Kawasaki Gas Tank: Boobs and Dragons

I'll make this brief, since the folk's computers are slower than creating stone tablets. I have a Kawasaki gas tank fully painted, courtesy Mr. A. As requested, boobs and dragons.

The proud artist:


Boobs, 6-shooter, spear, dragon:


Bushmaster indeed:

Absolutely terrific!

I can't wait to get this on the bike, get it running, and take it to the grocery store.

Kawasaki Screams to Life!!!

I had been trying to get the Kawasaki to run for the past couple evenings. I had spark, and I managed to fill up the carb full of fuel using half of an old filter as a funnel and a piece of fuel hose. It acted like it wanted to try, but wouldn't quite start.

Today I got serious after installing the new exhaust. With just enough choke and throttle, it almost started. So I fiddled with the timing a little, and advanced it a smidge. Roughly 1-degree based on the mark on the flywheel. As it happens, that is all it took, as it instantly fired up and ran.

I immediately grabbed Susan and the digital camera, and had her take this short video. This is only the second time it ran, so it is extra smokey.

After 30 seconds of running, most of the smoke cleared. I needed to adjust the idle speed up a bit, and it would idle without the choke, and take throttle very cleanly.

Getting a bike running for the first time is always exciting!

Kawasaki Exhaust Part Deuce

I decided to hack apart the stock exhaust and fashion myself a new one. I used the front half of the stocker, and built a new rear section using the calcs I put together for a proper expansion chamber size/shape. It went rather smoothly.

I even fashioned a little aluminum heat shield, and wrapped everything up in the leftover exhaust wrap from the BS-7 project.

As mounted:

Kawasaki Exhaust

I cleaned up the stock exhaust and mounted it up last night. It isn't my favorite look, as it seems to be about 6-8" too long. It has the expansion chamber shape built into it, then a muffler chamber at the back that also contained a spark arrestor. It isn't terrible, just not my favorite.

It does tuck up nicely to the frame, and even has a notch to clear the rear shock. So My leg has tons of clearance when sitting on the bike.

If I get lazy enough this weekend, I may sketch up a different design, with a fatty expansion chamber shape.

Kawasaki Wiring and Carb Rebuild

I brought the Bushmaster into the nice warm living room today for a bit of wiring work. As usual, I didn't have the original key, and part of the harness was missing. So I ended up re-wiring most of the bike. It was an extremely tight fit, but I got everything to fit inside my little wiring box (peanut can.) We had some Nascar on the TV to entertain us, and my country-mate Andrew Ranger got some air time:

Me running wires:

During my wiring, the mailman dropped off a pair of original 1973 circa carburetor rebuild kits for the Mikuni:

They were a whopping $5.95 each, so I bought a spare. I also received a package from Bike Bandit containing a new 428 chain (bigger than the 420 chains I usually have on hand) and a new NGK B8HS spark plug.

After all this work, I not only had spark at the plug, but I had a rear taillight and headlight that worked. I still need to run the wiring for the charging circuit, and find a place to hide the selenium rectifier, which needs to be grounded to the chassis.

C'

Kawasaki Engine Install

I got the top end assembled on the Bushmaster engine, and then promptly tossed it in the chassis. It went surprisingly smoothly. Pics below:

I built the front fork brace last weekend, but never painted it. I should get by butt off the couch and get that done today, while the weather is dry.

C'

Kawasaki: Center Stand

In a strange twist, I ended up modifying a Honda center stand to work on the Bridgestone BS7 project. And on the Kawasaki, the Bridgestone center stand ended up being a good fit, given the reduced ride height of the Bushmaster. I had to make a new pivot plate, and use a shorter tension spring, but it all came together nicely:

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Kawasaki Stuff

There haven't been a lot of updates on the Kawi, as I'm just taking care of little things as I go. Such as fitting the rear brake setup, front brake and clutch cable, and finishing up the rear fender assembly. I need to turn my attention to the engine, which I may get to this weekend. We'll see how lazy I get.

front control cables:

Rear fender:

I think I finally got the rear ride height sorted, so the rear tire doesn't rub anything with my fat ass on the bike:

Kawasaki: Tires/Wheels Mounted

Just a quick sneak preview. I was desperate to get the wheels and tires mounted, before we took the tank up to Oregon for Mr. A to work his magic. It will be the last day I have the tank on the bike until Christmas.

I got the wheels built last night, using the new spokes/nipples I got from Thailand. Amazingly, they arrived in 5 days, despite just using Thai parcel post. The wheel rims are new Warp 9 2.15x18, which are both wider and lighter than the original old crusty units. The tires are Shinko 244, in 3.5 and 4.1x18 size.

New headlight, old speedo rebuilt, and huge front meat:

More meat:

This is version 2 of my seat idea, and I like it. Just a nice simple black vinyl seat. I used some little push-pin style dudes that are meant to go on the bottom of furniture, to make it easier to slide them around. I wanted to give it a pleated look, but don't have the ability to sew through thicker vinyl. This may be my final design:

More Kawasaki Assembly

I got bit more assembly work done the past couple days. Tonight was a headlight, speedo,and a mock-up rear seat I'm not real satisfied with. I made another quick seat tonight with a different shape that looks better, but it still needs something to set it off. I'm thinking some upholstery buttons to give it a pleated look.

I threw on an 18" S90 front wheel and a 17" Trail 55 rear wheel just to give it something to roll around on for now. The new meats will be much bigger.

The front needs to be about 1/2" lower, and the rear of the tank needs to be about a 1/4" higher. the little rear fender is off a Yamaha GT80, cut down and re-shaped. I've thrown a little Cub 50 tailight on it for now, and made a simple little license plate bracket:

Kawasaki Assembly

I got quite a bit of paint work done over the past few days, including the frame, suspension parts, hubs etc. This morning I started the assembly process, as shown below:

I should be getting some new wheel spokes in the next week or two, so I can assemble up the wheels and see if the fat tires actually fit!

Kawasaki Engine: Top End Unfreezing

After just a couple days of soaking the piston/cylinder with ATF, the Kawi engine magically unfroze itself. I gave a gentle turning of the flywheel, and it just decided to turn over. I pulled the cylinder off, then drove out the piston pin and removed the piston. I'm now soaking the main crankcase chamber with ATF.

Exciting photo of a clean piston and a dirty engine case:

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Kawasaki Parts Delivery 1 & 2

I placed an order on Sunday with Motorcycle Superstore for some various parts for the Bushmaster. Including new tires, tubes, grips, universal throttle, handlebar, and other items I have since forgotten. Since I spent enough coin to qualify for free shipping, they apparently decided to ship items as they became available. So far I've received two shipments, with a third scheduled for arrival tomorrow, and a fourth scheduled for Friday. It's going to be Christmas all week!

One item I wanted to specifically comment on, where the tires. I wanted some big beasty meats for this Brat style project, and I found the Shinko 244 to be just my cup of tea. I got a 3.50x18 front and a 4.10x18 rear. The funniest part though? The fact that the sidewalls are marked with rather large letters the term "Golden Boy." Those crazy Koreans!

There stands a chance I could get some mockup done this weekend.

C'

Kawasaki Engine: Top End

I pulled the cylinder head off the Kawi engine late yesterday, then mounted it to the work bench. It isn't nearly as bad as the BS-7 engine was, but it is frozen. I think a bit of soaking with ATF will help free it up. In fact, I know it will, as I'm already seeing some ATF leaking past the rings and out the exhaust port.

I was lucky in that the flywheel pulling tool for Honda 50 engines also fit the Kawi perfectly. And talk about grimy! The flywheel was massively encrusted in a pasty sort of acid/rust crust. I will need some sort of puller to get the stator off though, as it sits too far inboard of the engine case to get a screwdriver under.

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Kawasaki Gas Tank Dimensions

For Mr. A: Gas tank dimensions in inches.

Top View:

Side View:

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Kawasaki Mockup

I spent some time this morning mocking up the "new" frame pieces on the Bushmaster. I have most everything just tacked into place, but I like where it is going. I replaced the rear subframe area with new tubes, and triangulated them down to the main engine cradle. I also built new upper shock mounts, that tie into the joint of the seat and triangulation tubes.

Now I need to get serious about new wheels and tires. I'm thinking about the Shinko 244 tires in 3.5 and 4.1 sizes front and rear. The big rear might be a touch tight, so I may settle on 3.5 all around.

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Kawasaki - Chopping Begins

I can honestly now claim to be building my first "chopper." I whacked off the tail section and a bunch of brackets from the frame of the Bushmaster. All told, I removed 7 pounds off a 23 pound frame. Obviously I'll be building back up that rear section with new metal, but it will be simplified and triangulated, with different upper rear shock mounts.

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Kawasaki Teardown

I got busy this evening, tearing down the Bushmaster:

Engine out, seat off, lots of dead weight removed. In this shot, I've got it hunkered down on its front and rear suspension to try and get a ride height I plan on running:

Most of the rear subframe is going to be replaced:

Headband? Check. Wife beater? Check. Bulging farmer's tan? Check.

If I have time for lunch tomorrow, I might give it a good douche off.

C'

Mastering the Bush

As the Bridgestone BS-7 project is winding down, I can't help but turn my attention to another project bike. I have several to choose from, but I want something different from the usual Honda C100 based bike, or another cafe/racer bike. So how about a Kawasaki?

I've had this 1969 Kawasaki G3TR Bushmaster for quite a while. In fact, this photo was taken at our old townhouse, so it must have been approaching five years now. I bought it off a gentleman in SanFran, for something paltry like $100. As you can see, it needs lots of work:

I've been wanting to do something along the lines of a "Brat Style" build. Which is a no-frills 1970s hot rod sort of thing. Biggish tires, lowered a bunch, more relaxed riding position. My first quick concept sketch is this:

Chop the frame a bit, lower it, new seat, move the tank back a little, biggish tires, and try to keep it as clean as possible. I also have a vision of a totally righteous 1970s style fuel tank art, complete with a naked lady and a dragon. Maybe a naked lady riding a dragon. Mr A has agreed to help me with that, so it should be awesome.

C'