3/14/10 Just piddling around...

365 Group (f)

Today was up in the lower 50's.
I had made some grand plans to ride since I had managed to get in a few miles the last few days. The last couple of days went pretty well and when the weather man said this morning that the temps would get up to the lower to middle 50's I just knew that I'd be hitting the road. However today was not as good. It was a cold damp 50's and the damp got my arthritis to the bone and it was tough to just get around.
So, I had a change of plans and spent the day working on the "ustawaz's" bike. It has been sitting for quite some time and needs a little lovin to get back in the groove so to speak.

A 1978 KZ 650 in mostly stock shape. The only changes made to this sweet old ride were minor ones. A new head light system. Handlebars to replace the tweaked original ones. A hammer and hacksaw extension for the kick stand to make it set a little more up right.It normally runs as good as it did when it was new in '78. But, due to sitting for several months it needs a little cleaning and a lot of running.
I grabbed a cup of coffee and downed several pain killers and headed out to see what I could get done with the old gal. A quick look over and I noted that a new battery is needed as it wont hold a charge. It will make the circuit to start and run but that's it. Actually it has needed a battery for about three years. It's built with a kicker and compression break so the battery kind of got slid to the bottom of the list. The carbs are in need of a good scrubbing at the least. They tend to chug a bit when your running down the road. New plugs and points and maybe new plug wires. So far so good. Not too much that a good tune up wouldn't take care of.
I grabbed my battery charger and put some power to the system and started kicking. "That compression break is definitely worth it's weight in something semi precious." After about a dozen kicks I hit it with some starting fluid and on the second kick it "popped". A major good sign. I opened the bowls and drained out some of the gas to see if I had any water. No water so I hit it again with starting fluid and kicked it a few more times. After about another dozen kicks she fired up. Running rough but running. Like I said it's been a while but now I know that all it needs is a good tune up. I'm happy with the whole thing.
I let it idle for a while and went to get a note book and pen so I could make a list of all I need to replace. A new battery. New speedo gear, a good tune up. Short list for a bike that's 32 years old.
This bike always was a pleasure to ride and I just hate to see it sitting around going into the ground.
Through out the day I went out and started the bike and let it warm up to running temperature. I had planned to rip it around the neighborhood but with the cold damp day and a low back tire I just worked on loosening everything up.

I even managed to fire up my "miss tilley" and listen to her idle a bit.

Today was a pretty fair day as far as the "bikin" part went. I had a lot of fun tinkering around with the old bikes. I figure tomorrow will be a bear after all the kicking and the cold. It was an even trade I guess. Hopefully the days will be better and better from here on out and I can actually get in a few miles. A buddy of mine has suggested a photo taking trip one day soon so I got that going for me in the future.

Catch ya on the road