Things are hotting up...

OK, Max (the new bub) has been great so I haven’t been idol, just erratic...

After riding to the Mountain Goat run and having a partial heat seize (due to pushing an engine I knew was not set-up right) and, subsequentially being effortlessly passed by a Gileria Runner 180 the whole way, I decided to rethink my engine direction. After a bit of research (including looking at fuel injection and Orbital’s direct injection) I decided that a Kawasaki KDX 200 top end was the best way of getting modern performance out of an old engine. Rather than being off the road for ages though, I am getting some new cases in to hack away at.


Yes 2 - 1991 (with "the" bad power valve) and another a 1996


In other news I have started the process of making the scooter more aerodynamic (plus replacing some front end bits for good measure). The first step is to replace the front guard with a smaller one (bought from SIP, unfortunately it needs some modification to fit a disc model). I also need to work out where to fit the radiator.


Headless scooter

To do the above required dismantling the whole front end and I am now faced with a whole bunch of wires that need to be reconnected… bugger it I thought, I may as well do more as I never what to remove the headset again… so on the way I have some :

* Stebel Nautilus Compact Dual-Tone, 139 dB air horns (after an incident riding Laura’s scooter).
* HID Xenon H4 head light kit (which I’ve always wanted since my spots lights failed)
* Extra wiring so that I can hook up more gadgets with easy
* Maybe some LED indicators (if I can find some flat ones)

Back on the Pinasco front, www.electrosil.com.au gave the cylinder a light hone and it came up great. With a thick base gasket it managed to get to Mt Gambier and back (over 1000km full throttle), without problems, even with a flat piston top! However, I did have issues with the exhaust stub. ANYONE FITTING AN EXHUAST TO AN ALUMINUM STUB, MAKE SURE IT IS ALWAYS TIGHT!!!! Once the wear happens, it will stop holding correctly and you’ll go through exhausts every few thousand k’s! I have resolved the issue on the dodgey cylinder with springs.


spring loading

Once I get the scoot back on the road I’ll be re-profiling the head (based on a standard head) and fitting a Mikuni 30mm carb (with autolube!). I have a new Pinasco kit on standby but I’ll see how much my current one can take as a sacrificial kit for the furtherment of science!