KR250.ORG : 2012 Diary

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January 2012

Just for a change, I actually had a few things to write about on here last year. The Cadwell trackday, the big 2-stroke meet, some video clips, KR's at 3 different big shows, another chat with Kork and some bike fettling too. Well, a bit anyway.

So, more of the same in 2012 ? Well, I'm determined to put the red/black KR in for an MOT this year. But I need to make some progress with my TZR and GSX-R which have been badly neglected lately. I'm even thinking of taking those to trackdays this year. So the green KR will probably be ignored for a while, unless I get chance to fit the new fork seals that it now needs, and fix the hole in the rear exhaust too. As for the project and the spares bike, well, don't hold your breath. But I have dusted off my FromJapan account and there should be some KR stuff coming my way very soon. In the meantime, I did actually fire the green one up this month, just to annoy the neighbours.

February 2012

My box from Japan arrived. Actually it was mainly full of TZR/TDR bits, but I snuck in some KR items too. An original toolkit (checked against the parts book, all there !), another Choro micro-toy and a Bandai kit, a big poster and one of the original keyrings that I've been after for ages. Yeah, sad I know. What's that other photo ? Nothing, honest...

June 2012

June already ?! I did warn you that it might be a quiet year KR-wise. All I've done in the last few months is raid my spares stash to send a bar-clamp and a sidestand-switch to a couple of other KR owners in need. Incidentally, that teaser photo above was just that I'm afraid - a red/black KR250S was being sold by West Coast Imports back in February and I did seriously consider it but the price was far too silly. I have bought another 2-stroke Kawasaki though - details soon. I have been busy with my other bikes too. I prepped the TZR for a trackday but then blew it up the week before - full engine rebuild needed. The GSX-R is back on the road where it belongs, Sara's SDR has had the front-end swap back to standard and our 3 Gags have featured in the June 2012 issue of Practical Sportsbikes magazine.

With a free day off work courtesy of the Jubilee, I decided to avoid the endless TV coverage by locking myself in the garage. With a view to finally putting the red/black KR in for an MOT, I swapped the white front wheel for a spare grey one with a better tyre, also swapping the broken speedo drive and bent spindle for better items from my stash. The front brakes were seized but I managed to pump the rusty pistons out, drain the lumpy fluid (!) and strip the calipers. Unfortunately I snapped a bleed nipple and tore an outer seal but again I found a pair of calipers in my spares.

August 2012

Here's that other bike I bought. It's a Kawasaki KS-II, a road-legal but half-sized Gag bike with the aircooled 6-speed engine out of the AR80. It's just had a full engine rebuild so I'm having to run it in for now, but it's apparently pretty nippy.

And why am I in most of the pictures ? Well, just so I can show off my Genuine Kawasaki Accessory pit-crew shirt, spotted at an autojumble by my mate Tom, who knew I'd love it and very kindly bought it for me.

October 2012

I went to the excellent Yorkshire 2-Stroke Day again, but not on the KR. Well, when someone hands you the keys to a Bimota V-Due you tend not to say no ! And a month later, it was time for the Stafford Show again. I had my GSX-R750RK on display on the Diff'rent Strokers stand, with a pair of ZXR-R's keeping the lime-green end up.

Also spotted round the show, West Coast Imports had a nice KR250 for sale (at Ł4795 !), Andy Bolas won a well-deserved rosette for his shiny AR125 and there were a handful of AR50/80's for sale in the autojumble. The Kawasaki Triples Club had a H1R on their stand, there was a H2R on the Harris stand and a KR500 casually parked among the trade stands with no-one able to tell me why it was there.

December 2012

I'd been thinking that I should look seriously into getting KR250 gasket sets made, maybe pistons and rings too. Who better to take this on than me ? Well, the enthusiastic and much-less-lazy Japanese of course ! Very comprehensive aftermarket KR250 gasket sets are now available direct from Japan. I ordered one and it arrived in only 4 days, and looks spot on. Look for CruzinImageUK on Ebay, who I shall be keeping in close contact with. Rumour is that pistons/rings may be coming soon...

...but in the meantime, there was another guy on Ebay with some NOS pistons and rings so I bought a pair of each. He's still got some left I think.

Merry Christmas !

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