Meet Derek......
Discussion
I dropped a photo on picture a day about 6 weeks ago showing my recent purchase
Meet Derek, my 1982 Kawasaki AR80
I bought this for a bit of fun, a bit of nostalgia and a bit of a project. I doubt I will make a penny on it should I sell it, but it was bought as a keeper and a user....in summer of course.
I gave it a bit of a check over when I first got it home, but due to work and family commitments had been unable to make the first official step until this weekend. The bike was imported by a friend from France, so it came with a NOVA certificate and one of these....
With a bit of time on my hands, I stuck it in the van and took it to a local MoT station. The chaps at the station were all over it which I think helped getting the pass. The only sticking point was the 6v electrics and the need to rev to get the indicators flashing. I forgot how bad 6v electrics could be. The horn had everyone laughing, the sound being similar to a train horn from about 20 miles away.
I now have all the paperwork ready to send to get the bike registered here and get an age related plate.
The next step was to get everything ready for sending off to the sprayers. Over time the plastic panels have deepened in colour. Stripping the panels, tank, mudguard etc took all of an hour. So much easier than stripping modern bikes
The frame has got areas of flaking paint/rust spots but generally it's not in too bad a condition. I don't plan to give it a full nut and bolt restoration as I would prefer it with some signs of patina and befitting of its 34 years, but I will sharpen her up a little where it's not too time consuming. One thing that will get sorted for certain is the head blasted and repainted. This will coincide with new piston/rings.
I have a couple of questions for you guys.....I can't remove the screen from the cockpit fairing. On the modern bikes, you simply push the centre pin and it loosens the fixing. I'm baffled by this one....the centre pin isn't budging
Outside
Inside
Next question....How do you restore the plastic screen? Not many scratches on it but it is very cloudy??
Big brother...little brother. Only 190 horses difference!
Meet Derek, my 1982 Kawasaki AR80
I bought this for a bit of fun, a bit of nostalgia and a bit of a project. I doubt I will make a penny on it should I sell it, but it was bought as a keeper and a user....in summer of course.
I gave it a bit of a check over when I first got it home, but due to work and family commitments had been unable to make the first official step until this weekend. The bike was imported by a friend from France, so it came with a NOVA certificate and one of these....
With a bit of time on my hands, I stuck it in the van and took it to a local MoT station. The chaps at the station were all over it which I think helped getting the pass. The only sticking point was the 6v electrics and the need to rev to get the indicators flashing. I forgot how bad 6v electrics could be. The horn had everyone laughing, the sound being similar to a train horn from about 20 miles away.
I now have all the paperwork ready to send to get the bike registered here and get an age related plate.
The next step was to get everything ready for sending off to the sprayers. Over time the plastic panels have deepened in colour. Stripping the panels, tank, mudguard etc took all of an hour. So much easier than stripping modern bikes
The frame has got areas of flaking paint/rust spots but generally it's not in too bad a condition. I don't plan to give it a full nut and bolt restoration as I would prefer it with some signs of patina and befitting of its 34 years, but I will sharpen her up a little where it's not too time consuming. One thing that will get sorted for certain is the head blasted and repainted. This will coincide with new piston/rings.
I have a couple of questions for you guys.....I can't remove the screen from the cockpit fairing. On the modern bikes, you simply push the centre pin and it loosens the fixing. I'm baffled by this one....the centre pin isn't budging
Outside
Inside
Next question....How do you restore the plastic screen? Not many scratches on it but it is very cloudy??
Big brother...little brother. Only 190 horses difference!
pozi said:
The first bike I ever used on the road was an AR50, at 16 I felt like a hero whizzing along at 35mph.
Fast forward 20 years and I had the opportunity to ride one again, what a disappointment and hence I now liken a 50cc to sex, what you thought was great at 16 is actually pretty rubbish once you have some experience under your belt.
Is an AR80 more like sex in your late teens? As in you still had a lot to learn but at least you knew about the "power band"
I've been a 2 stroke man most of my lifeFast forward 20 years and I had the opportunity to ride one again, what a disappointment and hence I now liken a 50cc to sex, what you thought was great at 16 is actually pretty rubbish once you have some experience under your belt.
Is an AR80 more like sex in your late teens? As in you still had a lot to learn but at least you knew about the "power band"
podman said:
I love Derek...smashing project, good to see your well under way with the registration.
Never seen that type of fitting before, I know if you flip an AR80 into a concrete support pillar in a multi storey car park, the cockpit fairing as a whole pops off rather easily..
These boys are the AR geeks and having been in a few magazines with their ARs so im sure they will know.
http://www.holmetech.co.uk/
Thanks for the link Bryan. I got in touch with them, and as Graham22 had suggested, they are single use rivetsNever seen that type of fitting before, I know if you flip an AR80 into a concrete support pillar in a multi storey car park, the cockpit fairing as a whole pops off rather easily..
These boys are the AR geeks and having been in a few magazines with their ARs so im sure they will know.
http://www.holmetech.co.uk/
podman said:
Hows Derek at the mo?!
Haven't done anything to it since I stripped it. I need to make contact with the painter as my next moveI had thought about putting a big bore kit on it, but to be honest the 9 or 10 horsepower it has is more than enough for me
These things are really light, probably 80kg's or thereabouts. Not sure I'd want to be on it on a windy day
The bike is altogether however whilst preparing it for its MoT a couple of weeks ago, I discovered that the front brake wasn't operating the rear light. Further investigation found that a cable had snapped where it goes into the brake lever. Easy enough a job I thought....well it would have been if 1. I had the hands the size of a Japanese midget and 2. the new cable that was sent actually worked. After ordering another and taking the knuckles off my hands.......job done
All booked in for the MoT on Saturday so I went in the garage just to give it the once over. Everything was working but seemed very lazy, ie indicators flashing really really slowly. So I whipped the battery out to give it a bit of a boost for an hour. I stuck it back and guess what....? f
k all workedDerek, you are a little b
dBiker's Nemesis said:
Check the fuses.
Yes, 6v. I have tried bypassing the battery and firing it up. Everything then works apart from the indicators. The bike only has one fuse which has been removed, looked at for damage, the holder cleaned although there was no sign of corrosion, and the holder prongs squeezed in a bit to make sure its sitting in correctly.Still no joy
Prof Prolapse said:
Bear with me as I could be talking st... Brake light wasn't working, therefore one bulb less, so incorrect wattage could be hidden.
Brake light connected, one bulb more added, wattage then exceeds unit, so slow flash?
t... Brake light wasn't working, therefore one bulb less, so incorrect wattage could be hidden.Brake light connected, one bulb more added, wattage then exceeds unit, so slow flash?
But it was all working before the cable for the brake light snapped. So all lights have been working correctly together in the past
Derek is fking with my head
I thought I would start at the beginning tonight, so I stuck the battery back in and connected it. Turned the ignition on ........ horn working. Brake lights....all good. Indicators......yes, no, yes,no.
I will systematically go round checking all connections, earth and change the fuse. The only thing that is not original on these is the earth. This has snapped at some point and had been rescrewed into the frame. All the connections I have touched so far are all tight and in their plastic sleeves.
The little sod
king with my headI thought I would start at the beginning tonight, so I stuck the battery back in and connected it. Turned the ignition on ........ horn working. Brake lights....all good. Indicators......yes, no, yes,no.
I will systematically go round checking all connections, earth and change the fuse. The only thing that is not original on these is the earth. This has snapped at some point and had been rescrewed into the frame. All the connections I have touched so far are all tight and in their plastic sleeves.
The little sod
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