New (to Me) 2000 Kawasaki W650

[Gonad Nomad]

Originally Posted by Barnone

Nomad,
You will just have to make your own tire decision. Again I say the Distanzias handle just fine on my W but I am not recommending any tire. Unlike some "experts" on the internet I am not capable of doing a scientific tire test. I did scrape the foot peg feeler yesterday but usually ride at probably 50%.

I went thought this tire size issue last year in this thread and said
"Stock is a 130/80-18 vs the new Distanzia which is a 120/80-18.
The web sites of each tire manufacturer say the diameter is 26.2".I should have taken a photo of the two tires side by side before I installed the new tire on the bike but didn't do it. The new tire was about an inch taller than the old tire but the old tire had about 4500 miles on it so I suspect that the diameter is the same when both are new."

Regarding speedometer error, I had (and still have) a 16 tooth front sprocket on the bike when I had the stock tire on the bike and that change almost completely corrected the speedometer error on my W. Checking with the new Distanzias on my W last year using my GPS showed the speedometer was almost still about right on.

You are right Barnone. I will need to make the tire decision on my own. In my late night stupor, I failed to remember my internet manners, and posted a question before making a quick search of this site. Had I done a search, my questions would have been answered by one of your previous entries.

Regardless, thanks for re-posting your experiences with the Distanzia's. I had good luck with Distanzia's on my Tiger, and I'd like to run them on the W too.

Cheers,

Scott

[acap650]

Originally Posted by jmlmjmjm

It should not happen at all. They are double wall pipes and they only blue when you let the bike idle for to long.

My W never blued and I've seen one with 30K + miles and no bluing.

The bike in question may have aftermarket single wall pipes, like fishpipes, who knows.

+1 I have 20K on mine and there is no blueing but I blocked off the exhaust emissions air early on. I think pumping air in at the header outlet could lead to blueing, as can long idling with choke.

The pipes in the photo above are OEM double wall.

[Gonad Nomad]

Anyone know what happened to www.captainjake.com? The site appears to be down.

[ORexpat]

He's active on the Yahoo group; you could check with him there . . .

[Barnone]

Several W650 riders over on the Yahoo W650 group are planning a get together meeting at Mini Mike's (http://www.mcminnmarketplace.com/mar...le-outfitters/) in Tellico Plains TN in late July or early August. Assuming it is not raining...

Maybe a ride around the http://www.tailofthedragonmaps.com/m...tlet_loop.html after lunch and some bench racing.

[Gonad Nomad]

So I read through some of the postings on the Yahoo W650 group. Looks like Captain Jake is aware of his website being down now. Hopefully it will be up and running again.

Gonad

[Barnone]

Originally Posted by Gonad Nomad

So I read through some of the postings on the Yahoo W650 group. Looks like Captain Jake is aware of his website being down now. Hopefully it will be up and running again.

Gonad

Yep. From Capt. Jake

"Whoa! What the hell?! Thanks for the heads-up. NOBODY go to my website! I just
tried to go and my browser warned me that it has some
nasty malware on it. I will investigate this and see what the hell is going on.

Jake"

[Speedo66]

Yeah, I saw the warning and backed off. His needle shim thread has been gone for a while, the mixture screw thread was still up until recently..

[Gonad Nomad]

Originally Posted by Speedo66

Yeah, I saw the warning and backed off. His needle shim thread has been gone for a while, the mixture screw thread was still up until recently..

Yeah, the needle shim and mixture screw threads are the ones I'm after. My W is completely stock, and as such is running lean. Pipes are blue, takes forever to warm up, has a surge mid RPM range. I imagine adding a shim to the stock needle and turning the mixture screw out a little would clear up the lean issue. Just looking for a little confirmation.

Nomad

[Barnone]

Nomad,
I just turned the mixture screws out three turns (no shims) and it took care of the lean issue. Some are running their's out more turns but it hurt my MPG.
BTW, If you look at the files and database sections at the Yahoo W650 group you will find about everything that you can do to a W650.

[Speedo66]

I haven't seen the Yahoo threads on those carb mods, but what was nice about the Capt. Jake threads were his many, many pictures detailing each step which gave even a person like me, who normally wouldn't touch a carb, confidence to proceed with it and do it properly.

He started with the point of view that you knew nothing, sort of like the "Idiots Guide to the W650 Carburetor", which I appreciated. He also detailed what had to be removed first just to get to the carb, which was nice, too.

[Barnone]

I just saying that about all that can be done or ever has been done to a W650 is documented in the files and database section of the Yahoo W650 forum.
For example http://groups.yahoo.com/group/W650ri...Jetting%20%20/
Worth taking a look there along with Captain Jake's web site.

[zwish]

Around how much does the carb screw adjustment effect your mileage?

[Barnone]

zwish,
I'm at 3 turns out and am at about the same 60 MPG average that I had before the mod. When I was at 3.5 turns out I lost about 5 MPG. These are approximate conclusions.

Maybe others will chime in with their experience. I know some people have lost a large amount of MPG with jetting changes and mods but are willing to take the hit because of perceived improved performance. Some are at 3.75 or more turns out and have mentioned that they don't have to use the choke anymore on a cold engine but I say you are running way too rich then,

Anyway the mod is worth doing and doesn't cost anything and can be easily reversed so why not.

[zwish]

Originally Posted by Barnone

Anyway the mod is worth doing and doesn't cost anything and can be easily reversed so why not.

Awesome, I definitely plan to, I just need to find a little guide to do it as I'm fairly awful at working on motorcycles.