Super Sherpa thread

PS take great care refitting the speedo drive mechanism when putting the front wheel back in; it is notoriously easy to break.

Thanks for the warning. Had no problems with the speedo mechanism, just popped it in place, spun it with my finger until the tabs lined up and it seated, then slid the wheel back into place. Had seen warnings about it in previous posts which made it a non-issue. This thread rules.

BTW, anyone know if DrJ's jet kits are still available? I'm only on page 50ish here and have yet to run across notice of his disappearance, but the Yahoo group seemed to indicate he might be gone from the scene. If not I'd sure like to get my mits on one of his kits.

No idea where he's gotten to, but the parts of the jet kit are pretty easy to track down.

From memory, it's a #130 main jet, and a #20 pilot jet. One size up from stock on both jets. The carb is a 34mm Mikuni BST, so you can look up parts using that.

The other part of the DrJ treatment is to drill out/remove the emissions cover over the pilot screw, and set it at 2-3/4 turns out from fully seated.

Here are the jet part numbers for upgrade:

#130 Main Jet - Kawasaki Part Number 92063-1103 (JET-MAIN,#A130)
#20 Pilot Jet - Kawasaki Part Number 92064-1043 (JET-PILOT #A20)

Mikuni part numbers are:
Main Jet N200/604 (with proper orifice suffix to match Kawasaki P/N)
Pilot Jet VM22/210 (with proper orifice suffix to match Kawasaki P/N)

Lots of online parts dealers will have them by the Mikuni part numbers, if not the specific Kawasaki numbers.

Most parts people can cross reference the part numbers, so you shouldn't be limited to a Kawasaki dealer. I'm pretty sure that Ron Ayers, as well as other online sources, has them.

Have you ever owned or rode a KLR-650? Compared to that bike, where the brakes are almost universally panned as "not so great", the Sherpa's brakes are pretty good. I changed the brake fluid on my Sherpa and it was much better, and I didn't have many complaints before that.

My first indication that I was doing a good thing was when the initial few shots of brake fluid came out black. (In the reservoir, it was still nice and clear looking)

Thanks Mike and Tomatoe looks like i can pick them up semi-locally for cheap.

On a side note, deer must find the Sherpa as appealing as i do ... when i go out cruising in the evening they keep bounding out of the bushes to say hi.

sold the KLR to get the 690 and it braked better than this Sherpa. I'll bleed the brakes and see if that helps. Thanks

I took the front brake lines off our Sherpas and had a local hydraulic shop make me a pair of braided steel lines. Cost about $20 each and made a HUGE difference in braking for our bikes. Best "upgrade" I've made to them.

Spongy lines on vehicles can really kill the braking so that would make sense with a on a sherpa since the volume and leverage is so small . On a car you can see the lines move when they have gotten weak and are expanding due to the pressure . My front brake isnt bad but my rear brake is pretty spongy .

Anybody have a line on tank decals? My bike is pretty anonymous (maybe not a bad thing!) but I'd like something on the tank. Maybe...

If you are wanting OEM they appear to be available through both bikebandit.com (about $24 for the "Sherpa") and ronayers.com (about $30). They are likely available through Kawasaki, but you apparently need to go to a dealer to get a price anymore. When ordering you need to consider shipping costs - sometimes the more expensive source for a part is actually less expensive when shipping is factored in.

I am not sure they are sold in pairs or separately.

I've also picked up some OEM decals via EBay on occasion when I was working to restore a bike to "showroom" condition.

An alternative is to find a place that makes custom decals and you can design your own. I've seen a few that appear to be custom in this thread, but perhaps they are stock from non-US markets?

Good luck!

I couldn't find anything on bikebandit or ebay. The other places I found tank decals charged $44 for EACH side of the gas tank. Too rich for a damn decal, sheesh.

Re the Tusk handguards and D-flex shields.

Having seen these mentioned many times on the forum, mine were waiting and installed the day after i purchased my sherpa. Just want to lavish more praise: they bolted up with no issues (15 min?) and saved both of my levers today.

Thanks to everyone who suggested them.

Glad they worked for you , mine saved my right hand fingers from becoming hamburger during a high speed offroad faceplant so Im quite a fan of them .

Same here have planted the Sherpa on both sides and glanced off a oak tree with just scuffs on the Tusks .

I read this way back in post 1794:

I had a '71 Norton Commando a long time ago; kick start of course. After opening the fuel tap the Amal carbs were "tickled" (button pushed on the side which depressed the floats and let in gas until the gas dribbled out the overflow). Choke on, then one or two kicks to get it running. Wouldn't start without that. So your idea about overfilling the float bowl has a long pedigree.

On the posts about mirror extensions, I leave my mirrors off the bike and use Bug Eyes instead. They take a bit of getting used to but I now prefer them. I don't know about legality but I haven't been stopped yet.
http://www.bugeyes.com/

Guys on some other forums have concluded the Progressive springs were a gimmick, and prefer single-rate springs. Are there aftermarket single rate springs for the Sherpa?

I am a little confused at some of the comments about installing spacers. As far as I can tell, spacers ONLY adjust ride height (despite being called "preload"), they don't affect how stiff the springs act. No matter what spacer gets put in, the spring will always be compressed to the same amount for the same rider weight under static conditions. Heavier viscosity oil may well make things feel firmer under dynamic conditions.

Hello fellow adventure riders,

This would be my first post here =)

I have recently bought Super Sherpa (supposedly from 2001) as my first motorcycle. I like it a lot, but after few rides found out I am having a constant problem with bottoming out on rear suspension. I am pretty heavy guy with about 105kg (230lbs), which is far from being 'an average-build rider of 68kg' (from Owner manual). And spring preload is already adjusted to maximum (biggest load).
So it looks like the only option I have is to change rear spring, as it is most probably just too worn out.
Can anyone please suggest replacement for rear spring?
I will keep looking for it by myself, but thought maybe someone already worked on this tasks.

Your suggestions are greatly appreciated,

Thanks

From what I understand a KLR 650 spring and shock will work if you drill the holes larger.Which might be the easiest route.

Anyone know if a Bridgestone 301 80/100-21 will fit my 2001 SS? It has the original low fender and there isn't very much clearance.
I'm really not sure if there is a huge difference in size from the 2.75-21.?
Thanks!

The Sherpa squeal has re-appeared on the Yahoo Sherpa forum this week too. Lubricating the front wheel bearing seals was reported to have fixed it.