New member Old Kat owner

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WraithGTO

Hi I am from the South West of Western Australia. I have a 1981 1100 Kat. I have owned for nearly 25 years. I hasn't been ridden since 2006. It has been sitting in a shed on the farm collecting dust and rust. I have just started stripping it down for a rebuild. Just spent a $1000US on new parts from the USA

Here is a pic of it. excuse the dirt and crap all over it
1981 Kat.jpg

Cheers Simon
 
Hi Simon and welcome to the Forum. Great to hear you are going to get the Kat up and running again. Looking forward to following your resto and seeing a few pics as you progress with it.

I have sent you a Private Message Simon, to read the message, click on "Notifications" in the top right of the Forum page.

Cheers,
Glen.
 
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Welcome SIMON
OMG
You should have listed it with Lloyds, that's genuine Shed Find dust there.

Hope you enjoy the forum and enjoy your resto.
There is only one thing I found better than the 18months I spent in the shed doing my resto -

Getting the Kat out on the road and the comments from people as you parked on a Saturday morning in front of the local cafe.
 
Its still runs fine .Just Haven't started it for 6mths. To lazy to buy another battery for it. Just needs a good wash . I think I have spent more on rego and batteries in the last 10yrs than fuel. When i started looking at Kats in the late 80's . I was more looking for the Kat 1000cc. but the 2 i saw were ex race bikes and had been thrashed. I ended up seeing this 1 and being 1 with spoked wheels. I grabbed it. I am the third owner . I actually met the original owner years ago. A mate got me motivated a couple of weeks ago to get it out of the shed. I ended up ordering all new braking system for it from the USA, bar the front master cylinder , as they are no longer available, I had to buy a front master cylinder kit for that. I will probably get more new parts for it. I will get them in batches , so i don't go over the import duty limit $$$. I will probably end up repainting it the same colour as it is now. I may see if i can find someone that can make a new stainless 4-1 system. I do like the Tingate system that is currently on it, But the header pipes have rusted..
I may over the weekend get it and give it a bath. Just can't remember for the life of me , where i put the 2 mirrors.
 
Welcpme there Wraith, you'll probably find the motors on those 1000 race kats are good, they are a very strong motor and as long as you don't exceed 13,500 rpm, should still be ok-ish (need welded crank and over 13,500, conrods are sus, ask the drag racer boys...)

Also, there is no real need to shop from the US, Mick Hone here in Melbourne is the one to deal with for parts, my genuine mirrors cost me $80 each (went too close to a guide post one morning.... oops..
 
Hey Simon, welcome!

Definitely grab it out and give it a bath and show us.

Mick Hone's definitely the place to go for parts, I always used to buy from the US until I got put onto Mick Hone, and then the US shipping costs started to skyrocket as well.
 
Hi Simon and welcome. There are a couple of Katana owners in the South West with a very keen rider in Manjimup and another in Albany. Look forward to catching up one day,

Tom

And bag the dust as "Barn / Shed Find Dust" is selling for $500 on eBay
 
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thanks for the link guys. didn't realize parts were still available in Australia. I was going to go to the Local Suzuki dealer in Bunbury and see what they could get . But will try Mick Hone.
I see on his site, there is no 1100 Katana listing for 1981. They have a listing for a 1982 GS1000 S. is that the 1 I order parts from ?.
Just looked at new mirrors on there . Is the left mirror the same part no number as the right? I could find the RH mirror using #56500-49372, I dont have a part number for the left

Cheers Simon
 
Well Have just spent 3hrs on the Mick Hone site ordering parts. 179 parts later and $1664 out of pocket.
I did notice some parts such as indicators headlight, switch block are for certain Sub model E25 E23 etc. Does anyone know which sub model my Kat would fall under please?
Just doing the checkout process with Mick Hone, do i need to call them for the discount or is there somewhere to write it in the checkout process?
Cheers Simon
 
WraithGTO said:
Well Have just spent 3hrs on the Mick Hone site ordering parts. 179 parts later and $1664 out of pocket.
I did notice some parts such as indicators headlight, switch block are for certain Sub model E25 E23 etc. Does anyone know which sub model my Kat would fall under please?
Just doing the checkout process with Mick Hone, do i need to call them for the discount or is there somewhere to write it in the checkout process?
Cheers Simon
Click to expand...

I normally email my orders and they apply the discount. I would guess that you will need to call Steve in parts to organise the discount. Also would query them about the other market parts.

Tom
 
thanks Tom.
After my third attempt of doing the checkout process. It finally went through. I didn't realize there is a time limit on the webpage when ordering. Each time i re did the order , It seemed I added more parts I forgot to get the first time. I think I have cleared them out of most parts they have in stock. I ended up ordering over 200 parts. :eek:
 
They'll certainly appreciate the business Simon! I know when I did my last order (including a new tank and gearbox bits) they were very appreciative, they're great guys to deal with for sure. You won't get that level of personal service from the US, the 5% discount is just the cream on top for me.
 
Hey Simon the Suzuki/KTM shop in Bunbury are also very helpful, I have used them a couple of times when mick hone had no stock and sometimes their prices or more competitive

Cheers
Max
 
G'day
Well I finally got the Kat out of the Shed. Had some issues when to stuck floats. Pulled the carbies off and cleaned the needle and seats.
Put the carbs back together and installed them, put a new battery in and the Kat sort of purrs. It currently not firing to well on on cylinders 1 and 3.
So at present i have a 537cc Katana
Decided to give it a bath . and took a few pics. all the chrome i had redone 10yrs ago is rooted. the spokes i had laced up are rusted. Paint is cracking off the front fender.
I had a slight mishap with the screen . A XT550 tank i had sitting on a box, fell and hit the screen . and it crackled, so i am up for one of those now

Can anyone tell me what angle and which way facing ,should the 2 carby vent (Breather) pipes be on please. and should there not be hoses on them ?

Katana out 1.jpgKatana out 2.jpg

Cheers Simon
 
Can't help you on the carbies (yet) Simon as I haven't gotten that far on mine, but glad to see she's out and had a bath and running again!
 
Hi SIMO, the 2 carbie vent breathers you refer to are
REF.NO 81 13685-49210 .NIPPLE
and they should have the
REF.NO.82 13683-49160 .HOSE
I have mine pointing down
Cheers Pat.FullSizeRender001.jpg
 
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Hi Pat
thanks for the info. I have order new vent tubes from the States , as they are no longer available here in Australia.

The first of my new parts arrived today. 2 new front rotors and pads. and a few oil filters.
I have a fairly large order coming from Mick Hone. they have been a great help in sourcing parts for me.

What they didn't have, I ordered from the USA. which i had to split to get under the Aussie import duties limit.

Here is a pic of the new rotors
New Katana rotors.jpg


Simon
 
Nice one Simon! You'll be happy with the Metal Gear rotors, they're good stuff.
 
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