Topic: Stev-o's K4 "Big Bang Theory"!

[CycleRanger]

way to go!  Came out looking pretty damn nice.
Only three months... wish I could work that fast.

[Stev-o]

way to go!  Came out looking pretty damn nice.
Only three months... wish I could work that fast.

Thanks Ranger.  Would have been quicker if I was playin' around with the Kawasaki & the little Suzuki. 
But, it's been so frikken hot in the shop, I don't tend to waste so time out there!

[budman]

Looking good, Steve.  Was the blue bad luck?

[seanbarney41]

That looks awwreeeeal good...bettin' it runs to match.  Chewie hooked it up.  The blue was nice but gotta have that stripe...and them pipes.

[Stev-o]

Looking good, Steve.  Was the blue bad luck?

No, the blue was not bad luck, it ran well for years, Bud. (You saw it last Oct)

That looks awwreeeeal good...bettin' it runs to match.  Chewie hooked it up.  The blue was nice but gotta have that stripe...and them pipes.

Thanks Sean.  Ya know, I bought two sets of stripes for the blue tank, the painter screwed up one, I, the other.  After that I said Eff it for stripes.

 I'm thinking at least 300 "easy" miles, then an oil change and let er rip. 

I know some guys say break it in hard like your gonna run it, but this was a pricey rebuild and I don't wanna blow it up again this year!

What have you guys done for break in after a new top end?

[riverfever]

New tank and covers look great Steve. Nice job man. And I darn near had to break out the snow shovel today. Up here you would have had that thing rebuilt in two weeks

[Stev-o]

New tank and covers look great Steve. Nice job man. And I darn near had to break out the snow shovel today. Up here you would have had that thing rebuilt in two weeks

Thanks Riverman.   Was actually pretty nice here today, only 92.    Back up to triple digits this weekend....

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

A little out of sequence, but lets wrap this sukka up!   

Found these old pipes in the Batcave and slapped em on!





Also found this body kit, bought it a couple years back from Chewy.  Put NOS badges and a petcock on it....






And about three months later, she is done!  I've put about 160 relatively easy miles [not over 6K RPM yet] and she is running good! 

However, I've blown the main fuse twice though, thats a new issue, never happened before.   Put a new fuse and off she went, but that concerns me a bit, must have a short somewhere but not a daily thing [I make sure I have a supply of fuses with me at all times!]


Here she is today at the local park....






...and how she looked on the day she blew!




Now I can concentrate on my Kaw H2 project, want that on the road by Oct 1.  Then a K1 is waitin' in the wings....

Damn! That's another beauty Stev-o! 

[Stev-o]

A little out of sequence, but lets wrap this sukka up!   

Found these old pipes in the Batcave and slapped em on!





Also found this body kit, bought it a couple years back from Chewy.  Put NOS badges and a petcock on it....






And about three months later, she is done!  I've put about 160 relatively easy miles [not over 6K RPM yet] and she is running good! 

However, I've blown the main fuse twice though, thats a new issue, never happened before.   Put a new fuse and off she went, but that concerns me a bit, must have a short somewhere but not a daily thing [I make sure I have a supply of fuses with me at all times!]


Here she is today at the local park....






...and how she looked on the day she blew!




Now I can concentrate on my Kaw H2 project, want that on the road by Oct 1.  Then a K1 is waitin' in the wings....

Damn! That's another beauty Stev-o! 

Thanks Don, it was a fun little project and went rather smoothly...

[PeWe]

Bike look even better now with the OEM style. The bad luck hole in case brought something good in the end! :-)

Main fuse burn when braking?
I had a rear brake switch where the transparent bullet plug cover went off so metal on socket side could get in contact with case or engine mount. Cheap aftermarket version. It took some visual inspection and rewind the "tape" since I did not realize it was when braking when I do that without thinking.

[Stev-o]

Bike look even better now with the OEM style. The bad luck hole in case brought something good in the end! :-)

Main fuse burn when braking?
I had a rear brake switch where the transparent bullet plug cover went off so metal on socket side could get in contact with case or engine mount. Cheap aftermarket version. It took some visual inspection and rewind the "tape" since I did not realize it was when braking when I do that without thinking.

Thanks - thats one way to look at it!

The last time the fuse blew, I was just cruising at moderate speed [40mph] and the bike just went dead.
I pulled over, changed the main fuse, it cranked right up and was fine for the duration of the 20 mile ride.  Of the approx 7 test rides, 160 miles, it has happened twice now.

Never happened before the rebuild, but this slightly burned connector was replaced...



I plan to check the replacement alternator harness today.

[CBGhia]

It's a bit late for the initial part of the break-in, but here's what I did on my KLR and what I plan on doing for the 650.

Ride gently to a big parking lot or whatever (I used the local high school and a local church)
Rip it up to about 5-6k RPMs, working through the gears.  Engine brake on decel,
Keep doing that for about 20 minutes
Let the engine cool
Repeat the same thing for 30 minutes
Let the engine cool.
Ride it normal, but don't go crazy with the revs for the first 1k miles.

I have heard that you want to seat the rings pretty hard by pounding through the gears, but just be careful not to over-rev.
The KLR is running well and not burning any oil, so that seemed to have worked for me.

[Stev-o]

It's a bit late for the initial part of the break-in, but here's what I did on my KLR and what I plan on doing for the 650.

Ride gently to a big parking lot or whatever (I used the local high school and a local church)
Rip it up to about 5-6k RPMs, working through the gears.  Engine brake on decel,
Keep doing that for about 20 minutes
Let the engine cool
Repeat the same thing for 30 minutes
Let the engine cool.
Ride it normal, but don't go crazy with the revs for the first 1k miles.

I have heard that you want to seat the rings pretty hard by pounding through the gears, but just be careful not to over-rev.
The KLR is running well and not burning any oil, so that seemed to have worked for me.

Thats basicly what I've done, Jow, just not in a parking lot.  I've got 200 miles on it since rebuild, I'm keeping the R's below 6K..........

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

It's also good to run the motor under load so finding some grades is recommended. Up and down some hills.

[Stev-o]

It's also good to run the motor under load so finding some grades is recommended. Up and down some hills.

Thats no problem here in the Texas Hill Country Don, every road is up and down!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

LOL! I was chiming in for the others out there.  I don't think you have any issues building or breaking in your bikes, Stev-o!  I wish I could build a bike as quickly (and without issues) as you can.

[02z06dave]

Looking good stev-o. I liked the blue before, but I also like the new color. It's nice to be able swap back and forth easily. I think the stock pipes are a nice improvement as well. Its a really good looking bike you have there

[Stev-o]

Looking good stev-o. I liked the blue before, but I also like the new color. It's nice to be able swap back and forth easily. I think the stock pipes are a nice improvement as well. Its a really good looking bike you have there

Thanks Dave. I love the blue too, but having 3 blue bikes [K4, 550F, Z1] in the garage was the deciding point to change. I have a K6 roller that I plan to use the blue bodywork on, so it's not going away.

As much as I liked the look and sound of the vintage Action Four exhaust this bike came with, I've grown to love the stock four into four pipes. And since I had three sets in the Batcave, that was an easy choice. 

[CBGhia]

It's also good to run the motor under load so finding some grades is recommended. Up and down some hills.

Could someone make some hills in North Texas for me?  I could do overpasses, but with traffic, it's hard to keep the RPM varied.

[RAFster122s]

Be cheaper to take the bike to the hills...guess we could carpet bomb N TX to creat a lot of big craters to ride into and out of...but doing that could yield quite a few angry Texans and there is no telling what they would do.


Bike looks great Steve.

It's also good to run the motor under load so finding some grades is recommended. Up and down some hills.

Could someone make some hills in North Texas for me?  I could do overpasses, but with traffic, it's hard to keep the RPM varied.

[Stev-o]

It's also good to run the motor under load so finding some grades is recommended. Up and down some hills.

Could someone make some hills in North Texas for me?  I could do overpasses, but with traffic, it's hard to keep the RPM varied.

Are there any hills out near Possum Kingdom, Joe?
I've always wanted to go boating there, but current boat doesnt leave Lake Travis [no trailer]

[CBGhia]

It's also good to run the motor under load so finding some grades is recommended. Up and down some hills.

Could someone make some hills in North Texas for me?  I could do overpasses, but with traffic, it's hard to keep the RPM varied.

Are there any hills out near Possum Kingdom, Joe?
I've always wanted to go boating there, but current boat doesnt leave Lake Travis [no trailer]

Yeah, not like down there, though.  And it's still a hike from here.

[riverfever]

I got yer hills. 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I got yer hills. 

And a gigantic mountain too.

[disco]

Hope you got that chain master link on. Just noticed in pic from older post (110) that it's missing.