New (to Me) 2000 Kawasaki W650

[Speedo66]

Nice photo of a W650 flat tracker here at post 1548 http://www.advrider.com/forums/showt...72954&page=104

[Speedo66]

Originally Posted by zwish

Hello hello!

I'd love to hear what your start-up procedure is with the W650. Again, I've only had the bike a few weeks and now the tank is off getting painted. I used to have a 2008 Triumph Bonneville and I've found that the W takes a bit longer to warm up. If it's a 70 degree day and I try to start the bike without using the choke, it will idle very low, but if I choke it, it'll race up to 2500-3000rpms which feels too high. I've been turning it on and using the idle adjustment screw to bring the idle up to around 1200 rpms and then adjust from there while riding. Where do you set the idle on your W?

Lastly, on the last long ride that I was one, there were a few times where I would pull in the clutch to coast and while coasting, the engine would shut off. RPMs dropping all the way to zero. I could turn the bike right back on, but I'm curious as to why this would happen. Thanks very much!

This link has pictures on how to remove the cap off carb adjustment screws, and screwing them 3 1/2 turns out. I did this mod and found it helped with cold starting and warmup. http://www.captainjakes.com/w650/fue...elscrews.shtml

Unfortunately, the link for his other mod, shimming the carb needles, is no longer functioning. I did that also, and between the two, changed the lean condition for starting and running better.

[JadeRider]

What a cool bike. Love it. Congrats man

[Speedo66]

Went in for the annual inspection last week, and was told although I'd pass, new tires were recommended as the rear was getting flattened in the center.

Bike has about 4,500 miles on the original tires (I know, I know), figured it might be time for a change. Might even change the 11 year old tubes.

The tire of choice here for these bikes had been the Bridgestone BT45. I looked at Motorcycle Superstore and they have them in both H and V rated versions. The ad copy for the V mentions dual compounds, harder for more mileage in the center, softer with more grip on the sides.

So my question is, is there now a better tire choice for the bike, if not, which version of the Bridgestone is recommended? How are they on mileage? What sizes are you using?

I await your wisdom oh learned tire gurus.

[rheritage]

Bridgestone Spitfire's also known as S11's, great tire for these bikes and cheap.

Good Luck!

Rich

[The Jerk]

So part of this weekend's project was to remove the Kawasaki Clean Air (KCA) system from the bike. In more modern terms, this device is known as secondary air injection.

The purpose of KCA is to inject extra air into the exhaust system just after the exhaust valves to help burn any unburned fuel that made it out of the cylinders. This has the effect of reducing the emission of unburned hydrocarbons as well as facilitating the conversion of carbon monoxide in the exhaust into carbon dioxide.

This air injection is accomplished by means of a vacuum switch valve which is perched atop the valve cover. Vacuum is teed in to the carbs and a large hose carries filtered air from the airbox through the valve and to ports at the front of the cylinder head. Under the ports are reed valves which open in response to pressure fluctuations in the exhaust and admit fresh air to the exhaust to facilitate continued combustion. The reed valves admit air flow only one way so that exhaust gases can't be forced back upstream into the system.

"This all sounds great" you say, "so why disable it?"

First reason to disable it is that this system is responsible for the annoying popping you get through the exhaust on closed-throttle deceleration. The second reason is that if it stops functioning properly, it can cause driveability problems such as inability to obtain stable idle, greatly reduced engine power, or abnormal engine noise (these are all quoted from the W650 owner's manual). So being in favor of more simplicity and less complexity, I elected to remove the system.

To Kawasaki's credit, this system is nicely designed as a totally passive system with no electrical or other moving parts. It works purely on vacuum and fluctuating air pressure. That said, removing it means one less thing to go wrong and helps clean up the look of the bike a bit as well.

Not all W650s were fitted with this system, which means that parts are available from Kawasaki to convert the bike. Someone posted the following parts list somewhere and I'm sorry but I don't remember who to give credit to. You will need:

Kawasaki p/n 11060-1886. You need 4 of these - gaskets.
Kawasaki p/n 11065-1135. You need two of these - these are the replacement injection port covers without the fittings for the air injection.
Kawasaki p/n 92005-1017. One of these. This is a 3-way vacuum fitting to replace the 4-way fitting under the tank.
Kawasaki p/n 92066-1389. One of these. This is the plug that fills the hole in the airbox for the pipe that runs to the KCA vacuum valve.

These are obviously non-US parts so I don't know if you can get them from a US Kawasaki dealer. I bought them from CMSNL in the Netherlands.

Removing the system is pretty straightforward. First, remove the seat, tank, and left side cover:







Then on top of the valve cover, you see this guy:



Disconnect the hoses that go from the vacuum switch valve to the ports at the head, to the 4-way vacuum tee, and to the pipe from the airbox.

Pull the pipe straight up out of the airbox and then remove the grommet from the hole. Replace the grommet with the plug.





Remove the vacuum switch valve; nothing holds it in place.

Remove the 4-way vacuum tee with hoses attached from the carbs. Take the hoses off the 4-way tee and put them on the 3-way tee, then reinstall.

Get out your 5mm Allen socket and remove the two reed valve caps at the front of the cylinder head.



Be aware when you remove everything, there are two gaskets per side - one on each side of the reed valve. The gaskets may stick to the caps or to the cylinder head. Make sure you have all the gaskets accounted for before you put stuff back together. You should have this:



Now you are ready to reassemble with the new parts. Here is where I ran into a little snag. Whoever provided the parts list for this job neglected to mention that you need four shorter screws if you don't want to re-install the reed valves. The screw holes in the head are only so deep, and if you attempt to re-assemble without the reed valves, the screws will bottom out. Since I didn't have shorter screws and since I didn't have four gaskets, I used my two new gaskets and scrounged the best of the old gaskets for the other two. Then I put the whole thing back together with the reed valves in place but with the new blank caps. Like this:



Torque those bolts to 12Nm only! Don't overtighten!

That's pretty much it. Just slap the tank back on and you're good to go. This is the pile of crap that you have just removed from the bike:



I also replaced the front brake pads with the EBC FA231HH pads. That job was so simple I didn't bother to take pics. Haven't gone for a ride yet on the new pads but I expect them to be an improvement based on my experience with them on my old Triumph Tiger.

[Scrivens]

I made up some very thin alloy blanking plates which fit on the flat side of the reed valve and re-fitted the original cover unit. I put a large rubber stopper (end of a walking stick) over the end of the T-pipe and turned it in to towards the head. (The pipe spigot swivels.) I plugged the air box hole and removed the hoses, but the EFI on the W800 throws an error if the vacuum unit is disconnected so I plugged the openings and left it in the loom.

[ORexpat]

Very nice tutorial, TJ. Thanks!

[The Jerk]

So this is odd, but in a good way:

Took first ride tonight after removing the air injection system. Noticed that the bike was idling about 100-200 rpm higher at each point of the warm-up cycle than it was with the KCA connected. Also noticed a subtle but perceptible improvement in idle smoothness.

Waited until it fully warmed up to readjust the idle. At full temp, it was idling about 300 rpm higher than it used to at full temp. I readjusted it with the knob.

Knowing how the KCA works, it seems like it should no effect on idle speed at all ie injecting air into the exhaust after the exhaust valve seems like it should have no real effect on anything. But here we are. I made no other adjustments or modifications to the engine save removing the KCA.

Anybody have any thoughts as to why that is?

Also this was the first ride with the new EBC HH front brake pads. They haven't even bedded in yet and already I can feel a big difference. The initial bite is better and the lever feels firm where the stock pads felt a bit mushy. I can already recommend this upgrade.

[Barnone]

Originally Posted by The Jerk

So this is odd, but in a good way:
Anybody have any thoughts as to why that is?

I removed SAI pretty much the same way you did and did not notice any difference in idle speed,etc. Maybe you fixed a minor air leak by removing all the plumbing?

[The Jerk]

Originally Posted by Barnone

I removed SAI pretty much the same way you did and did not notice any difference in idle speed,etc. Maybe you fixed a minor air leak by removing all the plumbing?

Yeah that's the only thing I can come up with too.

[zwish]

Alright, so I received the cables and seat today and got to work on the shorter throttle cables. I had a hell of a time removing the throttle cables from the little bracket down near the carburetors. I had to pull as hard as I could to get them out of the retainer bracket. Once I got the new throttle cables threaded in, something didn't feel right. The throttle was not smooth and snappy. It felt rough like they were binding somehow. My girlfriend and I who were doing the job together decided to take it all apart again and give it a go tomorrow. Hopefully the clutch/brake line will be a smoother job. Any tips for the throttle cables?

I also found that the 7/8" to 1" handle bar reducers/shims weren't thick enough to hold the bars securely. I had to use 3 half-circle shims on each clamp to get it to hold tight. I'll have to purchase another set of 4 to tackle the clutch/brake brackets.

[rxkea]

Dual purpose tyres, sump guard, s/steel high exhausts, small tail light, shorty alloy guards, /7 BMW headlight, longer rear shocks,low bars.
Its fun and looks a bit less like Grandads bike.

[Scrivens]

Originally Posted by zwish

Any tips for the throttle cables?

Route the cables first and make sure they (ie the whole cable, not the inner cable) can be pulled backwards and forwards freely where they have been run, then connect the inners to the throttle, bolt it back up, turn it a few times to check the inners move smoothly and to get any twists out the inners and lastly connect the inners to the carb lever. Check you haven't pushed the rubber grip end into the edge of the switch block as well as that will stop the throttle moving cleanly.

[Speedo66]

Originally Posted by rxkea

Dual purpose tyres, sump guard, s/steel high exhausts, small tail light, shorty alloy guards, /7 BMW headlight, longer rear shocks,low bars.
Its fun and looks a bit less like Grandads bike.

Sounds nice, but as they say, it didn't happen without pictures.

Photos please.