Guys (and any Gals?) Been lurking here ever since I made a deal to get my '74 S3 back from the friend I sold it to in 1975. He never transfered the title...so it's still in my name! It's actually in pretty decent shape, having sat in a Barn for most of about 40 years!
I worked as a Service Trainer for Kawasaki at their Disctribution Center in Plymouth, MN. from '73 to 75. Left when they moved everything to Lincoln, as I chose not to move there from Minnesnowta. Anyway, Kawi had an agreement with Dunstall to provide them with their Cafe Racer kits for the H series. One came in damaged and so it was going in the dumpster. I "appropriated it", patched it up (it didn't look that good in bright YELLOW anyway), had it repainted, etc. I'd done some time as an engine modifier in the halcyon days of snowmobiling and MotoX, flat trackers, so I ported, reeded and added Werges (SP?) Pipes. The thing was a rocket ship! Then I sold it to a fellow MX'r from flat and treeless N. Dakota. It didn't take him long to figure out that a Cafe racer in central N.D. wasn't really THAT much fun.
2-3 yrs. ago I was talking to that same guy by phone and he mentioned that he still had it. I immediately told him I'd LOVE to get it back. With some horse trading, we consumated a deal and I dragged it home last Sept. He'd gone thru a torrential downpour on his way to meet me and so I pulled the Cylinders off to check it out. Center pot was lightly seized (He'd said it wouldn't pull 5th gear- HUH?) When i pulled the jugs off I found the center case FULL of water! YIKES! I dried it all out as best I could and poured motor oil in all 3 cases full and set about lurking here and trying to figure out what me next steps should be? I looked at sites about testing the crank seals, but knowing in my heart of hearts that anything that had sat this long probably needed new seals. Then I began to pull it all the way down. When I pulled the left case cover off I found about a 1/2" of oil in the bottom and that kind of made my decision to get the crank rebuild.
So I have it pretty well completely dis-assembled, marked, boxed and I'm continuing to clean things up and polish the brite-work. It won't be a garage queen, nor a show bike, but I suspect that anywhere I go the triple noise (did I mention that after modification it will rev to 12k?) with the expansion chambers will announce my arrival. Should be a hoot in the right situation? I just don't want to register for the Greenday parade!
Well, I typed most of this in once about 6 wks. ago and it never showed up...so I hope it does this time!
I tried to add photos from Photobucket (over the last 30 minutes) but the system rejected them. Something about some Vectors or something. So maybe another time?
I like the short chambers , what are they?
