ALRIGHT! It’s time for a restoration write up. This is for all you Motorcycle and All Terrain vehicle enthusiasts here on the worlds BEST forum, DIRTRIDER.NET! Now this write up is 4 years in the making, I’ve spent countless number of hours and money on this bike. That’s not including the hours it took me to work and earn the money. This is a long write up filled with pictures so I ask that those viewing it while I’m in the posting process please not post until I give the ok, that is so that the article is continuous. It would be nice if DRN had a RESTORATIONS thread where we could post write ups like this, maybe mine will be the first? Alright here we go guys, I hope those of you in the midst of your own restoration will find this info helpful and those just bored will find this entertaining. Lets start with the background info.
BACKGROUND
This project began in 2007 for my 14th birthday. I had just received a generous amount of money after and decided to invest in another project, preferably an enduro I could register once completed. I decided that The 1974 kawasaki G5100 I’d spotted on craigslist would be perfect. The real restoration began in the summer of 2008 when I finished the restoration of my 1982 XR100, which I also did a write up on DRN,-www.dirtrider.net/forums3/showthread.php?t=162817- which looking back on, I’m kind of embarrassed of. The spelling and lack of knowledge is surprising to me.
The Kawasaki G5100 Enduro was born the year of 1972. It was closely related to the G4TR100 with several differences. The G5 featured plastic fenders as well as a redesigned oil tank. It was marketed as more durable and cheaper to maintain with an emphasis on the plastic fenders which could be had at a cheaper price to replace compared to the G4TR’s chrome fenders. It also did not feature the HI-LO transmission as the G4TR. The G5 was a rotary valve, oil injected 2-stroke enduro. It produced 11HP, pretty decent for such a small bike of that time. The rotary valve is what gave it this extra zip, a rotary valve engine does not have the carburetor mounted to the cylinder like most 2-strokes we’re used to seeing. Instead it has the carburetor mounted on the side of the engine under the side covers. Intake timing is not controlled by the piston or the reeds, but instead by a rotating plate called a “rotary valve”. You will understand the theory as the article progresses. The 1974 model year saw a change in crank case design as well as cylinder design. Then the following year was the last year of the G5. But not the end of the bike, the name was changed to the more widely known KE100. The motors stayed much the same but the total look changed.
BACKGROUND
This project began in 2007 for my 14th birthday. I had just received a generous amount of money after and decided to invest in another project, preferably an enduro I could register once completed. I decided that The 1974 kawasaki G5100 I’d spotted on craigslist would be perfect. The real restoration began in the summer of 2008 when I finished the restoration of my 1982 XR100, which I also did a write up on DRN,-www.dirtrider.net/forums3/showthread.php?t=162817- which looking back on, I’m kind of embarrassed of. The spelling and lack of knowledge is surprising to me.
The Kawasaki G5100 Enduro was born the year of 1972. It was closely related to the G4TR100 with several differences. The G5 featured plastic fenders as well as a redesigned oil tank. It was marketed as more durable and cheaper to maintain with an emphasis on the plastic fenders which could be had at a cheaper price to replace compared to the G4TR’s chrome fenders. It also did not feature the HI-LO transmission as the G4TR. The G5 was a rotary valve, oil injected 2-stroke enduro. It produced 11HP, pretty decent for such a small bike of that time. The rotary valve is what gave it this extra zip, a rotary valve engine does not have the carburetor mounted to the cylinder like most 2-strokes we’re used to seeing. Instead it has the carburetor mounted on the side of the engine under the side covers. Intake timing is not controlled by the piston or the reeds, but instead by a rotating plate called a “rotary valve”. You will understand the theory as the article progresses. The 1974 model year saw a change in crank case design as well as cylinder design. Then the following year was the last year of the G5. But not the end of the bike, the name was changed to the more widely known KE100. The motors stayed much the same but the total look changed.
