Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Installed intake and exhaust

I had to remove the rear tire in order to install the exhaust, but no big deal w/o the chain.  The intake side was nice and easy without an airbox.  I will have to rejet after we get it running of course.
46mm pod filter from Amazon.com
The carb looks nicer without the accelerator pump
Yes, that is electrical tape on the carb holder... for now
Gotta paint the header at some point
The muffler mod was performed by the PO

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Extracted a broken bolt and installed handlebars

When I began to install the handlebars (just to make it easier to roll the bike around), I found a broken bolt in the top clamp.  Luckily, I had a set of handlebar bolts from a previous parts bike.  Fortunately, the remnants of the bolt came out easily.



These bars are very temporary

Inspected the parts bike carburetor

Since it was sitting in a box, I figured it would be wise to do a quick inspection of the carb before installing it.  It looked pretty clean and correct, except for the brass pipe that extends from the bowl into the choke - side of the throat.  I believe there is a tiny hole at the tip, which was clogged.  Also, the pilot air screw was MIA along with a couple of o rings and a spring for the accelerator pump.  I found the pilot screw on ebay using the Kawasaki p/n, and the accelerator pump circuit will most likely get bypassed when we re-jet.
I just realized that this is the jet for the accelerator pump, so this clog is irrelevant if we bypass it!
Checking the float height; about 21mm with a slight push down

Purchased a parts bike

I found this kl250 basket case listed on Craigslist as a kz250, about an hour drive from my home.  The owner had lost interest in the project (working on a different bike now-- sounds familiar!) and just wanted it gone.  I picked it up real cheap, and plan to reassemble it and get it running.  I may swap some parts (air box, exhaust, etc) from the other bike to build this one as a dirtbike and the other one more of a road bike.
Pulled over on the way home to snap a couple sunset pics
The exhaust is in the bag
Just loosely bolted the front wheel on for now

Friday, February 13, 2015

Installed capacitor to delete the battery

Permanent magnet rotor plus magneto ignition equals:  who needs a battery?

I mounted the capacitor using the rubber boot from the turn signal flasher.  I don't plan to have turn signals, but left the flasher installed with cable ties for now.

I checked the voltage while running, and was pleased that it was around 7 - 7.3 volts.  On a 6 volt charging system, I think that will be fine.