If this is your first visit find the very first post in the archive and start reading there, it will make more sense.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Its Not done But it Runs!

I got the clutch all sorted out the other day and finally had a chance to put it all together ( thought that would have happened last Sunday.....Nope) so here are some photos of it and a short Vid of it starting.


The sound is not very good because I had supercross playing on the tv and it was louder than I thought.  What I said at the beggining is that I was actually starting it for the second time but the first time was only 30 seconds before.  It took 4 kicks for it to fire up and the carb is really close to where it needs to be. 






Here is the link for vid. I started this project in August of 2011 so to this date it has taken 11 months.
I have ordered a couple new to me side panels and they should show up in the next week or so. Now I will be down to hunting for Graphics and a mud flap.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Finally Clutch Problem resolved.

This is the concave washer. Its not a huge cup but it is there.
Finally resolved the problem with the clutch hub nut popping the threads off at under 30 ftlbs.  There is a concave washer on top of a spline washer that i am guessing is supposed to be somewhat of a lock washer that just puts pressure on the nut to keep it from spinning.  Personally I like the fold over washer set up better.  So I was putting the concave washer in with the top of the cup toward the nut.  There is no direction in the manual or that I could find online that says which way it goes.  Well I ruined two of the nuts then turned the washer over so the cup of the washers outside edges contact the nut then torqued it down...Boom, it works.


 I also purchased a new to me clutch basket that was in much better condition then the one that I had. As you can see in the photo the edges of the new basket have very little wear on them compared to the photo in the last post showing the old unit. 





Ready to put the covers back on and fill with oil. 
I might get to start it up today.!!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

KX125 Update

Yes it has been a long time. Spring time is an interesting time of year, everything outside wakes up and demands your attention so there is not much time to spend in the shop working on those winter projects.  The good part is I can spend some quality time riding the dirt bikes that I work on during the winter.  That is after all the maintenance is complete around the property.  Funny thing about owning enough land to have your own practice track, you spend more time working on it then practicing on it. Enough about that.
Since the last post there actually has been a few things happening, I was able to purchase a new front tire for the KX




And Yes I found time to put it on.  I went with Bridgestone 404/403 combo front and rear.

This is the very worn clutch basket, you can see the grooves next
to the plates in the vertical slot.
I also was thinking a lot about the clutch because the basket is very worn and was concerned that it would not work correctly, as well as when I put the clutch back in from the original inspection I didn't torque it down because I knew I would be back in there before starting the motor.  Another reason for concern was when I took the clutch out of the CR125 (www.cr125project.blogspot.com) that I am also working on it had a bend over lock washer on the clutch nut and I did not recall seeing anything like this in the KX and thought that there should be one.  I looked at parts details on line and to the best of my reasoning I figured one of the two washers that was in the detail would be the lock, the one closest to the nut would make sense.  Right?  NOPE.  Yes I took it apart again before ordering said washer and there were two washers already in place, one was rather concave the other flat, I ordered the washer in the parts detail anyway, only $3.  It was the concave washer and that is supposed to lock the nut with 60 ftlb of torque, OK. So when I got it I thought huh, I have this already, I used the new one just cause I bought it so why not.  Here comes the bad part.  Upon putting the clutch assembly back together, (still with the old basket) I went to torque it down almost getting to 60lbs and the nut gave out!!! Stripped!!!  Turns out that I think it was stripped before and had just enough thread to get about 40 to 50 lbs on it then pop off.  There were no shavings or any popped threads on the spindle, this is why I think it was already half gone.  Any way, this nut is not available from Kawi any longer so I went a searching, It is a 16mm x 1.0 jamb nut.  Its not impossible to get but you do have to special order it from a hardware dealer, I used Tacoma Screw products. Cost only $3.5. It is not the jamb nut size but there is plenty of room on the spindle plus I will have extra threads to grab on with. 

Photo of the clutch side of the motor, the spindle with the new nut
sticks out of the center.
Alright well I have ordered a new to me used clutch, the photos look like the wear on the basket is minimal compared to mine especially, so when that arrives in the next week or so I will carve out a little time one evening and try to reassemble this half the motor.  I have also ordered a new expansion valve cover that showed up today and was in worse condition then the one I had, hate it when that happens, also an ignition cover, hopefully that is in good shape and I can replace the squished one that I have on the bike now.

A Shot of the ever growing fleet, YZ450f, RMZ250, KX125, CR125 on the bench
in the back. You can see my Trey Canard Jersey hanging on the back wall
on the right.  AAHHH that's what I call a Man Cave.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Rear Tire and Sprocket



The rear of the bike is almost ready to go. I received a couple more parts this week so I mounted them up.

I ordered Renthal black 48 tooth sprocket for the rear and a stock size 12 sprocket for the front.  I received the correct one for the rear but the front one was shipped wrong.  So That part will have to go back.



I decided to go with the Bridgestone tires so I ordered a M404 100/90/19.  It looks really good all mounted up.

I also ordered a Renthal R1 chain to complete the set up.  The sprocket that is on the counter shaft in the bottom photo is a 13, it is new and I will probably run it also just to see which I like better the 12 or 13.  From what I remember about gearing adding a tooth to the front is like adding 3 to the rear.  If that is not right let me know.
I still need a rear chain guide, the swing arm chain sliders as well as a mud flap. I found and ordered a chain guide today, it doesn't look to be in the best of shape but I think it is some thing I can work with.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

True That Wheel.

The Cheap way.

Zip Ties taped to the forks, give it a spin look for the movement and tighten as needed or loosen, depends on what way you need to move. I know not very informative but I figure you can figure it out if you have gotten this far.