[Gerald C.]

Hi all. I'm an 80 year old motorcycle nut who has 11 or 12 bikes in his garage--all makes and all old. My joy is to buy them not running and bring them back to life. I have two Kawasakis, an 87 Voyager 6 cylinder which I haven't gotten to run yet, and a 95 Vulcan 1500A which I am currently resurrecting. It had filthy carbs which I have cleaned and re-installed, but am having trouble getting all the hoses back in their proper place. Hoping to get some guidance on that.
My vocation has been as a real estate investor, and am still active--trying to retire but probably never will. Still like to ride but don't have the time to ride all my bikes as much as I should. Would like to meet some riding buddies in the Atlanta area. Remember "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing"

 

[WFO-KZ]

Nice intro Gerald. You are quite a collector.

Why not post some good pictures of the hoses you are unable to identify where they go? Hopefully at least one end of the hose is still connected but if not, hopefully with some good pictures someone will be able to help you.

Long ago, I learned not to trust my memory and now I take all kinds of photos from various angles and various levels of zoom so I can put things back together correctly without any trouble.

In the meantime have you looked at the parts diagrams for your bike? Partzilla has great diagrams. Here is one for your carbs. If you look at the parts listing it shows the diameter and the length of each hose. Hope this helps.
PS - Your bike is probably a 1996 that was built in 1995.

Kawasaki Motorcycle 1996 OEM Parts Diagram for Carburetor | Partzilla.com

Buy OEM Parts for Kawasaki Motorcycle 1996 Carburetor Diagram

www.partzilla.com

 

[Kawasakian]

Welcome to the forum. You're an inspiration to be so active, as young as heart as you are.

 

[Gerald C.]

Thanks, I'll ride and repair as long as my mind and body allows. Maybe 5 or 10 more years.

 

[Kawasakian]

I'm 65, many Spinal Cord problems. When I can't get on the bike, I'll convert one of them to a trike!!

 

[Geoninja]

Welcome aboard Gerald. Congratulations on your age, still being active, working and riding Kawasakis! Awesome to keep the old boys going. Both men and machine! I second WFO-KZ's suggestion. Post pics if you can. The wealth of knowledge on this forum is invaluable for all things Kawasaki and sometimes life in general. Btw, I just did a full carb clean and maintenance on my 86 Ninja 1000R. The rubber carb to engine boots as well as the rubber carb to airbox boots had hardened over the years, making it impossible to reconnect them completely. New boots are cost prohibitive for these old Ninjas. Their was a suggestion to soak the rubber in a mixture of 1 part wintergreen oil (Methyl Salicylate) and 3 parts Isopropyl Alcohol. After soaking in the mixture for 96 hours, in a sealed container, the rubber components were just as soft as original. There was a little swelling but after a few days of outgassing, they returned to their original size. I was able to successfully connect the carbs to the engine and the airbox totally sealed. I'm in the process of using this same procedure to restore the rubber gaskets on my vintage Cory glass vacuum coffee brewers. Just one example of the help that you will receive on this forum with just a little searching.