"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.