Help out a Newbie 1971 Kawasaki F8 3rd owner

[brianstrange]

I have a 71 f8 Bison that is in very good, yet unrestored condition. I have made a few modifications to make it a bit more reliable, but nothing that can't be put back to stock. I'm having a few problems with it and could really use some direction.

1) Headlight is dim, does not offer any illumination at all. The bike has no battery. I understand I should get ample illumination from the coil. Also, the gauge illumination bulbs were blown at the same time this problem occured. I heard a POP when this went down.

2) The clutch is sticking. It there a quick fix for this? (ATF ETC...?) I'd prefer not taking the bike apart.

3) I removed the oil injection, blocked the port in the crankcase, and want to premix the fuel. What fuel/oil ratio would you suggest? 32:1?

4) I upgraded the ign to CDI (the lights worked fine for 1 year after this mod)

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Bill Frazier]

I don't understand why anyone would want to disable oil injection. If premix were better, or even almost as good, why would the factory go to the added expense of an oil pump, tank, cable, etc.?
Just my random thoughts.
(I owned an A7 350 Avenger many moons ago, my first bike.)

[kawah1c]

I'll have to agree with you, Bill. I have premixed on my H2 and one of my
KV75's, but only temporarily until I obtained the correct parts needed to get the system working.

Some twostrokes need crank- or/and case work prior to premixing. I don't know if the F8 does.

[brianstrange]

Originally Posted by Bill Frazier

If premix were better, or even almost as good, why would the factory go to the added expense of an oil pump, tank, cable, etc.?

Ease of use mostly. Some applications require crank injection. The F8 does not. The injection port does need to be blocked though. Getting the oil dialed in on these is difficult, and can be variable, where premix gives a clean constant ratio. That wasn't the reason for asking for help though.
I'm just asking what others use as a ratio, not weather or not to do go premix.

[kopcicle]

Modern 2 stroke oils will , as advertised , work well at ratios up to 50:1 in MODERN bikes . My old stand by Spectro GS2 in the black bottle will work well down to 32:1 but may just kill plugs . don't be tempted to go to a hotter plug just tank full by tank full wean it off the juice a bit till the plugs seem to survive . I'm guessing that you will end up around 40 to 42:1 . For vintage bikes Amsoil made a 100:1 product that I used for a time in oil injected bikes as a bit of insurance , I mixed it about 200:1 and if the bike suddenly gained power and quit smoking I shut it off . Being a mad scientist and experimenter I usually added a bit of Blendzall racing castor and octane booster just because I like the smell and Castrol R is so hard to find . The Amsoil never hurt and may have prevented a costly seizure or two the Blendzall never hurt but I have no idea if it helped .

your mileage may vary

~kop