OK, so it's Friday here in the wonderful land of Oz, which means my thoughts turn to bike riding. The mail delivery man was nice enough to deliver my CB750 oil filters and my NOS NGK D7EA plugs for the bitsa, so as soon as I could climb out of the virtual salt mine, I sneaked outside to install the new (old) plugs.
K2 bitsa Friday 26 Mar 2021 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
I bought them on Ebay from a guy selling a heap of different spark plugs that were "Old Shop Stock" that had been sitting on a shelf so long the packets were fading, so I was fairly sure they weren't fake. Of course they could have been really old fakes too, but I think the fake plugs are a fairly new "thing", so here's hoping that these are kosher.
Years ago Hondaman recommended running D7EA's with a 1mm (.040") gap with Dyna ignitions, and I've been doing that with every electronic ignition (regardless of brand) since, with great results. The standard gap was about .5mm (.020") and you can see the difference in this pic. That's a big gap to jump.
K2 bitsa Friday 26 Mar 2021 4 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
Years ago I built this "special" plug spanner because the stock one with the 4 holes for a screwdriver blade is a PITA, expecially for the two middle plugs. Only problem is I can't find my 19mm ratchet ring spanner today, so it just wasn't the same using my adjustable wrench. I ended up using my 18mm long reach plug socket and 3/8" ratchet handle on the two middle plugs, which is also a PITA as you need to connect the ratchet handle to the short socket extension after you've put the socket over the plug, then remove the ratchet handle before you can pull the plug. Oh well, life wasn't meant to be easy......
K2 bitsa Friday 26 Mar 2021 2 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
Anyhoo, how long can one man talk about installing four spark plugs? I fired it up, and it felt crisper, blipping the throttle with the bike on the centre stand. I climbed back down the virtual saltmine pit for another couple of hours before the desire to ride my bike overcame me, so I slammed down the lid of my laptop, and kitted up. I had to go to the local big box pharmacy to collect a precription for my favourite opiates. The engine feels powerful. It's geared up slightly and has the world's heaviest throttle, so doesn't have the "snap" that the K0 has, but the engine just feels bigger and more powerful all round.
I walked out of the pharmacy and noticed fuel under the bike. Bugger. I'd turned the petcock off, so the float bowl on at least one carb had emptied itself onto the tarmac. Great. It started fine, and even though it felt a little "furry", it accelerated well through the building traffic. When I got on the freeway, it ran like a new bike, tons of grunt, and turbine smooth. I turned off the freeway and stopped at a stop sign, and I could smell fuel. I looked down, and there was fuel dripping on the ground again. Great. I took off, and it missed and farted for a minute or two, then came good again. This went on for the whole 60 mile ride, and I was surprised at how much fuel I'd used when I got home.
I had to switch it off when I got home, then unlock the house, open the gate, then start it again to ride down to the garage. It fired up like a champ and when I blipped the throttle it was perfect. I rode thru the patio, and turned it around in the driveway to back under the carport, and once again, fuel started dripping on the ground and it ran "furry" again. Fcuk my life.
Now to be fair, the carbs are the only thing on this bike I haven't touched in 3.5 years. That wouldn't be a determining factor if the bike was constantly in use, but the sad fact is that this bike has sat for several years with dead engines, so the carbs need to come off, get a thorough cleaning and a rebuild. Not gonna happen, on this bike at least, I've bought a set of K0 carbs from James H because I love the superlight throttle pull on my K0, so I'll park the ol' bitsa until my care package from Britain arrives.
No biggie, I've decided that this bike needs a total makeover, from a laid back 70's cruiser, to a more performance oriented looking K2. The Henry Abes with their fat tyres will go on the "Fake K0 Rat" with the Apes and the stepped seat, complete with sissy bar, and I'll put the Lesters with twin disc front end, lower bars, oil cooler, steering damper, fork brace, better front springs, a stock seat and a few more bits on the K2 to make it more enjoyable to ride at (slightly illegal) speed. I might have to give it a paint job while I'm at it, I'm thinking the factory blue, or even silver perhaps? Should be fun.
K2 bitsa Friday 26 Mar 2021 5 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
