Man. You guys are awesome. I'm going through a divorce right now and it's been very hard on me. I'm in a terrible place. I feel so alone. But your videos are amazing. Your humor, the dynamic and video styling make me feel awesome. I can't thank you enough for helping me through this tough time.
Hang in there buddy, I'm 52 twice divorced and haven't worked due to an automobile accident since last November, wherein I broke my back. Pain like I've never experienced in my life, no insurance and medical bills out the ying yang that I can't pay. I've had excruciating pain ever since the accident, but thankfully I wasn't paralyzed and try to look at the positive every day. You'll get through this, stay strong and never discount the value of true friends in your time of hardship. Marriage is weaponized against men in the U.S. now days, there won't be a third for me. My thoughts and prayers are with ya, best of luck!
If you want a holiday in England you can stay for free (plus a guided tour) if you fancy getting my gtr1000 going (I think you called them concourse in the usa ) your should include rain gear if you travel 😄🇬🇧🇺🇲👍
I have seen where people comment on repair channels that they would never let the person work on their stuff. A comment like that could only come from someone who couldn't fix a peanut butter sandwich. You sir are amazing. A true professional.
well one thing to remember is a working shop wont use the time in the shop because it would end up costing more in work hours than the bike is worth and most people won't/can't pay it. then the shop gets stuck with it.
I had a horrible day yesterday, I sat on the couch after all that took place that day and saw that Craig had posted a new video, sat down to watch it to take my mind off of what was going on, and for 30 minutes I didn't shed 1 tear. Thanks for these videos. I look forward to them every week, this one just came up at the right time. Thank you
I'm only @1:14 and so far, this is the tightest audio editing I have heard yet. For my setup, it's absolutely on point. The music is faded to an appropriate level for speaking, but gently pushed up for the montage scenes. The overall levels are spot on. Nice work editors!
Craig - if you don’t have a set already, harbor freight sells long neck hose pulling pliers for $15. Worth every penny when working on these old bikes. I use them every single time I do any carb work.
I have a set of those pliers. I bought them a while back for changing the spark plugs in a previous truck I had. They helped big time getting the old spark plug boots off. :)
You shouldn't make fun of those channels here.... his best friend is one of those channels and it is where we got our wonderful Craig from to start with... bikes and beards is still cool just a bit less... informative, but still entertaining.
Love your show, my wife knows not to bother me on Thursday morning so I can watch your show she says it’s my Saturday morning cartoons from when I was a kid in the 70’s 😂
Craig old school tip here .. when welding thin metals .. place a piece of bronze/brass behind the area that you`re welding .. then you will no longer burn trough .. the heat will spread out trough the metal and directly into the bronze/brass .. test it on thin sheetmetal :) you will like it i think ..
Spoon Weld all the time when not working in blind areas with no easy access to the back. On a rotted out exhaust pipe bolted to a head and around a bend from the nearest end its a bit more difficult since you have to remove the pipe, braze a small copper spoon to a copper rod and bend it to conform to the area that needs patch welding which is more restoration work. Bottom line is that for a rotted out exhaust repair to get the bike running until the customer can get a new set of pipes Craig and Greg both did pretty good aside from forgetting to go back and tap the front master cylinder for the mirror. At least he tried to clean and polish the rusty mufflers and make them look a bit more presentable. Sometimes you do have to work within the scope of the customers budget. Personally I would have rechecked the carbs after the second exhaust repair since an exhaust leak can throw carburetor synchronization off a bit as will repairing it but then again fixing the last exhaust leak may have put them even closer. Best!
Exactly same head lamp I use as a hand flashlight because of durability, and functions of different light spectrums. In Mexico everyone used cell phones for portable lights for working in the dark. It is best way, but all there screens are very scratched from such frequent flash light usages. Old phones can be used just for flashlight and camera.
That piece of straw under the nut trick is genius. Can't tell you how many times I've fumbled around with that square nut because the bolt going into it is now too short because I've added a few accessory leads to the terminals. 🤘🏻
I love the dig you put into those of us that run Harleys, I personally run a 2006 Harley Sportster, 2001 Buell Blast, and a 1981 KZ 750. I got it all covered!!!! The Kawasaki leaks more than either of the others!!!!!!!
Hi Craig, I've been binging on your videos. The whole thing of 'will it start' or can I get it to run is immensely entertaining and educational. I am watching for the entertainment and the educational value. You see I have two bike projects, a 1979 Honda CB750 SS and a 1998 Suzuki GSXR 1100. I've never worked on a bike before. I have more experience as an amateur car mechanic. I have to finish working on my project cars (or selling them) before looking at the bikes. Watching your videos has given me a basis to start. Oh I forgot somewhere along the way I picked up the remnants of two Honda CH80 scooters behind my garage. Out of sight out of mind.
Your videos helped motivate me to get my 02 Honda CB900 back to running. She sat forawhile before some medical issues. I have about 30 hours of real work, vs months of saving and parts searching
Through my younger days I owned 13 bikes, all sizes and manufacturers but my Honda CB900F was my absolute favorite. Get yours running again. It will be so worth it.
That kawasaki looks nice, I got a 1978 KZ650 sitting on my garage for around 14 years, I hope 1 day I have the time and patience to fix it like that, This video is a great inspiration
Craig I learned the battery nut hack when I got my first KZ650 in 1979. A friend came over and showed me how to sync my carbs with the mercury sticks then showed me that cool little hack. Thanks for passing these tid bits on and keep up the great videos!
Great work, Craig, Dan, and Greg. So much for your shop rate on this one, though. You should all be proud to have brought another oldie back into the wind.
A good vid to show what is required for a sitter to get running again. My 82 nighthawk was a sitter. Complete only means you have everything there that needs to be overhauled. Everything practically came off. Even the cylinder head off and rebuilt. Those valve seals are almost guaranteed no good. One recommendation I have for the owner? Do led bulb conversion. I have multiple 80s bikes. Each one has LED conversion and didnt need to permanently modify a single piece of wiring. At most just an intermediate bit clipped in for signal indicator and swapped the relay for one designed for LEDs. Everything is that much clearer. Instrument cluster, original light housings etc. with original sockets. At minimum, do the brake lights.
A small section of zip tie under the battery nut works too. Fold it in half and it'll be springy. It'll push the nut up so you can get it started. I have that same trouble adding a battery tender lead. ✌️
I just found your channel today, and I am really loving your style so far, of showing the bike not working, then the puzzle to solve, and then taking us along for the ride towards the solution. I don't have a bike license, I am terrified of even getting a ride on one, but I love puzzle solving and am fascinated by engineering in general.
I have the tool for adjusting the carbs, it's a long flat blade screwdriver through a tube w/8mm nut driver welded to the end,I was doing a lot of carbs. back in the 90s, I still have my mercury manometer also, love your show, keep up the good education, 😋
Never had a doubt! I totally dig the battery post hack. I'm gonna have to use that. I always used a flat tip screw driver before but you need three hands for that sometimes.
U guys are great! Thank u and please thank you, families for allowing u guys to share your time with all of us. 👍🏽 Who's is that sweet lookin Honda back there?
Enjoyed the video. I personally would never reinstall old brake lines like those. I get it that it's not a proper 'restore', but it's the same amount of work to install new ones. Temporary repairs also have a habit of remaining past their expiration date.
Craig, you make excellent videos. You have given me the inspiration to continue to ride my M90. At 63 and 7 spine surgeries I needed that little extra to keep my bike and continue to ride 👍👍
Great video. I always wanted a KZ1000. I had a KZ750 for years until I bought a 94 Honda Goldwing GL1500, which I still have. I also have a 2000 Honda Valkyrie Interstate. It's always fun trying to sync the 6 carbs on the Valk. I'll definitely look into a Digi Sync.
I had a 1982 ltd and the first thing I did was replace the stock carbs with 34mm flat slide mikunis. It made the bike run better and cold idle at lower RPMS.
I wish I could afford a new bike. I miss riding so much. I scroll the cycle trader app every night before bed just looking at all the nice Harleys I'll never ride. Thanks for making these videos so I can kind of enjoy it vicariously. Everybody needs a Craig. Every Craig is a Greg. I get it, man. I'm a Dustin and I have a Justin that people seem to see hanging out around me all the time. I've never met the guy but he's always with me when I meet new people. Destin has it the worst. He gets confused for Dustin and then Justin shows up and it's chaos.
you don't need anew bike, you don't need a Harley,you just need a good inexpensive bike, and just get on and ride with a smile on your face, I'v owned dozens of different bikes, loved riding every one, let me know if you are serious,I have too many bikes😂
Oh m gosh! I've fought those stupid little battery nuts for half a century. Maintenance free didn't come with a straw, but I got a straw out of the kitchen drawer and it worked perfectly! Thanks
Had a friend that did all of his wrenching, (and pretty good at it too) back in the 1980's, and was syncing his carbs with a set of mercury sticks and when he thought things were good he "blapped" the throttle and sucked all of the mercury out of the tubes.
I made that mistake only once. I left a big greasy thumbprint on a brand new set of pipes. Had that print permanently etched. And of course, it was in a spot that was highly visible. It was a constant reminder. "Clean those dirty fingerprints off your chrome pipes before you start it up."
A neat hack when bleeding brakes is to zip tie the brake lever to the grip overnite. Any air left in the system can work it's way up and out to the reservoir. Rock hard lever in the morning. Removal of the "old guy" windjammer and backrest should have been job number one unless the owner wanted to keep it. Nice work Craig.
Another great series of videos, I was a great fan of the CHiPs TV show with Eric Estrader but never realised they were Japanese bikes, the Windjammer is a great looking machine even today.
I took welding classes in Wyoming State Prison in Rawlings. Hahaha. Kept trying to get us to apply for welding jobs in oil industry there in early 1980s.
I got my first bike a 1979 KZ400 for 300 dollars, it had been sitting in some dude's barn since 1980. I rebuilt or replaced pretty much EVERYTHING, and I'm almost to a point where I hate this machine lol. Clutch, front and rear brakes, front and rear tires and tubes, carbs (taken apart cleaned and reassembled 7 times now), regulator rectifier, ignition coil, points system, airbox, valves. All of it. I had it running on both cylinders (it's the parallel twin version of this bike), I replaced a part of the clutch, and then it only ran on one cylinder. I found out the fuel filter I was using wasn't intended for carbureted bikes and was restricting the flow, I replaced with an adequate one, now it doesn't run at all. I know infinitely more than I did when I started but it's always some other little thing.
in the future you will evolve into a bike guru thanks to all you are learning now... when it gets frustrating sit back have a mug of tea... i often found after doing that, a new solution is found....
Been keeping a lookout, for when you were going to get back to working on the Kawasaki, thought you had gave up on it, so it gets to be a good day today.
