My '71 Kawasaki F8 250 - (first) 'tracker

[Mitey F]

I sold my last 2-smoke (some of you may remember the '72 G3 http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=20174.0 ) and needed something else. I wanted to try a street tracker this time. So I called the guy that sold me the G3 for another fun smoker ;D

And got this for a very nice price. 1971 Kawasaki F8 250cc enduro. When I picked it up it looked about like this, but with fenders (trashed) and stock handlebars.

And a photo of a restored one for reference

 

[Mitey F]

Step 1, start stripping... gotta see what you're workin' with. Pulled the engine out and started with the rear frame. I knew it would have to change, so I tack'd in a temporary brace and hacked it off.

Engine was in pretty nice shape, but without kickstarter. Found a NOS one on ebay, they want $300!!! Deal with that later.

 

[Mitey F]

Before I started making a new rear hoop I wanted to get my tail figured out so I knew what shape I'd need. Looking for inspiration, I found a tank from an old LTD 440 I picked up cheap and parted out.... iiiinnteresting.

Gimme part of that

Stripped the paint, made a nice big pie cut, a few tacks, and whaddya know, that's not a bad start for $0.00

 

[Mitey F]

Picked up a cheap LED tail light (I've used this style before, and they're GOOD and bright) and tack'd on a little bracket. Nuts on the backside for easy fitting.

Trimmed and welded a plate on the front

The seat pan was a bit more difficult than I thought it would be.

 

[Mitey F]

Made a battery box that fits in the stock location, but is much simpler and more low profile. Can't even see it when standing next to the bike.

And stripped some paint (wish I could leave it like this, looks badass )

And bent a rear hoop that fits perfectly inside the tail

 

[Mitey F]

Cut extra mounting tabs off the frame, painted various bits, and then did the whole primer, bondo, sand, primer, bondo, sand etc etc thing, and laid some paint today, as I can't do any more to the frame until my shocks get here.

I had leftover paint from painting my bug a few weeks ago...

And some leftover paint from the G3...

Both of which I liked, and thought would complement THIS Kawi nicely. So the first color went on. Next up will be the green.

I'll also mention this real quick. It seem vintage bikes (especially old trackers and cafes) are black EVERYWHERE. Frame, fittings etc etc. So I decided that there will be almost NO black on this bike at ALL. Just to be different

 

[basementhardtail68]

Awesome choice for bikes to make a tracker out of! I really like the tail! I'll be watching this one. Keep it up!

 

[adriannarnold]

Dang Man!!!
That is looking awesome! Love the color, and fantastic work on the tail. It flows nicely with your tank.


Where did you get the LED taillight? I am looking for something just like that. Also check out Shinko 244's for your tires, I think they may suit your bike. Keep it up, great work.

 

[Mitey F]

I got the tail light from my favorite local shop, but similar lights can be had on ebay etc. I don't have the packaging anymore, so I can't tell ya the mfg, but I'll check next time I'm at the shop.

More pics tomorrow, it's dark outside now...

 

[adriannarnold]

Yes please with the more pictures. ;D Can't get over how well you bike turned out!!

 

[jeff4uk]

Wow excellent fab work man nice paint too

 

[bluesmoke69]

Great work so far.

 

[Mitey F]

Finally got around to getting some new pictures. Laid some green on the tank and tail, along with some white striping to separate the two colors... although I dropped the tank so it needs a little touch up now I also need to trim the seat cover a bit more. Also got some green on the headlight, but don't like how it came out, so I think it will be getting repainted. Still got some touching up to do on the tail too. Dropped off a load of parts at the powdercoater too, should be done sometime this week.

Got my new shocks. I know they're shitty and Chinese, but they're gonna be a lot better than stock!

Stripped down the wheels, ordered a new set of spokes, and am currently deciding on what color to PC the rims... My goal was NO black on the bike, but for some reason flat black is sounding nice. Also started polishing hubs and brakes.

More updates soon.

 

[JustinLonghorn]

Yep, I can dig it.

 

[adriannarnold]

Very very nice. Love it! Those new shocks are going to look sweet

 

[Mitey F]

Never tried to make a stencil before, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Bought some of the address label thingies that you print on using MS Publisher. Turned out OK for my first try I think, but they don't come off quite as easy as masking tape as I found out. There will be a gray or black border around the letters too. I only did the one side so I could see how it looks before committing to the VERY tedious task of hand cutting all those "a"s

I also soda blasted the carb... no "before" pictures, but I assure you all, it was NASTY! My carb kit also came in, so that will be the first engine component up on the block. Snapped this picture, and realized how clean it must REALLY be, to look WHITE with the flash!

The carb was trashed when I got the bike, but I think it can be saved. Upon further inspection today (taking the needle out of the slide) I found a PO's extraordinary homemade part... Yes, it's made from the bottom of a soup can!

Sand blasted my forks, I think they're going to be gray, I REALLY don't want to try and sand them smooth! Felt like a good day to dig into some forks, so I started digging into my TY80 forks as well.

I usually put a new chain/sprockets on all of my rebuilds, but the stock sprocket looked damn near new, so I started cleaning it up a bit and think it will work just fine. I was also amazed at how light this sucker is!

Finally disassembled my gauges and painted the housings, polished the trim and cleaned the glass. All I have to do now is paint the inside trim ring and they'll be ready for assembly.

Now if the powdercoater would just call me so I can pick up my other parts!!!!

 

[peteGSX]

Mate I'm likin' this build! Nice work so far

 

[Mitey F]

Gauges are done... looks nice if I do say so myself

The color of the triple trees is the final powdercoated color for the frame and most of the other little bits.

 

[peteGSX]

Gauges are done... looks nice if I do say so myself

The color of the triple trees is the final powdercoated color for the frame and most of the other little bits.

They look awesome! Like the triple clamp colour too, should look good on the frame etc. also.

 

[Mitey F]

Got all of my parts back from the powdercoater, and I must say, they're lovely! The exhaust and chain guard were done in a gray very close to the tank and tail, and the rest (frame, swinger, wheels etc etc) was done in silver (NO black, remember?). Painted the exhaust guard in green, as well as the centers of the wheel hubs. I'm not sure if I like the green on the wheels, but I can always redo it I suppose.

Split the cases on the engine, and upon very close inspection, found cracks around the kick starter shaft... So I dropped it off at the local welder, we'll see what he can do. Luckily there are no real clearance problems, so he should be able to lay a nice thick bead and have it end up nice and tough. Forgot to take pictures with the shaft out, but there were numerous cracks on both sides...

The rest of the engine/tranny looks good though

Labeled bins sure help to keep things in order

Seeing as the wiring was somewhat hacked (key broke off in the ignition, and it looks like someone tried to splice in wires to make it run...) and I'm not using any of the stock switches, I've got some wiring fun ahead of me...