Kawasaki 250 F11B - dads old bike

Hi,
New Member, flat tracker seems like the only area that my bike would sort of fit.

Basically restoring the bike, still deciding whether to keep orig or to modify, only real modifications woudl be cosmetic and color which are easily reversible....


Please Note, following posts are copied from another forum i post on, bike arrived around mid Feb 2011 so been paying with it since then on weekends, sorry in advance to any references to today/yesterday in posts.

Basic Rundown

Dad purchased bike brand new in Aus in 1975, apparently a bike shop went bust in adelaide and they had 8-10 bikes (all F11B) shop in mildura sourced them and dad got it cheap in crate to mildura then was put together in mildura by bike shop.....think he payed around 750 $ Aud back in the day......

Prior to that dad had a suzuki TS 185 i think it is ?...or TC 185 73 model

Dad rode the bike occasionally mainly as low km commuter to night job (10km return) as ran vineyard during day and used it to get around vineyard and check the irrigation etc.....rigged up a shovel holder at one point lol ....got parked in shed in 1985-7 and then i first nagged him to get it out in 1996. Had been parked for 8-9 years, put some fuel in and 2 kicks on choke then one with it off and there she goes....basically from then on i drove it around our fruit block for fun till i was around 18-19 and moved to melbourne.....since then i get it out every 2-3 years to make sure its still running etc..new oil around 2000 maybe etc

Most recently i got it out last week checked oil...clean as ...added some fuel and started it .....took heaps of photos and 2 videos which are on you tube (below) took the photos so i have reference if searching for parts etc


YouTube - Kawasaki 250 F11B

YouTube - Kawasaki 250 F11B (2)

Stats on Bike.

75 F11B - in manual it shows UK and US model but from what i can see the AU is in between .....ie us style tacho etc but speedo in km for aus not MPh and afew other things i think......

9300 genuine KM's

*still have bike manual in plastic in great condition
*tools for tool kit, just missing 2 of the spanner sizes which are somewhere ..will find most prob....and also need to source the orig plastic pocket sleeve that contained them.....tool box cap is still on bike although a little grazed as the aftermarket kick start touched it when kicked so has gouged a small chanel out have purchased another from US

* new knobby rear tire (orig rear in shed), will replace with semi road tyre
* new kick start welded onto mount of old one as orig snapped, im sourcing an orig currently to replace this.
* Seat recovered by Uncle who is a car upholster back in 80's....done is a dark blue leather....maybe vinyl

*new trip computer knob as is snapped
*rub back and repaint exhaust orig color as dad repainted a heat paint red color back in 70's
*front brake locks every now and then when you apply it....service it
*new side reflector at fron left needed...- have purchased from US
*rub back and resticker the oil reservoir cover...i got happy with whiteout back in the day ....will put on orig sticker etc
* need new airfilter

basically the bike is all fine and runs, everything works (except speedo) my aim is to fix it up to clean orig condition.
im thinking as its done min kms i shouldnt pull engine apart ?

any advice would be great

PS - i do have the baffle for exhaust in the shed..........it seems to be two pieces......one log one around 12" long and a smaller one which i believe slide into this one then the lot slides into exhaust?

Simon

album up, some high res pics of bikes current condition prior to cleanup


http://s145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/sberton/Kawasaki%20F11B%201975/




found some great info and fellow enthusiasts of the bike and era on OZVMX which is great.

Bike arrived safe and sound yesterday, no hiccups at all.
Spent last night flicking through the owners manual that i at one point thought had lost, also tucked in their were about 5 rego stickers fro 75,76,77 and some 80's etc.* This gave me orig rego which is great as im guessing like with cars in VIC you can seek old rego's and purchase if available.


Tomorrows plan is to do some basic stuff.


put some fuel in - now im guessing i will have to buy a little of the lead replacement stuff that you add to motors that were made to run on leaded ?...also is it ok to buy 98 octane unleaded ?


Buy some engine oil and some 2 stroke oil for the oil injection.
New spark plug.


that will keep me happy if i just do those things, give her a kick over see she starts like usual etc.* Once im happy that it is running ok i think i will start pulling bits and pieces off. Starting with simple things like headlight, pegs, indicators, exhaust etc and begin to clean them all up.


I think seeing as though im in no rush to ride it and havent got my licence yet etc i might as well strip it back to frame (not pull motor apart though) and give the frame a new lick of paint.* I noticed at super cheap auto at the moment they have a sandblasting attachment for air compressors and comes with 10kg of sand (top gun in link), i actually dont mind the 3rd set down as it includes nozzles for spot spraying etc.* Has anyone used any of these type of home job sandblasting tools? good results ?


http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/search-results.aspx?keywords=sand+blast&look=GO


Other option i guess is to out source and get someone to sandblast and powder coat in one go.


im guessing most ppl would reccommend PC over rattle can painting of frame ?


Cheers in advance for any advice.


Pic of bike in melbourne safe and sound

more garage shelving
elf transmission oil
penrite hi-performance 2 stroke oil (dont need yet)
carby cleaner
sandblast gun
fuel.





Started by having a good look at the bike as never really bothered as a kid.*


Then pulled out spark plug and cleaned...as was only replaced a few years ago.
took off tank and pulled apart the fuel tap thing and cleaned everything and replaced a few rings/seals inside.
Then put a few hundred ml in the tank and shook it around for a few mins then dumped that fuel out, didnt seem to be too much gunk in it.
Fitted tap back on and put litre or two in, kicked the bike over and it started on the second kick, ran it for a bit and realised the clutch would not work.


Dumped the tranny oil and pulled apart the clutch cover area, had a look at it all, pulled it apart and figured out how it all works, quite simple really.* Saw how the clutch cable pulls on a spiral type setup which makes it come outwards and push the pin in towards the engine, im guessing when running the clutch pin is “pushed” out so when you pull the clutch lever it pushes the pin in and should engage the clutch ? I was able to pull the pin all the way out and wipe it clean, it seemed fine no abrasions on it etc, slid back in not a problem.* Set it all back up, adjusted the clutch cable at the hand lever so has more play in future.* I popped the rubber cab off so i could see the adjustment screw on clutch and could see that when you engage the clutch it was pushing the pin in/out etc so seems to be doing its job at that point.
Then refilled with 1.2l of the elf oil, went for a ride and the clutch still has no effect at all, though is tight to pull in and you can look down and see it spin in and out (cap is off)….does it take time to work re. being a wet clutch or what should I check next ?


Noticed also that there appears to be an air lock in the autolube so I will bleed that tomorrow and add around 1-2% oil to the fuel so it will end up being a little oil rich once autolube working properly etc.





Noticed a small exhaust leak (rust) directly out from the cylinder near the bend, will prob take exhaust off tomorrow and start sandblasting it and testing the supercheap auto sand blast gun out.


Cheers

adjusted the clutch properly as per owners manual.


Bled the oil pump which released the air bubble nicely....first added around 1-2% oil to the fuel to be sure all safe etc.


Was going to attempt the clutch fix but decided i would wait until i get the manual off Doc as i dont feel confident just yet and would rather some visual instructions in front of me


Removed the exhaust, one of the studs came out as the nut was rusted on, have it soaking in some wd40 now so should pop it off soon no prob and screw stud back in. Noticed that the cylinder was visible and had enough space to stick my finger in, top of the cylinder felt very rough prob carbon buildup i guess ?.


The exhaust has a few pin holes in it at the bend, so once i sand blast it i will see how prevalent they become then figure the best way to fix them, future father in law has a welder so will see how it goes.


other than that i think thats it for now.


Have purchased 5 or 6 bits of memorabilia of the F11 from ebay, some articles and sales brochures, laminate them and hang them around garage.


Took off front and rear guards and built another shelf and affixed it to the wall so can store everything.


some pics below....old helmets im just going to rub back and paint for display purposes.


bike just fits in garage behind twincam.

Have done some research into powder coating versus painting and i really dont have the skills honed to properly paint the bike the way i would want it to look and like some ppl mentioned on the forum here sometimes painting can add up and really not be that better off cash wise.


I have decided as i am in no rush that i will strip the bike completely and get everything powdercoated (everything possible)
the front mud flap and rear tail i will do the orig silver color (painted)


The seat i have decided to spray with VHT vinyl paint, black so it atleast looks a bit more like the orig one, as i cant justfiy the $100 + dollars for an orig cover...not just yet.


Got a workshop manual in the mail at moment from a guy at OZVMX forum


I bought 2 divider container boxes to hold all nuts/bolts so i can label them.


as for the wiring thats the thing im a little stressed about re remembering where it all goes....i will label all with some ties etc and thinking of pinning it out on a 5X2 foot piece of ply board i have in shed....atleast i can then stand it up against a wall out of the way and it not get all tangled....


looking forward to all this ahead.


Once motor out i will start asking more q's re. should i pull head off and inspect / rebuild ? or leave it as it seems fine and is pretty easy to pull a motor out of a bike at anytime compared to a car etc.


Cheers guys

, everything came apart pretty easy....WD40 works a treat.


bikes getting naked nice and fast.

just purchased proper rubbers for petcock rebuild, one i put in temporary were not an exact fit.


looking forward to stripping it down further over the weekend



spent most of yesterday ripping bike to bits, all went smoothly other than 2 breakages.


- one screw - bottom one on clutch casing near gear lever stripped.....all the screws seem to be a real soft compound i reckon ? Managed* * to get it undone with some pliers no prob.


- Broke one of the oil lines reckon i hardly bumped it and it snapped, noticed in the picture i posted earlier in the thread that the same one was snapped in the pic i grabbed from some other forum....might be an easy common one to break ?.* I figure its prob a little hard to repair and costly so i think ill just buy another one as theres one on ebay although incl postage will cost around $75.00


everything else went well, majority of rubbers all still ok.


Also now that i have stripped it down im pretty certain i am not going to restore it to orig condition.....i think i have a mental problem that every car or piece of equipment i own i need to modify it and make it my own in some way, in regard to the bike it wont be any cutting or welding or anything, basically just the use of color will get it how i want it i think.


heres some pics


All the nuts and bolts, converting the tatty paper notes to stickers to go on top of box above item



Naked and nice



All parts fitted nicely



Made a quick wooden base to stop it rocking...sits pretty flat anyway



The broken line...i figured the plastic had broken but was actual metal...

Long time no update,


been flat out the last two weeks.


i dropped the motorbike seat off at my uncles 2 weeks ago so it was there ready whenever we decided to do it.
Then got married, then a week in vanuatu and now back at work


Dropped into my uncles last night to pull seat apart, old cover was one he made 15+ yrs ago for dad.


45 minutes later we shared a beer with the completed seat, the man is a machine...40+ years motor trimming i guess makes most jobs quick and easy.


very happy with the result as its what i was hoping it would come out like.....uncle happened to have the pressed pattern vinyl laying around from doing bike seats back in 70's/80's.

Spent an hour or two pulling rest of bike apart,


all came apart easy.


A few surprises, i had always figured the front forks were leaking oil as often there was slight oil and dust on the forks over the years.....once removed i slipped back the dust cover boot and pushed them in out out 50+ times even upside down with no leaking....could it be they were never leaking, or are fully out of oil ? Should i just drop past a motorbike shop to get their opinion ? or does anyone know of any home tests? as i would rather not pull them apart if i dont need to.





did a quick sand (1200 grit) and then polish with drill of one rear shock...15 mins or so and started to look great, alot more time and they will be great. They feel good shock condition wise so will use them until they die.


big difference from quick polish





so now all parts are removed and thinking about whether to DIY all sand blasting, sanding back and rattle can spraying or out source and do it all via powder coating, thing is i want this to be a budget resto, will see how i go.

Spent a few hours yesterday playing around.


Have got back to bare metal some of the frame


sanded then polished up oil pump cover, will begin to do all the other cases soon, next will be the clutch cover as already off and in much need of a clean / sand / polish


investing in a crappy $30 240v power drill for getting frame back to bare metal, dont want to ruin my 18V lithium ion etc.


Also purchased an Ozito brand rotary tool includes accessories and 1m extension, cant fault it, at only $40 its a good $100 + cheaper than dremel equiv, only reason i bought ozito rotary tool is because i have used and abused my ozito drill and it never misses a beat 2 yrs on.


Also got a 350watt SCA 200mm bench grinder and added a 150mm calico wheel and polish compound which has worked a treat so far.


Seeing that im able to get things back to bare metal without too much difficulty just using wire wheel dont think ill bother PC, i should be able to get satisfactory results with rattle can job and save myself a fair bit of cash to put towards other parts for bike.


Sideburn mags arrived last week, some good reading and pics, and grabbed latest edition of VMX yesterday for more bedtime entertainment.

Lookin' Great! Cool project, i had a '74 Kaw 90 when i was a little shaver, ran the wee out of it and it took it.
Kev

Cheers mate,


im enjoying playing around with it, i think it will be atleast another 3-4 months until everything starts getting pieced back together, in the beginning of autumn at moment so want to get the painting out of the way in the next few weeks while garage temp can be kept above 20 degrees celcius. Worst case i paint during winter and just have a heater going and spot lights.


now i have most of the tools i need to get the job done its nice to be able to go into garage for even just half an hour and get some stuff done as opposed to sorting out what i need to buy to enable me to do the job.

I love old 2-smoke dirt bikes. I have a couple myself. Can't wait to see what you do with it!

cool bike! i had a kawi 350 big horn, super fun bike with 4 stroke like low-end power but it was hard to find parts for

tiny update, cleaned the 30 + years of crap from on and in the clutch cover.


did a quick 300grit sand and 1200grit then polish....came up ok, nowhere near good enough, will go over with a 600grit again then a 1200 then polish and should be as good as oil pump cover.


cheers

Looks great so far, love old enduros. In for updates!

27 parts should be ready for pickup from Sanblasting and PC 30 % gloss finish.


parts below that were dropped off + kick stand & front fork covers / headlight bracket which im pretty sure i wont use as i ordered some black universal headlight brackets so i can leave the shiny top of front forks visible.







headlight brackets i bought look something like this



also looking at getting some smaller indicators that run 6v...have chatted with guy from this website
http://www.norbsa02.freeuk.com/goffyindicators.htm


regarding these indicators 2.5" long by 1 1/8th at widest....4 X incl postage from UK for around $80 aus. also found nicer ones i like that the guy can setup for around 25$ per indicator...anyone have anyother ideas ? must be 6V, smaller in size than stock and short stem as want to use the spare holes on headlight bracket above for the fronts and rears in normal mount positions just in closer to the rear tail.

You can use pretty much any incandescant 12V indicators - just change the bulbs to 6V. That should increase your options a million fold

You will probably need to get another flasher unit though - the older ones were designed to run 21w bulbs. You can only get 10w in 6V nowadays - which means your old flasher relay won't flash :-[

sounds good thanks for the info mate.


i think thats what the guy at the shop was saying though is that you cant go too small in indicators as the 6V globes dont go that small as compared to the 12V