KAWASAKI GT CLUB
TIPS FROM BOB YATES
KAWASAKI GT CLUB
TIPS FROM BOB YATES
My bike is a GT 550, G7. This is the first red version with a Zephyr engine. Some of these notes are specific to this and later versions.
These notes do not replace the Haynes Manual ISBN 1850104867, a copy of which can be got from Amazon for about £14.
Disclaimer: No liability can be accepted for defects in this material. Always make independent checks.
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< <.....Air filter, fitting properly
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< <.....Alarm fitting (Cyclone)
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< <.....Battery warning light, neutralising
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< <.....Battery, priming new one
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< <.....Body armour, DIY
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< <.....Brakes, bleeding the wrong way
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< <.....Brakes, front piston renovation
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< <.....Brakes, master cylinder piston
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< <.....Cam chain wear, checking
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< <.....Carburettor cleaning
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< <.....Carburettor test rig
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< <.....Carburettor, factory settings
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< <.....Carburettor, valve replacement
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< <.....Centre stand, parking on
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< <.....Choke, use of
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< <.....Drive shaft sprocket, Lubrication
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< <.....Electrical connecters, greasing
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< <.....Electrics, renovation and fitting
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< <.....Exhaust: Motad four in one
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< <.....Fairing, Powerbronze
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< <.....Frame alignment check
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< <.....Fuel Sender unit
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< <.....Fuel tap, cleaning
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< <.....Gasket re-using, cam shaft cover
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< <.....Gear pedal, adjusting
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< <.....Handlebar grips
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< <.....Horn problem
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< <.....Insurance and breakdown cover
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< <.....Loom, renovating
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< <.....Mirrors for the winter
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< <.....Mud flaps, danger
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< <.....Petrol warning light, neutralising
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< <.....Regulator/rectifier unit, testing
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< <.....Rust prevention
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< <.....Steering head, spanner
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< <.....Suspension, oil change, front
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< <.....Suspension, oil change, rear
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< <.....Suspension, pressure
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< <.....Swing arm removal
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< <.....Temperature, air measurement
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< <.....Tyre pressures GT 550 and GT 750
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< <.....Warm hands
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< <.....End
The air filter has a strip of foam around its outlet. This has to sit square against the forward filter box entrance. Make up a strip of stiff plastic about 8 x 20 cm and 1 mm thick. Put a thin film of oil on one side and press it to the front of the filter. Slide it out slowly just as you finally push the top end of the filter into place.
The Cyclone alarm costs about £25, with postage, from ebay or www.motorbikealarm.co.uk
The instructions are likely to be brief so here are additional notes:
The fob has four controls: Arm, disarm, ignition and panic.
Click ignition twice to put the brown lead positive. Use this lead to operate a relay switching the whole power supply.
The blue lead goes positive (or negative) momentarily so perhaps this could be used to start the engine. But why bother?
The Cyclone body can be strapped low on the LH side of the battery cage. I used several turns of 1” knicker elastic. Other solutions are possible but not quick..
See Loom, Renovating for general wiring information.
The blue, gray and pink wires are not used. Neither are wires with the butt-splice connectors attached so I cut these off (at different lengths). I cut off the main connector block and extended the leads required though this might invalidate the guarantee.
Use a relay, single pole 40 amp normally open (spno). Fit it to the cross member behind the tool tray. Connect black and brown leads from the Cyclone to operate the relay. Cut the white lead supplying all power to the ignition just after the fuse box connector. Extend the leads and connect to the relay.
Loom connections to the indicator lights are green and gray prior to the rear end connector.
The auxiliary lead at the front remains live providing a source of power for a resourceful thief. If it is not in use disconnect it at the fuse, the third one down.
Disadvantages of the Cyclone or other alarm:
The fob buttons have to be pressed at the very tip, difficult with gloves on or a broken thumb nail.
The electronic key combination is unique but devices to scan for key combinations are becoming available.
The alarm is loud outside but perhaps not loud enough indoors to wake you up.
A determined thief will smash the seat or side covers off to stop the alarm.
Current continues to go through the relay coil after stopping unless the alarm is switched off or armed. The drain involved, 100ma, will flatten the battery in a day or two. The current used by the Cyclone is the usual 4ma. Even this can be significant if the bike is left for several weeks in the winter.
To stop the warning light from flashing when the battery sensor has failed disconnect the lead and connect it to the positive terminal by a resistor. I find that a 50 k resistor is the largest size suitable. This results in a current drain of only 0.18 ma.
Incidentally, the Kawasaki sensor costs about £17 but you can get a Hi Level sensor for just £4.70 (part number 705500). The latter has an inline resistor which cuts the current drain from 4.2 ma to about 0.28 ma.
If you are not putting the battery onto your bike at the shop you can buy it dry if it is an ordinary lead antimony one. Add the acid yourself. Then you know it has been prepared properly.
A dry battery should ideally be sealed under vacuum. Then it has a long shelf life (three years). However, not all makes are sealed.
The acid is of course very corrosive so handle it carefully, wearing rubber gloves and old cloths. Have plenty of kitchen tissue handy. Put your hands under the tap frequently.
Make sure the vent hole is open before you start.
Initially fill each cell with acid to just above the bottom of the double line. The typical dispenser provided with the bottle of acid is intended to replace the cap. Better to pour acid into a polythene container with a lip. Then use the dispenser like a funnel. Then you can carefully control the amount going in.
If you do not have a dispenser or very small funnel use the nozzle commonly provided with building sealants.
When adding acid and subsequently when adding distilled water rock the battery (gently) after each dose to clear gas bubbles.
With the acid in let the battery cool for an hour or two. At this stage the battery is only 60 % charged. It must be trickle charged up to the maximum voltage before being used (otherwise it may never deliver its full power).
Be aware that as the battery looses its charge the acid level drops by up to several millimetres and rises as the battery is charged. Top up when the battery is fully charged. On the first occasion top up with acid. Otherwise always used distilled water. Add tiny doses if you top up exactly to the top line, gently shaking the battery at each dose.
Always keep in mind the basics:
The battery can explode if a flame occurs anywhere near it as hydrogen is produced in the chemical reaction. You would get pelted with acid as well a shrapnel. Nasty, if you are not wearing protective gear. If it should happen flood yourself with water and dial 999 quickly.
Your crash hat with the visor down provides useful protection for your face if you lack the right gear.
Minimise the risk: Keep lighted cigarettes, naked flames and sparks out of the way. Never forget that sparks can occur when connecting leads to the terminals. So, if possible, connect leads to the battery before connecting them at the other end. Disconnect at the other end before the battery. Do this even when using the voltmeter as it makes a short circuit if you inadvertently have it set to measure current.
While moving the battery from the bike, or putting it back, make sure nothing is switched on and have a strip of plastic card or wide tape between each battery terminal and lead.
Do not forget to fit the battery breather pipe as corrosion can be severe eventually.
Only use a battery charger designed for motor cycle batteries or a trickle charger (that delivers about one amp). The charging voltage depends on the charger. Usually (for a lead antimony battery) they drift to nearly 15 volts and then drop a bit.
A trickle charger is adequate unless you need to get the battery charged up quickly. If storing the battery connect the trickle charger to the mains via an electronic timer that comes on for up to an hour each week, as needed.
Evaporation only occurs if a battery is charged for too long or is not fully charged. Then you must top it up with distilled water to avoid it being ruined.
If the battery does not have a separate hole for the sensor insert it in the third or fourth hole provided it will not hit the top of the plate. Or you could get away with cutting the sensor down so that it does not reach the plate. Then top up the one cell above the normal level by 5 mm. Or do away with the sensor by connecting the lead to the positive terminal with a resistor to stop the low battery warning.
Avoid charging or discharging your battery too fast, keep it topped up and keep the terminals clean. Then it should fade gradually, rather than leave you stranded.
A new battery just off the charger at 14.8 volts quickly settles to 12.7 volts. A fading battery settles to 0.5 volts lower, but performance on load is a better indicator. Switch just the headlight on. If the voltage is then less than 11.2 volts the battery should be scrapped (according to an article at www.MCNews.com/mcnews/articles/battery.htm).
When Knox armour was on half-price offer I bought a set of knee and hip armour, total £15. Then I bought a pair of £4 jeans from Asda and got the old Singer sewing machine out. I sewed the armour into pouches for attaching to the jeans.
Incidentally, I bought the longest pair of jeans available and cut them down because they are deeper in the body—more comfortable.
At the knees I stitched horizontal inward pleats or folds to which I stitched the top of the knee pouches. (This saves unstitching most of the legs.) The top of the knee armour has to be just above the knee when standing. If too low it stabs the kneecap when walking.
The hip armour has to be exactly at the side so that it grips the top of the leg when sitting on the bike.
Under the jeans I wear tracksuit bottoms. These take up the slack and help stick the armour into place, only the tops of the pouches being fixed to the trousers.
I used cotton upholstery webbing to make shoulder straps, stitched to the trousers front and back.(The jacket has to be taken off to get the trousers down but I can live with that.) A thin fabric waist belt provides comfortable extra support.
I bought a second pair of jeans, large enough to go over the first pair, but only use them when going for a ‘burn-up’.
A camping mat can be used as cheap body armour. These are £5 at Argos. Very durable ones from specialist camping stores can cost £15. I use a double layer in my jacket back, cut from a pattern made in cardboard: better than nothing!
Jeans with armour in them are obviously better than jeans without. Note, however, that Cordura is about ten times stronger than cotton.
My front brakes were a just bit soft so I bled a bit of fluid out, but not enough for the reservoir to need toping up.
To my surprise the brakes were worse. I got the Haynes Manual out and read p.197 carefully but this did not sort me out.
As I loosened the reservoir cover ready to bleed the brakes yet again I heard a rush of air that told me what I had done wrong, previously.
I had forgotten to loosen the reservoir cover. Consequently the system was at a reduced pressure. This reduces the effective travel of the brake lever and provides a strong tendency for air to gradually enter the system.
The Haynes manual failed to sort me out because one has to read this section very carefully. Otherwise, one gets the impression that the reservoir cover should be securely fitted during the bleeding process.
This is dealt with in the Haynes Manual p.193.
You can remove the pistons using pressure from a foot pump: After cutting the adapter off twist the tube into the brake nipple hole. This gives a tight fit enabling 70 lbs in2 pressure.
If the piston sticks twist gently with a wrench. Have a strip of wood 5mm thick lashed to the caliper arms. Then the piston comes out without jamming half way or shooting out dangerously. Care is needed to avoid an accident.
A lot of careful scraping is needed to get rid of the cement-like gunge in the cylinder and piston grooves.
The only tricky bit is to re-fit the pistons with replacement seals and dust covers. Do not offer the piston into cylinder without the dust cover as you only have to dig it out again. Put the top part of the dust cover onto the bottom of the piston first. Then coax the bottom of the dust cover into its groove in the top of the cylinder. Now push the piston in easily, provided everything is covered in fluid.
I left my brakes pistons for three years after complete renovation. In that time I only did only 8000 miles but that was enough to make as mess of them. The pistons previously new already had tiny pot holes in them.
I now do a part service every six months without disconnecting the brake hose. I remove pads and lubricate caliper spindles and under the piston dust cap using a suitable aerosol grease (not petrol based). The piston top and sides of the pads get a very careful dab of copper grease using an artist’s paint brush.
My bike failed an MOT because the front brakes where soft. The engineer let it through after I bled them but said that to pull them right up I would have to change the piston assembly (£25). He said it should be changed every four years. However, the Haynes manual recommends changing the piston assembly only if it fails an inspection.
Later I got a new piston assembly. It did not look any different to the old one but provided a distinct reduction in the brake lever travel.
You can check the cam chain wear when you take the cam shaft cover off to check the valve clearances.
Rotate the crank shaft clockwise a little to get the chain taught. Then use a vernier across twenty-one links. Measure across the outside of the protruding pins then deduct the pin diameter. This gives the required length of twenty links pin centre to pin centre. Repeat at several parts of the chain in case the wear is uneven.
The pin diameter can be got with a micrometer. Remove the igniter. I got a variation: 2.7 mm to 2.85 mm. (The pin ends probably get squashed in manufacture.)
The vernier set at 130.2 mm just cleared twenty-one pins at several parts of my chain.
So, the length of twenty links is 130.2 – 2.7 = 127.5 mm (at most).
The starting length and maximum permitted length are given in the Haynes Manual: Start 127 mm, maximum 128.9 mm.
So, my chain can stretch another (128.9 – 127.5) = 1.4 mm.
The wear as a proportion of the maximum is useful:
This, in my case, is (127.5 – 127) divided by (128.9 – 127) which comes to 0.26. The clock at this reads 27,000 miles which seems feasible?
Incidentally, I got nearly the same result from a complicated calculation based on the tensioner displacement, but I doubt if it is reliable.
These notes are for the GT 550 G7 – G9. It has fixed float valve inserts.
Most people neglect the carburettors until they go wrong. Usually they get clogged up through not changing the filter or flood due to gum on the float chamber valves caused by stale petrol.
Flooding is indicated by petrol pouring onto the floor from a carb vent tube. If you are trying to start from cold the exhaust associated with that carb will be cold owing to the plug being wet. With a bad flood the other carb connected to the same vent tube will also be flooded. (NB One cylinder not firing can also be caused by a dud plug or HT lead.)
The Kawasaki Owner’s Manual recommends clearing a flooded engine by opening the throttle wide. However it will not clear if the float chamber valve is faulty. Neat petrol entering the combustion space could cause a hydraulic lock damaging the connecting rod and crank shaft.
Before taking the carburettors off the bike you might care to get the worst of the dirt off with an aerosol contact cleaner. This spreads the dirt if you do not put covers down.
Disconnect the elbow shaped rubber breather tube connecting to the breather cover (top of the gearbox). Remove the vacuum filter leading into the filter box and the air filter. Check their condition.
If you take the clutch lever off to remove the cable take care not to damage the starter lockout switch (that prevents the starter operating except in neutral or with the clutch open.) It has a long fragile plunger.
Screw in the middle adjusters on the throttle cables. This should give enough free play to disconnect from the carburettors as you get them clear of the engine.
After disconnecting the two parts of the filter box from each other and the frame you should be able to pull the carburettors out of the front rubber stubs and bend the front upwards and pull forwards away from the back rubbers.
If this is too much of a struggle you might get a bit more space by undoing the battery cage. (Tie it up as far back as possible.) Also push the rubbers that connect to the input ports back further into the filter box. (Prod them with a large smooth spoon handle not a screwdriver.) Then the back ends of the carburettors are free and you can wiggle them out of the front stubs easily.
Immediately plug all inlets to the engine. Use a single piece of cloth to avoid the risk of anything falling in. Plug the hole in the breather cover (top of gearbox) also.
This is a good chance to oil the clutch and throttle cables. Tie them up to raise their lower ends and dribble oil into them every now an then.
With the carburettors and air box off check that they can be re-connected. The rubbers tend to harden and shrink. You may have to order replacements, price total £25. (The rubber stubs on the engine side are longer lasting.)
Check the fuel pipe. A new one would be easy to fit with the carburettors off. Or you could fit the old one the other way round to get more life out of it.
Finish the external cleaning of the carburettors using a recognised aerosol carburettor solvent. These are usually based on methanol and xylene. They are not likely to harm delicate rubber components but they are very harmful to you if inhaled.
Have a plastic bowl large enough to take the carburettor while you work on it. Keep it clean. Also have rubber gloves and a full roll of kitchen tissue.
The steel mounting brackets and the sliding choke rail are likely to be corroded. To clean them use wire wool (soaked in rust remover), wire brush and fine sand paper as required.
The sliding choke rail comes off, but see the note below about putting it back. Note the nylon washers under the screw heads and behind the rail. (You have to remove the rubber plugs on the vacuum gauge pipes taking care not to scratch the pipes.) Put the ball bearing used to latch the rail and the spring behind it into a bag for safe keeping.
To re-fit the choke rail start by locating the plunger for No 4 carb and work back to No 1. This takes only a minute if you have the knack. However, you might get the springs tangled with the flanges on the end of the plungers. If so make four pieces of card 10 x 50 mm about 0.3 mm thick. Cut a slot 2 x 8 mm in one end. Slide the card between the spring and the flange. That should make the task easier.
At this stage number the float bowls 1 to 4. Always work with the carburettor choke handle to the left (as on the bike) so No 1 carb is on the left.
Have four bowls to put parts in from each carb. Always put parts back to the carb they came from.
Remove the idling adjustment bracket and electrics (not provided on the first G7s). Be careful not to bend the leads at the element. They tend to get brittle and might break.
Now open up the float bowls. (You will require a cross head screwdriver bit with a socket spanner lever.)
Clean the bowls and the drain cock screws. Grease the thread of the latter but not near the needle and not with copper grease (which dissolves in petrol).
Clean each float chamber valve: Its brass seating and the needle tip.
Use only the aerosol carburettor solvent on the rubber float needle tip, wiping gently with a very soft cloth.
For G7 models onwards the seating has to be cleaned in situ. Solvents are not likely to be effective. So, soak it in a suitable chemical cleaner or use an abrasive cleaner.
To use a chemical cleaner feed a few drops into the needle cavity after pushing a cocktail stick (loosely not tightly) into the 2 mm centre hole.
To use an abrasive cleaner, apply it with a cotton bud.
If you have no ideas about what to use try Brasso. Its chemical effect is slow, so rely on its abrasive property. Dip a cotton bud in it. Press gently on the seating and twist for about ten seconds. Repeat once or twice if the seating is very dirty.
Immediately remove all traces of cleaner with clean cotton buds and flush with the aerosol carburettor solvent.
With the float chamber valves sorted do the rest of the cleaning:
Unless your carburettors have been round the clock you will probably not remove the jets or take the top off to check the diaphragm and main jet needle. However, at least clean the passages for the main supply, the pilot supply and the cold start (choke) supply: Each supply has a jet for air entry, a jet for petrol entry and a needle or plunger to control how much of the air/petrol mixture goes through. (A jet is a hole to control flow.)
Start with the main supply: The main petrol jet protrudes the most into the float chamber. Squirt cleaner (a new aerosol with plenty of pressure) into this. Then squirt into the main air jet. This is the bottom one at the inlet port. Repeat this with the main needle raised (lift the black nylon piston through which it passes). This cleans the main (mixture) needle jet and the needle.
Now clean the pilot supply: First squirt into the pilot jet (the other removable petrol jet). Now identify the pilot mixture screw. This is at the front underside in its own recess. Remove the screw *, but first check how many turns it is screwed out if you want to retain its setting. Take great care not to bend the delicate needle tip or lose the washer and O ring. Now squirt into the pilot air jet. This is next to the main air jet at the inlet port. This will blow out the O ring if is jammed in. Be ready to catch it. Clean the pilot screw cavity with cotton buds. (* Can this be done on American models?)
Clean the needle part of the screw (carefully): It usually gets quite dirty from being at the passage end. Then re-insert O ring, washer, spring and the screw. Screw all the way (light pressure) and then screw back to the previous setting or the factory setting (see file Carburettor, Factory Settings). If in doubt try 2¼ turns.
Now squirt into the pilot air jet again. Do this with the throttle (butterfly) valve partly open so you can see carb cleaner oozing out of the tiny jet bypass holes below it (except the first hole which has the tip of the pilot screw protruding into it).
Now clean the cold start supply: The petrol jet for this is not removable. It connects through drilled passages leading to the choke cavity at the top. To be sure it is clear you need some air pressure.
(A foot pump can be used for this and other bike air pressure requirements, such as to blow out brake pistons. Cut off the adapter or utilise the various attachments provided with pumps.)
Force air into the cold start petrol jet with just enough pressure to hear air escape from a small hole within the float chamber. This small hole is above the fuel level and serves as the air jet for this supply.
Now open the choke fully. Hear a larger volume of air escaping. Air is flowing out back through a hole into the space just below the diaphragm and out of a jet at the ten o’clock position in the outlet port. Squirt into the latter with the carb cleaner. This will clean the end of the choke plunger and its seating to ensure that in the plunger closed position the pilot supply is blocked. Check that the plungers are not sticking.
To clean the carb more thoroughly you can remove the screwed jets and emulsion tube. The latter enables efficient mixing of air and petrol going to the needle jet. (The needle jet itself is pressed in, not screwed.) The vital advise given in the Haynes Manual is to use a screwdriver bit and spanner that fit well and not to over tighten. They may be tight to get off but that is due to fusion. (Screw them in with a screwdriver handle instead of a lever.)
If you do not remove the jets check that they are tight using tools as noted above.
If you take the top off and remove the diaphragm, check for holes in the rubber. If the shape is distorted, leave it for half an hour, unstressed. Then it may go back to normal so that you can re-fit it properly. If you remove the piston replace it the right way round—have the air passage through it to the front.
Be sure that the float chamber gaskets are in good condition. They cost £7 each to replace in spite of being just rubber string. Note that they only fit one way round. They are glued in originally but doing this yourself may do more harm than good. Just put some Vaseline in the groove (wipe off excess) if they do not stay in place.
(For the first few days after fitting the new gasket gets stretched lengthways only. During this time it jumps out of shape if you take it out again. It goes back into shape after a few hours. Then you can fit it again.)
The final cleaning task is to flush out the guides of the black nylon pistons attached to the diaphragms. Then check that each piston returns at the same speed with the carburettors upside down, to be expected if the diaphragms are in order with the one passage through the piston clear to the top space.
Before mounting the carburettors adjust each of the (butterfly) throttle valves so that they are all set at exactly the same angle (unless you are retaining previous non-standard settings for these and the pilot adjusting screws). Use one of the tiny pilot mixture jet holes as a marker. Then you may well find that later adjustments to the butterfly valves (with a vacuum gauge) and subsequent trimming of the pilot adjusting screws are not necessary: Such is the precision of Japanese engineering!
Do not leave the vent pipes off. Lay them correctly. They could have some bearing on the adjustment of float chamber pressure and the efficient disposal of petrol in the event of flooding.
The carburettors can be offered up to the engine for a trial at idling speed with only the petrol connected. (Have all the vacuum pipes plugged.) They will mal-function at just above idling speed without the filter box due to a flat spot. Do this trial to check for float chamber gasket leakage and flooding if you have not used the test rig. (You have to re-fit the battery cage for this if you took it off but you can probably leave it on for the final assembly.) You can also practice adjusting the pilot mixture screws, knowing that return to the factory settings would be easy.
When you come to the final assembly remember to have the elbow shaped rubber breather tube fitted to the filter box and to connect the other end to the breather cover top afterwards. Apply a little Vaseline to both ends.
Make sure the filter is fitted correctly and do not neglect the vacuum filter at the entrance to the filter box. It is designed to provide the correct pressure in the box.
To get the throttle cables adjusted be on the centre stand. Jack up the front end so you can turn the handlebars. First set the throttle idling screw (requires a warm engine).
This is one way to adjust the cables:
Have the closing throttle cable loose. Adjust the opening cable to have 1-2 mm of free play in the worst handlebar position (usually full right lock).
Now adjust the closing throttle cable so that in the worst position the twist grip sticks slightly at full throttle. Then slacken it off a bit. Feel the exposed part of this cable at the carburettor end. It should feel quite loose with the throttle closed but be just starting to tighten at full throttle.
Re-check for free play at closed throttle and absence of sticking at full throttle in all handlebar positions.
If you change the throttle idling screw setting after adjusting the throttle cables you might have to re-adjust them.
A faulty cable setting could result in the engine racing, so be ready to switch off.
If the engine, when warm, sounds sweet and clears 60 mpg, further time and money spent fiddling with the carburettors is likely to be wasted!
These notes are for the GT 550 G7 – G9 but are adaptable.
The purpose of this rig is to check the petrol level in each float chamber, check the float chamber valves and check that the gaskets are not leaking.
Do not bother to use this rig unless you anticipate problems. Just test on the engine with only the petrol connected, as outlined earlier.
Expect problems with carburettors of unknown history including those from a breaker.
You must check for yourself that what follows satisfies regulations and sensible practice for the safe handling of petrol.
Do the work in an area over which you have full control. Remove combustible materials apart from the petrol needed. Have an ABC class extinguisher at hand (£12 from Argos). Have access to a bowl of water and soap to remove any petrol getting on your flesh.
Have a clean oblong plastic bowl into which you can put the carburettors to do work on them. Have four small bowls or bags numbered 1 to 4 for any parts removed from each carb. Mark the float chamber bowls 1 to 4. Remove the idling adjustment mechanism.
Undo connectors to the heaters. Be careful not to bend the leads to the elements.
Have all the drain cocks open one turn, their upper threads greased (not copper grease).
To measure the petrol level you need U tubes from the drain outlet of each carb. These can be just pvc tubes bent upwards. Use 6 mm outer diameter pvc tubes about 30 cm long. Larger tube tends to give excessive air bubbles. To get the tube onto the drain cock heat only 5 mm of the tube end in boiling water before pushing it on. Or open the tube end by pushing a Philips screwdriver into it. (Tube used previously may have become hard and unusable.)
Make up two identical pieces of fibreboard about 20 cm square.
Have the choke handle to your left: You are looking into the carburettor input ports. No 1 carb is to your left.
Keep the carburettors horizontal and clear of the ground by jamming one board vertically between No 1 and No 2 carbs and the other between No 3 and No 4 carbs. Have an edge of each board resting on level ground. Spread the boards out a bit at the bottom to provide a solid structure. Use a spirit level to check that the carburettors are level.
Pass a tube about 8 cm long over the petrol hose (clean on the inside) to keep the hose vertical. (Plastic cistern overflow tube 2 cm diameter will do). Then connect a funnel to the hose.
The U tubes can all be bent upwards together, held in place by an improvised clamp.
Be sure that the vent tubes are clear. (Gently blow through them.)
Use petrol from a clear plastic bottle (two litre) about one quarter full. Have a piece of wood strapped across the top end so that it can be laid flat without rolling. Filter out any particles in the petrol.
Pour petrol in until it no longer leaves the funnel. Check the level in each tube. Do not raise the tubes. Lower them only slightly.
Any air bubbles that do not come out will affect the reading. Sometimes you get an air bubble hardly visible just at the top of the tube. (This gives a slightly low reading.)
Liquid droplets in the air side of the tubes can also affect the readings.
(Practice with just a float chamber bottom and a tube using water to see for yourself what affects the reading.)
To remove the petrol from the carburettors put the tube ends into the petrol bottle as you lay it flat.
Shake droplets from the tube ends. Also, gently blow down the vent tubes.
You can repeat this test every few minutes without spilling petrol if you are well organised.
A sound valve will never leak. It is leaking if the level does not settle and flooding from the air jet follows. If you get a leak clean the valve seating and needle with the right materials. Try another needle known to work well, if needed.
Be aware that leakage can be intermittent so repeat the test five times, more if you have the patience.
The petrol level reading should be within specification (see Carburettor, Factory Settings). Read to the bottom of the meniscus. Accept a bit outside those limits on the odd occasion because of the crudeness of the test. If air bubbles occur discount the reading. If the reading is at the top limit wait to be sure it does not creep higher.
To adjust the fuel level: Have the carburettor upside down. See that if the tang is bent further down this raises the float higher. This will provide a lower fuel level.
You should not expect the float height (defined in the manual) to be more than 2 mm outside the nominal value (see Carburettor, Factory Settings).
If you want to maximise the accuracy of the test add the last half of the petrol very slowly and start with the tubes dry. Repeat until you get a result with no air bubbles.
Just try to get readings within the limits. Do not adjust to try and get them all at the top or bottom end hoping to control how rich the fuel supply is.
Finally check that petrol is not leaking from any of the float chamber gaskets. Tilt the carburettor in all directions. You should get a seal without having the screws done up tightly. (Replacement gaskets are about £7 each but do not skimp on them.)
Figures for float height, fuel height and pilot mixture screw for the GT 550, G7 – G9 are not available. If the carburettors have been under your control since they were new you can rely on the settings being correct. Otherwise take your pick from these figures extracted from the Haynes Manuals:
Pilot
screw: 2 ½ turns
Fuel level: 1 mm to 3 mm above edge of
carburettor body
Float height 16.5 mm
(This looks like the G7 – G9):
Pilot
screw: 1 ¾ to 2 ¼ turns
Fuel level: 0.5 mm to 1.5
mm above edge of carburettor body
Float height: 15 mm to 17 mm
The float chamber valve seating is provided by a brass insert pressed into the carburettor body. On some earlier models this insert is removable and a replacement can be bought, but not for the G7 onwards.
Since the needle tips are rubber the seatings should normally outlive the carburettor. However, people tend to insert a Philips screwdriver into the needle cavity hoping to extract the insert or clean the seating. This spoils the profile of the seating. Flooding with a vengeance occurs sooner or later.
When the insert is damaged the usual solution is to throw the carbs away and get a replacement from a breaker. This is a daunting task. You may wait weeks to get one in good order and it will need a lot of cleaning and adjustment.
To regrind the valve seating might be possible but it is a fiddly uncertain job. Here is the smart but completely unofficial solution, if your carburettors are otherwise sound: Extract the insert and replace it with one from a scrapped carburettor.
The outer diameter of the insert has apparently always been the same (G7 onwards), but keep your fingers crossed. The insert protrudes so you can check for compatibility beforehand.
Incidentally, the carburettor for the Zephyr 550 bike has the same insert.
Extraction of the insert is achieved by tapping a 6 mm thread into the needle cavity. The hole is already the correct size (5 mm). Then insert a long screw with a nut on it. The nut has to be screwed down against a fixed surface. Make a bridge piece (wood is strong enough) or use a short tube topped by a washer (an 11 mm socket spanner will do if the hole through is big enough).
The replacement has to be cut from the body of a scrap carburettor. Make three cuts down the side of the insert then tease it out with pliers.
Cleanliness being important, take precautions to stop debris getting everywhere. Afterwards use a vacuum cleaner: Hold a funnel on the nozzle end and suck through the small end.
The replacement insert can be tapped in easily. A cut down brass 5 mm screw in the top will enable you to drift it squarely. The insert must be tight enough never to fall out and not so tight that the carburettor body might crack.
If engine guards are fitted they can be utilised to park on the centre stand regardless of what luggage is on the bike:
Thread a piece of heavy (5 mm) cord through the left hand guard and knot it to give a loop 30 cm to 40 cm long. Hold the bike up with the left hand on the handlebar. Hold the centre stand down with the right foot. Place the left foot forward and to the left for balance. Pull the cord in a backwards direction with a steady force. Get the bike perfectly upright: You will then feel that both legs of the stand are on the ground, helping to keep the bike upright. Now pull back harder on the cord to come right up onto the stand.
A bar of wood about 3 cm dia x 12 cm should be utilised to pull the cord without cutting into the hand.
Let the bike go forward a bit before the final pull if you have to.
Make sure the bike is upright before the final pull and do not snatch or the bike will swivel round on one leg and you could drop it.
Do not try this method if you have a bad back.
I read several articles in which old timers complain about the high revs provided by Kawasaki carburettors when on full choke. Consequently I used to be sparing with the choke in spite of the instructions on p. 27 of the Kawasaki Owner’s Manual. Then I read the note on this topic in the Haynes Fuel Systems Techbook (P. 4.10): High revs causes less wear to the cam nose (than low revs) and quickly gets oil to the cams where it is urgently needed.
I have now been using the choke on full revs since my last but one valve check. The cam surfaces look much better, like glass in fact and the change in valve clearances has been minute.
Of course, if you are on the early shift you may have to sacrifice your engine for the sake of the neighbours.
See Swing Arm Removal.
Silicone grease seems to be very useful for keeping connectors clean. However, it must be of the right sort. Radio Spares sells various kinds of high quality silicone grease and oil including one for electrical insulation, stock number 494-124. (They also do one for lubricating rubber.)
Radio Spares does not deal with the general public so to buy from them invent a novel business name. They do not, as far as I know, ever check that you are actually trading.
See Loom, Renovating. Also Alarm, Fitting.
I spent half a day trying to fit a new one, being assured by the supplier that assembly is never a problem. In the end I put the pipes on without the silencer and found that one pipe end was not parallel with the others. Motad let me have a replacement.
The bracket provided for supporting the silencer was much over bent. I had to offer it up to the vice four times to get the right profile.
The use of the bracket for providing a stop for the centre stand not only stops the centre stand coming right up it gives the silencer a hefty clout. I intended making a bracket that fits on the left of the bike but have now got the knack of easing the centre stand up gently with my right foot.
My pipes are chrome and will not outlive the bike. I should have got stainless steel.
I have fitted the Daytona fairing.
The first main bracket supplied in the summer of 2002 was not well dimensioned and the arms were weak. Fortunately it had a weld defect and had to be sent back. The replacement was sound.
The screen holes are not likely to line up with those in the upper panel. The screws would go in but would cause stress. Use a file on the upper panel holes to make sure all the screws fall in easily. This only takes a few minutes. It can be done before the assembly. I fitted screws and nuts to the two outer bottom holes first, filing each by the same amount. Then the other side holes were only a bit out. The bottom middle hole was out the most.
Engine guards are not catered for by Motad. I have clamped the side panel to the engine guard by using a thick (cotton) shoe lace threaded through four suitably drilled small holes in the panel. Rubber sheet glued to the back of the panel was needed to stop chafing. A distance piece and long bolt are needed to fix the panel to the long arm on each side.
The headstock bracket is clamped into place using two long bolts. These have to be tight. I had to tighten them every day for a week or so.
The headstock bracket should be pushed up as far as it can go. The bolts will not be perfectly square with the bracket, but do not shorten the bracket extension. The design as it is just right to support the fairing and minimise the tendency to lift in a strong wind.
A crude check of your alignment can be made with a piece of string.
The tyres have to be perfectly true. They should be inflated to the correct pressure.
Check the actual difference in width between the tyres. Divide the difference by two. This is x mm in what follows. The nominal value for x is of course (120 – 100)/ 2 = 10.
In principle, while on the centre stand, a piece of string is stretched along the side of the wheels about 15 cm off the ground. Steering is adjusted so that the both wheels are parallel to the string.
If the string is at the edge of the wheels it should just touch each tyre at two points if the tyres were the same width. The front tyre is of course thinner. So pack out the front tyre in the region of the contact points with two vertical strips of wood x mm thick. Lash them to the wheel with tape or string.
Now the stretched string should just touch the back tyre twice and the two strips of wood without bending if the alignment is perfect.
To put this into practice cut the string in the middle and join it with an elastic band or two. Tie one end to a back wheel spoke and pass it round the back tyre 15 mm off the ground. Pass the other end round the front tyre. Pull it taught and tie it to a spoke. (It will have to pass under the centre stand).
Adjust the steering so that the front wheel inner strip of wood is just touching the string. The string should be touching the inner contact point on the back tyre. Turning the steering will defect the string. The smallest visible deflection of the string should result in the string loosing contact with the inner contact point on the back tyre.
If the string was not touching at the inner contact point in the first place or did not loose contact on deflection, the alignment is not perfect.
Repeat on the other side of the bike to double check.
Do not be too surprised if the alignment is not perfect. Do the test again on both sides without the strips of wood.
If the string now touches at the inner back (both sides) the miss-alignment is less than x mm. In that case unless you scrape the ground with your knee you might only notice this defect when the bike shudders going along a raised line.
This test can be done with one person sitting on the bike holding it upright and a second person watching the string. This is a more realistic test but probably makes no difference.
See Petrol Warning Light to neutralise the unit or reduce the tendency to flash when the tank is nearly empty.
The fuel sender unit (G7 1991 onwards) is a variable resistor (rheostat) operated by a float arm. If the warning light sometimes flashes with more than two gallons in, probably the unit needs cleaning or the float touches the side of the tank.
If the float, black in colour, is low in the tank you can just about see it in the dark by shining a torch into the tank. (When you switch the torch have it well clear of the tank to avoid an explosion risk.) Make sure the float tip does not touch the tank just where the side curves inwards or the hump to the left in the middle of the underside.
To remove the unit is not a big problem if the tank is nearly empty.
The gasket is made of durable chunky rubber, so no cost is involved.
Correct practice is to empty all the petrol out. If you leave some in it will seep out of the filler cap with the tank sideways and too full, causing a fire hazard.
The plastic cover can be prised off with a screwdriver best applied at the back (assuming the tube is pointing backwards). This exposes six screws to be removed.
The unit, always under petrol, should be in good condition apart from everything being covered in a dull golden gunge. This has to be removed from the contacting surfaces.
Remove the unit cover held on by three tags to expose the workings. Note first that a thin wire from the variable resistor is soldered to the central electrical pin.
The float arm has a 900 bend in it to form the spindle that pivots in the frame. The arm end is flattened so it cannot be dismantled.* A collar on the spindle has an arm fixed to it that contacts the side of the resistor. A leaf spring is provided to ensure a sound earth. One end presses on the collar. The other end presses on the frame.
So, electricity passes from the central pin to the resistor to the contacting arm to the collar to the leaf spring to the earthed frame.
Clean the contacting surfaces, leaving contact pressures unchanged. Use Brasso for this.
Slide some paper card between the resistor and the contacting arm. Flood the card on one side with Brasso and move the float arm up and down several times, just enough to remover the gunge on the arm.
Get some Brasso between the leaf spring and the collar and leaf spring and frame. Move the float arm up and down while holding the leaf spring in place.
Use an artist’s paint brush to clean the business part of the resistor.
To check with a meter first clean off the Brasso with a degreaser (not anything with oil in it that has a resistance). Then the resistance extremes should be exactly the same for each trial, nearly zero ohms and about 110 ohms. Adjust contact pressures slightly if necessary.
Dangle the float over a bowl of water to check that the arm moves easily.
On re-assembly note that the screws have a shoulder on them. Screw them up until they go solid but be gentle.
* There is a distance piece between the ends of the leaf spring so the spindle should stay in place if the flats are filed off the end to dismantle. This is not normally necessary though.
After running out of fuel twice (close to a petrol station fortunately) I finally decided to have a look at the fuel tap front.
The front of the tap, up to the O ring in the tap body, protects the business part of the tap. It is not fully sealed from the atmosphere. So over the years it had become badly gunged up. It should have been on my regular service list.
I cleaned up just the font and squirted in a few drops of silicone oil (that will not damage the O ring or leak past it).
The back of the tap can presumably be left alone, except to check for leakage.
The gasket that the tap body presses against, to provide sealed channels for the petrol flow, was in perfect condition. So why had I run out of petrol? I had forgotten that the ON position is the vertical one not the horizontal one!
The cam shaft cover can be removed without damaging the gasket if it was previously new and painted with grease before fitting.
Tap the cover gently a few times with the bolts very loose. Expect that only parts of the gasket near the four side extremes (where the cam shafts terminate) will stick to the cover. So lift the cover slightly and gently prize the gasket from the cover with a thin blade at those four places.
Do not interfere with the mating surfaces before replacing the cover.
Be extra careful with the spanner as the gasket is now fully squashed. I aim to apply 20 lbs to a very short spanner (4" long) to achieve the prescribed 7 lb ft torque. I gauge my arm strength beforehand using the bathroom scales.
You will see that force is transmitted to the gear change shaft by a rod connected to a lever at each end by ball and socket joint.
Adjustment of the height of the pedal is enabled by both ends of the rod being threaded. The thread at the gear change end is reversed. The rod screws into the socket at each end. A lock nut is provided.
The thread at each end is 15 mm long. It ought to be 5 mm into the socket with the pedal in the lowest position you are likely to want. The lever on the gear change shaft can be positioned to achieve this.
Rotate the rod, lock nut loose, to raise the pedal. Avoid applying a large force on the lock nut without holding the rod or the ball/socket joint suffers.
If you are in the habit of wearing boots of different thickness you can quickly adjust the pedal height to suit. The height should be as low as possible in neutral so that your foot is not strained when changing the higher gears.
When using thick soled boots I find that in neutral the centre of the pedal should be in line with the centre of the peg.
Note that if the pedal is too high the rod end goes past the line through the shaft pivots. Then the pedal shoots right up out of reach when changing into top.
Foam grips are worth considering. These can be bought specially made but those intended for bicyles are very effective. These come in a pack of four pieces 20cm long. The foam is about 8mm thick. Use soapy water to slide them. Cut to length after pushing them well on.
The throttle control is very slack on the GT 550 even when new. So trickling along on rough ground, round a sharp bend, is tricky. Keeping control is easier with foam.
If you use electric cloth ‘hot hands’ for the winter the foam grips are not very suitable. Put the rubber bars back on if you have large hands. If you have small hands put bicycle inner tube on the bare bar and throttle control. These provide a sound base for the hot hands provided they are both fitted tight. The inner tube can be left on when fitting the foam, next summer.
The inner tube should be 6 cm diameter. Wash it well inside and out before fitting with the aid of soapy water.
My horns were looking tatty so I ordered some nice smart chrome ones from Buster’s for about £6.50 each. They sounded good so I kept them even though the centre stud was too short for the existing bracket.
I eventually made some brackets for them but then another problem emerged: On the GT 550 the horn switch operates on the negative lead to the horn so the positive lead is permanently live. But these posh new horns are of the type that has one lead connected internally to the casing. So, when it is wired up connecting the casing to an earth either causes a short or operates the horn.
To change the wiring so that the horn switch operates the positive lead would be messy, so I still have tatty horns.
Here are a few critical notes:
Cheap insurance policies are likely to contain vague words that the insurer can interpret to your disadvantage.
With cheap insurance cover for accessories is likely to be excluded. Any fixture which you have added yourself, even a fairing, is likely to be treated as an accessory.
The RAC and the AA only provide cover for a breakdown. You are expected to use your insurance cover for other crises such as a fall or vandalism. Then you have to pay the first £150, or whatever, and loose your bonus.
Britannia Rescue get you sorted or home regardless of the reason for your bike being out of action. This includes the bike being out of action due to a fall or vandalism.
Renovating the loom involves three kinds of task: Joining and replacing leads, tying leads together and replacing elements in the connectors.
A permanent join can be made using a butt splice crimp connector (terminal). For a breakable join use male/female bullet connectors.
Relays and switches may have 6.3mm blade connections. Use 6.3mm fully insulated female connectors in that case.
The crimping tool required for a reliable join costs about £3. If the exposed wire is too thin bend it back on itself or get it thicker by increasing the twist on the strands.
The crimp connectors are available for three different wire sizes. The larger yellow ones are not usually needed.
For a neat permanent joint solder the wires together and protect the join with a sheath of shrinkable plastic. Use clear plastic for the join to be visible. Add more layers of the same section or a larger one for extra insulation. A very low gas flame can be used (with great care), instead of hot air.
For the larger size cables self-stripping (snaplock) connectors can be used to provide a cable branch. These can cut or mangle the strands. Test them first on similar spare cable if possible. File the blade groove and top edge if needed. Squeese just enough to get an electrical contact.
The electrical cable used may have to carry a high current and tolerate heat and oil. So, domestic cable is not always suitable. The main fuse is 20 amps. So the main cable to the ignition switch (white) and out of it (brown) and the alternator supply (yellow) should exceed 20 amps. Have well in excess if the cable is bound with others or near the engine.
One can bear the lead using the soldering iron. This is not proper but its expedient: Cut round with the edge of the bit and pull while the plastic is still hot. Avoid inhaling the fumes. Wipe the bit afterwards or file it clean.
To bind several leads together with insulating tape is not always easy and the adhesive may not resist oil. I sometimes use cotton tape. I apply this dry then flood it with watered down PVA. Eventually it dries then I apply neat PVA. For a rigid binding another layer of cotton can be added.
The main problem with the loom is that ‘elements’ of a connector can get corroded or burned. If you cannot find new replacement elements get hold of a damaged useless loom or component and extract elements from it.
The elements are locked into place by a cantilever tab that presses on a stop. This tab has to be depressed (carefully) to remove the element. Sometimes you can do this with a small instrument screwdriver. For some a parallel blade is wanted. I have a parallel blade of section 2 x 0.8 mm that is suitable for the larger connecters. Push the element forward before withdrawing it.
Some very neat soldering and the use of plastic shrinkable plastic are wanted to fit a replacement element properly.
A fault in the main electrics while cruising down the outer lane is obviously to be avoided. So, if you have not recently done any electrical work practice thoroughly with spare cable and components before doing the job for real.
CPC at www.cpc.co.uk sell a massive range of electrical bits but they only sell splice/bullet terminals in hundreds. Maplin at www.maplin.co.uk sell them in tens at a higher unit price.
AES is a very useful supplier at www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk Here are notes on some of their items:
Cable: AES has cable in every colour combination. They sell it by the metre. Their thin wall cable is resistant to heat and oil.
Connector elements: The elements for their 6.3mm blade multiple connectors are sold separately. The female blade fits the large connector blocks on the loom perfectly. The male connector elements need a bit trimmed off the tab and the blade end. These are a vital item if the bike is old.
Relays: Their normally open relay at about £2 is suitable for fitting accessories such as an alarm. However, it is not sealed. Mastic might provide a seal if needed. The comparable one sold by Maplin is sealed.
Crimp connectors (terminals): These seem to be better than the Maplin ones for getting a strong join.
P-clips: The brass ones are the strongest.
The standard mirrors do not provide enough visibility when wearing winter clothing.
My first solution was to use long stem mirrors of the type normally clamped to one inch diameter handle bars. I had these clamped to one inch spacers (distance pieces) bolted vertically to the handlebar with studding screwed into the mirror fixing holes (10 mm fine pitch). This arrangement provided me with mirrors that overhang the handlebar.
I got the materials, apart from the mirrors, from Custom Fasteners Ltd tel: 01686 629666. I used the stainless spacers. These still go rusty, but can be cleaned up with wire wool.
The mirrors rusted badly after three years and I was unable to find replacements.
So, I tried chunky bars of aluminium, mounted on the spacers, to extend the standard mirrors. They vibrate a bit but the main problem was a double reflection when wearing spectacles. I replaced them with cheap plain mirrors which are adequate.
Incidentally, to separate the mirror from the stem of the standard mirror a plastic cover has to be removed to get at the nut. This plastic cover is thin. Push a small instrument screwdriver into it near the edge and prise it out. This minimises damage to the cover.
A mud flap on the front mudguard must be dangerous. It helps to funnel debris into the gap between tyre and mudguard. The gap gets smaller at the bracket tending to press the debris onto the tyre.
A chunk of broken glass, a nail on a piece of wood and a branch with thorns on it are all items that could stick to the tyre and penetrate it severely because of this funneling effect.
I knew all this from doing a lot of cycle touring. However, when I got my GT 550 the mud flap fitted by a previous owner escaped the dustbin for too long: It was doing a very good job of diverting the mud. Its end came the instant I checked my front tyre and found a cut running half way round its length.
If the sender unit in the fuel tank is faulty the warning light usually flashes. To stop this disconnect the leads to it and put a suitable resistor across them (rather than shorting them). 56 ohms shows the tank almost empty. 10 ohms shows the tank nearly full.
If flashing is continuous before the tank is down to reserve try putting a resistor of several hundred ohms across the contacts.
The leads of a small resistor can be jammed into the connector for a makeshift arrangement. For a permanent one see Loom, Renovating.
Note that when the sender unit resistance changes the readout takes several seconds to change and changes by one division at a time.
To renovate the sender unit see Fuel Sender Unit.
Resistance values for the rectifier are as stated in the Haynes Manual (p.207) when using an analogue resistance meter: Yellow lead to a white/red lead or a black lead gives a very high resistance in one direction and a low resistance in the other. Note however that with a modern digital meter the resistance reading is high in both directions.
When I got my GT 550 it was rusty at the back end. I had to replace the tail lamp bracket and do some repainting. I removed as much rust as possible, then killed the remainder with Jenolite. Six coats of yacht paint followed: Primer, under coat and top coat.
I replaced assembly nuts and screws with stainless ones from www.screwsline.co.uk
If the weather is not too bad I do 80 miles each weekend through the winter. Five years of this has done little harm only because I spend several hours daubing grease on before the roads get salted. The basic rule is to grease paintwork and bare metal, apart from the engine, that does not make contact with clothing, brakes, boots or tyres.
Ordinary grease gets thrown off the rims onto the tyres, so I use silicon grease (Radio Spares) of very low viscosity for the rims.
This job is much easier if the back wheel is removed. (Have blocks under the centre stand to give more clearance. Disconnect the suspension units if the spindle will not line up when replacing it.)
If the wheels are not removed cover the tyres with plastic sheeting.
Spot welded to the underside of the mudguard is a plate for clamping the tail lamp bracket. This should be wire brushed. Then oil (WD 40 or whatever) should be sprayed into the edges before covering with grease. Otherwise, rust bubbles will eventually decorate the outer paintwork.
(The rear mudguard can be replaced with a plastic one, painted white with no assembly holes in it, for about £50 with postage.)
Spray oil into all crevices of the tail lamp bracket or pay the forfeit: £65 plus for a replacement.
Don’t forget the bottoms of the rear suspension units, ends of brake lines if they are not stainless and the centre of the rear carburettor rail.
The underside of the tank can be greased when convenient.
Ideally two “C” spanners are wanted to adjust the steering. A robust one is wanted to bed the bearings if they are replaced.
Some cycle shops stock “C” spanners for adjustment of the bottom bracket (crank assembly to which the pedals are fixed). Two versions are available:
One has a 1800 arc so it can be slid endways onto the nut. The cheapest are £5. It might not be strong enough to bed the bearings.
The other is about 2400. It is intended to be but on sideways (possible only when the top yoke is removed). Unfortunately the diameter is about 1mm too small so some grinding is needed. It can be used end on after a fashion but is likely to slip. These cost £10 upwards. (The other end is usually a bottom bracket right hand spanner or a pedal spanner. If you use these on a bicycle remember that threads are reversed for the right hand cup and left pedal.)
If you ask at a cycle shop just for a “C” spanner they usually do not know what you mean. So ask for a “C” spanner for the bottom bracket lock nut.
To get all the oil out of the one leg remove its bottom plug without releasing the air pressure. Be ready to catch the jet of oil that squirts out. Then replace the plug and pump up the fork pressure to do the other side.
Now expect that putting nearly 250 cc of oil in each leg will provide near to the specified depth of air in each leg (416 mm). Check this using a tube of clear PVC (5 mm dia) as a dipstick: Put your finger over the top of the tube before taking it out. Deduct the length of oil suspended in it from the length of tube that entered the leg.
Incidentally, if you do not have a tool to remove the top plug (13 mm square) you may find a suitable cold chisel: You want one with eight flats 13 mm across opposites. Grind the sides a bit at the top if needed. Then stick the top end into the plug and turn it with a hefty pipe wrench.
Instructions for this are given in the Haynes Manual but how to get the old oil out and the new oil in is not explained:
The bulk of the old oil is got out by moving the piston in and out. If you want to get the last dregs out hold the cylinder horizontal, orifice downwards and swing it back and forward steadily for several minutes. Let the oil dribble onto an old newspaper. Now you can add the exact amount of oil instead of filling the cylinder and removing some.
To add the new oil I used the plastic nozzle provided with building trade bonding materials in those standard size cylindrical tubes.
Cut a bit off the end of the nozzle. Hold the cylinder upright piston end touching the ground. Jamb the nozzle into the orifice. Now jamb a funnel of moderate size into the top of the nozzle. Fill the funnel with oil. Now repeatedly press down on the cylinder and release, to move the piston in and out. Watch the oil gurgle out of the funnel into the cylinder.
The Kawasaki gauge for checking suspension pressure is no longer available and was too expensive anyway.
Make do with a cheap pencil tyre gauge. It may not show a reading below 5 lb/in2, but should be within 1 lb/in2 above that. Do not use a digital one as oil dribbles from the valve to ruin it.
Oil does no harm to the pencil gauge, but wipe excess oil off the gauge scale (gently so as not to wipe the divisions off). Also have the scale open slightly to start as oil tends to make it stick closed.
Practice applying and removing the gauge without letting too much air out: Press on square and take off quickly. Even so each trial reduces the suspension pressure by perhaps 2 lb/in2. Practice until you can achieve this consistently. Then if you get a reading of say 12 lb/in2 assume that the actual pressure is 11 lb/in2. (The reading for the next trial is 10 lb/in2 assuming 1 lb/in2 is lost putting the gauge on.)
A bicycle hand pump is not suitable as its adapter spills too much air. Better to use a mini foot pump. First let all the air out of the suspension (and wipe off the dribbling oil). Then apply one or more strokes to get the pressure wanted.
If the pump adapter is working properly you can take it off the valve without much air coming out: Flick the arm to the closed position quickly. The escape of air should then stop even if the adapter is still pushed onto the valve, provided it is not pushed on too far. (Put a collar on the valve to fix the position if you like.)
The current one-cylinder Hilka pump from Argos works well. In a sample test starting from zero pressure, on a GT 550, three pump strokes at the front gave 11 lb/in2 and two strokes at the back gave 12 lb/in2. (Doing it like this the gauge is hardly needed.)
The bike should be on the centre stand. If you check pressures again after changing to the side stand the readings are higher especially at the front and may be inconsistent.
Oil dribbling from the valve into the pump and gauge is at its worst when the bike has just been ridden.
The final test is of course provided by how well the bike handles. You want to float over the bumps, feels safe leaning into a bend and not have the front forks give way too fast when braking hard.
Instructions for this are given on p. 49 and p. 172 of the Haynes manual.
According to the manual you should disengage the front end of the propeller shaft by moving back the gaiter to get at the release pin. This is much more trouble than it is worth.
Even if you only want to lubricate the drive shaft sprocket the solution is to remove the swing arm first. This does not take long if you have the correct spanner handy (30 mm socket with a longish handle). Then you can get at the release pin easily.
Two precautions are involved in this:
The first is to tie some cloth round the bottom end of the shaft so it does not scrape on the rusty inside of the swing arm.
The second precaution is to avoid over tightening the swing arm bearing when putting it back on. Because the seals offer a resistance you cannot easily judge when the pivot shafts are screwed in far enough to take up all the free play.
These bearings will wear out rapidly if very tight but you must take up free play to prevent mal-function of the back wheel.
So, before re-fitting the shaft offer the swing arm up on its own for practice. Screw in the pivot shaft as you rotate the swing arm until you feel all the tension has been taken up. Do this a few times until you can judge how much twist is needed on the pivot shafts.
An O ring is provided to stop grease escaping from the propeller shaft sliding joint. If more than the specified 17ml of grease is used expect the O ring to split. I use an under size O ring so that grease can seep past it.
If you only intended to lubricate the drive shaft sprocket you may curse at finding a split gaiter and lots of rust on the underside of the arm, but better to sort everything out now than later!
A digital room thermometer with an outdoor sensing element is a useful motoring aid.
The outdoor element must be in a completely shaded area.
To check for ice on the local roads in the morning one should know the minimum nighttime temperature not just the current value. So a minimum/maximum facility is desirable.
The minimum temperature is the minimum since the reset or clear button was pressed. So this has to be pressed before going to bed unless the device has a clock that provides an automatic reset at midnight.
(A thermometer with a maximum facility is also useful for checking the fridge/freezer especially if you go on holiday in the winter. The recommended lowest room temperature for a fridge/freezer is likely to be above 10oC. Some freezers continue to function adequately at lower room temperatures but some cut out completely: they defrost. To know if defrosting occurred while you were on holiday an automatic reset is not wanted.)
Your tyre supplier should tell you what pressures to use. Those given here for the GT 550 and GT 750 are from Web sources. They are not to be fully trusted.
Figures in lbs/in2 are got from those in bars and rounded.
Other bike tyre pressures might be found at www.roadtyres.com
(I have used Avon Road Runner, Bridgestone Battlax and Continental on my GT 550. For all these if the tyre pressures are low the steering is vague. I usually keep to the speed limit but have seen 90 mph on the clock once or twice. At this the bike is completely stable. I prefer the Continentals on a subjective basis.)
2.0 bar (29 lb/in2)
2.5 bar (36 lb/in2)
2.0 bar (29 lb/in2)
2.5 bar (36 lb/in2)
2.0 bar (29 lb/in2)
2.2 bar (32 lb/in2)
2.5 bar (36 lb/in2)
2.8 bar (40 lb/in2)
Not given
Not given
2.2 bar (32 lb/in2)
2.8 bar (40 lb/in2)
2.3 bar (33 lb/in2)
2.7 bar (39 lb/in2)
2.0 bar (29 lb/in2)
2.5 bar (36 lb/in2)
2.5 bar (36 lb/in2)
2.8 bar (40 lb/in2)
2.2 bar (32 lb/in²)
2.4 bar (35 lb/in²)
I found that muffs of the kind that cover the ends of the handlebars are useful up to about sixty mph air speed. They can be tied to the bar with string to help keep them in place. Above 60 mph air pressure pushes them back onto the clutch and brake levers. Also, the starter could get pressed by mistake when changing gear. Avoid this by changing the wiring to the clutch lever lock out switch so that the starter only operates in neutral.
I have now changed to hot hands—the cloth type—a much better solution. These can be fed from the ancillary leads at the front but the battery will be flat in two or three hours if they are not switched off after use. A snap-lock connection can be made to the main ignition output (brown lead) but with great care (see Loom Renovating).
Large loose knitted woolen gloves that go over my summer leather gloves have their uses.
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