Posts Tagged ‘kawasaki concours’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Running Good, Not Great

Thursday, August 5th, 2021

One of the twisties on the Needles Highway. Using the GoPro I’m finally able to get these kinds of shots.

We’re home now from this year’s OFMC ride and while I’m eager to tell you all about the trip, if you’re really hard-core your number one question would be, “how did the Kawi run?”

I can’t give a one- or two-word answer to that. So I won’t.

It ran well. It ran a lot better than it did before Joel worked on it. It did not run perfectly and at times it ran alarmingly. Details:

Ever since this bike has been giving me problems it has been hard to get it going from a start. Once in motion it has run OK, other than dying when I’m coasting to a stop. Those problems are gone. There are new ones.

All Kawasakis, as far as I know, are cold-blooded, meaning you need to fire them up and let them run a few moments before you take off. This one is no different but now it responds more readily to a twist of the throttle than it had been doing. The flip side of that is that when I roll off the throttle the engine does not immediately back off as it should. It continues to run hot for a moment and then fades.

Or worse. At times, though fortunately not all the time, the throttle seemed to stick and every time I would pull in the clutch the engine would race. Imagine pulling up to a red light, pulling in the clutch to stop, and having your engine sound like you’re screaming down the highway. I suspect that at its worst that kind of thing could damage the engine. What I would do is let the clutch out just a tiny bit and hold firmly on the brake. That reduced the screaming. It was probably hell on the clutch.

The rest of the bike was great. I knew there was enough rubber on the back tire for the trip but that I would need a new one when I got home. We actually rode about 400 miles more than I anticipated so let’s say I was definitely correct about the tire, in both ways. When I give the bike back to Joel to put in the needed carb parts and get the bike running the way it should I’ll also have him put on a new tire.

But the bike did me well on the trip and that’s the most important thing. And it was a great trip–can’t wait to tell you about it.

Biker Quote for Today

Life is a big road with lots of signs, so when riding through ruts, don’t complicate your mind, wake up and live life.

Tags:
Posted in Kawasaki, motorcycle mechanics, motorcycle problems | No Comments »

Some Clarity, At Least

Monday, July 5th, 2021

I really want to take this bike on the OFMC trip this year.

I’ve had this ongoing issue with the Concours not running properly, where I’ve used carb cleaner to much benefit but not total. Every time I had ridden it lately it had run better so when I took it out the other day I was hoping for it to perform perfectly.

It did not. In fact, it ran much more poorly than before, needing me to rev the engine before taking off from a stop and dying repeatedly as I came to a stop. At least that settles the question of whether I’m going to be able to address this myself or if I need to enlist professional assistance.

This business of the bike not running properly matters for several reasons. First, I want the bike to run right. That’s a no-brainer.

More pressing, however, is the fact that it is now July and that means the annual OFMC bike trip is coming up in just a few weeks. Having gone through all the hassle with getting this new top bag mounted I was really hoping to take the Kawi this year. I’ve tried to reach Joel, my mechanic, but I suspect he is up in Montana at the family farm for an extended period.

The issue here is that if I can’t take the Kawi, I’ll need to take either the V-Strom or the CB750. And both of them need new rear tires before they can go on an extended trip. So obviously, if I need a new rear tire I need to get cracking on that.

Why not just get new rear tires on both of them if they are in need anyway? Well, regarding the Honda, as little as I ride that I can probably pretty easily put that off until next year. It’s only if I want to take it on a long trip that I’ll need a new tire sooner. But the V-Strom could use a new one now. Except that, to cover my bases, I contacted Ron, my sometimes V-Strom mechanic, to see if he would be available to get a tire on this bike and he is out of the country until August 3. Ouch.

Now it’s getting serious. Frankly, I’d rather just put off new tires till later if there’s any way I can take the Kawi on the trip. So it hinges on Joel. Who I have not heard back from.

Calling Joel: Please get back to me ASAP. Meanwhile, I better find somebody to put a new tire on the V-Strom.

UPDATE
OK, this has been evolving as I’ve been writing. Joel just got back to me and will be back in town in a couple days and can get the Kawi running good before we’re scheduled to leave. In the meantime, I spoke to Bill, who directed me to a shop he and Dennis like for getting new tires put on and I’ll go ahead and get a new rear on the V-Strom just to play it safe.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcycle mechanic only because freakin’ awesome is not an actual job title.

Tags:,
Posted in Kawasaki, motorcycle problems | No Comments »

Top Bag Finally On The Kawi

Monday, April 5th, 2021

I am so pleased to finally have this top bag mounted on my Concours.

Yes! It’s on! I finally have a top bag on my Kawasaki Concours.

Tom, who designed and built the rack for me to mount this bag on the bike, gave me a call a few days ago to say he had it ready. I rode out to his place and he put it on and voila! There she is!

I had been really naive in contacting Tom to do this for me. My mechanic, Joel, had mentioned that he had a friend with a Concours like mine who had built a rack for his own bike. Not really thinking it through, I figured he could just do the exact same thing again to help me out. What I didn’t consider was that the bags were different, and therefore required different mounting equipment. Essentially, Tom had to come up with an entirely new and different design than what he had used to mount his own bag.

This simple-looking design belies the nuances Tom designed into it to make it truly aesthetically pleasing.

Let’s just say that I was pretty generous in recompensing him for his time and effort. Plus I made sure to tell him sincerely how very much I appreciated what he did for me. Everyone likes to have their efforts appreciated and recognized, right? And I truly, truly appreciated Tom’s efforts.

If you look at the bracket it at first seems to be a simple four piece crosshatch design. What you don’t see is that he used different material on the back cross-member so it would elevate the back and give it just the right pitch. Also, for the same reason, the two pieces coming front to back were bent upward just the right amount. Really great work. Thank you so much, Tom.

So, as you can see, this design definitely puts the weight of the bag on the bikes rear fender bodywork. I had been concerned that doing this might be a bad thing, either because the bodywork might break under the weight or the shift in balance would affect the steering. That concern was mostly allayed after I spoke with two people–Tom being one of them–who had put racks on their Concoures with no ill effects. I just figure if it is usually mostly empty, leaving room for helmet and jacket when I stop, the only time there will be excessive weight is when the bike is not moving. That’s what I’m hoping, anyway.

So Yahoo! I can’t wait to show up at the next ride and have my buddies gather around saying, oh look what Ken put on his bike. I’m pleased.

Biker Quote for Today

We know you’re a poser if all your leathers match.

Tags:
Posted in Kawasaki | No Comments »

The Connie’s Running Great Again

Monday, March 15th, 2021

I’m so happy to have this bike running well again, and without a big service charge.

Hallelujah! At the smallest possible cost my 1999 Kawasaki Concours is running great again. If I was a mechanic I would have known what to do a long time ago.

You’ll recall that I met a guy in the neighborhood, Eric, who has a garage full of bikes and a Jeep. He was in coveralls and was working on something in his garage so I assumed it was safe to bet that he was a mechanic, at least to whatever degree. More than me, for sure. So I described the issue to him and asked what he thought.

OK, I guess first I need to add the latest info I had derived. I had tried riding the bike again and while it started up and ran OK while warming up, when I tried to ride away it balked. Then I had the idea to give it some choke. It ran fine on choke while warming up. Maybe that would help. And it did. So I described all this to Eric.

His immediate answer was that the carburetors needed to be cleaned. If it runs on choke but not without choke, it’s the carbs. OK, now we’re getting somewhere. So I called my mechanic, Joel, and asked him. He agreed: carbs. He suggested I get some Lucas jet cleaner and pour it in the gas tank. So I did that.

I certainly hoped for results but I expected them to be gradual. Nope. The bike fired up and ran really great. Even when I turned down the choke it ran great. So I got on and rode off. Holy cow, this thing had more power than I remember it having for a long time! I pulled on I-225 and rolled on the throttle and it screamed!

Now, I have to say, this immediate change makes me a little nervous. Could it be that this Lucas stuff is like jet fuel and that’s what is giving the bike this pep? When this tank of gas is gone and I refill the tank will the pep be gone? Or were the jets just dirty and had been for a long time?

I won’t know for a while now, especially since we’re in the middle of multi feet of snow at this moment but boy is that a relief to have this bike running well again. Yahoo!

Biker Quote for Today

We know you’re a poser if your saddle bags say “Gucci.”

Tags:
Posted in Kawasaki | No Comments »

Is This The Problem? Gotta Wait And See

Monday, February 8th, 2021

OK, me, the non-mechanic, trying to trouble-shoot my Concours. I looked into what would happen if you had too much oil in the machine and my first lead was to the air intake, which is where excess oil presumably would be pushed out. Is the air filter saturated with oil?

Is this my problem?

First I had to figure out how to get to the air filter. I was going to change the spark plugs on this bike once but then I found that to do that I would have had to lift the gas tank. To do that would have required sealing off the gas line and who knows what else. I left it for Joel to do once I finally got around to having him do a tune-up. Would I need to lift the tank to get to the air filter?

Happily, the answer was no. I have a shop manual and looking in there I found that all I had to do was remove the left side panel, then take out two screws to remove the plate to get to the filter. Easy enough. So I pulled out the filter and found myself with a definite maybe.

The thing is, I don’t know what a new Connie air filter should look and feel like. This thing, seen in the photo, seemed to be a bit oily, but not so much as to be anything close to saturated. Is that normal? Plus, there was certainly no oily residue in the air box.

The only thing I know to do is take it over to Vickery and ask them if this is how it should be, and if they have one in stock, compare it to a new one. It is Sunday as I’m writing this so it will be Tuesday before I can do that. Nothing to do but wait.

If this proves to be the answer it will be a godsend. Because if it is not the answer I have no idea what to look for next. Of course I can always give Joel a call but man, I’ve really been giving him a bunch of my money lately. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

A little later: Nope, I did some more reading in my shop manual and it says to lightly coat a new air filter with oil. I guess my next move will be to go to the Concours Owner’s Group forum and see if I can find answers there.

Biker Quote for Today

You know you’re a biker if you have at least one ashtray that is actually a motorcycle part.

Tags:,
Posted in Kawasaki, motorcycle problems | No Comments »

Why Can’t Things Just Work?

Thursday, February 4th, 2021

I love you, please don’t be a pain in my butt!

We had some fabulous weather to start off February so I got out on all three bikes right away.

Of the two bikes I’ve recently had issues with the situations varied. The V-Strom, which I put a new battery into, started and ran just great. It still drips something but that is a longstanding issue that I’ll just continue to live with.

The Concours is a different matter. It fired right up and I ran it a good while to make sure it was warm. That bike has always needed to warm up before heading out.

Previously I had apparently left the reserve lever in the Prime position, an error that led to gas trickling into the cylinders and seeping past into the oil pan. In that state the bike wouldn’t run and I ended up making a real mess changing the oil. And once it was changed, although the bike fired up and ran, it didn’t initially run well. I rode around the neighborhood to be sure it didn’t crap out on me a long way from home, but eventually it did fine.

Well, same thing this time. I pulled out of the driveway and there was very little power. Again I rode around the neighborhood until it seemed to be doing OK and then I took off. This time, however, in two instances when I was coasting downhill and not revving the throttle at all the engine died. Now, it started back up right off when I pushed the starter button but this bike has never just died on me before. For the rest of the ride, anytime I was slowing down I made sure to give it a little more gas so it would not die. That’s a pain.

Maybe the business with dying could be remedied by just cranking up the idle speed a bit, I don’t know. But what the heck is the issue with the poor running in the beginning? Could there still be gas in the oil? Certainly not much–would just a tiny bit have that effect? Is there some other issue? I’m convinced that my mechanic put too much oil in when he changed it back in June. Could that have blown out a seal? What happens if a seal is blown? I just don’t know the answer to these kinds of questions. I need to do research.

Of course I could change the oil again–it certainly helped to change it before. I hate to do that because motorcycle oil is not cheap and changing oil on this bike is not a simple operation. And if I did that and it still was not running right, then what?

I just did a quick Google search and it appears I ought to check the air filter to see if excess oil has been through out that way. Now I need to look into how I get to the air filter. Sigh. I’ll let you know what happens.

Biker Quote for Today

Why motorcycles are better than women: Disassembling the motorcycle is done out of pleasure rather than need.

Tags:
Posted in Kawasaki, motorcycle problems, Suzuki motorcycles, V-Strom | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »