I picked up a pair of project bikes on Craigslist recently and I've begun the search for information on these Enduros. Looks like there have been a handful of threads in this section, but I thought it would be nice to have a general resource for anyone interested in, or working on their own project. So this might be considered the 'mega-thread' or 'threadfest' for anyone working on an F7. Obligatory picture of a Nice Looking Restored F7 (Not mine.) So anyone out there? Whatcha working on? Just want to brag and show us your immaculate garage queen, fully restored bike?

1. Kawasaki F7 Air Cleaner Removal

Got a sweet parts lead? Here are the existing F7 threads in this forum: 1974 Project Bike 1975 Project Bike Leaking Oil Carb Float Height Bogging Down / Lacking Power Carb Issues Missing Key Bypass There is also pretty decent information hiding in a Yahoo user Group: Parts diagrams are available in a handful of places, but here is a quick link to one that seems to work fine: This guy seems to have a lot of relevant information to vintage rotorary Kawasaki's in general. Not necessary the 175 in particular. As I mentioned I picked up a pair of these bikes to try to get in running order and looking presentable.

We'll see how far I get, considering most of the important stuff came to me in boxes. Here they are coming out of the truck at the homestead Boxes and loose parts, Also go some parts in a 30 pack (beer) box - No beer included = Took a couple minutes to collect all the loose parts into something a bit more suitable Holding area until I see what I'm working with engine-wise Ideally I'd like to move all the good parts I have over to the silver bike and keep it as original as possible. The red one has obviously seen some repainting and sticker-ing, even though it appears to be in a little better condition.

The guy I bought them from said that he bought the pair as a project and actually had the red one running, but one for a few minutes before the piston broke and seized it up. So I started with 1 free engine and 1 stuck engine. I already tore the stuck one down, and pulled out the broken piston pieces - to and the jug looks fine still.

Got quite a bit of cleaning to do as they are both caked in dirt. They guy did have the clymers manual with them, so I'm not toally in the dark. I also found a pdf of the Kawasaki manual thru MY 1973 on the web. Service manual free download.

A little progress on one of the 2 engines. Had a few beers with a buddy and tore it down all the way. Since he wasn't heavily invested in the project the parts ended up all over the workbench - but I figure I have 2 manuals and an example engine to put it back together, so I'm not terribly worried. Trying to figure out the best way to clean these up. I thought about buying a parts washing station, but settled on a plastic tote with about 1/2 of degreaser in the bottom - and an array of wire / plastic / and tube brushes.

Took maybe an hour to get 1 side of the crankcase looking decent. You can see how dirty it was compared with the uncleaned side. But there is still a fair amount of dirt / grime stuck in the little corners and odd shaped parts of the transmission area. It will do for now, or until I figure a better way to get at the small spots.

Kawasaki F7 Air Cleaner Removal

Slow going, but seems like a necessary step.