Left fork leg
Seeing as l sealed the engine up for washing and painting, I'll just pop it in here and blast off any loose paint
The frame has 'Made in Japan' stamped on the head stem and this cast in the cases.
There's some minor fin profiling and tidying up of the cases to do prior to cleaning for paint.
Started on the forks. 400 wet.
1000 wet and some metal polish. It looks ok standing next to the bike. lm not going to try and polish out 32 years of history.
The view from the seat will be the same as any original 175 or 250 we have here in Oz. The speedo and mount are 175 and the ignition switch is 250. They're not the bars lm using.
I've used Devcon to fill most of the damage to the cases. This is high temp primer that lm using it as a filler, let dry sand it flat, over and over.........
l used the same method to finish the repairs on the pipe for the 250. Lots of wet and dry but the pipe looked like new and there's been no deterioration that l can see.
This is what l started with.
And this is what the pipe looked like after l got it back from being repaired.
The 450 pipe has some minor dints to be fixed so I'll be using this method to finish it off.
MOST SIGNIFICANT PART FIND OF THE RESTORATION
lm sure everyone has at least one part that is the most difficult if not impossible to find. (l stick to air cooled unitrak drum brake kdx's so a lot of the parts l need are already here)
For me it was the bash plate. These models 420/450 are pretty thin on the ground so parts that are specific to this model that l need are like gold. This bash plate was shared between the kdx 400/420/450. One turned up a few weeks ago on eBay and even though it has some melt damage at the front at least l have on to repair. l really didn't think I'd find one
The blinkers go on the rear. They're off a later model Kawasaki and are the correct Stanley item and identical to the 80's version. They turn up now and then so l buy them when l see them.
Got the engine into primer. The silver on the top is hi temp. The black primer on the bottom holds onto the alloy really well, much better than the hi temp did..... maybe its the cold weather Huh 2 coats of each. I'll check for any areas l missed before the last primer coat. The side covers need a bit more sanding to get them right but we're close to getting the engine back in the frame.
l painted this afternoon while it was 15 c. In the box with the heater it got to a pleasant 35c. l have a infra red thermometer for plating so l checked
2 genuine used front guards arrived today from the US. $55.00 AU each delivered. They have good color though 1 is blotchy and the other has some gravel rash which is nearly gone after a bit of a scrape. This is the one lm going to use, only the top front of the guard needs work. They have different part numbers but l cant tell them apart.
The Stanley headlight lm going to use has been painted and not a good color match to the guard. I fitted the bars l was going to use but after fitting the blinkers the bar profile doesn't work so l need Kawasaki bars, these ones are of a PE.
A view only the restorer could love
cutting and pasting from another location. The bike is well on the way to being finished.
These parts come off a 175 swingarm stored around the back of the shed.
