I'm Back

Well its been a while but as with everything ....stuff...life...living sometimes gets in the way. Im not complaining ...thats just the way it is.

The good news is the bike is back up and running. What an experience that was... not being much of a bike mechanic it was a big, interesting and very fulfilling learning curve for me and Im very happy that I went through it.

I got my new stainless valves in, new timing chain from the UK and other bits and bobs and in general it all went smoothly. Apart from the 3 goes I had at getting the cylinder head on bewteen the frame and the carbys. What a pain in the arse that is...Ill post up the procedure I used to get in, but it all worked out in the end.
What doesnt help though is when you get it all lined up and ready to torque down and you look over to the bench to see that you have left the 2 locating pins out that are essential for lining everything up correctly..........the treasurer who eventually had to come out to help was not impressed I can tell you.

Oh and we have a new member of the family...........Zara........she fits the shed nicely. Similar colour to Tappet but totaly different dog...shes bigger for a start. We adopted her from an older lady who couldnt look after her anymore.....

Its all on track again for the "900 Journey"

It is with a broken heart I write this installment. My dog has gone to the big kennel in the sky.
I knew she was crook but didnt expect her to go downhill so quick. What has this got to do with motorbikes you may ask? Well who did you think I used to consult when things weren't going to plan when working on the bike?
Not much is happening in my shed at the moment I find it hard to go in there and do anything because she is missing from the spot where she would normally sit while I worked away.

I used to forget she was in there and at the end of the day shut the door and lock her in there. I'd only realise my mistake when it was time to feed her and I couldn't find her and she wouldn't come when I called.

We had her for 11 great years. Everybody knew..... where we went so did she, and all of our friends knew it and expected it. We used to get an earbashing when we left her home. "Wheres Tappet" they used to say, "what did you go and leave her home for".

The "treasurer" is heart broken.........

She grew up with the kids, looked after us and she will be missed.


There will never be another dog like her.
 
R.I.P.   "Tappet"

Some People

Crook again..........no me this time...physically.
Some dirty dog from work has given me their flu and now Im getting around like a bear with a sore head. And all of 2 days before we head off on a boys only weekend. So Im doing everything possible to try and shake it so Im fit enough to enjoy some time with my boy and also trying not to spread it around at the same time.

More news on the bike front. I tried to contact the guy who is organising my cylinder head rebuild yesterday and came up against some disturbing responses.

Without going into to great a detail, I think customer service is a thing of the past. I actually flirted with the idea of telling the owner about some of the responses I got, as he is on holidays in the U.S.
Im sure he would be interested in whats happening with his business while he is away.

All I wanted was 5 minutes of their time to tell them the "Treasurer" was on her way and that they needed to organise the stem seals as agreed upon by the owner before he left for his hols. It turns out this was to much for them to handle.

So off went the "Treasurer" with some explicit instructions from myself and it was eventually sorted. Some people just need to be told.

So ....is it "Wabbit Season" or "Duck Season".........I digress.

Things are looking up

Good news I have just had confirmation from the "Treasurer" while I'm at work that the stainless beauties have arrived on the doorstep and yes there is....count them.... 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8  lovely little valves just waiting to go into their new home.

My mechanic has been instructed to go ahead and order new stem seals and the valves will be on his doorstep Thursday to get a make over and fitting done so they perform at their best.

The "treasurer" has volunteered to take the valves to the mechanics and get the ball rolling while Im still working.

No work will get done to "Bessy" this week as I have promised to take my boy camping, under instructions from the "treasurer", he seems to be turning into a "mummies" boy so something has to be done.

So some time away catching yabbies, shooting rabbits, camping and doing boy stuff is in order. NO women allowed.

Standstill..........

Nothing much is happening on the bike front at the moment. As usual the dreaded "working for a living" has gotten in the way again.
Still no news on my valves.

On a even more sadder note, a fellow "Geeper" owner, Noel, has for whatever reason decided he no longer can hang onto his large collection of 900's and has listed them on "Ebay".
Amongst various cries of "dont do it Noel" from the GPz fraternity, I feel as though something drastic has happened in his life to make him want to part with what we all know he is passionate about. Life goes on however and I hope whatever is happening in his life, he comes away from it for the better.

Rob...my mate who is riding with me across that big stretch of bitumen rang me today for an update chat.
He currently is sourcing some material for the radiator on his bike and getting a local metalworker to modify his rack on the back of his bike to carry the gear he is taking.We generally chatted about tyres, the weather when we are going across, flat tyres, sore butts and sheepskin seat covers, distances travelled and more sore butts. But both come to the conclusion that its all worth it.
Once I get my bike running again the plan is to meet up and do a 2 or 3 night stopover somewhere to test all the gear out prior to departing on the long ride across.

The planning continues............

Doubters - there is plenty of them.

Is it just me or is it that people, well the ones I associate with anyway are not very adventurous. Or is it people in general?
Have we as a society become so regimented for one reason or another that we have forgotten about having fun, spontaneous or just doing something for the hell of it.

However my trip/adventure isn’t spontaneous, it’s a well thought out/planned affair and has a purpose...........I think! Of course it does. It’s going to be a personal achievement and Ill meet some of the passionate GPz followers who at this stage are just words on the interweb thingy, Ill be able to put faces to names and make some like minded friends in the process.

The interweb thingy annoys me a bit.....call me old fashioned but you cant have a genuine conversation with a person by typing messages into a box hooked up to a key board. That’s not socialising!

One guy I have been corresponding with on and off over the interweb and via sms is "Alby", another GP z owner. Everytime we have the chance to catch up Im working or something else is happening, he only lives down the road and yet we keep missing one another. Once "Bessy" is up and running I must make the effort to catch up with him.

Sitting with some colleagues/work mates at the pub the other night having a few "devil in the bottles", beers, and one of them queried why I would want to travel across the Nullabor to the other side of the country on a 25 year motorbike.

"Why don’t you buy a more modern, reliable bike?"
"Something that’s more comfortable......it's a long way you know"
"You are going to get a sore ass"
I was stumped for answers to these questions at first and my first reaction was to provide short sharp answers really. I didn’t know how to explain why I was doing what I was going to do. Then I felt sorry for him when I thought about his misunderstanding, his lack of seeking adventure. It actually annoys me that I couldn’t explain it, make him understand.

So the knee jerk reaction was; "My bike is reliable, Ill put a sheep skin on the seat and yeah I know my ass is going to get sore...but...so what... a small pain for greater gain I say"
How do you explain to someone your passion for the bike and why you do what you do? Should I bother or should I just be content in knowing that like myself at least there are others out there that share the same passion for this very materialistic thing.......the motorbike......the GPz900.

Out with the Old in with the New

Some new parts arrived today, well one any way. The new Muzzy fan for my bike rocked up at the doorstep so straight out to the shed I went and started working on the bike again.
The old fans have a tendency to melt!! Being made of plastic doesn't help.

Pretty easy to fit, its probably one of the rare occasions when I purchased something mechanical and it hasn't had to be modified.Normally there's always something that has to be tweaked here or adjusted there, but not this time.
 Once everything was locktite-ed in I thought it prudent that I should test it prior to re-assembling the bike, the last thing I want is to hear weird noises from the fan when the bike is back together.....that would be spanner throwing material...;-).

I'm glad to say all is well.......just be careful where you put your fingers when testing.

Out with the old in with the new.

Next job on the list is to fix the front mudguard. These also have a tendency to crack around the mounting  points on the forks. I think fibreglass is the order of the day here. Ive got a few ideas on how to strengthen the area so will post it when jobs complete.

Ive been mainly cleaning other bits and pieces of the bike while I'm waiting for the valves to show up.

The pipes on my bike are stainless so they come up a treat when you smother the polish on them.

Tickets are now available for the Superbike race so Ill be looking into that soon also. Its all slowly coming together....but I have a sneeking suspicion that there is harder work ahead of me.

Day to day stuff.....it's called living.

This blogging thing is pretty damm hard when you have never done it before. I'm generally not one to show my emotions that well so putting my thoughts down in print can sometimes be difficult.
During my normal day I try to operate as per usual, but I now constantly have this niggling thought in the back of my mind reminding me about the impending trip and all that needs to be done prior to departure.
I get around doing my thing and all of a sudden I think "I can put that in my blog" but when I get the chance to sit down and do some blogging.......its all gone.

You know to me this trip is a big adventure, but while "surfing" the net (where did that expression come from anyway) I am constantly reminded that really.....compared to some.....its really just a weekend jaunt for some of  those other entrepid explorers who are, or who have ridden around the world.
I spotted a website today by a couple who had been living in Singapore and due to one reason or another they have started a trip from Singapore to Poland riding 2 up on a Honda Africa Twin......lucky buggers.
Maybe one day when I'm older and the rug rats have left home I can do the same???? We'll see.

The power steering on the "treasurers" rocket died.....in the process of taking it to the mechanic I came across a rather large camping store that I haven't seen before so in I went. "How can we help today sir" said the young , tall skinny as a rake shop assisstant/salesperson type bloke"......he actually new what he was talking about. Who said first impressions were generally correct?
To cut a longish story short I walked out with one of those flash self  inflating mattress thingys and a self inflating pillow.I have often look at these in sales catalogues and wondered how the hell they self inflate. Well I've got one now and I'm still not sure. All I know is that it works and I will welcome lying on it after a long day in the saddle. I got a bloody good discount to......only because I picked the two items off the shelf that were the last they had in stock.

Back to the "net surfing" the other thing I discovered is that people are writing books on how to be better travel writers and they also conduct seminars for the like. People actually pay money to learn how to write more interesting articles....hows that?...I was tempted....but no. I kind of figure the more you perseveer the better at it you will get......I hope. I mean if people are interested in what you are doing then they will read it and follow whats been happening. Its a bit like the "idiot box" scenario....if you like the program you will watch it .....if not....then change the channel.
It always makes me laugh when people ring in to the television station and complain about a show or article they have seen and decided they didint like it and blamed the station for airing it in the first place. Change the channel you knumb skulls. Get a life.

The mechanic who is fixing my valves rang the other day and I was advised that all of the Inlet valves need to be replaced.
Ive got three options; second hand ones from a wrecker at $25 each with no guarentee that they last; brand new ones from the Australian Kawasaki dealer at $45 each (I lost my breath when he told me that one); or I can get stainless valves brand new from the good old US of  A for $28 Australian each. Guess which ones I went for?.................thank you Mr Obama.
As much as I would like to shop local......the Ozzy government doesnt help much when I can shop overseas for things cheaper. I struggle to understand the system we have sometimes. Apparently we are one of the highest taxed nations in the world. Puppets...thats what we are...

All I have to do now is wait for the parcel in the post and Im one step closer to getting "Bessy" back on the road and one step closer to starting the "900 Journey".

Progress......sort of.

Well the head is off (the bike) and being repaired as I speak.

 

What a pain that was to get off, no one told me that 4 of the head bolts would hit the frame work and I would have to sit back have a cup of tea and a little think. In the end I lifted the bolts out of the head as far as I could and cable tied them together allowing enough clearance to slide the head out sideways. The carbies had to come off  to but that's another story.

As you can see the valve on the left is not in good shape compared to its partner on the right.

Some news of a different kind today...I found out the ferry I want to take across the Spencer Gulf in South Australia is for one reason or another out of action.
The usual ferry was due for maintenance or something and the company running the ferry were to hire another but the company who owned the hire ferry re-negged or something and so there is currently no ferry at all for the crossing. Apparently it will be up and running again in late October of this year..........Ill have to keep an eye on that one.

Bought a book that I have wanted to read for a while the other day too. Ted Simon's - Jupiters Travels.....Im not that far into yet so Ill let you know what its like. It has to be good they are still printing it after it was first published in 1979.

So not much else happening until the bike is fixed. Just more planning, pondering and general potting around cleaning up other bits of the bike Ive removed.
Still keen as mustard though, and cant wait till its under way.

Its all in the planning

Things aren’t happening as fast as I would like. I’m still at work and haven’t touched the bike in over a week. I’m starting to worry a bit that I’m running out of time and will get myself into a mad panic to make the departure date.



I watched the Charley Boorman film “Race to Dakar” again for a bit of inspiration…..but I’m not racing the Dakar and my ride couldn’t be any further away from this. Good to watch though…..you see bits that you don’t pick up initially, like the gear on the bikes or reading between the lines when things are said or done. “I have to agree though…..it would be the toughest race in the world”

A mate of mine will be travelling with me…he has just recently bought a “97” model Suzuki Katana. So we have been chewing the fat on the odd occasion as to what we should take for the trip across, fuel stops, camping gear, do we buy food all the way across or take stuff to eat, types of luggage to carry our gear etc…etc… the list goes on.

Actually my list looks like this at the moment:


Things to take:
1. Tent (use existing one)
2. Pillow.
3. Mattress - self inflating.
4. Small Tarp.
5. Seat Bag and maybe panniers (soft).
6. Pacsafe…..
7. Wire Rope Locking device for jacket and helmet.
8. Disc lock…..
9. Sheepskin (free) or Airhawk ($170) seat.
10. Camera, Video Camera and Helmet cam.
11. Toiletries and Toilet Paper.
12. Clothes
13. Tools. - Cable ties and Gaffa Tape, Chain Lube - Bel Ray….titanium sticky stuff.
14. Torch (small) and Headlamp.
15. First Aid Kit.
16. 5 Lt Jerry for fuel. (Put jerry in shoulder bag….like work one, so the rozzers don’t pull you over).
17. Something to stop key falling out - springy lanyard thing.

Note: If anyone reads the list and has any suggestions please feel free to make comment.


I’m sure this is an ever evolving list that is bound to change several times before the departure date.

At this stage it looks as if we are going to have to do some mega “k’s” on the first 2 days, try 1000 Kilometres. My mate Rob, who has done this trip once before reckons “3 days should be enough that’s how long we took the last time”….”yes Rob and how much younger were you then”?.......try 10 years younger.

Id like to factor in 4 days so we have some leeway…….because I know for a fact my arse is going to be hurting by the time we get to Wagga Wagga in New South Wales. And there is going to be some big…long…straight…boring stretches of road to test our stamina and mental fortitude. Thank god for Ipods…..never thought I hear myself say that.

The initial part of the trip centres around arriving in Wagga Wagga on the 23 rd of February 2010, to meet the rest of the GPz900 gang and then over the next 2 days travel down from there, through Victoria to Phillip Island and then camp out on the island for the 3 days of fun, drinking, watching the races, drinking, watching????.....you get the drift.


Basically just having a good time meeting people and making some new friends with a common interest….motorbikes.

The schedule for my part of the trip will look something like this and again this may change at a later date:

Day 1 (Fri 19th Feb 2010) - say goodbye to the “cheese and kisses” (my wife and kids) depart home and ride to Robs place in Narrogin and stay overnight. Short and sweet.

Day 2 (Sat 20th Feb 2010) - the trip starts here, the first “biggy”, depart Robs place and ride…..ride….ride….all the way to Cocklebiddy and camp there the night. A distance of some 1130 Kms, my bum is numb and I need help standing up. Rob will have to roll out my sleeping arrangements and hold the bike while I fall from the bike onto my bed.

Day 3 (Sun 21st Feb 2010) - I can feel my toes now and we head off to Cowell in South Australia a distance of 1160 Kms.

Day 4 (Mon 22nd Feb 2010) - Up early drive legend of a bike onto the Cowell Ferry, relax in the luxurious comforts of the ferry that will take us across the Spencer Gulf and roll us off at Wallaroo on the other side. Ride to Wagga Wagga and “Big Dave’s” place another 1000 “k” trip. Jobs done. My arse is hurting again. I hope he has a nice comfy chair to sit in …..Oh and beer.

The next 2 days after our arrival will be meet and greet and then we are off to the island.

Any way that’s the plan, you can only plan so much, all there is to do now is prepare the best I can and go. See what the trip brings.

Oh there's the ride back as well to think about.......one thing at a time hey.......

"Its all about the bike".........

Well to be honest its not really....is it.....

Anyone who has travelled anywhere by motorbike at least has an idea of what Im talking about. For me the bike riding is only part of the equation. This trip, possibly my one major foray (I hope not....havent told the treasurer yet), is an "adventure" that I have wanted to do for a long time. To ride a motorbike across the Nullabor is something of a coming of age if you like or something along those lines, a seed that has been planted into my brain by a long lost friend who would always say to me "yeah but have you ridden across the Nullabor"? I always had the nigglling thought in the back of my brain that I had to do it, just so I could say to my mate......well "yes I have in fact"

Its now turned into something bigger than that though. Its about the adventure involved, the planning, the ride with my mates, the people I might meet along the way, the things I might see and do,that niggling little man of doubt on my shoulder asking me "are you sure about this"..."will the bike make it"

Achievement....thats what its about and the freedom on the road that you get when you ride a bike anywhere, even if its just down to the local shop. On a bike you are more in tune with your surroundings as opposed to being isolated in a "tin can" with a false sense of security.

I try not to talk about it to much around the "treasurer" as I get the impression it would become monotonous for her......especially given we have another life to live alongside my making plans.

I cant wait.....and I know there are others just as excited as me. Ive got a lot to do still but Im determined  and it wont dampen my enthusiasm.

Delayed.

Started trying to get the head off the motor but Ive struck a bit of a delay......Its called "working for a living". Whoever invented that idea should be shot. The other problem is I thought I could get away with not removing other parts like the carbys and the airbox but to no avail, it all has to come out plus 4 of the head bolts hit the frame when you try to lift the head off the motor. There's bound to be a knack to this.

But in the mean time I thought a short bit of history would be appropriate and so I'll start with the bike itself.

The Kawasaki GPz 900r first appeared in 1984 and the last model was produced in 1996. Model numbers ran from A1 through to the A8, but with very little variation in between.
But instead of me rambling you can follow this link Kwaka History to the official history of the bike by Kawasaki. Which is a bit of a poor effort on the part of Kawasaki considering the long history it has created since its inception.

But suffice to say when Kawasaki created the GPz900, they created a legend of a bike that to this day has a long and credible family history.

Problems

I’ve actually had the bike for a few months now and have ridden it around a fair bit. I’ve taken the “treasurer” down to the local café/restaurant for breakfast and lunch a few times and done a few rides further south where I could open up the throttle and blow some cobwebs out.

But 2 weeks ago she started to run a bit rough and wouldn’t idle properly, I say she because a member of the family named the bike "Bessy". It got to the point where when I pulled up to the lights behind another bike they would think I was egging them on because I had to keep twisting the throttle to keep it running.

Not good…….so into the shed (garage) it went for some tender love and care.

So after some conversing with fellow GPz owners on the web I started the process of determining what was wrong.

Rule of thumb is to -

1: Check the valve clearances….not a small job in itself as the fuel tank and virtually all of the fairing has to come off just to get at them.

2: Balance the carby’s.

3: Check the fuel mixture, and

4: Re-check the carby’s again.

To cut a long story short I discover that "Bessy" has what is called “sinking valve” syndrome, apparently common in this model bike and particularly Kawasaki’s of this era. I’m told the Japanese used crap steel to make their valves and therefore over time the seats on the valves wear away and recede back into the cylinder head.

So now I know the head has to come off and get new valves installed…..not cheap! This trip across the country is getting expensive already and I haven’t even left home yet!!

On top of that I check the mixtures of the carbys and also discover that the bike is only running on two cylinders (it has four) and one of the coils has given up the ghost.

Apparently…. rarely does this happen, so off to the wreckers I go, a round trip of some 140 Km’s. I had to do the trip to the wreckers twice.

So a couple of hundred bucks (dollars) later, I walk out the door of the wreckers with 4 new plug caps, 1.5 meters of ignition lead, new front and rear sprockets, a new coil and…. a lighter wallet.

After spending some time in the shed and caressing the new parts onto "Bessy", I fire her up and she runs smoother than a baby’s bum. The “treasurer” hears the sweet purr of " Bessy's" motor, comes out to the shed and knows all is going well when she sees the smile on my face.

Next job…….. “Off with its head”.

Here it is my 900. I had one of these many years ago and like everything in youth, you dont realise what you have until later on in life. One day not long ago I was reading a Motorcycle Mechanics magazine and it inspired me to buy another one, "collectable" was the phrase in the article that that kicked it all off.. Getting a good example was the trick and this blog is a record of the journey of finding one and the work involved when I discovered all was not as it seemed.

It all started when I read the article on the GPz900 in a motorcycle magazine and it suggested that it would soon become collectable. I had previously owned one many moons ago and so the search was on.

I looked everywhere there were a few examples around but nothing to the standard I was looking for….something actually running with little to do except cosmetic touch-ups. I shouldn’t have expected much really considering the GPz is now 25 years old.

I even checked the local Kawasaki dealership…

“Do you get many GPz’s come up for sale”?

“No mate we don’t touch em……the last one we had blew up on the owner 2 weeks after he road it out of the yard”

So the search continued and I eventually found one in far east Queensland – Australia and on Ebay no less.

So I took a punt and bought it and got it sent over by truck. 2 weeks later it rocked up on my doorstep…the moment had arrived; I hadn’t been this excited in a very long time….even the “treasurer” couldn’t believe how excited I was.

With the paperwork signed I wheeled it down the driveway and attempted to start it………turn on the key…..make sure its in neutral…..give it some choke….and hit the start button…….nothing….

“Please at least fire once for me….especially while the “treasurer” is standing just over there watching”

So with a bit of throttle and some gentle encouragement (I tend to talk to inanimate objects when things are not going as they should be) I gave it another try and on the third attempt it fired and the sound was like music to my ears. With a big grin I looked at the “treasurer” and got the nod of approval.

All was well in the Johnson household.