Winter project '72 Kawasaki F7

[Stein]

Anyone else work on old bikes?  My mom bought this for my dad on Valentine's Day 1972.  I spent many hours on the back and a couple driving it growing up.

Once salmon season is over and the boat is out of the garage my son and I will start going through it.  It doesn't run, has spark and likely needs carb work and seals.  I haven't decided if I'll just go for reliable running or try to for more.  Tires look to be a challenge, not many (if any) options for a dual sport in the original size.

It has a permanent MT plate, so I could legally drive it in WA, but it doesn't have blinkers so I'm not sure it's street legal or what the rules are for out of state vehicles.  It's still his legally and I'm borrowing it, so I probably won't transfer title to WA.

[Sandberm]

Needle in the carb is probably stuck closed not letting gas in. I'm not one to just do a carb rebuild because. Get it unstuck. If it leaks gas through the carb, get a new needle and inspect the needle seat.

Take the tank off and look inside for rust. Slosh some fresh gas around in it to clean it out of whatever is in there.

If it has a foam filter it is probably rotten, look at it first before you fire it up so you do not suck air filter into the cylinder.

Probably has oil injection? Make sure that is pumping. Probably a hose you can pull off and then crank the kick starter over and see if its pumping.

Just an observation. Before covid I could always find some oem parts for older bikes. It seems to be getting tougher. But I did find some parts for your bike at https://www.chapmoto.com/oem/kawasaki/f7/?year=1972

Have fun!

[Stein]

Thanks for the tips.  That site has a ton of parts in stock for very reasonable prices.

Oil injection is working as the plug gets oil fouled when I kick it over but no gas gets in there.  The filter is there and oily, I need to figure out how to get it off.  Since it's rotary valve, I can pull the cover and get air to the carb without going through the filter.

[Mark Brenckle]

That bike is in great condition! My older brother had one maybe a couple years newer. He tore it all apart and lost interest, then gave it to me for the cost of the local shop to put it all back together. Rode it all through junior high and into HS, only off road. I'm not even sure what ever happened to it, probably sold it before going in the Navy.
  Anyway, good luck with your winter project! 

[Stein]

I also got my green sparkly helmet...

[Boss .300 winmag]

I also got my green sparkly helmet...

I’d rock that helmet on that bike.👍

[Mark Brenckle]

I also got my green sparkly helmet...

I’d rock that helmet on that bike.👍

  I want to say i had a blue sparkly one...? With the cheesy 1970s clear bubble.

[Stein]

Yeah, the bubble thing got lost about the second ride if I remember.  My brother had the red sparkly.  I saw online they still make almost the identical thing but probably 100x more safe than the original.  I'm still not sure how we fit 3 people on that bike.

[CP]

Nice looking bike.

Tires shouldn’t be a problem, just might have to go up or down a quarter inch on the width.  Shinko has what you need, either the Shinko 241 or 244 should work, depending on what kind of tread that you want.

Cheap tires, but probably better rubber than the classic bike has ever seen.  Motorcycle tires have made vast improvements over the years.     

[Stein]

I looked at those, front is 3.00-19 and rear is 3.5-18.  Front seems to be the crux.

Closest I could seem to find is Heidenau K67 Trials at 3.25-19 or Kenda K760 70/100-19 at half the cost of the K67.  I think the K760 is narrower than factory as well, cross reference suggested either 70 or 80/100 so I'm guessing 3.00 is in the middle.

Shinko 244 comes in at 2.75-19, not sure if it's better to go wider or narrower?  Shinko make the correct size for the back, so that's easy.

[CP]

Heidenau K34 would be spot on front & rear.  But it's not really a dual sport tire.

I'd go with the 2.75 front, I doubt if you'll notice the diff.

[Stein]

Well, we got it running yesterday.  It smokes like a chimney and leaks oil like the British built it so plenty of seals and random parts need to be ordered but it looks like it should be a runner.

Something's not right with the oil injection, there is so much oil in the exhaust that there is an exhaust leak right at the head that is dripping oil all over the front of the engine.  It seemed to be adjusted rich, so I fixed the adjustment at the pump and am going to swap the oil for something fresh and see if it gets better.

My buddy recommended Klotz, so I'll give that a try.

[Dan-o]

Leaks oil like the British built it.......

 

That is an awesome description.

[Stein]

I found the cause (or a cause probably) for the smoking.  I removed the exhaust to see if I could fix the leak at the head and the muffler had about a 1/2 cup of black tar oil in it.  I'm pondering how to clean that out that doesn't involve making a bomb, if anyone has ideas I'm all ears.  I was thinking of just using good dish soap to get a good amount out and then burning the rest.

The bigger question is how it got in there.  I'm hoping it's just an accumulation of years and years including a couple times trying to start it when it wouldn't run.  I do remember my dad idling it for a long time before riding which probably didn't help either.

The oiler was set a bit rich which was easy to fix.

What's not so handy is you need to pull the head to get the exhaust gasket off and replace with a new one.  I haven't decided if I want to mess with it or not.

[Boss .300 winmag]

I found the cause (or a cause probably) for the smoking.  I removed the exhaust to see if I could fix the leak at the head and the muffler had about a 1/2 cup of black tar oil in it.  I'm pondering how to clean that out that doesn't involve making a bomb, if anyone has ideas I'm all ears.  I was thinking of just using good dish soap to get a good amount out and then burning the rest.

The bigger question is how it got in there.  I'm hoping it's just an accumulation of years and years including a couple times trying to start it when it wouldn't run.  I do remember my dad idling it for a long time before riding which probably didn't help either.

The oiler was set a bit rich which was easy to fix.

What's not so handy is you need to pull the head to get the exhaust gasket off and replace with a new one.  I haven't decided if I want to mess with it or not.

Can you post a pic of it?