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Posted by Troll
- October 24, 2012, 15:48:08 PMI put a set of all balls bearings in, and a grease fitting on the neck. I believe the grease that Kawasaki specifies is too light for the job. I used disc brake wheel bearing grease, packed by hand, and then filled the neck cavity with more grease before I put the bearing seal back on. I've been pumping in grease at 5,000 mile intervals, and have had no problems since I did this...32,000 miles in 3 years.
Posted by ChilliDrift
- October 24, 2012, 15:23:49 PMI gotta say. I found my neck bearings bad ton. I was in the grass at the hse and turning the
thr bars left and right i found annd felt the grove cut into my neck bearings. Thanks troll for pointing me inthe right direction. I wll replace this winter. But my? Is ...is there a better bearing to replace it with. I felt it in the grass turning my bars left and right. It worried me a bit but knowing the mechanics of it. I wiillhe pk for a short time. Thanks guys.....the neck hearings are next in line.
Posted by 49Reo
- October 23, 2012, 11:02:50 AM[Sigh...] if only I could do this "driveway" with a snowblower; over 300 yards total, plus a shop and garage access to keep open; a couple of winters ago, I was also plowing out the neighbors driveway for him as he was always working; he decided to pay me back one weekend when I was gone; using his 33"snowblower it took him 6 hours, and he wasn't done. It would be a full time job around here.
Of course, if I used a snow shovel, it wouldn't be hard to start either...... 
Regards and such,
49Reo
Posted by CDNRatMan
- October 23, 2012, 08:53:05 AMno such isses with a Toro snowblower.....
Posted by 49Reo
- October 22, 2012, 22:23:48 PMQuote from: Troll on October 22, 2012, 19:45:11 PMI've been thinking about the solenoid click problem. There are a few things that could cause this, primary among them is a bad ground connection. If the battery is at a nominal voltage of 12.8, which is normal "rest" voltage for a 12V system, the starter relay should be able to send that signal to the starter terminal. If the voltage does not drop when the starter is engaged, then the signal is not getting tot he starter terminal. If the voltage drops and then recovers rapidly, then there is a poor connection either to the starter motor, itself or a bad connection at the battery, either positive or negative terminals...or the one nobody thinks about. In the rear of the engine is a ground cable running to the engine from the frame. This might sound like a silly question, but does the lcd clock rest itself when the clicking happens? Has anybody confirmed the connection from the relay to the starter motor?
Just went through this today: Getting my snowplow running, (yeah, yeah, I know don't talk dirty,) hit the starter, click-click, click.
Removed and cleaned cables and battery terminals, hooked them up, click-click, click. Ended up cleaning the ground 3 times (and it looked clean each time) finally scraped it until bright metal showed, hooked it up, away it went. I know, not a Drifter, but the mechanics are the same. Point is, it takes NOTHING for corrosion or why to create a poor connection. Good luck with it.
Regards and such,
49Reo
Posted by Troll
- October 22, 2012, 19:45:11 PMI've been thinking about the solenoid click problem. There are a few things that could cause this, primary among them is a bad ground connection. If the battery is at a nominal voltage of 12.8, which is normal "rest" voltage for a 12V system, the starter relay should be able to send that signal to the starter terminal. If the voltage does not drop when the starter is engaged, then the signal is not getting tot he starter terminal. If the voltage drops and then recovers rapidly, then there is a poor connection either to the starter motor, itself or a bad connection at the battery, either positive or negative terminals...or the one nobody thinks about. In the rear of the engine is a ground cable running to the engine from the frame. This might sound like a silly question, but does the lcd clock rest itself when the clicking happens? Has anybody confirmed the connection from the relay to the starter motor?
Posted by 49Reo
- October 22, 2012, 18:28:58 PMQuote from: Drift Away on October 22, 2012, 15:30:26 PMokay, so i think i`ll have a go at the Metz, bearing in mind what ever tyre I put on will last forever anyway. I only do about 3000 miles a year, cos i live in the miserable UK. we`re not blessed with nice weather like our brethren overseas. Overall the bikes handling is pretty bad, obviously nothing like any road tests i`ve read. It can only get better as the saying goes. When i change them i`ll let y`all know how it went. 49Reo, overall how`s the handling of your bike?
The handling is great. No wobble at any speed. When I bought the bike it had the original tires on it, it handled good; that fall it developed a wobble; as the bike had (by then) around 7000 miles on the original tires which were over 6 years old, I changed to the Metzler WWW's. Haven't looked back since.
Regards and such,
49Reo
Posted by pcarrell
- October 22, 2012, 17:03:21 PMQuote from: 49Reo on October 22, 2012, 15:12:27 PMI assumed lower mileage with 5 years of storage, but I probably should've asked.Also, I have been told that the wobble can be caused by bad or loose steering neck bearings; for now, considering the long term storage, I would be looking at the tires.
On the clicking, if I didn't know better, I'd say it sounds like a weak battery......maybe a dead cell.
Can you verify the voltage getting to the starter?
Posted by Drift Away
- October 22, 2012, 16:10:47 PMThanks, no problem i`ll check out the bearings too.
Heres one you might know about.
I`ve got a friend with a 1500 and when he tries to start it, the solenoid just `clicks` continously.
He put a new solenoid on and it still does it. The battery is fully charged and appears to be holding its charge.
Could it be something with the starter motor??
Posted by Troll
- October 22, 2012, 15:48:14 PMJust a thought, but raise the front wheel off the ground and slowly turn the bars side to side...if there is ANY notchiness at all, the neck bearings are bad. When I bought my 1500, the P.O. had just put tires on it, trying to correct this same problem. I am running a set of Michelin Commander IIs and after 4,000 miles (since mid August) I'm delighted. MUCH cheaper than the Metzeler I was running, and smoother too...with the promise of 20,000 miles, maybe I won't have to put tires on next year!
Posted by Drift Away
- October 22, 2012, 15:45:39 PMcheers for that ralph. I think with all the aquired knowledge of every body on this site i`ve come to the conclusion that my tyres must be knackered. Replacements shortly.
I`m glad to hear that at least my bike has the potential to handle well.
Posted by aralph
- October 22, 2012, 15:33:31 PMI had 2 problems with a front end wobble.
The 1st was caused by a loose headlight bezel. It's held in place by two screws
and a clip, when I would cruise at about 30mph it would start to vibrate and shake the front end
really bad.
The 2nd was what you are describing and as pcarrel suggest, it was the tire even though it still
looked pretty good.
regards aralph
Posted by CDNRatMan
- October 22, 2012, 15:30:47 PMI have the tires that came with my bike still on, Maxxis Classics white walls also. At low speeds I have never had an issue. I did have a priod of time to get used to the bike, sitting diffrent and feet in a diffrent position then I was used to so it took a few rides to get comfortable with it, but no wobble on any speed. not much help am I.....lol....ok
ok Drift Away you posted the same time I did, I really like the handling of the bike it handles really well, I have let a couple bussies ride it and they all compliment the handling and like it. In slow traffic I have no problems slow riding with my feet on the boards and just leaning and using the handle bars to keep tracking straight and in line....
Posted by Drift Away
- October 22, 2012, 15:30:26 PMokay, so i think i`ll have a go at the Metz, bearing in mind what ever tyre I put on will last forever anyway. I only do about 3000 miles a year, cos i live in the miserable UK. we`re not blessed with nice weather like our brethren overseas. Overall the bikes handling is pretty bad, obviously nothing like any road tests i`ve read. It can only get better as the saying goes. When i change them i`ll let y`all know how it went. 49Reo, overall how`s the handling of your bike?
Posted by 49Reo
- October 22, 2012, 15:12:27 PMMetzler 880's are my choice for my Drifter; I also run the wide white-walls, more money but look GREAT on a Drifter. If your bike is in storage for that long, I think I would change them anyway; tires don't necessarily need to show wear to be bad; they can start to separate on the inside, (I have had that on automobile tires, always trying for the last usable mile, but change them sooner on my bikes) all that being said, tire choice can sometimes be dollar-driven; you have to be able to afford them.
Also, I have been told that the wobble can be caused by bad or loose steering neck bearings; for now, considering the long term storage, I would be looking at the tires.
Good luck and let us know what you come up with;
Regards and such,
49Reo