1975 KE-100 Rebuild

I was given a 1975 KE-100 as a gift. This bike has less than 500 miles on it, but since it sat for over 25 years in a garage, it no longer works.

A mechanic friend of mine got it to start, so I know the clutch doesn't work as a result. That should be replaced

I pulled the engine out, and it looks like there is over two millimeters of carbon deposits on the piston head, the rings look good, though.

This is a two stroke bike, with an oil reservoir. Can I circumvent this whole self-mixing mechanism and just premix the oil? What ratio?

So basically, is it worth fixing? Kawi made these for over 25 years, so parts should be relatively easy to come by, correct? Cheap, too?

I would just like some advice.

Can't really answer much for you as I just got mine on X-mas eve and haven't dug into it too much. Just wanted to say hello to someone else who owns this odd little bike. Mine is a 73.

There is alot of parts on E-bay for them, almost anything you could need. I talked to the kaw dealer and they said they could get mostly anything for it as long as it's not a color/painted part.

They work great in the snow!





any pics of yours?

Originally posted by Sirkbac
They work great in the snow!

Compacted dirt, too.

looks like yours is in good shape. Your brakes suck as much as mine do? I don't think I'll ever run it on the street....as is it needs a ton of space to slow down...poor little drum brakes. The guy who had mine already rebuilt the engine and tranny 3 years ago...and never rode it. Mine usually starts on the 1st kick. It's in pretty good shape, minor rust spots, minor dents on tank. Will get it all apart and repaired as the year goes on. For now it's a great toy to keep me happy till things thaw enough for the 929 to hit the roads.

Yeah, you can turn it into premix, but why would you want to? If your going to I guess a 32:1 should be right. I just gave away my 75' KS125 away to my uncle a few months back which I had to pre-mix because the pump stopped working. It was a great bike and was in our family since 81'. In the pic there is a Suzuki TS250, KE100, and the KS125.

Whoa...I learned on a pea-green KS125 identical to that one! Wish I had another one that lived!

I was running pre-mix, too (the guy who sold me the bike said the oil pump didn't work), but the bike eventually died because of main bearing failure after about 600 miles.

I was told later that the oil reservior/pump directly fed the bearings as well as the carb and that's why it croaked. I dunno if it's the truth or not, and if that could have caused it. A friend's F7 with working oil injection proved indestructible (but it handled lousy off-road compared to the KS!) under identical riding conditions.

Was my mechanic lying to me about the oil pump? He was a bit of a crusty old guy who seemed to hate the young. :(

-Swan

It feeds the main bearing too! I thought it being a rotary-valve motor the mix lubricated everything. I only ran it on pre-mix for maybe 2 miles before I got rid if it, so I didn't run into a problem. I learned on the KS also, it was a great bike and it would make it up every hill I tried.