Newsletter - Classic Katana Owners of North America

Newsletter
www.classickatanaownersna.com
Issue #29
Classic Katana Owners of North America
August 2012
Riding season is in full swing and hopefully your winter efforts to get the bike
in shape for the riding season have paid off. A few more new members and
especially some nice bikes are showing up. Francois Yergeaux #255 had
his bike in storage for many years before he decided to get it back on the
road. We have great feature on carb overhauling by Paul Jones. For me the
excitement is building for my trip to Eurokat 5 hosted by the Katana Club of
France –this time I will bring my new HD GoPro and will have some videos
posted on the web site. We are also down to getting the smaller decals
finished for the Kats. The main decals are now finished and available from
Bdesign. Rob Wilton #24 continues to amaze us with his custom Katanas.
Send in some good pics and we will feature the bike. TC Ed. tedcymbaly@yahoo.com .
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MEMBER PROFILE
Francois Yergeau #255
Magog, Quebec
Greetings to all fellow Katana owners and
enthusiasts. My name is Francois Yergeau
#255 and I live in Magog, Quebec. I work for
Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP)
since 1989; Right now, I work in the aftersales service department as a service
coordinator.
I can remember as if it was yesterday when I
first saw a 1982 GS1100SZ.
A friend of my brother bought one new,
which he had ordered at the Suzuki dealer.
When he picked up the bike on a very nice
spring day, he drove directly to my dad's
garage to fuel it and show it to my brother.
I was on duty that day at the garage, so I
was lucky to fill up his brand new Katana! I
immediately fell in love with the bike, and I
had to have one! - But I was still at school!!
.so I could not afford to buy one.
When I started to work I began to look for a used one. I went to see a few of them, but the bikes were not cleaned or they
were poorly maintained and most of the time they were also modified. I was looking for a cleaned and unmodified bike.
Back then, I was living in an apartment with a friend, who
was looking for a used Honda CRX. I found a car for him
in the newspaper that looked interesting….So he went
there to check the car….. When he came back late that
evening, he was very excited and he told me "you do not
know what I have seen there", the CRX owner has
something that you are desperately looking for….a 1982
Katana…..in great shape!
He wants to sell it, and the bike is not advertised yet…..so
this was great luck and fortune! So the next day I returned
to check the bike, and the bike was indeed in perfect
shape….so I bought it. I have owned this very same bike
since then, for more than 25 years!!…..
I had two other bikes; a 1993 Yamaha FZR1000 that I
bought new. I have enjoyed it a lot and it is a much better
bike in every way compared to the Katana, but it does not
have the same soul or charm, and you do not feel as connected to the road or bike like the Kat.
In 2003, I was coming back from a ride with the Katana, when the timing chain tensioner failed (luckily at idle). This
happened very close to my house, and I was able to roll the bike down the street!
I cannot explain exactly why, but I parked the bike in the basement and I bought my third bike a 2003 Suzuki SV650. I
kept this bike for 3 years. I have repaired the Katana only this year, after 9 years of storage in the basement of my house.
It is now back on the road…what a nice feeling! and I have taken the first pictures of the bike since I have it! The bike has
54,000km, it has the original paint and is in very good condition, not mint condition, but very clean.
I do not think I will ever sell this bike…..even though one day I will not be able to ride it…..I will just look at it….and
remember all those memories and more !
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Feature Bike
Rob Wilton #20
the pictures speak for themselves.
Specifications
1260 Wiseco
ported head
1mm over s/s valves
Harley flush mount fuel cap
custom clocks
gsxr front end
Bandit wheels
Bandit swing arm with extensions
straight cut gears
welded trued crank
web high lift cams
hard welded rockers
slotted cam sprogs
powder coated engine/frame
Dyna 2000 ignition/coils
RFID keyless ignition
USB charging for iPhone
Ohlin’s shocks
topend oiler kit
series style reg/rec
gsxr controls with headlight switch
billet levers, mirrors, grips, fork brace,
oil catch can,
RS 36mm flat slides
V&H header
Earl’s oil cooler
and much more
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MEMBER PROFILE
Nancy Craig #252
After a Yamaha RD250, and RD400, I never wanted a two-stroke on
the road again, so I got a new 1976 Suzuki GS750 (the first of the
Suzuki 4-strokes) and by the time the Katana came out, I had
repainted it, put clip-on bars on it, rear-sets, chrome swing arm,
Rickman fairing, Yoshimura 850 kit and 4-into-1 exhaust and
magnesium wheels. Suzuki's are all I've ever ridden since. Great
bikes.
I bought my 1100 Kat new in 1982 and my husband had the 1980
GS1100L (the only year of the Suzuki low rider with chain drive and
that motor). We had many great touring rides on them; one year as far
as Regina. When the GSXRs came out, I moved back to a lighter,
quicker bike. I had my 1986 GSXR750 for 14 years and then lusted
for the Hayabusa (which is remarkably agile for a big bike). I love it
and have recently picked up a 2008 Generation 2 as well.
I sold my Kat to a cousin in Edmonton, who vowed he'd never sell the "Kitty Kat", but then needed school
funds and sold it to his brother-in-law. It was sold again sometime in the late 90s, and I never knew what
became of it. I found this one when I was googling for Katanas in Alberta, hoping I might just find it.
This pic (above) is from about
'84 where I look SOOO young.
I lucked out and found the
unique lowers and the black
chrome rack for it. I don't think
I ever saw another Katana
around here with the lowers.
Then again, you didn't see a
lot of the 1100s at all.
I'm the second owner of this
one. I bought it in ‘07. It had
been stored since ‘86, and all
it took was cleaning the carbs
out and "ungluing" the clutch
and of course, new battery
and tires! It now has just
8000k on it.
I went to look at this one really just to ask the owner if I could take a few pictures of it and my Hayabusa.
However, it was too irresistible. Neat to say I've owned two of the world's fastest production motorcycles. The
2000 Hayabusa was the last to be able to make that claim.
After just taking this one for a 4 hour ride last summer, I can't believe how I used to ride it on long hauls. But it's
still like rolling thunder. I'd forgotten what coming into the power band is! When you ride a Hayabusa there isn't
one... it's just one single power band.
I also have a Honda CRF150F trail bike, a couple of Corvettes (‘90,’07) and a RAV4 for a daily driver. Wish I
could get fleet insurance!
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New Members
With our web site and the benefit of our on-line registration form, we continue to expand our ranks. Request an
updated membership list to see if there are any new members near you. Also, check the Google link to
member’s locations – It is usually up-to-date. Just a note - that I need a location in the registration. I do not
need the full address but need to locate members on our Google map so we know where we are. Also – if you
sell your bike or otherwise – there is no need to be removed from the list – unless you clearly have no further
interest. Please e-mail me of e-mail/phone changes.
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247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
Gordon Dong
Stuart Pope
Dennis Baker
Maynard Woodson
Stavros Gabriel
Stu MacMillan
Nancy Craig
Miguel Galluzzi
Jonathon Schapansky
Francois Yergeau
Chad Dunlap
Edvard Nordli
Ron Balachandra
Winnipeg
McLaren Vale
Coventry
Jersey City
Haverhill
St. Thomas
Victoria
Pasadena
Toronto
Magog
Sportsylvania
Trondheim
Calgary
Manitoba
S. Australia
Rhode Island
New Jersey
MA
Ontario
British Columbia
California
Ontario
Quebec
Virginia
Norway
Alberta
Eurokat 5 – New French Katana Owners Club
As I finish this newsletter – I am preparing to go to Bordeaux France
for the Eurokat 5 Katana Rally. This is a real treat with Alexandre
Godard loaning me one of his Katanas for the rally. Hosted by the
French Katana Owners Club this is their first hosting of this event
which happens every two years. You can see in previous
newsletters that it is inspiring to see so many Katanas in one place.
A group run is truly a large group. I will be bringing a HD GoPro
video camera and will put some videos on line. I would like to have
a rally here but cannot do it alone. Looking for some volunteers to
assist me in our first rally. Drop me a note if you can help.. Since
the highest concentration of Kat owners is in Southern Ontario – it
makes sense to have it nearby and close to our volunteers.
After many years of hosting a French Katana web site – Alexandre
and some fellow riders formed officially the French Katan Owners
Club’. It was put this way in their web site:
At long last ! The French Katana Club exists ! With Jean-Jacques
and Laurent, we deposited its Non-Profit Organisation Memorandum
during the summer 2011. Its goal is simple: reunite people
passionate for the Suzuki Katana motorcycle range. Our first target
is to organise the fifth EuroKat, which will take place in August 2012.
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ULTRASONIC CARBURETOR CLEANING
by Paul Jones – London Ontario
My buddy and I restore classic motorcycles for a
hobby. I have been working on motorcycles since
1967 when at the tender age of 16, I bought my first
bike, a 1963 BSA Lightning for the princely sum of
$400.00. I purchased many others in the ensuing
years, Japanese, European and British. Since I had
little money in those days I had to learn to fix any
problems myself.
Our current stable includes a 1972 Suzuki 185 twin,
a 1973 Suzuki 250 twin, a 1976 Suzuki 380 GT
Triple, a pair of 1972 Kawasaki 350 Triples (all 2
strokes) and my personal daily rider as well as the
newest bike of the bunch, a 1980 Suzuki GS1100
with Bandit/GSXR mods.
We obtained these bikes in various states or
repair/restoration. One common thread was the
need to fix the carburetion. Every one of these bikes needed them rebuilt.
I found that the carbs were encrusted with grime and dirt on the inside and outside. The linkages were frozen,
screws missing, floats stuck, jets completely blocked, float bowls full of gummed up gas residue and missing
parts - a real mess.
Other problems I’ve found in carbs that customers send to me because their bikes were running so poorly was
jets were mis-matched, torn diaphragms, no air filter, carbs not balanced, the list goes on and on.
This is even if the carbs were reasonably clean. A carburetor is a complicated piece of machinery that contains
passages as thin as a human hair. As you can imagine it doesn’t take a lot for these passages to get blocked
with sludge.
Suzuki Carbs
The carbs typically found on Suzukis are Mikuni BS 32, 34 or 36 mm and are vacuum controlled or CV
(Constant Vacuum) type. A vacuum operated diaphragm controls the raising or lowering of the slide (or piston).
The CV Carburetor also has a butterfly throttle valve (or throttle plate).
Many Katana owners have converted to flat slide carbs
such as the RS 36 which stands for radial slide.
Designed for in-line four cylinder performance
motorcycle applications, the Mikuni RS Series Radial
Flat Slide Carburetors offer superior horsepower gains
with their maximum flowing smoothbore induction tract
and radial flat slide design. An adjustable accelerator
pump system helps to provide instant throttle response,
particularly in the lower RPM range. These carbs are
not vacuum actuated; the slide is directly attached to
the throttle cable. Although some people complain the
slides are noisy and can be heard to rattle, they are a
definite performance upgrade.
Factory Suzuki carbs seem particularly prone to
blocked pilot jets but also floats get stuck and carbs
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leak, at times the idle will hunt around, then the bike stalls. It won’t rev to the redline, it’s getting harder and
harder to start and it backfires through the carb. These are classic signs of a dirty carburetor(s). Carbs get
varnish in the jets and float bowls if gas is left in them. This can happen as quickly as one season.
Often the owner will buy some of that corrosive, dangerous carb dip, soak them overnight, scrubs with
toothbrushes, rinse again, then blow out everything with compressed air and then find a place to dispose of
the dirty, toxic chemicals. And it still may not fix the problem. Ultrasonic cleaning is different. It uses no
harmful chemicals and cleans the smallest passages faster and better. The ultrasonic process is so gentle that
virtually every part in the carb can be put into the cleaner, and boy does it ever work.
The Rebuild
1. This is what I often start with…… these slides were “cemented” in the carb bore, pretty rough!!
2.
I inspect the outside for missing parts, smooth choke and throttle linkage operation and visible
damage.
3. I separate the carbs by removing the gang plates and choke linkage, then remove the fuel tubes and air
vents.
4. The float bowl gets removed next. It’s often full of green, sticky goop. Remove all the jets, float pin and
float. Remove the needle holder & needle. In the intake side, remove the air jet.
5. I flip the carb over and remove the carb top, then diaphragm - checking for any tears in the fragile
material. Lastly, I remove the mixture screw making sure to remove the spring, washer and o-ring that
usually stick in the bottom of the cavity.
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6. Now, keeping each carbs parts separate from each other, I begin my inspection looking for wear and
damage. If everything looks good, I continue on to cleaning in the ultrasonic machine. I searched long
and hard on the internet, studied all the methods I found and came up with a better way for the cleaning
portion of a carb rebuild. The professionals were using an ultrasonic cleaner. So, I purchased my own
commercial quality 2.5 gallon (10 L.) ultrasonic machine and was amazed at the results. (picture) The
dis-assembled carb is submerged in a special solution in the tank of the cleaner. This solution is biodegradable, non-toxic and safe for the planet. Here’s how it works. When power is turned on, the
solution begins to heat up, then, ultrasonic sound is created from transducers in the bottom of the tank.
The transducers run at 55 mhz frequency. This results in intense agitation of the liquid and creates high
and low pressure stages. During the low pressure stage, millions of microscopic bubbles form and
grow. Then the high pressure stage takes over and the bubbles implode releasing tremendous energy
and produce an intense scrubbing action against the surrounding surfaces. The whole process is
called cavitation. This cleaning action attacks even the most confined crevices in the carburetor. No
area is spared, it just plain works. After removing the clean carbs from the Ultrasonic cleaner, I rinse
them off and set them aside to dry. Once dry, carb cleaner is blown through all passages then followed
with compressed air.
7. Now is the time to decide if you want to do some cosmetic improvements to your carbs. I have a
special paint that I apply (3 Coats) that closely matches the original factory finish, then they get baked
in a special oven making them gas/oil resistant. I can apply the original silver finish or the satin black
carb finish. Any paint will be ruined by continual gas exposure but this paint is very durable as long as
your carbs aren’t leaking. I also love to replace those annoying Phillips head screws that get rounded
off so easily, with stainless socket head screws in both the float bowls and the carb tops. These are
both options that cost extra.
8. At this time you should install larger main jets & pilot & air jets if you have added any performance
products to your bike. I can recommend initial settings for you to give you a benchmark. I then reassemble with new o-rings making sure to lube them before installation, check the floats to ensure they
are set to factory specs, if not I re-adjust. Put in those new float bowl gaskets now too.
9. After everything is buttoned back up, I lube any moving parts and do a final inspection making sure
everything operates smoothly. The carbs are then bench synced to ensure all butterflies are opening at
the same time. (very important)
10. Here it is…….The final product. This set has the optional ceramic paint process as well as the
stainless screws. Your carbs are now as clean as the day they left the factory.
This is worth repeating again….Make sure you keep the parts from each carb separate. Everything should
go back into the carb it came out of.
Carburetor Rebuild Kits
I have a real problem with many rebuild kits commonly found on Ebay. First of all, quality can be very
inconsistent. For example, the holes in the jets not being the same size and float bowl gaskets that don’t
seal properly. Secondly, they contain parts you don’t need & don’t contain parts you do. I’m mostly talking
about jets that come in these kits. Jets don’t usually wear out. They get dirty and sometimes plugged, but
a jet that just has fuel or air running through it doesn’t usually experience any wear.
Usually all you need to replace in a carb rebuild is this…..




All the O-rings in the carb, some Suzuki’s have 28 of these.
Float bowl gaskets too.
I like to see new mixture screws at this point as well.
Be sure to check the needle valve for wear (they are usually fine)
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Everything else is available
separately; air, pilot and even
main jets are only a few dollars
each. I only replace them if
they are plugged and I can’t
clean them or if I am re-jetting
when putting pods or a
performance exhaust on a
customer’s bike.
Since each job is unique – I
can provide a general quote
and once we see what the
condition is inside – I consult
with the client to discuss your
requirements and services. For
a complete list of prices and/or
questions, send me an email.
Paul Jones
paul.jones1@gmail.com
WEB SITE – Katana Design Story
I have finally have finished the ‘Story’ on the design and development of the ED-1 and ED-2 Katana. Subject
to a few edits and some formatting of the document it should be up on the web site as a download in
September.
I was fortunate to have extensive one-on-one conversations directly with Jan Fellstrom (LL) and HansGeorge Kasten (LR) to obtain much of the information and photographs that have never been published.
Unfortunately I could not get the same level of conversations going with Hans Muth. But that may be for
another day. The story will be updated as new information unfolds. Jan has recently taken a teaching position
abroad and I was fortunate to make the contact when I did.
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Spotters Guide
How can you tell a 1982 ED2 frame from a 1983 version? The 1983 had the newer style footpegs, but sometimes the
frame is bare. The easiest way is to check the mounting points – they are different. Often we end up buying a frame with
no registration or paperwork, and we would like to build up the bike to the correct year.
1982 ED-2 rear footpeg mounting point
1983 ED-2 rear footpeg mounting point
Miscellaneous Ramblings TC #01 ed
Watch for an upcoming issue with a major article on the Katana in Motorcyclist magazine. This is now the 30th
anniversary of the Katana and we will continue to be getting articles and stories about these bikes –some good
and some just repeating what someone else has written. Let’s see how this one comes out. Anyone seeing
some articles in magazines please contact me. Cycle Canada recently did a cover story, unfortunately the
author did not even mention our group or any other Katana club in the world notwithstanding that I supplied the
information. It’s always easy to whip up a story – read some past issues of motorcycle magazines, drop in a
few pictures and there you have it. Often perpetuating wrong information or very little information.
I am always looking for articles and pictures of club members’ bikes and anything else you may have. Travel
pictures are welcome with interesting stories or just nice scenery. Make sure the Kat is in the picture. I will
have a full story on Eurokat 5 for which I am packing as I finish this newsletter. Will meet some of our
European members, always interesting to be at a rally where people come from various countries and how
they communicate, many people speak English, few speak French and German (except if you are from that
country). Not sure if my high school French will support me in a long conversation, - after a few refreshments,
everybody is communicating well.
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Thomas Seeler #211 Project - Project Start: 2010-08-04
Bike looked like this before - And ended up here
after several broken engines …
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Instrument Options
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