Fixing the Oil Leak

I've had a slight oil leak for many years coming from somewhere I could never tell. As it turns out, I'm pretty sure it was from the water pump oil seal. I found a post here http://voyagerxii.4kaztwylde.com/wyzard_helps_hints/index_new.htm (there's a link to part 1 and 2 of the repair at the bottom of the page - items 59 and 60) that explained my leak and is an excellent guide to fixing it. So I tore into it last weekend. The parts came while I was on travel this week. Tonight or tomorrow I plan to put it back together. I might add pictures to this post, but probably not since those at the the link are very good. I figure I won't replace the fluids until I need to, in case some other modification comes up (certainly re-mounting the radiator and maybe an oil cooler). Someone remind me to put oil and coolant in it before I start it (actually I put a not on the key).

For anyone else out there wanting to fix this problem, note the Kawasaki part number in the link - I could not find the seal on any of the online OEM parts drawings. I ended up having to chat with some one at BikeBandit.com who found it based on the part number and description and then cross referenced it to their part number. The seal and four O-rings set me back $35 with S&H. I think the estimated 4 hours to repair (stated in the link) is about right.

Test Fit the Body to the Frame

Last weekend, I bolted the frame to the bike and test fitted it to see what problems I may have. (Recall the body kit was made for a CB750). It looks pretty good all together, BUT . . .
As you can see in the two of the pictures at the end of this post, the body is a little short (or the bike a little long). The tire interferes with the rear of the body.

I don't think this is going to be a major problem. My current solution is to notch out the body there and let the tire stick out a little. I also plan on using a slightly smaller (diameter) tire, so that should help the problem. Right now, I'm going to do nothing about it and proceed.

I also investigated a small oil leak I've had for years - more in the next post.


You might be able to tell from these photos that the bottom of the rear fairing springs out slightly wide - not sure what to do about that yet. I may end up adding some steel stiffeners to hold it in.

Tire interferes a little (These picture were take with the camera nearly on the ground, looking up.)

If I have to notch the body, I don't think it will have to be more than the the turned-in part. But if necessary I could notch the whole area where the license plate is to mount (just below the hole, which is where the tail light goes). But then where to put the plate?

Frame Complete

I finished cutting and welding the last frame mount (diagonal 2"x0.25" flat bar) and welded 4"-6"x0.25" flat-bar re-enforcements to the open side of the C-channel between the mounting holes. The C-channel is 1"x2"x3/16". Everything looks to bolt up real nice. I painted everything I welded. I had some primer and old blue engine paint that I used since it is only to protect the metal and won't be visible. All mounting bolts, except the upper U-bolts (frame-to-downtubes) are grade 8. There will be two upper U-bolts (one each side) that are 5/16", but I plan to upgrade those to 3/8" if I can find them. There will also be one 7/16" bolt and three 3/8" bolts on each side. I've cut spacers for all but the widest two mounting points, the 7/16" bolts, as they defined the width of the frame. They will be threaded into where the engine guard was mounted (I drilled them out a little and re-tapped). I could not use through bolts here since the bottom of the hole in the boss is centered on the frame. Two of the other bolts will be through a boss welded at the bottom of the engine mounts, which was where the other engine guard bolted. I drilled this boss out a little too, and will through-bolt it. The other four are to the peg mounts. The left side I drilled out and will put through bolts, the right side I had to drill and tap since there was no access to where the nut would go on the back. All will have lock washers.

I think this will be plenty strong as the plan called for the U's (5/16") plus two threaded rods that spanned all the way across, one through an engine mount (~3/8") at the other where the pegs mounted (12mm) (I think). 11 hours.

Most of tomorrow will be spent picking up, cleaning up, and planing the next steps. If I have time, I'm going to bolt it up and test-fit the body to see if any modifications need to be made to accomodated using the Voyager XII powerplant.

Pre Blog Notes and Q&A on the Project

Here's some email correspondence (some editted, some to myself in anticipation of starting my first blog).

4/2/08 wrecked Voyager XII. Power train is sound, but mirrors, fairings, windshield, bags, etc are all toast. Not worthwhile to try to fix in a meaningful way.

~8/15/08 Start looking into ways to save money on gas. Motorcycle is a decent option, but sucks in bad weather. Small car is okay, but prices for those are going up and not very sporty. Enter RT. Spent about 6 weeks investigating options. The main ones were build from scratch, build from scratch using VW front end, or get this partially completed body and frame kit from A. H. in KY.

9/20-21/08 I started tearing off damaged and unnecessary pieces and cleaning off grease and grime. I estimate I've removed 150-200 lbs and the front fairing framework is still in place, and the front forks are still attached.

9/27/08 Bought body and frame kit from A.H. Now I'm fairly committed to the project. My goal is to have it licensed by May 2009.

9/28/08 Spent 4 hrs cleaning the shop and making room for the kit pieces. I got the cycle running, but the engine is missing on the far right cylinder most of the time. It has good spark. My compression tester does not have an adapter that fits; however, I suspect it is not getting fuel (spraying carb cleaner in the air intake increases RPM). Plan to further investigate next weekend. I may end up pulling the carbs and cleaning/disassembling. Also, the bike battery is over a year old and is shot, however, I'm waiting to buy a new battery since I will likely use a small car battery and mount it up front.

10/2/08 Bought $12.50 worth of chemical (Sea Foam and B-12). I put 16 oz in the (empty) tank and added about .5 gallon gas. Ran it, drained carbs, repeat. Left it in carb and will run again this weekend. It seems to run worse - starts and idles ok (still missing on one cylinder), but wants to die if you open the throttle. You can pump the throttle and get the RPM up, also helps to have choke on. The choke always makes the RPM go up. I need to decide whether I want to work to fix this bike (if it starts requiring expensive parts and/or excessive time) or look for another. Certainly I will keep my eyes out for a good deal.

10/4/2008: Plugs/Chem; Carb cleaner, spray and another bottle of SeaFoam, PB, and plugs

10/5/2008 fuel line, chem. Spray carb cleaner and new fuel line. (didn't clean good enough the first time.) Runs better than ever now only a slight hesitation at 3-4K RPM that I am pretty sure is due to the vacuum slides being slow to open. I think it's pulling the front wheel up when winding out 1st gear (of course fairings and other weight are already removed.)

10/10 (email)
The wreck damaged the fairing, bags, trunk, windshield, etc. It still ran afterwards – and the radio works! (no antenna though) I’m hoping the cruise still works too. I don’t have it licensed now, so I can’t really check – though I might try to set it with the bike on the main stand. Everything mechanical seems ok, except the right handlebar is cocked a little.

I picked up a body and frame kit for a FireAero off of Craigslist (see pictures). It has a widened VW frontend. I figured it would save me a lot of time and I wasn’t looking forward to building the body. However, I may have a bit of glass work to do since this body was made for a 750 (I may have to lengthen it or cut a slot to let the rear tire stick out). The guy I bought it from used to own this one: http://www.angelfire.com/pa/fireaerotrikes/page2.html (it’s a slightly different model of the FireAero made for a Goldwing in the back.)

My Kaw had been sitting for a while and wasn’t running well (took a while for my leg to heal (but at least no broken bones) and it had fairing hanging off that had to be removed). I just got the carbs good and clean – running great now, with just a little hesitation when opening her up. I think one or two of the vacuum slides are slow to react. With the trunk, bags, and rear mounting hardware off, the backend is quite light and can be squirrely when she kicks in! Next I need to figure out if my hydraulic clutch master cylinder will work if turned vertical (to mount on the shift lever). Then rip the forks off, get started on mounting it to the FireAero frame, then controls, instruments, lights, brakes, paint, windshield, etc. - lots of work! Not to mention fabricating a reverse and hopefully some doors, but those will be after licensing. In a few years, I may be looking for another XII, depending on how many miles I put on this thing – my Kaw has 104K + on it now.

Scott
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From: K. B. Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 7:21 PM Subject: Reverse trike??

Hi, are you planning to follow the Tri-Magnum style of trike, which involves a frame bolted to the bike frame, drop the front, and use a VW bug (1960-70) front end?
I used to own a 1984 ZN1300, had an accident in 04, have since bought an 01 XII.

Friend bought my old we stripped it down to the good parts, which was the frame, motor, and rear drive.
He got the plans off the net for the Trimagnum.

See below for conversions.

http://images.google.ca/images?hl=en&q=tri+magnum&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2

Let me know I am curious.

K. B.

10/19
I think we must think alike – I’m considered much of the below. I hadn’t thought of modifying the boot to get to the shaft, but sounds hard and may open it up to contaminants. The problem I’ve heard with using starter (or any other) motor, is that it’s simply ON-OFF which can be jerky, but it still seems that it might be the easiest. I’ve recently considered getting a cheap winch (Harbor Freight has for $50) and mounting a small tire to the spool (which should already have bearing that are meant for heavy load) and then having a mechanism push it against a tire.

My leading idea is still to mount a 2-3” cylinder with bearings on a shaft and use a linear actuator (electric) or a linkage attached somewhere near the main stand to push the cylinder against the front of the rear tire while letting out the clutch. Then theory has it that the rear tire will climb up on the cylinder rising off the ground, and now you’re riding on the cylinder under engine power in reverse. I may need to have a emergency brake attached to the front wheel to make this work, but maybe not since the only time I’d use reverse is at worst if the bike is level, but likely it wants to roll forward (then the cylinder would chuck the rear tire). The front brake may be necessary to get it down from the cylinder though. This is still so far down the road that I haven’t put serious thought into it yet, but I like using the engine’s power and clutch.

Scott


From: K. B.
Sent: Monday, October 13, 2008 3:39 PM
Subject: Re: Reverse trike??

When Don got his tub together, he went and installed a short steering shaft with a quick release steering wheel, much better for getting in and out., he put the clutch, brake, and gas at his feet, and the shifter on the left (European style)
For reverse he is looking at a small starter, modify the boot between the motor and swing arm shaft, and run reverse with a chain- he is trying to find the right free-wheeling clutch and gear ratio at the moment.

Take your time, I would consider that project a stress releaser from regular job, and enjoy it.

I am looking forward to building my workshop/garage within next 2 yrs just for that.

If you could find the controls and compressor off a 1300 or goldwing, or even a plain compressor on a switch, you could have remote for the rear air shock.

While you are building, you may already have considered LCD lighting, allows much more lights with less drain on alternator and battery.

Later

K.B
----- Original Message -----
From: Scot
To: 'K.B.
Sent: Monday, October 13, 2008 8:49 AM
Subject: RE: Reverse trike??

Re: Master Cylinder Mounting.
The brake MC (probably from a VW) will be on the floor linking the front and rear, with a proportioning valve limiting pressure to the rear. The clutch is to be on the shift lever. I took off the reservoir cap and looked at the drawing in the manual. The port is on the bottom of the reservoir on the side of the lever, so if it is mounted with the lever down and the reservoir up, I thought it would still work. I ran it Friday night with the handlebar end off and the lever/MC vertical and cycled the clutch about 30-40 times and it seemed to work fine. So I think I will continue down this path.

Testing the cruise on the main stand didn’t work – Brain fart: The front wheel needs to turn to input the speed that the cruise is trying to maintain. Oh well, I’ll find out once its together on the trike.

I’m going to see if I can post a journal w/pictures somewhere on the net – I’ll let you know. I’ve never done anything like that before. If you have suggestions, let me know.

Scott

From: K. B.
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 5:25 PM
Subject: Re: Reverse trike??

Scott
I don't think the master cylinder was meant to work vertical, something about the holes being on the bottom.

Another option is to place the master cylinder at your feet because the front wheels will require more fluid to apply than
the calipers on the bike.
Looks like a keeper to me, best of luck with the fabrication, and do try to keep that rear wheel from spinning ;-)

K.B.
=============================
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Email from me: 10/13/08
I never had an aftermarket fork brace - I lived with the shimmy at around 25-30 mph for 46K miles (the bike has 104.5K). I could never justify the cost of an aftermarket brace when a firm grip on the handlebars took care of it. However, when I put the new Marathon front tire on about 800 miles ago it seemed to get quite a bit better (less wobble).

Not certain about "never before attempted." I read on someone's blog (or somewhere online) how a voyager was a good choice due to low gearing and 15" rear tire that a narrow car tire could be mounted on - I will probably mount a 155R70-15.

As far as posting pictures, etc., I'll see if I can get my wife to figure out how/where to put up an online diary/journal for this project - whatever the internet term for that is. As for now, here's a few pictures of the kit I bought (which doesn't mount up to the Kaw without mods).

Scott
VA

-----Original Message-----
From: M.K
Sent: Saturday, October 11, 2008 11:04 PM
To: Scott
Subject: voyager parts

Hi Scott, Just noticed your ad for Voyager parts for sale. I am interested in an aftermarket fork brace. Also, am curious about your reverse trike project. Certainly a concept never before attempted with a Voyager. When will you be sharing photos, etc., with the curious
Voyager nation? Thanks, M. K.

First Post

I'm setting up this blog to document the construction of my reverse trike (RT); that is a motorized three wheel vehicle (officially a motorcylce) with two steerable wheels in the front, and one drive wheel in the back. The drive wheel is powered by a motorcycle engine - essentially by everything powertrain related on the bike. Please forgive any stupidities in the construction of this blog - its my first time (be gentle). There's alot of stuff in this post to catch up to where I am now.

Here's some pictures of the kit I bought in Kentucky last month. It included a body, front axle, steering rack, frame (minus the motorcycle parts), wheels, construction manual, and some various controls and other hardware.

I'm told it was a kit that was produced in the 80's, but never completed. It was made for a Honda CB 750 to bolt up.

I have a 1990 Kawasaki Voyager XII with 104,5xx mile on it that I essentially totalled April 2008. I've already made sure it is still running good (removed and cleaned carbs, replaced plugs) and stripped it down. I will use it to power the RT.

So far (after getting the bike tuned up) I've spent about 40 hours stripping the bike and modifying the back of the frame to mount the Voyager to it. Most of this was on frame modifications and welding - I'm not that proficient of a welder.

I removed the front axle from the frame to make handling easier.

Lined up, not quite finished or bolted together yet. It took quite a bit of time and measuring to ensure the bike frame and the RT frame would be mounted level.

The diagonal upright piece of flat stock needs to be cut, drilled and welded to the frame yet. It will stiffen it and provide one more mounting point to a boss on the bottom of the engine mount. You can see the boss on the picture above just forward (left) and slightly below the "Kawasaki" label on the side of the crank case (the boss is a little rusty).

This will give me four mounting bolts per side - two where the pegs mounted (back two), and two where the engine guards and fairing frame mouned (front verticle two). There is also a U-bolt clamp on each side at the top that hooks to the down tubes. There is a 3/4" oak spacer between the bike and the RT frame since to angle between the two is 5 degrees off. It also works to spread the clamping load more evenly.


Here's some samples of my welding job. It was all done with an old Lincoln AC stick welder that my dad gave me years ago. Although not pretty, I think it's sufficient for strength - I'll take any thoughts, comments, or suggestions from any experienced welders out there.








There's a 1x2" spacer piece (re-used from the original frame mounting arms) being used as a spacer and welded into place (top, bottom, and sides where accessible).

Upstairs in my shop I'm storing most of the unused parts removed from the Voyager. If anyone is interested in some of these, I'm looking to get rid of them. I'm hoping that I've reduced the bike weight to under 500lbs.

Front and rear fairing frames.

Seat parts, body parts (most are damaged), saddle bags, engine guards, headlight, CB parts, complete front brake assembly, etc. Not shown are the front wheel, tire (only 800 miles on it), and forks.

After this post, I'll post some questions and comments I've gotten from others.