Kawi H1f rebuild thread

budman

General Menace
Staff member
So I recently purchased a Kawasaki 500 triple. 2 smoker!!

Good deal with 8,500 miles. Started first kick.
Tires old as hell and bald and a few other things like a clutch that only the bike could operate.

I have engaged my old race mechanic Robbie at Sportech to help me out. Due to my real job and being lazy I only have so much time to do bike work. So when Wob said he was in I stoked!!

When the bike was delivered... Yes delivered!! :banana
Thanks paytoplay (Jay) this what happened on the first kick.

.

youtu.be/ChKXWiVkjHA

The bike went straight to his house.... And now to the shop.

Wob has torn down the bike and is working on stuff. I am the polisher and will play hooky (use some vacation time) next week to take advantage of good access to clean the bike up.

So far this is what we (ok he) has done.

* new clutch cable
* new chain
* new front and rear sprockets
* new hand grips
* carb gaskets ordered.
* new spark plugs
* new Bstone BattleAxe tires
* fork seals and oil
* transmition fluid
* motul 2 smoke oil

Amazing all the above was sourced thru RoadRider!! All in stock except the carb gaskets ! :wow

Here is a pic of the float bowel. Soon as the gaskets show up they will be fully cleaned. Wob already has all the jets in the magic sauce being cleaned.
 

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budman

General Menace
Staff member
Other parts I need to source.

Center stand
Stock exhaust pipe /s. ( one has a dent - others are fine).
Rubber boots from carb to air box.
Fuel petcock is leaking. (Replace or rebuild )

Not much to make it a clean runner.
To make it a real show quality bike
* New spokes.
* have to try cleaning before adding to that list!! I am sure I will find more!
 

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budman

General Menace
Staff member
F'ing IPhone pic upload. Will fix that sideway pic. :mad :teeth

Have some cleaning to do!!
 

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budman

General Menace
Staff member
The bike did start on the first kick and idled fine. Amazing given the grime in the carbs and 39 years old.

All 3 cylinders showed 150 on the compression test so no need to crawl into the motor at this point!!

Typical 39 yo wear. The boot is cracking (still functional) and some metal need polishing.

(Another IPhone pic fix on below)
 

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GPzPop

Ask me about my B-1-D
oil injection still in place and operational? sweet bike and, why is this not in vintage corner yet??? rode an h1 in college!
 

budman

General Menace
Staff member
Yes it is. The bike is extrememly functional.
(moved thread -what was I thinking? :facepalm)

Also. My main job in this besides paying for stuff will be rubbing, buffing and squeezing another!!

So I will be shopping for supplies to hit the cases, spokes, chrome.
Suggestions on products welcomed!! :banana
 

zoomsplat

And I was all "Braap!"
When I polished the spokes on my CB350 I found that 400-600 grit sand paper worked really well. I tore it off into small sheets (half dollar size) and was able to wrap it around the back side of the spoke and use that to knock all the crap off. Then a coat of Carnuba wax over everything to keep the water off.

Glass cleaner for final polish on chrome, don't waste money on the stupid chrome polish crap at O'reilley.
 

Carlo

Kickstart Enthusiast
When I polished the spokes on my CB350 I found that 400-600 grit sand paper worked really well. I tore it off into small sheets (half dollar size) and was able to wrap it around the back side of the spoke and use that to knock all the crap off. Then a coat of Carnuba wax over everything to keep the water off.

Glass cleaner for final polish on chrome, don't waste money on the stupid chrome polish crap at O'reilley.


When my H1F was new, I thought it would keep my spokes shiny if I used chrome polish on them.
Rubbed all the zinc plating off them.
The salt air in Half Moon Bay finished the job of turning them all into a rusty mess.
 

Tri750

Mr. Knew it All
Sudco will possibly have your carb boots and petcock. Maybe even exhaust. Re: exhaust, sell a kidney, won't be cheap.
Centerstand, you may find a good used one but I bet someone does a reproduction. Don't rush into buying used junk. Take your time. Remember, you'll need the correct bolts, tab washers, springs, stops, etc. look up the parts view.
The spokes, as someone said are zinc. The best you can hope for is to scrub them. If your wheel rims and hubs are nice, get a set of polished stainless spokes from Buchanen and re-lace.
This opens a whole can of worms if the plastic coating is coming off the hubs or if the chrome is shaky on the rims.
Sudco may just sell wholesale so check the dealer listing for a dealer near you.
One of the best aluminum polishes is Semichrome. Works on chrome too. Orchard supply used to have it otherwise, Tucker Rocky still has it .
On your tires, if you really are going to show it, something more period looking may have been a better choice. Even your handgrips. The "correct" ones are uncomfortable and ugly but overall contribute to the value and originality of the bike.
You should go to the Auburn vintage Japanese show/swap if you want to see some prime stuff. It's coming up.
Slow down a bit.
Parts sources:
Sudco
Z1parts.net
Z1enterprises
Midatlanticcycle.com
 
Last edited:
The bike did start on the first kick and idled fine. Amazing given the grime in the carbs and 39 years old.

All 3 cylinders showed 150 on the compression test so no need to crawl into the motor at this point!!

Typical 39 yo wear. The boot is cracking (still functional) and some metal need polishing.

(Another IPhone pic fix on below)

Hey budman,

Wow, beautiful bike ... my buddy had a new-to-him H1
in high school in 1979 ...

Congratulations on all the progress, can't wait to check it out! :ride

see you around the campfire,
-- SFMCjohn
 

budman

General Menace
Staff member
Thanks for all the great tips Al. Your right on the grips. So I got something that will work for me. Appreciate that. I will take step one run / repair /ride.

Then next steps to cherry it out a bit.

John... Me too!!
 

EastBayDave

- Kawasaki Fanatic -
don't worry about the center-stand, it drags bad in the twisties. I removed mine from my 72' H1b 500....ahhh ground clearance! :teeth
 

budman

General Menace
Staff member
Ok. Slowed down.

Found a f'd up fork leg. Off to get a new one tomorrow. http://www.frankmain.qpg.com/

Frank's Forking. As recommended by Rob at Evolution.

Thought it was a bad fork seal. Nope. Bad leg. :(
 

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budman

General Menace
Staff member
Found this under the throttle grip. Somebody dropped this guy.

Look at the shape of the throttle body. F@ck

Also did more thorough inspection and less excited about this making it to show quality. :laughing

So adding to the parts list.
* brake pads
* brake cables
* couple of blinkers (dents in chrome)
* pipe or pipes still to be sought
* likely re-spoke - tried cleaning not done trying but.....
* a lot of motor cleaning - a lot more to do.


FYI. New carb gaskets came in and first carb and jets look new!:banana

This will be a long process. What year is it again?? 2014??
 

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auntiebling

megalomaniacal troglodyte
Staff member
Drop your expectations to the Show and Shine level, instead of concourse.

Cool bike bud. I am a little jelly
 

oldapeman

Rookie My A$$!
It makes little sense to bring an old bike up to "concourse" level unless you never intend to ride it again ever. That is something I honestly cannot understand. My goal when resurrecting an old bike is to bring it up to the "safe to ride and looks good" level. Then I ride it like it was a nearly new bike that I wanted to have roll over 100,000 miles. I don't baby it, and I don't act afraid to get it dirty or show wear marks. It is not a museum piece, it is a real motorcycle.

/
 

Cincinnatus

Not-quite retired Army
Bikes are meant to be ridden, not stuck in a pristine state of stasis. Bring it up to hella pretty and ride the (safe) hell out of it. :thumbup
 
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