use a little 1oz volume Lucero olive oil bottle, full of 10-30 engine oil and marvel mystery oil, mixed into a 32oz jug of fuel.  For some reason I used 2oz of oil, so I had a very oily 16:1 ratio.  I drained the tank, put in proper mixed fuel.  Then I also realized I was running a NGK B8HS plug, which is listed as the coldest plug for this engine.  I had a brand new B6HS available, which is listed as suitable for hot rod versions of this engine, with a bigger carb and exhaust like my bike has.  

So it fired up instantly, and runs great.  And yes, it is quieter.  Not massively so, but quite a bit of the bark has been taken away.

Kawasaki G3TR - It's Running!

Just like the little Suzuki, the Kawasaki had been fighting me for many months.  It ran initially way back when, but then had a sporadic spark.  Turns out it just needed a condenser.  So after soldering a new one in, and installing a new set of point, it fired up to life.  Awakening the entire neighborhood (it was 1pm) and keeping the mosquitoes at bay for another year.  I forgot how damn loud it is without a muffler.  I guess I know what my next project will be, building a muffler.

Video proof of it running

Suzuki K10P - Running!

After fighting a week spark and a motor that didn't want to come to life, I finally buckled and ordered up an $8 condenser for the Suzuki.  After some soldering and swearing, my weak spark instantly turned bright and fat, and after a little coaxing of the carb settings, I had a running Suzuki K10P for the first time ever.  Likely the first time this bike has run in over twenty years.

One happy man, one smokey bike

Bridgestone 90 Clutch

I have had a spare Birdgestone 90 motor up on the bench, trying to unstick it.  Unfortunately the piston is good and seized no matter what I soak it with, or how much brute force I use.  The least i can do is grab some of the parts off it, such as this clutch mechanism.  

My blue BS90 sport has just a little bit of clutch slippage at high rpm in 3rd and 4th gear, so I plan on cracking it open to inspect.  Usually this means the fiber disc and metal plates just need a bit of cleaning.  But in case the discs are worn, these spares can go in, as they measure out just fine in terms of thickness.

Kriek Trub

During the holiday break, Susan's little sister Wilson and I brewed up a kriek, which is a cherry lambic. We mashed a pretty normal grain bill with two row, wheat, and some crystal 20, then soured it for 48 hours. We ended up with 3 gallons of wort that smelled like bad feet and dead hookers.

Then we went through a normal boil process, cooled, and pitched Belgian abbey yeast. Fermented on some cherries for two weeks, then transferred to secondary today with some additional cherry juice/syrup. I plan on letting that do its thing for a couple months.

The following is a jar of Trub I pulled off the bottom of primary. I'm thinking I could repitch for some sort of Belgian ale recipe, maybe a quad of some sort.