'74 k3

[cjpayne]

Buddy of mine that runs a cycle shop in town just found this K3. I guess after seeing mine, He had to have one again. We're going to start working on it Friday(that's the plan anyway). The ears are cracked/bent and bent back pretty badly. Can't tell if the VIN tag# is a 5 or 6 4th number from right. The head has an odd looking code to me, but it all looks Honda. There's an HM on the jug. He bought an aftermarket seat, but the latch doesn't fit. The original is cracked pretty bad, but the foam is 98% there and still spongy. Definitely still has the K3 bars, but as you can see the switches are missing. Bar spindles are not seized. Right bar is a little bent(easy fix). I'm pretty confident we will get it running. The inside of the 533A carb looks great. Exhaust seems intact. Flywheel cover is intact and no obvious gouges or scrapes. Someone put good aftermarket tires on. VERY NOT BAD for 150bucks IMO. He doesn't want to restore it, but get it street legal for the campgrounds, around town, ect. I just love the fact that it will be a rider!!!

This bike is the one used for this.http://lilhonda.com/webboard/f6/step-step-spinner-screen-cleaning-74-k3-3speed-19143/

 

[cjpayne]

Does anyone know if the VIN and engine sequence numbers could vary 1000's apart on the K3?

 

[Adam-NLV]

Great score for the money! Don't think that's the matching engine, a thou units is too much of a gap. No worries for a daily rider though.

 

[cjpayne]

Found out why there was no spark. Someone tried to pry off the flywheel with a screwdriver or something and hit the primary. The nut and washer were missing too. Points were shot.

Primary coil. OOUUCCHH!!!

 

[kirrbby]

Fortunately CJ, you are the master at swappin out primary coils. lol

 

[Adam-NLV]

Here's one time where you don't need a Multi Meter to trouble-shoot. :21:

The coil is Toast!:rip:

 

[hornetgod]

I have seen number splits in the thousands on K3's. Near the end of the production run the numbers were way off.

 

[Adam-NLV]

I have seen number splits in the thousands on K3's. Near the end of the production run the numbers were way off.

That would make sense because that bike looks pretty original and doesn't seem to be ever (majorly) worked on.:3:

 

[cjpayne]

I have seen number splits in the thousands on K3's. Near the end of the production run the numbers were way off.

Thanks for that tidbit of info. Didn't know that. I had assumed it had a different K3 engine installed. My friend Scott will be very glad to hear that.

 

[cjpayne]

Fortunately CJ, you are the master at swappin out primary coils. lol

Lol. Yeah, I've changed a few.

Here's one time where you don't need a Multi Meter to trouble-shoot. :21:

The coil is Toast!:rip:

Maybe I should go ahead and check just to be sure.lol
Would be cool if I could find a thread on how to rewire these.

 

[Adam-NLV]

Lol. Yeah, I've changed a few.


Maybe I should go ahead and check just to be sure.lol
Would be cool if I could find a thread on how to rewire these.

I think racerX has rewired a coil or two if i recall correctly.

I think all you would need is the right gauge laminated copper solid wire and start winding. If it were me I'd increase the diameter wire slightly and maybe add extra turns for a brighter more wattage output. O'course this would mean balancing the extra juice by having bigger watt bulbs, also there could be a fitting issue too.

May be better to just stick with the orig wire size, lol. In the old school days that's how they would repair this coil by rewinding it.:3:

 

[cjpayne]

The things I don't know are how many winding's there are, gauge of wire, wire type, tiny O connectors, where supplies are, ect. The winding's on this coil here are broke, so can't count them. A post for repairing these coils would be valuable enough to become a sticky, IMO.

 

[cjpayne]

The K3 runs and drives. I road it around in his shop today after work. Brakes work fine. Tranny seems to be fine. Smokes just a tad at low rpm(probably a valve seal). Has a little bit of throttle stick, which made for a little excitement when hitting some grease spots on the floor in the work area.lol. It needed an aircleaner, so I cobbled something together from spare parts. Definitely a very good beater.

 

[cjpayne]

Just got the word today that the fork rebuild kit has been ordered. I've NEVER had to repair the hydraulic forks before, so I could use some info on just what tools I will need. What is the OEM oil weight on these? Will tranny fluid work? DOT 3 brake fluid? TIA

 

[cjpayne]

Almost forgot. There's a tween girl that has unexpectedly taken a liking to that bike. We've been trying to get it ready for camping before the cold arrives too.

 

[Deoodles]

Nothing special for the fork rebuild. clean all the parts and the tubes with ATF. There were really no questions that popped up when I did mine, straight forward. I used 15w fork oil. I think they were 10w from the factory. Don't loosen the JIS screw at the bottom of the tube it isn't necessary and can cause grief with leaks

 

[cjpayne]

Well guys, his daughter lost interest in the bike, so I bought it for my brother to go riding with me. He plans on modifying it here and there to his liking. He has a custom chainguard and china flywheel cover for it that he made for one a long time ago and a custom seat. I get the unbusted original flywheel cover and K1 tailight assembly(whoohoo!). Been thinking of getting those K3 handlbars off of it too and selling/trading them.

 

[cjpayne]

 

[cjpayne]

Messed with this bike the other day and got it running pretty good. For some reason it won't do over 35mph. I had stuck another head on it sometime back thinking the compression was down, but no difference. New OEM points won't work over .015 for some reason. Can't figure that one out. When I got the bike I should have asked the owner about the fork kit that was ordered. Never saw it anyway. I have a set of forks(just the shock tubes, not the front assembly) from a 1980 XR80 that will fit,....but..... they would raise the front end by 2.5-3.0 inches. My question is that if installed, would the oilpump have a hard time picking up the oil???? Come on Bob(racerx), I hope you have good news for me.lol

 

[69ST]

Sounds like the engine has more tired parts, awaiting discovery. I suspect bad ring seal, lotsa blowby, and possibly clapped-out ignition parts. The fact that it won't run with a point gap larger than 0.015" might mean a worn cam; maximum opening depends upon cam lobe height...exceed that and they won't close. Pull the flywheel and have a look. If the cam is smooth & shiny, it's probably fine. OTOH, if it's rusty & pitted...ruhroh!

As for the fork rebuild, most K1-`79 fork legs just need a good cleaning, new seals and heavier-than-stock oil. For a lightweight rider, start with 10W. Most adult weight riders get the best results from 15W or 20W, with the total fill quantity carefully dialed-in.

Raising the front end by 2.5-3.0 inches without a corresponding change out back is, let's say, sub-optimal. That's ~65-75mm(!), about double what I'd consider acceptable - without a number of other changes. You can go to about 350mm on rear shocks, giving you a 15-20mm rear height increase, over stock and that's about it. I kinda doubt that oiling would be the problem and you could increase the crankcase fill amount to compensate for a few degrees of added angularity. The bigger issues, imho, would be negative handling changes, from the altered weight distribution...and...the mini-chopperish aesthetic. Oh, the kicsktand would be way too short, as well...hafta carry a 4x4 scrap, instead of the "official issue" 2x4 scrap:19: