My First Bike :D

[JonE]

Hello Everyone

At the grand age of 26 I've finally decided to buy my first bike which should be delivered on Friday.

It's a 1985 Kawasaki KH 125 with 22000 on the clock and a recent rebuild plus a few other bits done.

All I need to do now is go and get a helmet and jacket etc then book my CBT so hopefully should be on the road in a couple of weeks.

The plan is to use it for commuting then do my full test sometime before October as thats when the new addition to the family arrives and if I don't do it now I probably never will.

You can expect some pics on Friday and I'm sure there will be plenty of questions too over the next few weeks.

Cheers

Jon

[Clanger]

Hello and welcome to BCF.
____________________
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[TeamMCS]

Congrats mate! Just bought my second (learner legal) bike on Wednesday.

[ClaireBear]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Post some pics when you get your bike

[FURBAR]

[dextersaurus]

Welcome to the forum dude

Looks to me like you'll fit in well... what bike you fancy after the test?

Dunc

[JonE]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone

I got the bike on Saturday and on the whole am very pleased with it, I think it's in pretty good condition considering it's about 25 years old it's needs a bloody good clean then I'll put some pics up.

It does appear to be leaking a bit of gear oil though, I think it needs a couple of new gaskets one on the right hand side of the engine behind the carb and oil pump and it may need a new copper washer or just tightening on the drain plug. It looks like the previous owner has either used a gasket sealant instead of a gasket or carried out a "temporary" fix where it's leaking.

Is it ok to use something like this on the outside of the engine https://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_173106_langId_-1_categoryId_165691 as a quick fix just to stop it leaking for a while until I get around to fitting new gaskets?

Dunc, I've always quite liked the Triumph Speed Triple/Four so may have a look at one of them depending on the price.

Cheers

Jon

[dextersaurus]

My CG had a leak on the clutch side of the engine, and I ended up seizing the engine.

I've always loved the speed four, and the street triple, which is the 675cc version of the speed triple

To be honest, for the money you can get gaskets for it'd be worth replacing them, and checking the drain plug.

That stuff may well work, but not for long.

Dunc

[JonE]

Cheers Dunc

I think I might give it a try and just keep checking the level it'll only be for a couple of weeks and surely(?) it's got to be better than doing nothing and it'll keep the other half happy if it stops dripping oil in the back garden

Jon

[JonE]

Evening All

I've been investigating the leak I mentioned in an earlier post to find out what gaskets I need and am getting a bit worried about where it's leaking from, I'm pretty sure it needs a new gasket on the right hand side of the engine/gearbox and either a new copper washer or tightening on the drain plug I've got my sockets/spanners here now so will have a go at tightening it in the morning. The things thats worrying me is a drip on the crankcase I'm not sure if its just tracking there from the other leaks or leaking from there so my questions are;

Should there be gear oil in the crankcase?

If there isn't meant to be and there is will there be any obvious signs of it when the bike is running?

On a more positive note I got my lid, jacket and gloves yesterday so all I need to do now is wait til payday and book my cbt.

I've got the day off work on Friday so hopefully will be able to give the bike a clean and get the pics up I promised.

Cheers

Jon

[stinkwheel]

If you give the engine a good clean up, you'll be able to see where the leak is coming from. If it's up near the front, you may even find it's a bit of unburned oil leaking round the exhaust somewhere. Especially if it's very black

There should be gear oil in the gearbox, which is built into the rear part of the crankcase. There should not be oil in the actual crankcase itself, the front part that the crank sits in. If there is, one of the crank seals is probably shot. It would be smoking horribly, running badly and oiling up the plugs if there was enough in there to be leaking out (not to mention, it shouldn't be able to leak out anyway).

You'll probably find that any gaskets for crankcase covers/oilpump facings are paper ones. If this is the case, you can easily make a new one by cutting it out of the back of a cereal packet. Remove the cover and use that as a template. The boring bit is getting all the old gasket material off. Either fit dry or apply a THIN skimming of gasket goo. Hylomar blue is popular.

Can I suggest that you do not tighten the drain plug any further?

If it's leaking, it's probably because the sealing washer is shot, not because it's done up too loose. That, or someone has stripped/crossed the threads at some point in the past.

I've been in the exact position you're in now many times. My advice to you is to remove the plug and check. Don't risk tightening it further and stripping the threads. Yes this means draining the gearbox oil but it doesn't hold much and it's not expensive. Remember this bike has been probably been owned by many 17 year olds who can be remarkably ham-fisted with a spanner. Just search back through the workshop section on this forum .

You may be able to re-use a copper sealing washer if you clean it up on some fine wet and dry paper then anneal it by heating it red hot and allowing it to cool (this makes the copper soft and squashy again). Most bike shops will have a kit of various sized copper washers, as will most car garages if it needs replacing.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[JonE]

Hi Stinkwheel

Thanks for the quick reply, the oil is clean oil definitely not black.

I've marked on the drawings below where I've got the oil, the gasket on the case is a definite and so is the drain plug, it's the second red dot that I was worried about as I'm guessing I have to remove and split the engine if it is leaking there.

Would a smear/bead of gasket sealant on the outside of the engine be ok as a temporary fix?

Cheers

Jon

[stinkwheel]

First one is simple. Paper gasket. Remove the cover and replace the gasket.

The other one seems an odd place to leak. I'd suspect it's most likely oil coming from the leaky sump plug and blowing back as the bike goes forwards.

On the plus side. As long as you don't run low on oil, it'll be fine and dandy. The oil isn't pumped round the gearbox under pressure, the parts just sit in a bath of oil. As long as you keep it topped up to the correct level, it'll be fine. Just keep an eye on the back tyre, if it is leaking a lot, you could get oil on the tyre.

Smearing gasket goo on the outside is unlikely to fix anything to be honest.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[JonE]

Cheers Mate

Think I'll just keep a check on the oil levels for now and buy a drip tray to stand the bike on don't wanna upset the landlord or the other half with oil everywhere .

I'll fix the easy leaks ASAP though, the third drop is there when the bike is sat in the garden over night so it's not blowing back but I'm wondering/hoping it's running along there from one of the other places.

Thanks very much for the help.

Jon

[everyreasonto]

Delicious bike is delicious

[JonE]

Morning All

Here are the pics I promised, I didn't get her as polished as I'd hoped to but it's too bloody warm out there already this morning

Cheers

Jon

[Grimnir]

Memories! I learnt on a black KH125 sometime around 1990. It was a great bike, if a little small but it got me here & there and through my test.
You seem to have the same garden table & chair set as me.

[JonE]

[ollieholt]