1970 & 1971 Kawasaki 100cc G4TR's

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Catbox

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In my history of not finishing projects, I have continued doing just that....

Enter a pair of vintage Kawasaki 2 stroke dirt bikes.
Max has been looking dirt bikes off and on for the last few weeks as a couple of his buddies have them.
To get him started I suggested a vintage bike that is cheap that might just need some work to get back on its wheels.
Plus a decent looking vintage bike makes for a cool thing to put in the bed of the truck when going to a car show or gathering.
To do that, they don't have to run, just a cool period static display if you will.

So he found this pair of bikes on Marketplace and they were only a couple miles away.
Contact was made and the seller had some guys coming to look on Wednesday, but they passed.
We also checked the internet parts inventory and there seems to be plenty of parts out there for them still.
Otherwise, we would have passed as well.

So we cruised over on Thursday and decided they looked like a good pair of projects to see if we could breathe some life back into them.
Dan had them listed for $500 for the pair of bikes and a factory service manual.
When Max sent him a request for more information, Dan replied with $300 is as low as I will go.
OOoooohhhhhh-kay.
Sweet.
We didn't even have to work him over to get the price down.

Dan is a hoarder.
His wife is telling him to sell off his random crap he will never get too.
He does have a pretty nice looking 1960 Impala he will be selling soon as well.

Anyway, I used my Silverado to pick them up and haul them home.
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This one is nicer looking and the 1970 bike.
It has most of the street legal stuff on it still, though we will just be using them off road.
I will be taking this one as mine, I mean I paid for them so I get first dibs...
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This one from 1971 and has been stripped of the lights and what not for a more straight up dirt bike feel.
It took some digging through the internet, but that exhaust pipe looks to be an aftermarket pipe from Hooker.
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They both need work for sure, but they kick over easy and seem to have good compression.
Kawasaki has a full parts breakdown on their web page that allows you quick access to the part numbers.
Using that it is pretty easy to search for specific parts for the bike.
 

Catbox

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10 speeds.
Yup, you read that right, these have a high and low range in the gearbox or sumpin.
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Literature for the bikes to help us get them back into running shape.
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Very nice key for one of them.
I can still find these online, the other side has the key code stamped into it.
I just need to figure out what the cylinder for the other bike is keyed to so I can order it.
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Cool bit of information on one of the pipes for the bikes.
Neither one has what looks to be the stock pipe on it.
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mxer147

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Get em in good working order and hit a local vintage race, could be fun riding with others competing on similar equipment. Caution, riding something newer will make you second guess your decision. The price is certainly right. I used to buy bikes like that for $20 back in the 80s, usually didn’t run. Most of the time it was points or carbs needing maintenance. I would always pour a tablespoon of fuel in the spark plug hole, give it a kick to see if it would fire.
 

Catbox

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Caution, riding something newer will make you second guess your decision.
One of the reasons we are starting here as well.
One of the other reasons is he doesn't want to drop $2-3k on a new to him hobby right now.
Gotta set the hook and then step up to bigger and better.

I just told him to watch On Any Sunday for more inspiration.
 

Catbox

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I am a moron.

I know better than to peruse Marketplace.
Anyway, I saw this ad for an old dirt bike that needs some attention, but ran last year.
His price was $350 or trade for SBC parts...

We went back and forth some and he wanted a full set of 1.6 rockers and the best I had was a mixed set of Comp roller rockers that are 1.52 / 1.6.
He didn't know why he would want the mixed set and I wasn't going to tell him why.
So I offered him $250 and a Holley mechanical fuel pump and he took the offer.

I sent Max to pick it up and here it is.
Have I done anything to the other two bikes, no.
But this one runs-ish and I have seen it do so with mine own eyes.
So there is that.

So here is my new to me Yamaha IT125 that has been upsized to a 175 with a new jug, head, and piston.
It was advertised as a 1981 IT175 and the internet had different ideas.
So with a bit of sluethery, it is a 1981 IT125 and bigger engine.
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It sputtered to life and puked oil everywhere out of the exhaust while running.
Definitely needs the carb and reeds looked after.
Also new basics like tires, chain/sprockets, new cables, and new brakes.
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Shorty81

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Yamaha never made a IT125. They were 175-250-400. I had a IT175 that I raced Hair Scrambles in 80, 81.
 

Shorty81

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Good score there Cat. Only if you follow through on restoration, lol
 

mxer147

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Take the plug out of the exhaust (silencer) and it will roar to life. It’s probably plugged and causing it to run pig rich.
 

Catbox

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Yamaha never made a IT125. They were 175-250-400. I had a IT175 that I raced Hair Scrambles in 80, 81.
That is cool that you used to race an IT back when they were new.

This one most definitely started life as a 125.
My bike has the crossover exhaust like this one shown below.
Exhaust pipe exits on the left side of the bike and has the white fenders.
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On the 175 from 1981, the exhaust came out of the same side it went in on.
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Looks like it's got some aftermarket upholstery!!!!!
That is part of the alure...
High speed tape for helping you to hang on while wide open in 6th gear!
 

Shorty81

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Well, egg on my face!! Didn't know this. We used to hang out at our local Darbyshire Yamaha dealer, drooled over a lot of new dirtbikes. Never seen this one before. Cool!!
 

Catbox

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Here is the cold start video of when we first brought it home and put some fuel into it to see if it would come to life or not.
It took just a couple of kicks to get it to light off...

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mxer147

83 K20, 350 vortec, 465, 208, 14/10, 4.10, 33s
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Shouldn’t need to buy any bug spray!
 

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