bought an old ER5, any tips?

[designermatt]

Got an old Kawasaki ER5 27k miles for £600 , few months mot on it, no servie history 6 owners or so.

First thing I did was oil and filter, air filter is very clean , got new plugs but cant change until got thin wall socket.
Changed brake fluid realised front hose is knackered so got a stainless one coming. Pads discs tyres and chain are good

Just thought id post on here and see if anybodys owned one of these before and what to look out for, and what youre thoughts are on them.

I know theyre a cracking bike because i learned on one, excellent lightweight twin that is great to maneuver cheap to run etc...

[underwhelmist]

Congratulations, sounds like you've got it mostly covered. I've never had one but from my experience of fiddling with old bikes:

If the brake line was knackered, what state are the master cylinder and caliper in? These can be cleaned up/refurbished fairly cheaply.

It might be worth checking valve clearances at some point. Other than that, at that mileage and with no history the suspension might benefit from a refresh - fork oil and seals are cheap. Rear shocks are more expensive, you could check the bearings in the linkage are clean, well greased and moving freely though. Also check for any play in the linkage, wheel bearings and head bearings.

edit: Duh, just seen it's a twin shock, ignore my burbling about the linkage.

Edited by underwhelmist on Friday 24th November 00:08

[BuzzBravado]

Same engine as KLE500 and GPZ500. Pretty bulletproof. Haven't heard about anything that goes wrong with them so you should be fine.

[crofty1984]

Rebuild the brake calipers. I had a gpz and the calipers are known to need regular servicing. I assume the er5 is the same.

[pozi]

BuzzBravado said:

Same engine as KLE500 and GPZ500. Pretty bulletproof. Haven't heard about anything that goes wrong with them so you should be fine.

They are reliable if you change the oil regularly, otherwise they suffered from pitted or worn out cam lobes.

[Rubin215]

Empty the tank, fit longer fuel hoses and a fuel filter; every one I've owned has had crud in the tank and the longer hoses will make tank removal much easier next time round.

Valve clearances means dropping the coolant and pulling two coolant tubes out of the valve cover; always change the o rings on the tubes or they will leak when hot.
Don't be surprised if you can't get the valve cover out of the frame; some come out, some don't. The engine is fitted in the frame fully built up and somehow some are tighter than others!
Balance the carbs after you have done the valves or it will run rough.

[designermatt]

Great tips, im going to fully pump out the brake pistons and clean them up or replace if corroded, going to get a new master cylinder repair kit , after doing this I hope my brakes get a bit more responsive and firmer lever feel.

Not going to bother with valve clearances just yet , just going to run her for a while and see how shes running/fuelling , road holding i.e suspension.

Great shout on the fuel filter, i looked in my tank and it was full of rusty crud, definately dont want any of that ste blocking up the jets, might get some longer fuel lines as it is a bugger to remove tank without fuel going everywhere.

really am suprised at how much of a bargain work horse bike ive got. ill get some pics up this weekend if weathers good

[kurt535]

they do rust ...had a fleet of them at our bike training school but by second winter, even with daily hose down, we were losing the fight. so...daily hose down and lots of acf50?

ah forgot.....suspension is wallowy and then some so, suspender tweaking is advisable?

Edited by kurt535 on Saturday 25th November 20:25

[designermatt]

Yeah they do like to rust, my frame isnt to bad, and I will keep on top of it best I can.

Heres some pics for those interested







Brake fluid seen better days. Sorry for st pictures my phone lense is cracked

This bike is so much fun to ride, so easy to balance and so much fun to ride, its almost like a 2 stroke the way theres no power then ringgggg as the power band kicks in from 5k revs upwards, its amazing , and for a little twin 500, really good value for money.