<- Newb. Learn me about the KE Enduros?

Since there wasnt a KErider.com, I figured I'd post here.

Wanted something older and a bit different and I ended up with two old KE Enduros. One is a 79 KE175 (really a parts bike) and a nice 81 KE125.

I'm planning on making one real nice bike out of the two of them for miscellaneous beating around town and commuting to and from work.

Here's some misc questions:

I've been doing some reading that claims that the 125 bike was quite a pain in the ass when it came to starting. How true is this and if it is, what are some things I can do to remedy it? The 175 seems to have an intact CDI Ignition, is it possible to swap this over to the 125?

The carbs are switched between the two. Is having the 175 carb on the 125 going to gain me anything or should I switch it back over?

My goal, unless advised otherwise, is to restore the 125 to tip top shape and see if I can conjure up any mods for it. Any help in this arena would be excellent.

Thats all for now, I'd appreciate any input here. Thanks folks!

With fresh points the 125s start good.
I have a KE 100,ridable.Want to start
a collection? 100 bucks.

Nah, I've got more projects than this laying around, none of which are done.

This is just a side fun thing.

Anyone else with any input here?

I have a 1974 Ks125 Enduro that my son and I restored. It has only 7800 miles on it and runs great.

I found that these motors flood really easy, and even if the bike is going to sit for a few minutes you have to turn the petcock off as the carbs flood very quickly.

I would guess that the carbs are pretty similar between the 125 and 175 but there must be a slight difference in the jetting to feed the extra cc's. Check on www.buykawasaki.com to compare the carb part numbers. BTW a good cleaning of the carb might be a good idea.

I also found that the idle screw adustment is extremely sensitive to even the slightest movements. Luckily my driveway has a nice decline and if the bike doesn't start on the first few kicks I just roll it down the hill and pop the clutch out in second gear. Works every time, even when it was below freezing outside.

Cheers-Colin Firth-Ontario Canada