It’s down to the heart of the matter – the engine. I separated the crankcase halves – which is tougher than it sounds when you are dealing with an almost 40-year-old machine that has been sitting idle for at least the past 20. The first thing you’ve got to do, after removing incidentals such...
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Motorcycles are a lot of fun. They’re also relatively inexpensive to buy – and they get great gas mileage. But if you’ve never ridden before, there are some things you should know before you decide to throw a leg over: * Motorcycles (and scooters) take more skill and involvement to operate than a car...
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The S1C’s bodywork – including the tank – is now finished and installed. Everything has been repainted in the correct Halibut Blue, with correct reproduction decals and pinstriping. The finish – done by Precision Motorcycle Painting – is modern base/clear. The original factory finish was lacquer/enamel, with no clear coat. To get an...
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There is light at the end of the tunnel – in fact, I can almost hear the spitting and popping of my soon-to-be operational S1′s two-stroke engine. But first, a segue into the cosmetics. I just got word from Craig over at Precision Motorcycle Painting that my tank, side covers and tailpiece are done....
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I used to think that people who ride are almost by default non-Clovers. It takes higher-order skills, for one, to ride a motorcycle than it does to drive a car. In addition to balancing clutch and throttle, one must also balance oneself on the bike – and learn to do all three things simultaneously...
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I was hung up for a few weeks, waiting (after looking) for the parts I needed to rebuild the S3 donor bike’s disc brake system, which was thoroughly gunked up thanks to years of just sitting. It took me two days of intermittent fiddling just to get the caliper disassembled. One of the pads...
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The Triple is back on its feet, so to speak! After a lot of scrounging, I was finally able to locate a set of tires for the bike. One thing I didn’t know going in – but do know now – is that it is hard to find front tires in the 3.25×18 (non-metric)...
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This old Kawasaki motorcycle I’m trying to resurrect has a neat little engine of a type you don’t see anymore – unless you’re in the backyard weed-whacking, that is. I’m talking about two strokes. In the late ’60s, Kawasaki cleaned the streets with its fearsome H1 triple, followed later by the even more fearsome...
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The old Kaw is starting to look like something again … something good. At last! This latest progress reports begins with a short story about a lucky find. I happened to be down at my local bike shop, buying some items for one of my other bikes, when I mentioned to the counter guy...
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Rebuilding this bike – which had been sitting for probably 20 years before I got it – required more than just a clean-up and refreshing of the mechanical parts. The frame, for example, needed to be stripped to bare metal to do a proper job of bringing it back. The original factory paint had...
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