The bike had revealed its' true nature as an unreliable POS, combined with something akin to a money pit on par with a really bad drug habit, often leaving me embarrassingly on the side of the road. I quickly learned to carry tools.
The boiling brakes were finally traced to an unfixable master cylinder. Even after I rebuilt it, it still didn't work! Finally after warping both discs, I gave up and bought a Suzuki Master Cylinder from a GSX-R750.
The boiling battery was courtesy of a faulty regulator/rectifier, which I replaced with another Kawasaki one. Low voltage as a result of this (compounded by my high compression pistons) started a litany of Starter Solenoid failures. I eventually had to replace the starter motor as well. Then, of course, the Sprag (starter) Clutch gave up the ghost, so the motor had to come apart again.
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| Sprag Clutch replacment 2007 |
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| Note Special Tool. Held together with Number 8 wire. |
On another long trip, a plug in the electrical system worked itself loose, resulting in a few lurching backfires and then bike unconsciousness. On the same trip the hydraulic clutch died, though luckily I got to a petrol station (that had DOT4 fluid) before (gearboxless) I had to stop and bleed it.
Another battery problem on the way to a Rally left the bike stranded in the middle of nowhere, (I carried on on a friend's machine) and was traced to faulty stator wiring.
Luckily, I managed to get home under my own steam every time, but even for someone who regards "roadside maintenance" as part of the motorcycling experience, it was getting a bit tiresome. And I was turning into a raving alcoholic.
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