My First Post & My First Buffalo

pikeslayer · Post by **pikeslayer** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 10:12 am

No compression yet, but turning over by hand felt reassuring. I will post up compression results.

Can anyone tell me what years and models that this handlebar part number fits 56111-33000 ?

Tom Garcia · Post by **Tom Garcia** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 10:35 am

GT250/GT380/GT550

Post by **Suzsmokeyallan** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 12:02 pm

Yes you should read the manual VERY carefully, ask us tons of questions as we will not get tired of you doing so,, SERIOUSLY...
Heres a little checklist i came up with for you to consider.
Remove the fuel tank petcock and check the three filter screens.
Inspect the tanks innards and clean it out if necessary with some water based rust remover.
Remove the carb rack and clean them throughly and do the air jet mod if its not done already.
Check the float levels and adjust them to spec if necessary and get new bowl gaskets.
Check the six rubber boots on the intake and air cleaner sides of the carbs, if they are hard in any way, get new ones as air leaks will create havoc on you and the engine. Make sure the six metal clamps on them are in good condition
Perform a cylinder compression test and see what figures you get.
Get some new B8ES NGK spark plugs.
Check the points and condensers, if the points look acceptable clean them up, get at least three new condensers since you do not know the age of these items on the bike.
Adjust the points gaps and set the timing statically for now, make sure your battery is good and holding a charge.
Make sure the airfilter is clean and the sponge is freshly oiled.
Change the tranmsission fluid.
Drain and refill the coolant if it looks suspect or just because you should.
Remove the premix oil tank and clean it, put in a good quality two stroke oil.
You can bleed the line to the oil pump once its been refilled.
Ok after this long will of things to do, you'll be close to ready for a test fire.

Stock GT handlebar number for the KLMAB models are 56111-31000 not sure about the 33000.
Maybe member H2Rick can supply a superseded verification number, or is it another bar altogether.

two-stroke-brit · Post by **two-stroke-brit** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 12:06 pm

hi i used webshots and it worked for my avatar.
but still woring it out.
mark

Barry S. · Post by **Barry S.** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 12:24 pm

Take the pipes off and get some chrome cleaner. I have used a 6" felt buffer on a drill with some polishing rouge after the chrome cleaner with great results. The bike looks like a great candidate for a runner with a little work, congrats!

pikeslayer · Post by **pikeslayer** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 8:38 am

How do you tell if the crank seals need replaced?

Suzukidave · Post by **Suzukidave** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 9:22 am

A leak down test is a good start http://www.kawasakimotorcycle.org/forum ... -20-a.html

pikeslayer · Post by **pikeslayer** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 11:38 am

Are there any symptoms associated with leaking crank seals? Rough idle, etc.?

Suzukidave · Post by **Suzukidave** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 12:35 pm

Yes , there can be signs of a failed seal or seals and like in your question a poor idle or a cylinder that drops out just to start running again as you pick up RPM's and also if its one of the seals open to the tranny a failure can allow transmission oil to be pulled into the cylinder causeing heavy smoke . But even with these signs of failed seals this can also be caused by carb problems or injector oil pump / line problems or even blocked pipes . So the only real test besides inspection would be a vacuum / pressure test.

pikeslayer · Post by **pikeslayer** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 9:16 am

Thanks Dave! Anyone have a battery recommendation/model number?

markj · Post by **markj** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 9:55 am

pikeslayer wrote:Thanks Dave! Anyone have a battery recommendation/model number?

Wal mart sells a lead acid battery for the Buffalo. I bought one and it seem to be holding up fine.

Suzukidave · Post by **Suzukidave** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:06 am

If this GT is a keeper i highly suggest getting a sealed gel type battery , they cost a bit more but they dont need water added and they will not puke acid like the vented ones do .

Post by **Suzsmokeyallan** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 12:16 pm

Its a personal taste thing i make sure my vent hose is routed properly and attached in a way so it wont spill acid if it should vent on the part where it exits the frame.
I do this because i have a regular old school battery which i like to be able to maintain the levels visually.

tz375 · Post by **tz375** » Wed Nov 04, 2009 5:33 pm

I understand where Allan is coming from, but looking at the level only tells us two things - the level and where the plates are badly sulphated.

I used to want to see the level, but I'm happy to use a battery that doesn't spill, even if something falls over and seeing isn't believing, so I prefer to use a good battery charger rather than believing my eyes.

But it's a personal call.

BAck to those crank seals. There is an extremely high possibility that teh seals are shot after sitting so long. I have had a couple of old stale cranks stripped and so far only one actually turned out to have seals that might have worked. the other 2 cranks were shot on at least 1 seal.

To test them, as Dave suggests, it needs each cylinder to hold about 4-6 psi for 4-6 minutes of positive pressure and then negative pressure (the seals work both ways).

You can buy an expensive test set from Motion pro or make your own from parts from the hardware store plus the hand pressure bulb from a Sphygmomometer (sp?). You can also use a bicycle pump for that.

pikeslayer · Post by **pikeslayer** » Mon Nov 09, 2009 8:00 am

Thanks for the battery and leak down suggestions guys. Now I need some advice on a seat. I don't think I can be seen on this bike with it's current seat, but I don't plan to restore it for at least a couple years. Where could I get a "stock looking" seat without paying the big bucks for an original?

My First Post & My First Buffalo

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