New (to Me) 2000 Kawasaki W650

[Barnone]

Looks like a mechanical front brake to me.
I guess you could ride it but my knees would be up in the air above my butt.
It is a well done job for sure.

[Duelsporter]

Beuatiful bike, but it looks like the only "W" part is the motor!

[ORexpat]

That phat front tire will change the handling. For better or worse, don't know, but suspect it will change the turn-in considerably.

You're right--the paint work is gorgeous--takes a real artist to execute like that. You're also right--your ass will be somewhere around your ankles. I'm too dang old for that stuff . . . .

Yeah, boring, I know . . . .

[Ginger Beard]

Originally Posted by Barnone

GB,
Is that your W? Very nice job but way too extreme for me. IMHO, unless I had a wrecked W I would leave it original but to each his own.
I'll be back in SWFL for the winter soon so maybe we can have another W meet up say half way across the Alley.

Unfortunately that isn't my bike. It was built by Gravel Crew; one of my favorite custom motorcycle shops out of Japan. Not sure I could bring myself to chop a perfectly good W either but I do think that it's a fine example of what a custom W can look like. Me? I would ride that thing across the country but I can admit that a choice like that wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea.

I don't currently own a W but I would love to tag along an a group ride even if it is just to be "camera bitch".

[Barnone]

What? No W issues? I'm back in SWFL for the winter. How about a W650 get together in South Florida sometime soon? Bike week?

[ORexpat]

Looks like you've got lots of camping space . . . .

[Pigford]

Although my W650 runs good (16,000 miles on the clock) it suffers from the standard set-up running LEAN

Now this is no real BIG deal - I bought the bike to use as a daily rider, no fuss - but as I've a long history of modding & building bikes I wanted to get it running clean and sweet as possible.

The emissions crap was removed soon as I got the bike, along with the tool kit which is prone to restricting the airbox. I don't intend to mess with different pipes or air filters as I just want to ride this baby. Soooooooo, I went ahead and got a JET KIT off "6 Sigma Racing" via eBay.

The great thing about you Americans is that anything related to engines & power is where its at

Anyhow, this weekend I intend to give the bike a full going over - new plugs, oil & filter, set valve clearances and fit the JET kit - so if anyones interested how it turns out..... I'll be doing a report with a few photo's chucked in. This won't be a full talk-thru' with "how to remove the fuel tank" - coz if someone can't do the simple bits, they should NOT be messing about with valves and carbs

Gonna be getting stuck in tomorrow.......... LATER

[ORexpat]

Cool. Look forward to your results.

[Barnone]

Pigford,
Is a before and after dyno run possible? Or a 0-60 MPH stop watch timing comparison? Also before and after MPG numbers?

[Pigford]

Originally Posted by Barnone

Pigford,
Is a before and after dyno run possible? Or a 0-60 MPH stop watch timing comparison? Also before and after MPG numbers?

Errrrrrrrr, No............. No............. Yes

Just to reiterate - this is just to get a sweeter running bike - not for performance, as this bike ain't built for that, so even if it is a bit slower, thirstier, I'm not too worried, so long as it feels better.

This afternoon I changed the plugs to Denso Iridium (IU24) and whilst doing that noticed the HT leads were loose in the HT caps So I swapped them out for some decent copper wire silicon leads.



The 6 Sigma jet kei came with a set of 6 x small shims (washers) and 2 x plastic shims for the needles - larger pilot jets,2 x #38 - and 3 x pairs of main jets, 122.5, 127.5, 132.5 - also a couple of drill bits to remove the pilot screw cap and drill an additional hole in the slide (for faster movement) plus a few pages of instructions.

I fitted the 38 pilot jets (standard is #35), set the pilot screws to 3-turns out (was 2.25) and fitted the 122.5 mains instead of the standard 113's.

Whilst all this was off I checked the valve clearances and they were all within limit, except the r/hand exhaust which were both a bit over 0.20mm. Clearances tend to close up over time, as the seat/valve face wears, so I'll leave them as this is better than too tight.

I did take some photo's - but my camera phone has gone wrong and only saved the above photo

Couple of tips:

1; The coil needs removing to get the cam cover off.......

2; When taking the cam cover off - apart from going carefully so as not to damage the rubber gasket.... there are 2 x location pins at the rear - be careful they don't fall out and get lost (or fall in the engine).

I did have one bit of hassle.... The front bolt holding the gear cover on was corroded and sheared off...... so I had to drill it out. I was very careful and working my way up in drill bit sizes and managed to re-tap the thread to clear the remains of the drilled bolt and alls good - so I use lots of Copperslip on re-assembly

Dark and cold by the time I'd finished so will be carrying out a "seat-of-the-pants" test ride tomorrow !

[GoonerYoda]

Hi everyone! I just picked up a 2000 W650 two weeks ago! It had 7022 when I bought it from my neighbor.

Hipstergram pic!

[ORexpat]

Sweet bike! Welcome to the zoo . . . .

[Pigford]

OK - just been on a test ride after fitting the 6-Sigma jet kit................. I can confirm that it does what is says on the tin


RECAP: I fitted the 38 pilot jets (standard is #35), set the pilot screws to 3-turns out (was 2.25) and fitted the 122.5 mains instead of the standard 113's & 2 x metal shims under each needle.

Starts easy, can shut choke off much quicker and idles nice and sweet. I set the pilot screws to 3 x turns out, so may need some fine tuning, but not far out.

Bike picks up better and holds part-throttle much nicer - more willing and smoother. Acceleration is about the same, but the bike feels more at ease and glitch-free

As the bike is still standard (air filter & pipes) the top end (full throttle), although smooth enough, feels a tad "fluffy" ..... but it may be my imagination as I've only done around 10 miles - mainly town riding

Will report back when I've managed a few hundred miles and done an accurate mpg check

[929bladerunner]

I just bought a nice, low mileage 2004 model, nice bikes - I would upload a photo but can't remember how?

[GoonerYoda]

Originally Posted by 929bladerunner

I just bought a nice, low mileage 2004 model, nice bikes - I would upload a photo but can't remember how?

Host it on www.tinypic.com