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Posted by testpilot
- October 15, 2013, 20:07:07 PMVery nice looking bike. Once you get it the way you want it, you'll love it. These Quiet-Riot Baffles look interesting at JP Cycles. Or, you could revert to the stock exhaust. I'm really happy with mine. Here's a Craigslist posting. The guy wants to sell everything listed in one pop. It's been listed for awhile and you might be able to talk him into selling the exhaust only.
Posted by Troll
- October 15, 2013, 16:06:19 PMWelders...whether gas or electric, are magic....We old guys have lots of tricks....
Posted by Beach Bum
- October 15, 2013, 14:48:03 PMSo I just finished pulling the races out of the neck and I have to say.... Piece of piss. The bottom one was a bit awkward to weld on and I was a bit nervous that I'd end up welding the race to the neck but I got a bead (ugly!!!) around it and it just fell out. The top race was loose after shooting only half of it. Took longer to get the welder running and my mask on than it took to finish the job.
Not my best work in a tight spot but it was effective. Still have to cut the bearing off the stem, buy another 36mm socket to make the tool to torque the nut down, and reinstall all the stuff but without that tip Troll, I'd still be trying to knock out the races. Mucho gracias Amigo!!!
Posted by Beach Bum
- October 14, 2013, 20:53:29 PMI'll be doing this tomorrow or Wednesday. I'll try to take some pics and post them when I'm done. As far as the grease zerk goes, again, the stem was full of grease (coming out the bottom), but the bearings themselves were dry. I guess I'm just old school and expect to have to repack them occasionally like wheel bearings. I will say this, if you're serious about working on anything, get yourself a decent mig welder. I'll figure out something with the exhaust.
Posted by greenbarn
- October 14, 2013, 20:38:06 PMQuote from: Troll on October 14, 2013, 20:33:19 PMWhen you weld the bead on the race, and it cools off, it will shrink the material it's welded to, not a lot, but enough to loosen it. Works good...it's like when you have a bolt broken off with almost enough to grab with a vice grip, but you put a nut over the stub, and weld down into it. When it cools, the bolt will back right out about 99% of the time...When you work on cars in the rust belt for 40+ years, you learn lots of tricks with heat...
Makes sense. We use the nut trick you mentioned on exhaust manifold bolts that are broken off in cylinder heads all the time. I knew it worked, but hadn't considered the "shrinking" factor. That makes sense, though.
Thanks for sharing that one.
Posted by Troll
- October 14, 2013, 20:33:19 PMWhen you weld the bead on the race, and it cools off, it will shrink the material it's welded to, not a lot, but enough to loosen it. Works good...it's like when you have a bolt broken off with almost enough to grab with a vice grip, but you put a nut over the stub, and weld down into it. When it cools, the bolt will back right out about 99% of the time...When you work on cars in the rust belt for 40+ years, you learn lots of tricks with heat...
Posted by greenbarn
- October 14, 2013, 20:28:38 PMQuote from: Troll on October 12, 2013, 19:36:27 PMHey Troll, can you 'splain this to me? I've found lots of ways to get bearing races out, including cutting out with a torch, but honestly I've never heard this trick before. That is really a good trick to know. I'm familiar with heating and/or cooling things to make them tight or loose, but how does this work? I would think when you weld it, it would heat and expand, then when it cools it would shrink, but how does it shrink smaller than original?...The big problem will be getting the old races out of the tapered neck. Do you have access to a mig welder? Welding a bead around the center of each race, and when it cools, they almost fall out.
Conversely, then, I assume if you were to weld a bead on an INNER race stuck on a shaft, then when it cools it would be even smaller (tighter)? I guess these are usually easy enough to burn off with the torch anyways.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- October 14, 2013, 20:03:55 PMBeach Bum, my roadhouse exhaust was bolted hard to the frame, I just used rubber grommets to isolate them and it helped big time.
Posted by Troll
- October 14, 2013, 19:04:09 PMYa know...just having the grease fitting in doesn't mean he greased it. I pump mine until it comes out on the top and the bottom and then clean it up. If it comes out, the only way it can get out is by going through the bearing.
Posted by Beach Bum
- October 14, 2013, 18:55:48 PMThere's already a grease zerk in the neck. Don't see how the grease got into the bearings though as the stem wass full but the bearings were dry. Thinking you have to have the lock engaged or at least the bars in the opposite direction so the lock hole doesn't line up. I live 8 blocks off the ocean so I am intimate with waterproof grease. We have to use it in just about everything to prevent rust.
We'll see how she rides once I get things put back together and take it from there. Between the brakes and the steering being stuck in the straight position, I'm not exactly thrilled with the experience thus far. Still looking for a baffle as I just don't dig the noise anymore. If the can turns out to be a 4" diameter I think I can use a baffle out of a rice burner can which one can buy for around $20. Or, I can fabricate one. I really don't want to put more work into the bike than it's worth and the market for these is pretty soft around here. Most people don't like spending too much dough on bikes with high mileage, regardless of their reputation. I still haven't checked to see if all the plugs are firing correctly. Couldn't ride it long enough to do a plug chop. I have heat in both jugs but the vibration just doesn't seem right. I'm also going to look at fabricating a rubber mount for the exhaust.
Posted by Troll
- October 14, 2013, 17:52:47 PMI put a grease fitting in the neck when I did mine, and I'm using high temp. waterproof grease for boat trailers. Around 35,000 miles since I did it and no problems. Grease the bearings every other oil change.
Posted by Beach Bum
- October 14, 2013, 17:15:04 PMBusy morning today. Got my rotor ordered last night and opted for the "correct" piece for the year (solid). Seller accepted my offer so it's on it's way for $40. Hope it's straight. Found my steering bearing kit and ordered it this AM as well. Had to call All Balls to verify the part # as the correct part as listed on their web site was showing as incorrect on Amazon. FYI the correct part number is 22-1031. On it's way for $31 shipped. Spent the rest of the morning tearing the front of the bike off. The bottom bearing race was so galled that I could feel the vertical ridges in the face with my fingernail. I went to weld a bead on the races to get them out of the neck then realized its time to get some argon and wire for the mig. Almost a good thing the wire was stuck in the tip and I was out of them as well. Would've sucked running out halfway through the job.
So here I am once again in parts limbo, with Biketoberfest less than a week away and my only ride missing the front end. I've also decided to take the opportunity to repaint the forks and covers as there are some unsightly stone chips that aren't visible in the pictures, but really bug me. The weather's going to be shitty for the next couple days so hopefully I can get the mig all squared away, the paint done and the bike ready for reassembly. Be nice to take a ride down to Daytona this weekend.
Posted by dakuhosu
- October 14, 2013, 14:02:50 PMI see you don't have the standard disc and you say it's warped too? I would think the drilled would run cooler and be less prone to warpage. I personally never ride fast enough to have to slam on the front brake because I'm too busy styling and waving to everybody 
Posted by DC
- October 14, 2013, 07:17:35 AMWelcome to the Forum, Beach Bum! Great looking ride. Sounds like a solid machine. Hope you get the few issues sorted soon.
Posted by pcarrell
- October 13, 2013, 06:55:40 AMThe front forks on your bike are the same a F.I Classic 1500 (look for the 2000 model year F.I. Classic as it was the first year for F.I. on that model), except obviously the chrome vs. blackout thing. (Carbed models are different) The rotor you seek could be sourced off of that. If you have a wrecking yard that does bikes you might find a cheap one there. If you're looking for new parts, I've dealt with Ron Ayers ( http://www.ronayersmotorcycles.com/fiche_select.asp )quite a bit and they are fair priced with pretty quick shipping. They have a parts page that not only gives you part numbers and prices, but exploded views of the parts. Here's the page for your bike: http://www.ronayersmotorcycles.com/fiche_select2.asp?category=Motorcycles&make=Kawasaki&year=1999&fveh=8971
Your bearings show up in the frame section ( http://www.ronayersmotorcycles.com/fiche_section_detail.asp?section=388627&category=Motorcycles&make=KAWASAKI&year=1999&fveh=8971 ) and list for $48 each. The front brake disc is a bit more pricey at $365.60 ( http://www.ronayersmotorcycles.com/fiche_section_detail.asp?section=388653&category=Motorcycles&make=KAWASAKI&year=1999&fveh=8971 ), so a trip to the junk yard or Ebay might be worth it.