It's alive! (GPz550)

Maybe BM's are something you grow into as you (we) get older then TOG.
;-)

Agreed. This one had done 60k and never been touched.

Yeah, I noticed that (especially compared with the old RT) The Divy
dry (239kg) is the same weight as my RT with 5 gallons of fuel but it
felt much heavier.

When I got this 550 in the back yard last night it wasn't easy to
maneuver into place as the brakes were dragging so I thought I'd try
lifting the back round, and much to my surprise I did, quite easily.
;-)

All the best ..

T i m

I was really looking forward to getting stuck into it today but as I
was tidying up the bits yesterday, instead of lifting my leg up ready
to over the crap just behind the garage door I knee'd (hard) the steel
door frame instead. I still can't bend my leg properly ... :-(

 

Tell me about it. It's ok once you know you can generally use any
anagram of a mix of letters but up till then? :-(

Cool. So would you say it is an 'interesting' bike to ride (today) and
why please?

If there were any ergonomic adjustments you would make to it, what
would they be?

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. The previous owner noted the bars felt very narrow (compared with
his Firestorm at the time anyway).

 

It makes a nice noise. It's amazingly economical. It's just 'fun'.

I'd change the bars for something a bit lower. Maybe Telefix.

 

Oh, ok, well I'll look forward to that then. ;-)

Re the economy TOG. What I have read so far it suggests about 50 mpg?
FWIW that's about the same as my 1000 cc BM and 1900cc Rover 218SD? CB
Two Fifty about 75 mpg?

Lower, why?

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. I just phoned my friendly tame parts supplier:

4 x air box to carb rubbers ~ £18 (for 4) [1]
2 x caliper seals ~£8 (for the two).
1 x new front brake lever ~£6.
Rear master cyl parts available separately.

[1] if they are very much softer new it might save a lot of mucking
about (hot water etc)?

 

Overall, yes. But it's very easy to get closer to 60mpg if you don't
exceed 80 very often.

I'd expect a little less for the 250 - maybe 60-65mpg.

 

Not unusual, though.

I currently own an SC25, an SC22 and a CB1.

Okay, the last one's obvious, but the other two aren't.

 

It's 8.5 psi on the GT750 but has bugger all effect. Getting the rears
right 25 psi does.

The Guzzi's front forks are 25 psi which does have an effect.

You choose. Personally, I don't bother about the air in the front forks
on the Kawasaki. The GT doesn't have anti dive though

 

It is and you do.

 

The GPz's anti-dive is in no way related to the air in the forks, as
it's a hydraulic take-off running off the brake hose.

And was a complete waste of time in any case. Not sure if it had ever
had any effect, but on the one I had it certainly didn't add to the
overall handling.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (b.rogers at ifrance.com)
\`\ | /`/
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

 

Is it worth removing though Ace (mention of substituting bits) or
should I just leave it all on there?

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. Does it reduce the hydraulic fluid movement in the fork legs when
the front brake is applied?

 

In theory when the front brake is applied brake fluid pressure forces a
plunger down in a seperate chamber which closes off a valve on the
front of the fork leg - this limits the flow of fork oil as the forks
try to compress under braking in proportion to how much brake pressure
is applied. In practise this doesn't happen; the plunger sticks and
this leads to the forks locking up or the anti-dive just not working at
all, or working randomly. This is an MOT fail as they test the
anti-dive as well.

There's a simple solution that requires the fabrication of a pair of
plates to blank off the plungers from the forks These plates need a
groove maching in to allow the fork oil to move between two chambers in
the forks. It's simple to do and I'll be making/fitting them to a
GPZ750 Turbo very soon.

 

I never bothered, but I only had the bike for a few months before it
began to crumble[1] round me and was replaced by a GPX600. It never
caused my any problems, but I've no idea if this was just good fortune
or not.

Something like that. Lozzo's reply will give the technical details,
I'm sure.

[1] It had done >30k miles, IIRC, and was fairly ratty when I bought
it. Then I used it for a 150 miles/day commute, so it didn't take very
long at all for stuff[2] to start wearing out.
[2] Rear sub-frame broke off on one side, with evidence of a previous
weld becoming visible. Clutch started slipping. And basically it was
just shagged.


--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (b.rogers at ifrance.com)
\`\ | /`/
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

 

Oh, yes, of course--they are a 550/4.

I think you should be looking at about 2.8L as some
gets caught in the filter. Is the case stamped 3.4?

A drain and refill (no filter) from 10W/40 to 20W/50
for the baking summer roads took a little under 3L.

The level may vary also with where the engine stops
in its cycle - or this could be just down to me priming
mine more than necessary (or not...see below IRT
your question about fuel taps).

If the lever is usable I would recommend local breakers'
first stop - once you've worked out how to get the lever
on and off - as they may well be open to you trying a few
for size until you find one which fits.

Or check out the small ads in the bike press (MCN).

I understand a scheme was prototyped whereby a ring
(in a good sense, not the making stolen bikes reappear
in untraceable guises sense) of reputable breakers were
linked to bulk-text (SMS) and parts could be ordered
from a nationwide network with one call.

On the other hand a guy I kind of know loosely and have
no reason to doubt recommended eBay as he found a
guy with spares for his Canadian import within an hour.

No idea. There's also a guy who specialises in Haynes
manuals for everything if anyone knows his number.

At the risk of either duplicating information or being accused
of being a misinformational troll 8?). my knowledge of this
goes back to when I used a Suzuki vacuum tap.

At first sight they are identical but ISTR, as it was a dealer
I knew, that Suzukis you prime every time you start them
and Kawasakis you prime once, until the tank runs out.

Leaving the tap in the PRI position may be what caused
petrol flow into the block in the first place - hence my comments
about oil level changing - it may not do, it may just be eked
out as a petroil mix.

I thought someone locally was taking the mick out of my
yearsof riding two-strokes when my back was turned when
I could smell the petrol in the oil pan...but on reflection
mayhaps not.

I started off priming mine before every start, as per Suzukis,
then one morning when I forgot about the tap and just
pressed start and it slowly eased into life with no throttle
and no choke, I took to only priming it when the filler cap
had been opened or I'd heard the vacuum hissing, as it
does on a hot day when parked up.

Right now I just leave it set to "ON".

I thought for a while I was getting better fuel economy by
priming it every start, and this was to do with the integrity
of the vacuums, but despite not having had a comparable
long (150miles+) journey on which to assess it since, I'm
not actually convinced of this now.

Fuel just runs through when it is on prime until the float
overflows, SFAICT. Whereas in "ON" or "RES" is needs
to be drawn.

You will however need to prime it from dry, and after the
tank has been removed. As such, if you run your main
tank off you would need to prime it before you can use
the RES--no idea of capacity, not needed it, probably
about 10 miles.

Do check it out but you may find with them being vaccum
carbs that you have a dual cable accelerator. It is entirely
possible one of these is a "decelerator" which actively
closes the flow.

In short, there is no "OFF" position on Kawasaki or
Suzuki vaccum fuel taps (other makes? I dunno).

If it is left in "PRI" fuel will run out all over the place.

If it is left in "ON" or "RES" the fuel will need to be pulled
out. As such, when you remove the tank, make sure it is
in "ON" or "RES", and, paradoxical as it may seem, the fuel
will stay in the tank.

You will probably need to remove the tank to check the
state of the plugs, for example, which thankfully seem
OK.

I don't suppose you can tell from a description whether
my Scottoiler has ever been used or whether there's just
a wee bit of oil in it from whoever installed it? It looks
pristine, and I'm not convinced it's actually fitted and
have no docs or instructions, or any idea whether it's
a straight drip-drip-drip, an electric graduated drip or a
vaccum-linked drip. Or even if it's the right one for the
machine. So old lubes and solvents and elbow grease
and grease, and old lubes, and solvents are my current
solution...

May be duplicating what's already in the thread but that's
my two cents.

G DAEB
COPYRIGHT (C) 2008 SIPSTON
--

 

Ah, one thing I read somewhere recently but
which really threw me my first time on a 4
is there just isn't any engine braking, hardly.

Even compared to strokers there's very little.

I thought the clutch was dicky.

But no, this is normal.

If no-one's told you this already I wish someone
had me.

No, I didn't have webternet facapabilty at the
time or I might have asked.

Back on a twin though and I kind of can't
help thinking once the BMW I've decided is
my next bike to buy (any so long as it will
run and run) I may go for a very large bore
single.

I'm not convinced I like 4s, but time will tell.

G DAEB
COPYRIGHT (C) 2008 SIPSTON
--

 

Having been instantly flamed for not doing my
homework, and with an eye on insurance claims,
is this not the kind of homework that finding your
local Kawasaki dealer could get you a pass grade
in?

OE should always be used, despite you could
take an impression of the existing brake lever
with a large supermarket cob or wodge of papier
mache then fashion one from araldite...you should
declare the mod lest a valuer decide not to pay
out in the event of a write-off.

Things to consider with eBay (any mail order)
are is the P&P and comission really worth it for
second hand parts that are likely to be in a breakers'?

GPZ550s aren't exactly a rarity (albeit levers
are often damaged when the things blow over
in the wind and so on).

Your log book may indicate it is an import, or
it could be linked to the engine number, or it
could just be Kawasaki eccentricity--as various
other models aren't on the log book what they
say they are on the Decals.

But yes the GPZs were considered a "sports"
(rather than track or race) bike.

Dunno. Probably not. I prefer Suzuki cams to
any other Jap. I always found Yammies a bit
sluggish too. Kawasakis tend to be good high
revvers when you've re-run it in (just take it
gently for the first 1500-3000 miles).

Don't be too worried if the gearbox (as opposed
to the clutch) is a bit clunky to start with as the
cogs will move about a little. I found a bit like
cars/vand/trucks that it's possible to improve the
meshing by being careful about changes.

Also, do remember Kawasaki's pedigree in the
snowmobile and jetski sectors before you start
to worry too much about a bit of rain - or even
150 miles of persistent downpour.

Bit minimalist here on the expert guidance though
as a first impression.

Maybe more people ought to get speech to text.

I have a high WPM, unless you (all) do too it
probably takes me less time to type this than
it would take you to think it. So, yes, I have plenty
of time to enjoy my life as well. In fact, I'm off for
a spin now.

G DAEB
COPYRIGHT (C) 2008 SIPSTON
--

 

Ah, so I was right then. ;-)

So is this sticking a basic design fault (as in it doesn't work from
new) or something that could be resolved (if only temporarily) with
some maintenance Lozzo?

Great, "if it's fitted it has to work" sorta thing.

Ok ..

Are these going to be 'machine engineered' (by you) or something we
just knock up with a vice, hacksaw and angle grinder (for the groove)?

If it's the former and assuming yours are the same size as mine (ooo
missus <g>) how much for a pair please? [1]

All the best ....

T i m

[1] I have a Myford ML10, pillar drill, linisher, bench grinder, wet
grinder, 10 tonne press, loads of hand / power tools, (building up)
air tools, Stick / MIG but no Mill as yet. :-(

 

Excellent. I thought you'd given up on us. Glad to see you're still at
least making an effort.

Really cheered me up, that has. If only I could believe that it was an
intentional joke.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (b.rogers at ifrance.com)
\`\ | /`/
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

 

Ok. Well apparently the anti-dive wasn't an issue for the last MOT
about 100 miles (and 3 years) ago. That could mean that they didn't
check for it I suppose but it might mean it could still be ok now.

Hopefully this bike won't get that sorta work (and if I needed to I
might still prefer the R100RT). High mileage stuff generally makes
sense for us as we can get it cheap and often lasts for years with our
typical care and use. The CB 250 was about £200 with 64k on it and can
still pull two of us at 70 mph (just). The Rover was £100 with nearly
200,000 on the clock (4 years ago) and this 49k GPZ 'sounds' quite
good (to me anyway).

And that's the other thing isn't it, it's history. This 550 has had 8
previous owners but I know the last two did no miles on it (not a good
thing either).

A clutch wouldn't be that much though would it, but I guess you are
saying the clutch was just the final straw Ace?

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. I am a sucker for a wreck and get much more pleasure from turning
said into something clean and useable (not concourse particularly but
tidy).

Watching this XT125 being craned onto the scrap lorry and not doing
anything about it is still waking me at night (I got there just as it
was happening and felt it was a bit late to ask if I could have / buy
it etc). I asked him why he was getting rid and it was basically
because he wanted the space and the bike had been a bit vandalized
after it was stolen and when they couldn't get it started. I only saw
a pair of broken clock glasses, a broken carb and ignition switch.
Important things (wheels, saddle, frame, tyres, forks, tank, engine)
all looked ok so the rest might have been easyish to do away with /
source on eBay etc?

I thought it might make a good little green laning bike for the
daughter ... it was a Yamaha after all <sob> :-(

What I want someone to tell me is that it was a POS and I'm better off
without it. <sigh>

 

FCS wrote:
< snip >

He's a loony; but, he's a happy loony.

 

" "

" "


--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

"It's a moron working with power tools.
How much more suspenseful can you get?"
- House