1973 Kawasaki G5 my new toy :) PICS *pics added 02/10/07*

[pandy]

I like the big warehouse you have to ride in! 

[Susuki_Jah]

I like the big warehouse you have to ride in! 

haha its the machine/welding shop I work at for the airforce. 



thanks Jughead that helps a lot!!!..



surprisingly I went to Kens cycle today and ordered a new clutch cable for it they actually had it listed. I also bought some (moose Racing) motocross bars to replace the stock ones that are slightly lower but same design. I attempted to start the little bugger tonight and it took like 5 mins. then it ran then it died took 5 more mins to start again. i dont get whats going on with it. runs fine but has trouble staying running at the moment. yesterday it was fine.

I think I need to completely take the bike apart and put it back together. I found out the magneto runs the headlight and ignition by itself and the battery back up is only for the turning signals and tail light when the engine might be running low or under load.   

if anyone has some experience with 2 strokes I need some guidence on why it may be having trouble staying running after a few mins.



I bought the blue bars. they are just carbon steel bars. they sit a little lower. I will be painting them either black or orange like the bike for now I might just leave them blue.

[Susuki_Jah]

ok went to work on the 74 again last night. I keep trying to get it running because it doesnt want to run right at the moment. itll run fine but getting it warm and staying running more than a few mins is the issue.  so I was kicking it over and the kick started to slip. the grooves that fit over the splines on the kick are wearing out so I have to get another kick for that now. the new clutch cable comes in this week I got the new handle bars and Ill need the new kick now too.  I filled up the gas tank full btw to see if it needed that to run right, no change. im going to drain the tank and clean the re-seal it soon.

so far I have spent

Kawasaki g5100- $150
shorter motocross bars - $16
clutch cable - $10

so far a total of $176 in the bike Im sure the price will rise soon

[natedawg120]

...
so far a total of $176 in the bike Im sure the price will rise soon

Yeah, fixerupers are generally good at that.  It should be fun irregardless anyway

[Kasumi]

Is it singly cylinder? If so i would pull the head gasket and check the seal. That was the problem with mine, however i think you just need to strip it back to the engine and go thru it replacing any seals, lubricating and tightenin. then it should be fine. 2 stroke motors in bikes like that are indestructable. My old 50cc would run at 11500 rpm doing 60mph for hours and it only broke when the head gasket seal got too old and needed replacing.

[Susuki_Jah]

Is it singly cylinder? If so i would pull the head gasket and check the seal. That was the problem with mine, however i think you just need to strip it back to the engine and go thru it replacing any seals, lubricating and tightenin. then it should be fine. 2 stroke motors in bikes like that are indestructable. My old 50cc would run at 11500 rpm doing 60mph for hours and it only broke when the head gasket seal got too old and needed replacing.

sounds good I am going to tear it all down soon. I started taking everything apart the other night but I am stressed with work and the airforce and life at the moment so the bike has to wait so I dont throw stuff at it lol.

[calamari]

Don't you burn your leg on the exhaust pipe? 

[Susuki_Jah]

Don't you burn your leg on the exhaust pipe? 

you know I thought about that but never thought about it when I was riding. I havent burned it so far.

[Susuki_Jah]

ok so I got the olds bars off and put the new motocross ones on man they feel so much nicer!  I got the new clutch cable in today so soon I will replace that. I still have to fix the kick start lever on the bike anyone got a cross reference for that? kawasaki no longer makes them or sales them for the bike. I was figuring the one from a ke100 will work. when I get the motor and the carb working 100% then I will most likely weld the kick onto the crank but just as the end so I can grind it off if I ever need to.  I pulled apart the headlight and the electrical parts. I am getting the headlamp housing powder coated but I will be getting a new trim ring and sealed beam.  it takes a 25w bulb... talk about low light output.   what im thinking is there has to be a way to get the magneto to run a larger battery and to run a new headlamp system for a brighter beam. I would rewire it for that as well.

do you think the magneto could handle the load of a larger battery and a brighter headlamp? eventually I want to get this bike back on the road and ride it around.

[Susuki_Jah]

found out my bike is actually a 1973

[Susuki_Jah]

I fitted the handle bars up on the bike , I need to paint them black though.  the blue stands out to much although kinda matches the bike.

the production date on the bike was 9/72

Im still having trouble tracking the title.

here are some others, some before the tear down and some after.




super cool seat feature. it is hinged on.

[Turd Ferguson]

That thing is going to be a lot of work.  Are you doing a complete tear down?

-Turd.

[Susuki_Jah]

That thing is going to be a lot of work.  Are you doing a complete tear down?

-Turd.

yes I am. right now I am doing things in groups because if I tear it all apart at once then I might not remember how it goes back together haha. Hopefully I will buy a house this summer and can take my stuff out of the strorage space and build a nice big shop in the back yard then I can really get into what I love doing.  atleast the bike still runs  and everything for the most part still works. the hard parts is finding proper parts for the bike. I want to keep it mostly original but at the same time its almost impossible, so there will be slight one off mods to it as well.

[yamahonkawazuki]

yup thats the prob with my kz400 its 100% original (made of parts damned hard to find anymore)