michaelmoore Posted March 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 hello Ross, I've got one of the paper shop manuals. I think it can also be downloaded from the KT/KX site. I wouldn't have guess the stock ignition would fire a .075" spark plug gap, especially when chugging along at very low RPM. .024-.028" is the factory specification. If you can get it to do it, wider gaps are usually better. The forks on my bike do top out with a noticeable clank (perhaps more felt through the bars than heard) sometimes. I'm going to look more closely at sag when I get it running. I'm about 200 lbf when ready to ride and I suspect the target rider was more in the 170 lbf range. Some stronger springs might be in order. My bike was on pre-mix when I got it, and I think a lot of KT owners have gone that route. I got a box from Buchanan's yesterday filled with hubs, rims and spokes. The front hub is now cleaned up and ready to accept new wheel bearings. I'm going to try and get the rear wheel to that point tonight. cheers, Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelmoore Posted April 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 I haven't done anything on the KT this last week. Instead, I've been working on (and finished this morning) a boring table to attach to the lathe cross slide that will (with some other fixturing) allow me to line bore the KT swing arm pivot. http://www.eurospares.com/lathes.htm The bottom section of that page shows some of the process and the end product, should you have any interest in looking at machine tool stuff. cheers, Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swooshdave Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 I hate to tell you but you need sharper drills... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelmoore Posted April 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 (edited) I've got boxes of them, but they all came with "do not open" stickers on them, so I can't use them. That probe is expensive, but it sure is handy. I can also digitize parts with it though I haven't gotten far enough along to try that out (too many projects, not enough time or energy). The mill has "coordinate system rotation" so I don't have to tram the vise in. I just probe an edge of the part (which I did before probing that corner in the photo) and the mill skews the coordinate system to match the part. That's what the notation on the side of the plate is about. The skew factor for that edge in this vise was .022 degrees (it had been .018 degrees in an earlier operation with a different fixture). cheers, Michael Edited April 7, 2008 by MichaelMoore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgraf Posted April 11, 2008 Report Share Posted April 11, 2008 sorry twinshock people, didn't think about posting my beater on this section more pics to come soon, some people have mentioned several different mods for this bike, anybody put a degree wheel and a dial indicator to check how close the timing is as compared to what the engineers had hoped for.#2 does anyone need any pieces to finish there kt projects? mine is close enough now that I can give my tl 125 some attention would rather horse trade for tl parts than spend a big pile of money purchasing high dollar ebay items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgraf Posted April 15, 2008 Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 think I will be busy this week..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelmoore Posted April 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2008 I didn't check the timing marks on mine because I did the cylinder head mods right away and I also extended the stator slots so I could get even more retard than the stock slots allowed. Once you get the squish working you can often dial back the timing significantly. I'm not sure just where it is now, but I'm pretty sure it isn't particularly close to the stock marks. cheers, Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feetupfun Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 I've seen one road test that mentioned that sometimes during a dead-slow full lock turn the steering will "crab" a bit and have the bike want to fall in to the turn. I think I've noticed that, has anyone else? Has anyone tried different forks/clamps with a significantly different axle offset (a TY250 has the same rake of 26.5 degrees but 90mm of trail to the KT's 79mm, and sounds like it doesn't have that issue).cheers, Michael After the discussion on KT250 steering geometry on this string, there has been a bit of experimentation going on over here in OZ. While I was continuing to try multiple different setups with the KT forks, another Aussie just went ahead and tried fitting forks and wheel from a TY250, retaining the KT triple clamps. Soon after I heard how good the steering became, I set my KT up the same and we both think it works very well. KT purists will probably miss enjoying the visual appeal of the polished conical hub and extravagant brake arm setup but once they go for a ride, they may be won over. A word of warning though - the standard TY front guard as seen in my pictures touches the exhaust. It doesn't hit hard enough to affect the steering but does put small scratches in the finish of the guard. I'm working out what alternative guard to use. The KT in the pictures has 340mm shockies and I have also tried 360mm shockies. The bike steers very much like a TY250 now with either length shockies on it. For people with an interest in the change to the dimensions, sorry but I haven't measured anything exactly but by eyeball the front axle is about 25mm rearwards (in-line axle) and the steering head is about 25mm lower (shorter length forks) as a result of the changes. David Lahey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kt250guy Posted August 2, 2008 Report Share Posted August 2, 2008 I stopped my trials riding about the time the KT250 came out, as I graduated from Uni in 12/75 and moved away from home (after selling all the bikes but my 350 Ducati cafe racer) in late summer 1976. I remember some of the other people in the NMTA having TL250s, Ty250s and RL250s but I can't recall any KT250s. My impression is that the KT250 was never as successful as the TY, but whether that was due to it not being as good or just that "big K" didn't put the money into developing it, I don't know. Jay Leal has mentioned riding a supported KT that sounds like it was pretty heavily modified. I suspect that Don Smith probably managed to beat a number of good riders, but how "stock" his KT250/300/330's were is questionable.I think I bought my KT250 in 1999. It came available locally and I had money available to buy it on the spur of the moment. If it had been a TY250 or Cota or MAR for a similar price I would have had that instead. I'm not a big "marque" snob. I'm easy, I'll ride most anything. Good riders can ride the 3 line in AHRMA on a stock TL125 and clean sections I don't (though I've placed reasonably well at some AHRMA regionals in the Novice class I'm not very consistent and I'll have those "why did I clean this twice and five it the third time?" moments). Having had a TL125 for a bit I think I can safely say that the KT250 is significantly more "trials ready" than the TL, so I don't think the KT is holding me back. I've got a period article from an Australian magazine that compares the TL, RL, TY and KT and they picked the KT as the overall winner, though they did say the TY handled better "in section". But they liked the KT engine over the TY's powerplant. Maybe a TY250 is better. It wouldn't surprise me. I know a 325 Bultaco is better. But I don't want to spend the money to buy another Bultaco when I'm not outriding the KT250. And on the 3 line (and probably the 2 and 1 lines for vintage) the rider is the significant factor that determines the score. That's a nice thing about trials, the bike isn't a huge factor. That doesn't mean we don't want to tweak things, but I suspect that most of us could hand our bikes over to a better rider and say "I didn't know that section could be cleaned on my bike." I think that any shortcomings of a KT250 wouldn't show up until someone was riding the 2 or 1 line in AHRMA. And anyone who is that good of a rider could probably ride around those shortcomings. My silk purse project is the TTY400. If I can get that built I suspect my scores will get significantly worse. But oh, what an excuse for that I'll have. Dave, are you at Nike? I think there's a number of Nike guys from Portland vintage roadracing Honda CB160s. If you know them, they know of me as many of the F-160 guys have bought the tuning guide I wrote. cheers, Michael I ride line 1 at AHRMA on my bone stock KT(lights removed) and it shows no shortcomings with me exept one thing i cant throw the bike around as much as say my ty175 or tl125(probably because im only 5-5 tall and weigh 120 pounds) but i love my KT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b40rt Posted August 2, 2008 Report Share Posted August 2, 2008 Can we assume the bike wasn't new when you rode it? How would you describe the condition (showroom, used, thrashed) and did that have anything to do with the "issues"? Hi swoshdave Sorry I havnt checked this thread recently, I bought my KT new from the then Edinburgh Kawasaki dealer, so I feel that the handling observations I made (rightly or wrongly) were inherant. One of the technicians at Napier College who also had one went to the extent of building a new frame. Monoshock no less. He also did alot of engine work, but unfortunatly I never rod it so cant coment on how it performed. The only problem (apart from the crap side stand) I had was it ran out of sparks, the cure was to remove the CDI unit and sit it on a radiator for a few days. Regards Ross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b40rt Posted August 2, 2008 Report Share Posted August 2, 2008 hello Ross,I've got one of the paper shop manuals. I think it can also be downloaded from the KT/KX site. I wouldn't have guess the stock ignition would fire a .075" spark plug gap, especially when chugging along at very low RPM. .024-.028" is the factory specification. If you can get it to do it, wider gaps are usually better. The forks on my bike do top out with a noticeable clank (perhaps more felt through the bars than heard) sometimes. I'm going to look more closely at sag when I get it running. I'm about 200 lbf when ready to ride and I suspect the target rider was more in the 170 lbf range. Some stronger springs might be in order. My bike was on pre-mix when I got it, and I think a lot of KT owners have gone that route. I got a box from Buchanan's yesterday filled with hubs, rims and spokes. The front hub is now cleaned up and ready to accept new wheel bearings. I'm going to try and get the rear wheel to that point tonight. cheers, Michael Hi Michael Sorry havn't been on this thread recently, the KT I had was fine off road, but at the time I also used it for transport, and on over run would bang quite alarmingly (not in the exhaust, in the cylinder) I did have it running for a short time with no side electrode ! But compromised with a huge gap. Never found power to be a problem, but then my previouse bike was a TL125, with a 60 tooth rear sprocket. Regards Ross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelmoore Posted August 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 (edited) Ross, other KT owners have told me that my bike (with porting/cylinder head/pipe mods) is the best running KT they've ridden. I still can fall off/stall on the novice line, so I guess it isn't good enough yet. FWIW, today I welded on the new outrigger swing arm pivot support plates and the bronze bushing mod lets me tighten up the spindle pretty firmly and still have the swinging arm moving with much more freedom than it did before. Next job is the bash plate to replace the under-engine frame tubes that have been removed. After that it looks like I can lower the footpegs about 1.25" or so. Progress is such a novel thing to experience. The OEM engine mountings on the frame will preclude a ring on the OD of the magneto flywheel, so I'll probably have to do a brass weight that mounts on the face of the flywheel, with a spacer for the cover. cheers, Michael Edited August 6, 2008 by MichaelMoore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelmoore Posted August 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 I've just finished lowering the footpegs on my KT250. Some text and photos are at the bottom of my KT250 page. The rear brake lever is going to need to be arched up as it now is prevented from being depressed by the bottom cross-frame tube. cheers, Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelmoore Posted August 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2008 I laced up the new Excel rims and SS spokes from Buchanans last night. They do a better job of getting the spoke holes in the rim at the right angles than some that I've seen. Truing will have to wait until I can get them into the forks/swingarm to ensure they are aligned with the steering axis. Of course, the shiny new rims and spokes and cleaned up hubs make the frame paint look even uglier so I may have to do something about that after I finish all the welding. The stock rear brake lever isn't going to work with the lowered foot peg/pivot location. The swing arm comes down on the top of the lever where the brake rod attaches. I haven't yet figured out how I'm going to address that. cheers, Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ty250nl Posted September 13, 2008 Report Share Posted September 13, 2008 Hello all, I live in the Netherlands and I bought a KT250 1976 in part for a nice price. Couldn't leave it behind :>) Some restarationwork has been done by the previous (first) owner who trialed the bike in his youth. This winter I will start on the engine, the paintwork will be done this week in exchange for some Fantic parts. If there is live in the project I will place some pics. The engine has not been open yet, but hey, what can be wrong? :>) Kind regards, Arie. P.S. I envy you guys for the many KT parts in the US, hardly any parts here :>( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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