[Wild-Bill]

Scorpion EXO-1000s are on sale right now for about $125. Might want to get in on that deal. They've got the built-in sunshades so she won't have to mess with sunglasses or swapping back and forth between tinted/clear visors.

[ErrEs]

This is not a good thing., FYI, unless you live in a tropical climate.

Why is that not a good thing? I was under the impression that it was better when the engine doesn't crank as much before fireing up. Idle is much steadier now too. Temp is about 23°C (73-74°F) and rising.
I do use choke in winter though.

[Kreylyn]

Generally speaking... if the engine is cold, and the temp is under 80... if it will start and run with no issue without using choke at all, it's probably a bit on the rich side. The Lower the temp it will do that with no issues, the more rich it is... It's not nessasarily a huge issue, but be aware it is probably a bit rich.

Krey

[christianguitarest]

I installed a speedo healer and got it calibrated. Finally the correct speed on my kat. Took about 15 minutes and the longest parts was deciding wear to put the top speed recall button. I have a thread going with all that Ive done to my bike the past month as I just got it beginning of March. Here is the list so far. Zero gravity touring windscreen, Painted bar ends and passenger handle black as well as the rear fairings, rest of the bike to come soon, any color under-glow, new black brake and clutch lever, tinted blinkers, and the speedo healer. I have a brake light module coming that will flash the brake light and I am finish painting/fixing plastic on the rest of the bike this week.

motorcycle black fairing.jpg

[ErrEs]

Generally speaking... if the engine is cold, and the temp is under 80... if it will start and run with no issue without using choke at all, it's probably a bit on the rich side. The Lower the temp it will do that with no issues, the more rich it is... It's not nessasarily a huge issue, but be aware it is probably a bit rich.

Krey

I see. But wouldn't idle be higher at the end of a 100km ride when the engine is really hot with too rich a mixture? Idle cold/hot remains 1200rpm.

[DaneG320U545]

thought I had a bad battery. Got my replacement and still wouldn't crank. When I checked I ended up seeing my gas laying on the floor. I can see the gas dripping from the bottom of the bike by the exhaust and all. I'm guessing I have contaminated the oil and got gas in carbs? Can anybody give me guidance on this please? Guessing need to change oil if contaminated as well as take the carbs out?

[ratgti]

anything powdercoated looks awesome.. as for me . i met a fellow forum guy( kat toy) today. john is a nice guy and knows his stuff about kats . if your out there john thanks for your advice .............................

[Wild-Bill]

Went for a ride with a GPS app running to check my speedo error. Speedo is reading 3-4% high. Not too bad.

...gas dripping from the bottom of the bike by the exhaust...guessing I have contaminated the oil...

You've most likely got gas in the oil which means you need to change the oil and filter immediately.

You've got two possible failures here. The petcock is supposed to shut off fuel flow if the engine's not running (or at least turning over) and the float needles are supposed to shut off fuel flow when the carburator bowls are full (before they overflow into the engine).

To keep this from happening again, you may need to rebuild the petcock and you definitely need to at least clean the float needle seats. I say you may need to rebuild the petcock because you were cranking the engine over. When you disconnect the fuel line, if you don't have fuel flowing out the line with the petcock set to ON then you're OK there.

After cleaning the float needle seats, turn the carbs upside down and try blowing in the fuel hose(s). If you can get air through then they're still not sealing and you'll have to replace the needles.

[DaneG320U545]

You've most likely got gas in the oil which means you need to change the oil and filter immediately.

You've got two possible failures here. The petcock is supposed to shut off fuel flow if the engine's not running (or at least turning over) and the float needles are supposed to shut off fuel flow when the carburator bowls are full (before they overflow into the engine).

To keep this from happening again, you may need to rebuild the petcock and you definitely need to at least clean the float needle seats. I say you may need to rebuild the petcock because you were cranking the engine over. When you disconnect the fuel line, if you don't have fuel flowing out the line with the petcock set to ON then you're OK there.

After cleaning the float needle seats, turn the carbs upside down and try blowing in the fuel hose(s). If you can get air through then they're still not sealing and you'll have to replace the needles.

Here is my problem. I'm going out of town in a few hours and today was just filled with other more important plans. How bad is it if I leave it the way it is for a week? I'm going to see if my brother can help me with it while I am away, but who knows how that will go. Could the gas have just been drained through due to me trying to start it over and over again? I literally thought it was a battery issues (due to my inexperience) and I kept cranking it thinking it would start. The engine wouldn't turn over, there were a few times when it did, but barely.

So where I'm trying to go is, with the switch (guessing it's called the "petcock") turned to Prime, me constantly trying to start it up, over and over. Could that have led the draining of the gas? I doubt I had any leaks or anything like that. It ran like a champ, until that night I messed with the switch (not labeled) and realized it was still set to "Prime" from the precious 2 nights when I was cutting it short on gas.

[Wild-Bill]

Leaving it alone for a couple of days won't make it any worse.

If you had the petcock set to Prime then your petcock may be OK. You'll know for sure when you pull the tank to get at the carbs. If the line(s) don't flow fuel with the petcock set to ON then you're OK there.

Open the oil fill cap and take a sniff. If there's fuel in your oil you'll smell it. Also check the oil level sight glass. Fuel in the oil will show in there as the oil being over-filled.

Unfortunately, when the carbs overflow on these bikes they run into the intake ports and down into the cylinders. Then the excess fuel seeps past the piston rings and into the oil galley. The excess fuel in the cylinders also makes it really hard for the engine to turn over since the liquid fuel doesn't compress like the usual fuel-air mixture. If one or more of the cylinders completely fill then you get what's called "hydro-lock" and the engine won't turn over at all until it drains down.

[rugidone]

Trailered mine home after being at the shop for a week, couldn't resist suiting up and going for a rip.

Wow is the only thing I could say, when I first started riding it, it seemed to work pretty good, but not way did it pull like it does now!

Also started ripping good a few things off the parts bike and washed/waxed mine.

[stretched600]

looked at it. Still waitin on a front rim to appear...

[Aaron-71]

Took off the cowl, drained the oil, changed the filter and filled er with new stuff.

Also cleaned the chain again and lubed it. Wanting to keep it in the best shape possible.

I ended up changing the oil at a friends place just to see how different the ride was before and after the oil was changed and the chain was cleaned... swear to god that it was like night and day.

Rode the **** out of my KAT alllllllll the way home cause it's soooooo smooth now

[stretched600]

Something to break up the blue...

[Wild-Bill]

Where'd you find that little bitty helmet and how'd you get it to balance on the seat like that?