Hello From Melbourne (Kawasaki F11B)

[JADERD]

bought a 1.5mm gasket off ebay cheap, so will pop that one in when it arrives, then keep the orig as a spare to do the hot / cold treatment to prior to use.

Cheers

[Doc]

The cherry red hot and dunk will work at least a few times..probably more  

[JADERD]

my "street" riding shoes arrived from the US today and fit perfect, very happy.

like the idea i can wear jeans(kevlar lined) street looking shoes, jacket n helmet and be able to head out not looking like im about to tackle a 3 day camping trip, you wouldnt know they were riding shoes.

Shift Kicker

[JADERD]

Grabbed some m6 30 n 40 mm nut bolt set for the brake fix.  Fairly tight fit top And bottom in regard to space. The 30mm once adding a spring washer was just short, you began to tighten and the thread only came 3/4 of way through nut therefore though high tensile sheared thread, must be designed to need a full nut worth if thread taken up before have strength.  As there were no 35mm bolts in stock I had to trim the 40mm one, after trimming 3 times I had the perfect length and it worked a treat, all be it a little fiddly, holding brake lever at correct angle with knee while pushing in at shaft against spring then trying toget nut on bolt..... So glad its done now, tightened it upas tight as I felt confident that it wouldn't shear off, which was nice and tight. There is about 1mm of gap between nut and engine case when sitting on stopper

[Doc]

That'll work

[JADERD]

sure will, cheers doc, saved me a good $20

[JADERD]

Did some more today,

sanded and sprayed the airbox  - silver and cleared so that is ready for fitting.

refitted the chain guards and also the rear metal guard and also the rear tail light /number plate part.  cleaned the light and light sanded / polished the lens to bring it back to new looking.

Also decided to use the old reflector holder mount to hold the rear indicators as i didnt want to use the stock mount spot.

Also have decided to go with the second lot of indicators i bought of ebay as they are a little smaller and more era specific looking.

really enjoying the build now...its all the nice clean less messy parts i get to play with.....still frustrating though wire wheeling all the nuts bolts washers etc and polishing them (mainly to protect a little from rust) before i can use them to remount stuff .....tedious but worth it in the end.

cheers

some pics below....seat and rear fender just sitting there.

[Doc]

Looking very neat and tidy Simon. One thing that may cause some grief later are the polished nuts, bolts and washers. Whilst they do look good in the short term they will eventually rust much faster than if they wearn't polished. When you polish them what's left of the sacrificial zinc plating protection is removed. Apart from unsightly external rust which will be hard to contain, any area such as inside nuts or threaded parts they screw into will corrode even faster sometimes causing these bolts to become seized making future removal difficult or in some cases impossible without shearing the screws. The smaller the bolt/screw the greater the frequency this will occur. I learnt this from doing exactly the same thing. I had a bike that looked great and in the short term I kept on top of it with WD spray but all it took was some rainy weather or after a quick wash and if I hadn't paid the extra attention by the next morning things had changed dramatically. You've seen how fast steel wool corrodes overnight if left wet well it's the same with any un-plated steel. I ended up purchasing a plating kit and now do my own. It's simple and not overly expensive to replace as many as possible with new over the counter items from auto accessory shops, hardware or a fastener suppliers. Just something to keep in mind. 

[JADERD]

Cheers doc, yeah sounds good, i have seen those plating kits i think someone may have posted a link on here as to where to purchase etc and ive saved is somewhere.

Ive only really wire brushed external and no threads so hopefully that should reduce the seizing aspect.  Once i have had this spring / summer of riding and now that i know how everything works and where it goes next winter might be a good time to tear down / replace nuts and bolts or buy one of those kits and plate everything.

Hopefully the bike wont really get too wet other than a wash and dry off, if its raining it aint going out lol and ive pretty much decided it i wont enter and vinduros or anything, not really set up for that, ill still attend any that are close by for a look see.

bike will really just be road use and some close to home offroad areas.

cheers

[Doc]

Unless you plan to do a few or more bikes the plating kit probably isn't very cost effective. The good thing with them is there is no minimum amount, no waiting, you can spread it over a period of time and there's some appreciation of the fact you did it yourself. Unlike a lot of the old MX bikes the F11's have most parts like axle adjusters, brake arms and other bits already chrome plated. Replated spokes look extra nice and give overall appearance a huge boost but it's a heck of a job that takes days not hours. The availability of replacement kits which sell for under $100 both wheels inclusive delivered to your door are the way to go in that instance. I don't do spokes any more for this reason..depends how much time you have spare and how much you value your time. Your bike looks good anyway..far removed from the 1st pictures you posted    

[JADERD]

Cheers Doc,

i have seen the spoke kits and i would have a go at it in the future.

The fact that once the bike is running and registered for the 90 days a year its fairly cheap rego and insurance comprehensive for 3k is only around $200pa.

with that low cost in mind im happy to take it off the road during crappy winter and spend the time on it.

As for my time its my hobby (cars / bike / hands on stuff) and what i like doing so evenings and weekends doesn't worry me.....with that in mind i have a backyard that needs landscaping and a deck that needs building so winter time for bike is perfect as i wont be in the garden or outside in Melbournes cold if i can help it.

As for replacement nuts / bolts where have you found best place to purchase ? bunnings or online  etc ?
 ebay i have noticed acorn nut sets etc but no complete kits.

[Doc]

Some shorter 6mm phillips head screws, metric nuts and washers can be found at Supercheap but others you may have to go to a fastener supplier to get the correct type and finish. Don't use the goldbrite coloured items as they just look wrong on a motorcycle. Bright zinc coated is the way to go. Keep your eyes open in your travels, you never know where they'll turn up. Ebay is an option but as you said it's hard to find model specific kits for the older bikes. 6mm allen screws for the engine cases is also an acceptable alternative.

[tony27]

Or you could do the stainless route

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KAWASAKI-F11-POLISHED-STAINLESS-BOLT-KIT-/370539783007?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5645e4635f

[JADERD]

Already done the stainless route Tony that only covers engine, done them all other than the actual case ones as I never split the cases but had bolts there for when / if I do.  Ill keep my eyes open, no rush want a few rides before I worry about rust

[JADERD]

Question that needs an answer

air filter.

what should i do? i think unifilter have one but is getting towards the $45 mark i think.

could i just wrap with some foam ? like this sort of thing http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Briggs-Stratton-Foam-Air-Filter-272403-272403-30925-/220732900536?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3364b4c4b8#ht_500wt_922

or could i go down this route just finding one with correct measurements?  http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VMX-CZ-NEW-AIR-LUFT-FILTER-LUCHTFILTER-FILTRE-A-AIR-/190565886240?pt=AU_Motorcycle_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c5e9ca920#ht_791wt_905

im guessing density of foam will effect whether running lean or rich

or should i take air box into autobarn etc and start playing with pod filters that fit in ? or will they be too constrictive ?

Cheers any info or tips of what you guys do on your vintage bikes would be great, im hoping for an awesome answer like

"clark rubber, foam model XY215,  20 cents per metre" lol