The only FOOL riding saga continues..

[dcarver]

What are you DAWGS doing? Watching football? Worried about , umm, excuse me, aboooot, snow? If so get a Ural! Me,  I have real issues. Ask Ray. He will confirm. I keep trying to get a 41 year old 6 cylinder motorcycle ready for long distance riding, and to make it back at days end not in an ambulance or tow truck.. AAA has no idea what they are in for.. LOL...

So Today..

All in all, a nice ride today.. Beautiful weather, even though we need rain.. badly. Today's temps were predicted in low 70's, the highest I've ridden while trying to determine overheating KZ1300 issues.. 

Neighbor Gary was nice enough to accompany me in case a ride to cell phone reception was needed for the dreaded AAA tow truck call.. He rides a very trick DR650 Suzuki, so speeds would be lower than normal, but OK... as I wanted to see how overheating responded with newly flushed cooling system and Evans waterless coolant..

Interesting.. As the temps rose from high 50'sF to high 60'sF, the coolant temp DROPPED by 2, maybe 3, needle widths.. from the 'P' of TemP, to the E of TEmp.. Could it be I've been running in lower ambient temps that keep the thermostat bypass slightly? Then when ambient F rises, the t-stat fully closes bypass and allows for full cooling?

Don't know.. but in 2 days 80F + temps are predicted, so will run it again and test.

Oil consumption is an issue. Call it ~150 miles today, and 300cc consumed. Gary, my riding partner today, report blue smoke on deceleration.. and today processed a healthy dose of Yamaha RingFree to see if it would help. Consumption seems to be a bit less than previously on the 'Flog' ride..

On the bright side, even in low 70F ambient temps, running slow in traffic, she never overheated.. got to the top of 'normal operating zone'... but no needle past the far right side of 'hot' zone.. as has previously happened.

On the good side.. running strong, about 36 mpg.

Pulled plugs 1,2, 5,6, the 'easy' ones to remove.. 1,2.... these are the oil consumers.. 5,6 look text book great.. 1,2... low side on kickstand.. coincidence? 

Anyway, a short video...



2021-01-13 Gary Ride - N County from dcarver220b on Vimeo.

 

[1911]

A couple fools riding tomorrow on the other side of the continent

RTE into total unknown.Plan A- https://www.apizzadinapoli.com/Exiting curvy roads with great scenery there and back-Nyet!Someplace we've never been, someplace we've not eaten, with minimal chance of ice, salt, sand-Si!KSU Lake Rabon Park 9:30am https://lcwsc.com/services/lake-rabon/ (or my house at 9:28, if you don't mind a long gravel driveway)

 

[dcarver]

Good on yah 1911!

 

[RossKean]

Oil consumption is an issue. Call it ~150 miles today, and 300cc consumed.

That would concern me on any modern bike but I have no idea what was typical with the KZ1300.  Any idea if it is valves or rings?  Compression check?

 

[escapefjrtist]

A quart every ~500 miles *seems* a bit excessive DC, especially seeing blue smoke. Many, many moons ago I had a 402 BBC that used oil on the order of a quart every 500 miles. No smoke ever and ran like a scalded dog...as long as I kept it full of oil and gas, all was good!

~G

 

[1911]

Smoke on decel makes me think valve stem seals. 

 

[FJRay]

Just for info, this engine probably doesn't have more than 1500-2000 miles on it. Not that the guides couldn't be leaking  but guides and valves are new. I will add that virtually every gasket in the set has leaked so maybe the guide seals are fubar. If they are leaking It's a real bitch to get the head off with the engine in place.

 

[dcarver]

Road it last Friday, good news is that even slow riding, low 80F temps, she didn't overheat. Sure, ran right to the top of normal operating zone, but nothing in the 'red' zone.

Bad news is the tank isn't venting enough, causing pressure and carb flooding.

And charging system declines to bad when things get hot. Nothing cubic $$$ can't take care of.

Regarding oil consumption, my bud Gary reports he could smell it and yes, blue on decelerations. But not all the time? No blue after bike has been sitting cold, side or center stand. 

Ran heavy dose of RingFree for ~1.5 tanks. Haven't had time to pull all the plugs, but #1, which has been oil sooted in the past, came out scary clean and lean. Not sure why the lean, but there's no oil residue on the plug. Curious. 

 

[1911]

Just for info, this engine probably doesn't have more than 1500-2000 miles on it. Not that the guides couldn't be leaking  but guides and valves are new. I will add that virtually every gasket in the set has leaked so maybe the guide seals are fubar. If they are leaking It's a real bitch to get the head off with the engine in place.

Haven't followed the threads to know the history of the bike and I'm not sure exactly what kind of valve stem seal setup the KZ uses. Mileage that low but age that old, my hunch is intake valve stem seals that should feel like rubber now feel like hard plastic and oil is getting sucked by on decel. Done plenty of valve stem seals/valve springs on cars by pumping compressed air into the cylinder to hold the valve in place while replacing springs/seals. Don't know if there is room to do it on the bike though.  

 

[FJRay]

Haven't followed the threads to know the history of the bike and I'm not sure exactly what kind of valve stem seal setup the KZ uses. Mileage that low but age that old, my hunch is intake valve stem seals that should feel like rubber now feel like hard plastic and oil is getting sucked by on decel. Done plenty of valve stem seals/valve springs on cars by pumping compressed air into the cylinder to hold the valve in place while replacing springs/seals. Don't know if there is room to do it on the bike though.  

I should have said 1500-2000 miles since complete rebuild so the seals are not old but we have had sealing issues with the other components of the overhaul gasket set.

I don't know how a person could compress the springs with the way the head is configured with overhead cams and the valves down in holes in the casting. It's not like an older OHV engine where you can compress the springs to get the keepers out

 

[Bugnatr]

300 cc?  Is that like a pint, quart or gallons??  

Asking for a friend who rides every week.

 

[dcarver]

300 cc?  Is that like a pint, quart or gallons??  

Asking for a friend who rides every week.

.6 pints?

 

[Bugnatr]

.6 pints?

 Would the be Guinness or Coors light?