W1 650

That's pretty much what I'm looking for Mike.  How long have you had it?

I bought a friend's W1 collection in 2005, minus the Meguro he had previously sold. There was a complete very nice red W1 that I rode just a bit, took to a couple shows, and then sold it to a collector in G.B. who was having a local dealer load up containers of bikes and ship them to him. The rest of the pile included a "roller" with the top end removed, a couple engines and gearboxes, and parts from at least one disassembled bike.  In 2020, newly fully retired and bored, I installed the extra W1 engine, which to my amazement was free and had compression into the roller.  I'll try the photos again, my 1st attempt I edited away because they came out as thumbnails even though I swear I hit the insert all button? ( didn't want to piss of D.D.!)

Dammit!  

Another try:

That try was successful.

Oh no not DD. He’s always lurking. lol

That bike has a very British look.  


 

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That bike has a very British look.  



 

You just need to slacken a few casing bolts so it pukes oil and it would be perfect 

wrote:

wrote:

That bike has a very British look.  




 

You just need to slacken a few casing bolts so it pukes oil and it would be perfect 

LOL!!!  There is a motorcycle museum just up the highway from me called Dreamcycle.  (They have a website). I asked the owner, Mark if he had any engine oil leaks on his British bikes.  He said they were all emptied before going into the museum but they STILL leaked!

Krazee, is that the roller you put an engine into?

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You just need to slacken a few casing bolts so it pukes oil and it would be perfect 

 In the LBC world we say, if it's not leaking oil you need to add some more. 
 

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This bike is insanely COOL!  

How hard is it to start one of these beasts?  I'd love a bike like this, but my knee may not be able to start the damn thing!

"Krazee, is that the roller you put an engine into?"   Yes!  I have a video of some old guy riding it in my pasture if I can figure out how to post it. 

Mike 

How hard is it to start one of these beasts?  I'd love a bike like this, but my knee may not be able to start the damn thing!

It kind of depends on the bike's "mood" Ed!  The bike originally was equipped with an "air shutter"(choke) and a "tickler", a button on the carb that depresses the float. The air shutter is not connected at this point, so in cool/cold weather it sometimes requires more kicks than I like.  A little spritz of gas in the spark plug holes usually speeds up the process, it is very rewarding to hear all 50 ponies roar to life! 

Mike  

It's in remarkable shape for its age.  Did Kawasaki use Takasago rims back then?  What size are the wheels?

The rake looks to be more than a Z1.