Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C10, aka Kawasaki Concours - The Original => The Bike - C10 => Topic started by: MetrickMetal on September 03, 2012, 07:18:58 AM
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Hi all.
My name is Scott, and I posted up yesterday in the open forum introducing myself and about a free one owner 02 C10 I'm picking up this week with 48k on it that’s been sitting since 06, but appears to be in great shape outside of needing a good cleaning and going through.
I have 40 years experience wrenching on bikes and machining, making custom bike parts so that not an issue, and I'm planning on going through the entire bike from stem to stern to get it ready for next summer, so what are some of the top things I should pay close attention to when going through the bike and or replace or upgrade to avoid problems down the road and to improve the performance/driveability of the engine, and it already looks like the stock petcock might be one of them.
So any and all input will be greatly appreciated by this Connie newbie. ;)
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Sitting for 6 years so tires and wheel bearings, gas tank rusting ? Carbs come off and get sent to steve in sunny florida for cleaning and overflow tubes installed, all fluids replaced , valves adjusted, new battery. Thats what comes to my mind . :D
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Sitting for 6 years so tires and wheel bearings, gas tank rusting ? Carbs come off and get sent to steve in sunny florida for cleaning and overflow tubes installed, all fluids replaced , valves adjusted, new battery. Thats what comes to my mind . :D
Thanks, and yup all thats stuff going to be gone through, including servicing the forks and stem bearings, the rear suspension and drive drain but I was looking more for things that can or have caused problems with the C10 like the fuel petcock and the electrical system (J box), and simple upgrades to improve the bike like the Shoodeben Eng carb jet and exhaust cam gear kit. ;)
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MOST important thing at this point is DO NOT RUN THE BIKE WITH THE FUEL THAT IS IN IT ....
remove the tank a.s.a.p., drain it, clean it using fresh fuel, and discard or run in your mower after filtering it out....
everytime you fire the bike up with that old contaminated fuel, you add another batch of stuff into the carbs that just compounds the process.
Forget the fuel additives, and clean the system well.
Procede to remove, clean, and flush all of the brake and clutch hydraulics. Use the recommended fluids, and do not get fancy. The bike is old school tech, and simple works.
Begin checking rubber parts, hoses, and hidden wiring for signs of critter gnawing or deteriation.
toss the tires, after they have sat that long they could fail.
do not be tempted to "spray wash" the bike, a gentle cleaning without high pressutre water works best. A leaf blower helps in the drying process.
Remove the battery, clean all the cable ends and terminals, and check electrolyte level, and then place on charge on the bench.
If you intend on running the bike for tuning and such, hook up a clean "remote gravity feed tank", like one from a small lawnmower, with fresh fuel. It insures you are not adding more work to your list...
Drain, clean/flush the cooling system, and replace the rad cap.
oh, Get the factory manual, and also the Clymers, they work in conjuction, and both contain information that compliment each other....
and lastly, hook up with somre COG folks....attend some tech sesions....bring good beer....you'll be golden. 8) ;)
I stress buy the manuals, they are the most important, and we cannot walk you thru every part until you become familiar of all the points of service outlined in the book....we can assist, but you need to become familiar with the stuff along side.
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MOST important thing at this point is DO NOT RUN THE BIKE WITH THE FUEL THAT IS IN IT ....
remove the tank a.s.a.p., drain it, clean it using fresh fuel, and discard or run in your mower after filtering it out....
everytime you fire the bike up with that old contaminated fuel, you add another batch of stuff into the carbs that just compounds the process.
Forget the fuel additives, and clean the system well.
Procede to remove, clean, and flush all of the brake and clutch hydraulics. Use the recommended fluids, and do not get fancy. The bike is old school tech, and simple works.
Begin checking rubber parts, hoses, and hidden wiring for signs of critter gnawing or deteriation.
toss the tires, after they have sat that long they could fail.
do not be tempted to "spray wash" the bike, a gentle cleaning without high pressutre water works best. A leaf blower helps in the drying process.
Remove the battery, clean all the cable ends and terminals, and check electrolyte level, and then place on charge on the bench.
If you intend on running the bike for tuning and such, hook up a clean "remote gravity feed tank", like one from a small lawnmower, with fresh fuel. It insures you are not adding more work to your list...
Drain, clean/flush the cooling system, and replace the rad cap.
oh, Get the factory manual, and also the Clymers, they work in conjuction, and both contain information that compliment each other....
and lastly, hook up with somre COG folks....attend some tech sesions....bring good beer....you'll be golden. 8) ;)
I stress buy the manuals, they are the most important, and we cannot walk you thru every part until you become familiar of all the points of service outlined in the book....we can assist, but you need to become familiar with the stuff along side.
Thanks, and I'm no stranger to doing all the things that you mentioned, and is goes without saying that all of those items as well as a bunch more will be dealt with and checked before I take her out on the road, but besides doing all of the normal stuff required to bring a bike back to life after sitiing for 6 years, I am hoping to get some pointers and info on any C10 specific problem areas that people have come up with fixes or upgrades for. The owner is giving me a factory service manual with the bike, and I do look forward to meeting up with other C10 owners out here in SoCal, and hopefully attending a tech session if someone puts one on. ;)
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I'd say the really only absolute mod you really need to do is to install overflow tubes in your carbs. I installed them in mine before I started riding it and they paid off, one day gas was draining out of one carb as she was running, the float needle was stuck somehow and not shuting off the flow, I guess it would have stopped when I shut the bike off AND the vacuum petcock held, but if the petcock leaked I would have been out an engine. :-X
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I'd say the really only absolute mod you really need to do is to install overflow tubes in your carbs. I installed them in mine before I started riding it and they paid off, one day gas was draining out of one carb as she was running, the float needle was stuck somehow and not shuting off the flow, I guess it would have stopped when I shut the bike off AND the vacuum petcock held, but if the petcock leaked I would have been out an engine. :-X
Thanks, and I'm either going to go that route or buy the manual petcock conversion kit from Murphs Kits. ;)
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The manual petcock means you must NEVER forget to turn it off, EVER, because that is the time it will hydrolock. :(
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The manual petcock means you must NEVER forget to turn it off, EVER, because that is the time it will hydrolock. :(
I've had manual petcocks on many bikes and never had a problem, but I have had problems with vacuum operated petcocks before. ;)
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Sitting for 6 years so tires and wheel bearings, gas tank rusting ? Carbs come off and get sent to steve in sunny florida for cleaning and overflow tubes installed, all fluids replaced , valves adjusted, new battery. Thats what comes to my mind . :D
(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/bigthumb.gif)
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I've had manual petcocks on many bikes and never had a problem, but I have had problems with vacuum operated petcocks before.
True enough, but the connie by design is very prone to hydrolocking, likely your other bikes were not. Putting a manual petcock on is fine, but it won't help if you forget to turn the fuel off AND the float needle leaks by. In a case like this, the float needle may have been sticking for quite a while, but wouldn't matter until the one time you ALSO forget to turn off the manual petcock. Then gas gets into the cylinder and the engine is toast when you hit the starter. On your other bikes this likely wasn't the case. :-[
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I've had manual petcocks on many bikes and never had a problem, but I have had problems with vacuum operated petcocks before.
True enough, but the connie by design is very prone to hydrolocking, likely your other bikes were not. Putting a manual petcock on is fine, but it won't help if you forget to turn the fuel off AND the float needle leaks by. In a case like this, the float needle may have been sticking for quite a while, but wouldn't matter until the one time you ALSO forget to turn off the manual petcock. Then gas gets into the cylinder and the engine is toast when you hit the starter. On your other bikes this likely wasn't the case. :-[
Thanks again, and I have been reading here and on Shoodabens website that the C10's are prone to hydrolockling, so maybe your right about going with the overflow tubes and then not having to worry about it. ;)
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Wow, nobody has mentioned the J-Box repair yet... this was one of the biggest subjects during my C10 ownership which consisted of a '93 and a '99. Search it. You will want to replace all the o-rings, etc... involved in the cooling system or anywhere else that uses one most likely. I have read about your work on the Bandit forums while I owned one of the most fun bikes I have ever had, an '09 1250 Bandit! You won't have any trouble. Enjoy the completely different ride after you get it ready! :)
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Wow, nobody has mentioned the J-Box repair yet... this was one of the biggest subjects during my C10 ownership which consisted of a '93 and a '99. Search it. You will want to replace all the o-rings, etc... involved in the cooling system or anywhere else that uses one most likely. I have read about your work on the Bandit forums while I owned one of the most fun bikes I have ever had, an '09 1250 Bandit! You won't have any trouble. Enjoy the completely different ride after you get it ready! :)
Thanks Brian, and I have already read up about the J-box problems here.
Since you know about me and my Bandit, I'm sure you'll also know that no part of the Connie will be left unchecked or serviced, and one of the first things I'm already planning on making for it is a set of billet blockoff plates. I brought all of the plastic and the saddle bags home the other night that the owner had taken off when he was doing some service on it and washed them, and they all look in great condition with the exception of a small crack in the lower corner of the right lower cowling where it attaches to the belly pan, and for right now just going to repair it, and down the road I'll probably end up buying a new one from Ron Ayers, as they still shows it as available for about $225.
I hoping to pick the bike up tomorrow. ;)
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Greeting MetrickMetal
Just a few off the top:
Service/clean saftey switches in clutch lever and kick stand. Both can be done without removal the kickstand switch really gets a work over from road grime.
Check and plan on replacing the original headlight connector as they tend to get really toasty. There is a n almost direct replacement from NAPA “LS 6235”.
Not to teach an Old Dog new tricks But replace fuel and vaccume lines. A inline fuel filter that works for me is NAPA 3006.
Check alternator connector same as healight get's toasty, But that one should not be problem with a young 02.
IF you still have the original windscreen plan on cutting off the lip makes a world of difference on head buffiting. I've got two: one super short for Texas summers and one with just the lip off for winter.
With older bikes like mine the bags start to sag the one on the throttle side can touch the rear disk brake causing premature brake pad wear. Easy fix with some shimming. Speaking of Throttle don't forget to give those cables some loving.
Last, But not least couple of site's I find helpful. (No affiliation thingie here.)
Parts listing good for figureing out WTF is this thingie. Lol
http://www.kawasakiofcarrollton.com/fiche_select2.asp?category=Motorcycles&make=Kawasaki&year=1986&fveh=9092 (http://www.kawasakiofcarrollton.com/fiche_select2.asp?category=Motorcycles&make=Kawasaki&year=1986&fveh=9092)
Lott's of good Conk knowledge here. Thank you Will for your sharing.
http://will.mylanders.com/outdoors/motorcycle/concours/notes/read.pl?file=29 (http://will.mylanders.com/outdoors/motorcycle/concours/notes/read.pl?file=29)
Wiki-FAQ this site
http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?board=18.0 (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?board=18.0)
Sound like this is not your first rodeo, But will post again if something comes to mind, Good Luck and Enjoy.
Ride safe, Keep sharp.
Tj
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Greeting MetrickMetal
Just a few off the top:
Service/clean saftey switches in clutch lever and kick stand. Both can be done without removal the kickstand switch really gets a work over from road grime.
Check and plan on replacing the original headlight connector as they tend to get really toasty. There is a n almost direct replacement from NAPA “LS 6235”.
Not to teach an Old Dog new tricks But replace fuel and vaccume lines. A inline fuel filter that works for me is NAPA 3006.
Check alternator connector same as healight get's toasty, But that one should not be problem with a young 02.
IF you still have the original windscreen plan on cutting off the lip makes a world of difference on head buffiting. I've got two: one super short for Texas summers and one with just the lip off for winter.
With older bikes like mine the bags start to sag the one on the throttle side can touch the rear disk brake causing premature brake pad wear. Easy fix with some shimming. Speaking of Throttle don't forget to give those cables some loving.
Last, But not least couple of site's I find helpful. (No affiliation thingie here.)
Parts listing good for figureing out WTF is this thingie. Lol
http://www.kawasakiofcarrollton.com/fiche_select2.asp?category=Motorcycles&make=Kawasaki&year=1986&fveh=9092 (http://www.kawasakiofcarrollton.com/fiche_select2.asp?category=Motorcycles&make=Kawasaki&year=1986&fveh=9092)
Lott's of good Conk knowledge here. Thank you Will for your sharing.
http://will.mylanders.com/outdoors/motorcycle/concours/notes/read.pl?file=29 (http://will.mylanders.com/outdoors/motorcycle/concours/notes/read.pl?file=29)
Wiki-FAQ this site
http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?board=18.0 (http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?board=18.0)
Sound like this is not your first rodeo, But will post again if something comes to mind, Good Luck and Enjoy.
Ride safe, Keep sharp.
Tj
Thanks TJ for the tips.
No this is not my first rodeo, as I have been riding, wrenching and machining parts for bikes for close to 45 years, and I still don't know everything and you never stop learning. So I appreciate any and all input from the members here in helping me getting the Connie road worthy again . ;)
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kawasaki.com is one of my favorites. Diagrams, p/n's, supercession, and "what part was used on what bikes" info.
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kawasaki.com is one of my favorites. Diagrams, p/n's, supercession, and "what part was used on what bikes" info.
Thanks. 8)
Houston, The Connie has landed. ;D
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Pics?
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Pics?
Next week after I give it a good bath, but the moding has already begun. ;)
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Scott - there's nothing on a connie that's going to be an issue for you. I'll expect to see some hotrodding coming from you - One thing I really miss is "the old days" when we built a bunch of hotrods all at the same time. I'm actually building another cylinder head for Shoodaben right now. The head That's been on it for the last 5 years has the high velocity epoxy filled port job. I feel i've exhausted it's capacity, so now I'm doing a more conventionally ported head. I hope you get into this side of the bike too, with your background you may be able to infuse some life into the old gal for the rest of us - Steve