Kawasaki Triples Club

Hi all

Thought I would share this with you.

I hit the buy it now for a KH500 Engine from Evilbay that had sat in a garden for untold years.
I phoned the guy to arrange collection and asked the inevitable question "do you have any other bits for sale" to which he replied "I do have a very rusty old frame ,tank, side panels, forks, wheels and a few other bits all from the same Uk 500 " I then asked him for a price on what he has and he hits me with £50
Thus the deal was done





The engine itself had a rather unattractive fury aluminium coat and was locked up solid and not in a good state , so off to Mr Cranky Gary Clarke for strip and rebuild

I will try to keep you posted on how the rebuild comes along , this as I've said in my wanted list this will be a rider not a standard looking resto this time

WHAT,you DIDNT knock him back on the price!!
You're loosing your touch!!
Or going soft
Great deal

malc87 wrote:WHAT,you DIDNT knock him back on the price!!
You're loosing your touch!!
Or going soft
Great deal

I couldn't knock him on the price Malc as I fell in love with the paintwork
It was last taxed in 1981

Looks like a Borrani rear rim. If you have the front one that's a nice upgrade for a rider.

Tony_d123 wrote:Looks like a Borrani rear rim. If you have the front one that's a nice upgrade for a rider.

Yes Tony I have the pair and they are Borrani, the wheels and hubs need a right good clean but the spokes are well rusty so need replacing

Spoke sets are available from z-power (with club discount). Same as z650.

Some pics of mine...

And the back....

kwackersken wrote:

Tony_d123 wrote:Looks like a Borrani rear rim. If you have the front one that's a nice upgrade for a rider.

Yes Tony I have the pair and they are Borrani, the wheels and hubs need a right good clean but the spokes are well rusty so need replacing

Hey Ken , clean the spokes up on a wire wheel and spray them with chrome paint.

and leave the paintwork exactly as it is. THAT's a Rider !!!

Ohhhh Kenny, I feel for you brother......I bought a POS in early Feb....a S1C......but at least the engine, wheels and seat were mounted in the frame!<LOL> Then again, most everything had to come off anyway so maybe you're better off that they are in boxes?

I'm smack in the middle of my restoration but I'll admit that not every part is genuine....I did what I could with the turn signals then decided to buy a set of knockoffs....but so far, it's the only thing where I haven't been able to restore the originals. The pipes were ordered from Higgs the week I began the project but since the bike didn't come with pipes, I don't count them<LMAO>....

Like you, I'm not worrying about a spec restoration....I just want a nice baby triple rider!

Just finished the handlebar controls and gauges....Kerry did the lettering for me because I suk at that!





jeff

What they looked like before they were restored!



jeff

Wow Tony your wheels look fantastic , love the pics , I can't see mine ever getting to that stage.


Well done Jeff and with Kerry's help what a transformation , great pics too, that will be one special bike when it's finished

Engine progress

The engine was seized solid as it had been sat so long in a garden . Try as I might it wasn't shifting so went to plan B a little trip over to Downpipe3 Gary Clarke our crankshaft / engine rebuild Master . So the fight went on and between us and a big hammer we managed to get one cylinder off , I had to then leave the engine with him to continue his magic and now the engine is apart thanks Gary Top bloke .

Note the tools used to get the cylinder off

As you can see the pistons are in a bad way and were stuck solid to the bores

Crankshaft covered in rust but in Gary's words is rebuildable , the gearbox appears fine as it still had the oil to protect it

cheers Kenny , like you im a Taurus , stubborn and don't give up :wink:

Looks to be an interesting project with it being in such poor condition to begin with!

Your a brave man Ken. Keep going mate, you will get there.

Great job in getting it apart without destroying even one of the pistons! Excellent because I know exactly how much a bear that is to do...congrats on that.

My guess Kenny, it that a litter degreaser and some soap and water will clean that crank up like new!!

You should have it back together in a couple days right? LOL....at least the tranny looks to be ok.....and you also happen to know a good crank guy not too far from where your engine is!!


jeff

JeffK wrote:Great job in getting it apart without destroying even one of the pistons! Excellent because I know exactly how much a bear that is to do...congrats on that.

My guess Kenny, it that a litter degreaser and some soap and water will clean that crank up like new!!

You should have it back together in a couple days right? LOL....at least the tranny looks to be ok.....and you also happen to know a good crank guy not too far from where your engine is!!


jeff

Just a little update

Got the frame and parts back from the powder coaters , looking much better now without the rust




Had to get another set of barrels as the others all had cracked liners where they were seized to the pistons







Spit and polished the clutch cover







Managed to save and bead blast the heads also bead blasted the replacement barrels

looking better than when it arrived!

malc87 wrote:looking better than when it arrived!

+1

Nice Kenny , its suprising how well bits polish up eh