Loaded the bike into my truck

I had originally planned to tie the bike down, next to my KLR650 in the bed of my Chevy Colorado.  Since I purchased a second project bike and because I will be moving out of my storage unit a week prior to driving home, I decided to try and put the little D1 behind my seat.

Installed wheels

I ran out of time yesterday, so reinstalling the wheels with their new Shinko 244's had to wait until today.  The new rubber really seems to breath new life into this old once-forgotten machine!  I removed the front fender because the new tire was rubbing on it's side brackets; I'm thinking about mounting the fender, without its side brackets to the lower fork clamp to mimic the J1TRL.

It would have been nice to be able to change the chain and sprockets at the same time, but the sprockets were unavailable at the local Kawasaki dealers.

As a side note, I finally remembered to take a better look at the jug and was quite pleased to see the 99cc mark.  So, maybe it is a D1?

Now she rolls!

I can use the side stand now!  With flat tires, it didn't lean enough for my comfort.

Lets just call it 100.

New tires

Revzilla rocks!  I ordered these tires, tubes and tire irons on Monday afternoon and they came today.  This bike, I believe, had the original front tire and it was really dry-rotted.  Neither tires would hold air for even twenty minutes, so I chose to replace them even though the bike is not ready for them.  At lease it will be easier to roll it around while working on it.

Kinda cool how Kawasaki integrated the speedo gearbox with the front brake drum, but looks like a pain to install

Using my truck's jack to keep the bike upright

The old tires didn't fight too much

The bike will have to wait until tomorrow morning to get its wheels back

Cleaned and lubed throttle tube, cables

Although the throttle was functional, it felt pretty bad.  I disassembled it cleaned and greased the mechanism inside the bar and tube.  I had never encountered this type of throttle design before.  The grip tube has a corkscrew shaped ridge inside it, which meshes with the groove in the cable end-- changing a rotating motion to linear movement.  All metal parts, and the old grease had sand or some other gritty substance stuck in it.  After a good cleaning and a little grease, it moved much better.

I wanted to replace the switch pod mounting screws, and purchased some 5mm ones.  Either the thread pitch was wrong, or the screws are not metric so I had to install the originals with stripped JIS heads.

I guess the handlebars have to remain OEM

The cable sheath mounts in this anchor, which drops into a slotted part of the handlebars

The blue stuff is brake grease; its the only thing that I had with me

I noticed that the fender had been stamped 18-8 SS, nice!

First start - video

First start

Since I knew that the bike had spark, I added some oil and gas to see if it would start.  I was very happy that neither tanks leaked (the petcock gasket was sketchy).  The petcock seemed to do its job well.  The oil pump return spring was not doing its job, possibly causing the oil-fouling of the plug that drove me nuts.

The next (up) post will be a short video, showing the bike starting for the first time in probably over 20 years.

Cheap Walmart 2 stroke oil

I used a cable tie to drip some oil into the cylinder

Since I had removed the broken clutch cable, I plugged the hole with a vacuum cap

The Champion plug had a short reach, so I replaced it with an NGK spec'ed for a J1TRL

The engine kept fouling the plug with oil, because the oil pump return spring wasn't doing its job

Removed the broken clutch cable

While I had the clutch cover off, it made sense to remove the broken clutch cable.  It will be interesting to see if i can find a replacement...

This end came off easily, since the other end was dangling

I felt a little bad for my KLR650-- getting drenched in rain, but its not the first time.

Cleaned the petcock

I could not get the petcock's sediment bowl off, but was able to back - flush a bunch of debris until it ran clear.  Keeping my fingers crossed that the mounting gasket doesn't leak.

Seems to be a good fuel valve, after cleaning it tested good with air

There is something calming about new fuel line

Three mice and a whole-lotta insulation

Looking for the air filter, I removed the oil tank and found a mouse nest.  Since I was not at home, I didn't have a shop vac so it took me about an hour to clean the best out.  I found three (mummified) mice, who were nice enough to not chew too many wires.  Never found the filter, ha ha.

Wait a minute... I thought this bike was a D1...

Yikes!

Nest gone, now where is the air filter?

The three mice are in front of the center-stand

Poor little guy, he must have died hungry

Removed and cleaned carburetor

As I mentioned, this is my first bike with a hidden carb. The carburetor was in pretty good shape, in desperate need of new fuel line and a cleaning.  At some point it had overflowed, evidenced by the buildup of varnish next to the oil pump.  The throttle valve was stuck, but a tiny spritz of WD40 freed it up instantly.

  

Notice the varnish towards the bottom, on the oil pump

I took this picture as a reference for the oil pump cable adjustment

The throttle cap and enricher valve came off with ease

Jet and jet emulsifier removed

Its good to have a picture of the jet number

Mikuni VM17-18

A nice, simple carburetor is a thing of beauty

I believe the replacement fuel line is 7/32, and the OD works well with the grommet in the case

Upon further inspection...

I started digging into the project of (hopefully) getting the bike running this morning.

Purchased the bike in Mustang, OK

I am away from home for over a month, staying in Norman, Oklahoma.  The last week has been very rainy and I have been spending time looking at Craigslist, which is how I found this bike.  Not exactly sure of the year, but they only imported them to America from 1966 to '68.  It has a 100cc two stroke, rotary valve oil injected engine.  I like the scrambler look of it and have wanted one for a while.  This one was listed as a parts bike to go along with a really nice running one.  I asked the owner, David, if he would sell the parts bike separately and he agreed.  He sent me a few pictures and it looked pretty clean so I drove out to have a look.

David has a very nice collection of motorcycles, and a really nice shop; I am jealous.  He is also a very nice guy and a self-described motorcycle-nut.  His wife also rides and was very helpful.

Sitting in its loft, in good company with other classic bikes

I asked David if the Kawasaki triple was for sale; its his son's bike

Some day I would like to own a barn with a loft AND a winch!

That was easy.  must have smudged my lens darn it.

still smudged.

David looked for a headlight but the one he found wouldn't fit.

Safely tucked-away in my storage unit, for now...