1983 Kawasaki LTD 440 brat/tracker

cleaned out the wiring and rearanged it.
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i will first test all the functions of the controls and stuff before i re-tape the wiring.
the glitch is already out of the blinkers so those are working again in good order, anyway new ones on the way.

painted the rear to get rid of some scuff marks, cleaned the rust etc.
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bracket to close the gap at rear of the bag.
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since the rear fender had to come if painted the brakets
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buffed out the rear fender a bit.
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and then the weekend was over.
 
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wiring is ok, re-taped most of it already. had the bike running but it didn't idle properly.
I already had the idea that the intake rubbers where done for, did a close inspection of these and yes new ones are on the way.
will need to replace these first to get the bike running properly. think the challenge will be to get the screws out in good order before i can replace these.
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with a little bit of luck my risers will arive next week, according to the track and trace they cancelled the order/shipping. the seller already said they where shipped; so lets see what happens.
 
haven't done much lately due to family matters and stuff.
however going through all the treads on this forum and seeing all the bikes being "blinged and touched up" i decided it was also time to do some touch up work in the time i had available:

found a nice heat resistant matt black rattle can to refurbish some of the parts
front fender
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belt guard
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did the exhaust ends
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cover off the brake fluid reservoir, now the rest also needs touch up ;)
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went from gloss black to matt black, rest of the cluster will be done later
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looking at these results and the paint being really cheap and given great results i'm thinking about matt blacking out the entire front end.
handlebars controls, triple trees, lower legs of the front end and touch up the wheels.


Also started with a mock up of the front shield, now without headlight installed, not sure if it is a keeper but now i have options :).
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I used satin black on the controls....I like the sheen. Matt can mark up with finger prints etc.
The jury's out on the front shield, but I like your thinking :)
 
Hope your heat resistant paint is tougher than what I've tried. What I've used handles temps well, but marks up easily. Would like to maybe see this with a satin 2K clearcoat.
 
still waiting on my new headlight, according to the track and trace it should be here a minute, but that whole Corona thing has set the postal company with delayed delivery.
And need to fine tune then the front shield to the new light, and then decide to keep it or store it.

time could become an issue to work on the bike due to my work and our new family member who needs a lot of time, but we'll see how it goes
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had some time available today so i started on the leaking front suspension.
removed the right fork and dismantled it.
before loosening the lower bolt i wanted to drain the oil, lesson learned during this exercise: release the air inside the tube prior to opening the oil drain screw!
my idea was that if the seal is leaking, the air is already out, somehow i was wrong!
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not sure how to call this:
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on the plus the oil drained very quick, if you can call this oil, smelling it didn't remind me of any oil i'm familiar with!

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top seal was a @#%?! to get out, the oil sealitself popped out easely by the use of 2 screwdrivers.

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have this scratch on the inner tube, i'm now polishing it out. in the hope that with the new seal it won't leak anymore.

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also painted the lower part in a flat black.

new parts ( seals, dust capes and oil ) should arrive prior to the weekend so then i can assemble this one, should be sufficient time to let the paint harden out, after that the other will be foreseen with fresh oil and a paint job.
 
Where do you get the idea you put air in your forks?
Would you show a pic of the tops of your forks?


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Where do you get the idea you put air in your forks?
Would you show a pic of the tops of your forks?


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Top of the forks
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Take the cap off which exposes another small cap
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schrader valve to adjust air pressure in the fork
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Interesting, I don't think I have ever seen air forks on a small twin before.
Looks like it might have been done after leaving the factory. It still has
the factory retainer clip. And somebody just drilled and tapped the plug.
You might be pressing your luck if to much air pressure is added to the
spring pressure pushing against that clip.
As for air pressure the other bikes were run at 10 psi or less.
If you get a chance some time take a pic of the under side of that top plug.


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disassembled the other fork.
seals come out easy, ones you have done one the other is much easier to dismantle :)
a lot of dirt in between :
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cleaned the internals, spray painted the lower part, next is to reassemble the fork.
but i first need to polish the upper part before i reassemble.

also refurbished the top of the triple tree in a matt black finish and did the lower part of the switch controls.
cleaned and inspected the front brake while it was on the floor.
brake pads are still in good order and no leaks so that was easy,did a little bit of a touch up and done.
didn't make pictures of it but when the whole front end is finsihed i'll make some new pictures :)
 
front end rebuild, new blinkers installed and new headlight installed
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still some minor details on the to do list for the front end but that can wait.

new intake rubbers for the carbs are also in so that's next on the to do list, then get it properly running and then go from there.
 
haven't done much lately due to vacation and other priority projects.

pulled out the air cleaner box and battery tray to get to the intake rubbers
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already cleaned the air box, battery tray needs a cleaning and a paint job. However rectifier is locked in solid with the screws. WD40 shall hopefully sort that out.

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removed the carbs.
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same issues with the screws. everything is soaking in WD40. hopefully they will get loose without damaging the screws.
need to get them loose before i can clean the carbs.

also found this little gem on the intake rubbers, need to find a way the remove the screw with the damage.
the bottom screw still looks fine on both sides, both top screws or already damaged.
already have the WD40 infusion going on, but these will probably require heat and a special approach.
hopefully i can leave the engine in. don't have plans to remove the engine from the frame yet.
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temperatures here are that working in my garage is not on my list to do, so hopefully this will give me the time to find solutions and let the WD40 work its magic ;)
 
WD-40 is not that good at freeing those screws, can you get PB Blaster where you are? If so that is 100X better. Aslo you should have an impact driver if you don't already to get those off.
 
Impact driver i have and already tried it but it's not moving.

Same with some of the little screws on the carbs. there is some white stuff on those little screws, so my guess is the PO has used some sort of sealant to lock them in place.
Some come free,, others are locked in solid.

For now can't get the energy to try further, need a beer!
 
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