New rider from Qc, Parnelli Jones KV75

[El mariner]

I'm in the process of finishing up a 78 MT1.

Bought it disassemble (partly my fault while draining a few beers in the garage), from a buddy of mine with a bunch of new parts; cables, emblems, handles, tires, chains & sprockets. Came with papers, Yeah! Had the frame sandblasted repainted & cleared. Motor is untouched for now as it was running, so hopefully it will for be a while.

Here's where I'm at so far.


I tinkered with the old throttle cable today. Manage to get the carb and oil pump working at the same time. There is no adjustment on the oil pump cable. Seem like it was replaced, from the splitter, with a length of bicycle cable at some point. So to hell with it. Thing is, the new cable has the wrong carburetor end, so I'll have to keep that part. If it was done before I guess it's not that big of a deal to do it again.

For the front brake, we have apparently the wright parts number cable. But in order to have a brake lever feel that make sense, we had to use the old spring (not butchering the new one) and cut it down to around 1.5''.

Is it possible that the arm on the dust cover and the lug inside (that force the brake pads out) shifted position relative to each other? The arm on mine is probably at the 1:30 o'clock position. See first picture how adjustment is out. It looks all crimped together? Plenty of meat left in the pads. I tried clocking it 180 deg, nope. Edit: thinking about it now, might be some brazing at the edge on the inside lug... Have to open it up again.

 

[bikebudy]

Hello, I can't help ya but, Welcome to OldMiniBikes :thumbsup:

 

[Brooklyn Bob]

Welcome to the minibike madness!

 

[spencertrax]

Welcome, you will find this is a great site with some awesome people. The 1974 I'm working on appears to have the brake on the other side for some reason. Don't know if that helps.

 

[Gatecrasher]

Welcome to the site. Technically-speaking, the 1978 KV75-A7 is not a "Parnelli Jones" Dynamite. That was the 1971 MT1 model only.

From 1971 to 1980 the Kawasaki 75 minitrails in the USA & Canada were designated as follows:

• 1971 MT1 "Parnelli Jones Dynamite"
• 1972 MT1-A
• 1973 MT1-A
• 1974 MT1-B
• 1975 MT1-C
• 1976 KV75-A5
• 1977 KV75-A6
• 1978 KV75-A7
• 1979 KV75-A8
• 1980 KV75-A9

Every year had some changes with the biggest changes occurring at the transition from the MT1 to the KV75 but they were still relatively small. The MT1 has the front brake on the other side but it doesn't really matter as far as functionality. What appears to be the problem from your picture is the brakes are shot. When new the lever won't move to that position. That's what the adjuster on the cable is for. As the brakes wear you adjust it further until they are worn out.

If you say the brake pads look good then the drum may be worn out or the cam on the lever shot or something else is wrong. I guess the arm could slip somehow but I've never seen one do it and doubt that is your problem.

If you can remove the brake panel and post a picture if the mechanism and the drum we might be able to see if something isn't right. You might have the wrong brake shoes too. I also have NOS brake assemblies in the factory boxes that I can take a picture of to show you if something in yours looks wrong.

Here's the position the brake lever will be in if everything is new (just like the manual picture you showed):



The same goes for the rear brake adjustment and the chain tensioners too. Once they start to get close to their maximum travel, the components they are adjusting are worn out.

The chain adjusters point straight back when new. When the tab is in the down position it is time to replace your chain because it has stretched beyond the recommended amount. It's usually a good idea to replace the sprockets at that time too. You can see in my picture than by looking at the adjuster my chain appears to be in good shape.

 

[El mariner]

Thanks for the answers.
I will try reversing the wheel if it changed anything, kind of doubt it, end to end length is still the same? and see what up with the lug inside, there might be some brazing build up on the edge, I'm not sure. It would change the angle on the outside arm a little.
I measured the pads, and it's wright at 3 something mm, so almost new. There is no ridge in the drum, so like new also, I did not measured it with the caliper tho. It is possible the drum cover has something funny happen to it. It is partly cut up, like the drum cut into it at some point. There is a tiny bit of play between the outside arm and the tab inside. (There is splines between the 2 and then penned or riveted to mate them together?)Being 40 years old, it has character, or experience if we can say so.

While playing with the cable the other day, I realised the new throttle cable is not the same. Kind of sad for being a quite expensive replacement part.

On this picture, bottom is the new throttle cable and the one on top is the original carburetor end.

Doesn't look like the lead bead on the cable can go thru the hole in the cap nut or angle tube. May go out, but the new cable may not go back in.
I had a look at it again today. It seem like I can take keep the old carburetor cable section and reinsert it in the new throttle cable splitter. So Oil pump adjustment again! There is none at the moment, this thing was running pig rich, there was very little mosquitoes around for sure. Look like it was replaced with a cable bits stolen from a 10 speed bicycle. Old farmer owner might have left somebody with no bakes somewhere, lol!

 

[El mariner]

Put some time on the bike this afternoon. Exaust is on, electrical done, and throttle cable fixed properly.

 

[Dog Walker]

Hello nice KV :thumbsup: and welcome to the site ! I have a KV in about the same condition if you want to recover some funds on the throttle cable purchase you might be able to sell me the remnants of your old cable I need the section from the throttle to the splitter.

 

[Gatecrasher]

While playing with the cable the other day, I realised the new throttle cable is not the same. Kind of sad for being a quite expensive replacement part.

On this picture, bottom is the new throttle cable and the one on top is the original carburetor end.
View attachment 84091
Doesn't look like the lead bead on the cable can go thru the hole in the cap nut or angle tube. May go out, but the new cable may not go back in.
I had a look at it again today. It seem like I can take keep the old carburetor cable section and reinsert it in the new throttle cable splitter. So Oil pump adjustment again! There is none at the moment, this thing was running pig rich, there was very little mosquitoes around for sure. Look like it was replaced with a cable bits stolen from a 10 speed bicycle. Old farmer owner might have left somebody with no bakes somewhere, lol!

There were two throttle cable designs for the KV75. Prior to 1977 the throttle cables looked like the top one in your picture. Then in 1977 Kawasaki changed to the type the bottom one in your picture is. The reason was because the original cables had the ability to come out of the elbow cable guide and lock the throttle on full speed. The later style has a groove in it that locks into a retainer clip in the cable guide adjuster to secure the cable so it can't come out.

The cable guide in the carburetor mixing chamber top in your picture is the later style and is designed to be used with the cable style with the groove in your picture. You were sent the correct part but used the wrong style. While the older style cable end will work, the correct style you were sent is much better for your carb setup. All you had to do was push it into the cable guide elbow and it would have snapped-in as the groove passed over the retention clip.

I would recommend going back to the correct style cable. Obviously your bike had the wrong style throttle cable on it when you bought it which is why you think the correct one is wrong.

 

[El mariner]

This is why I like forum. Thanks for the awnser. So if I get what your saying wright, this could happen;

 

[El mariner]

Dog walker

 

[Dog Walker]

Where upper joins the lower is there a plug that will not come off the cable? The lower cable ends on mine slide over the plug on the upper cable, is that how yours are?

 

[Gatecrasher]

This is why I like forum. Thanks for the awnser. So if I get what your saying wright, this could happen;
View attachment 84146

Correct.

Below is a drawing of the two carb styles. The MT1 above and the KV75 below. A previous owner of your bike used a MT1 cable with the KV75 carb. While it will work I would recommend you go back to the correct design. It will snap right into your cable guide.

 

[El mariner]

Where upper joins the lower is there a plug that will not come off the cable? The lower cable ends on mine slide over the plug on the upper cable, is that how yours are?

Yes, its the white plastic part you can see partly hidden in the black booth. One slit on each side and a small recess on top.

Correct.
Below is a drawing of the two carb styles. The MT1 above and the KV75 below. A previous owner of your bike used a MT1 cable with the KV75 carb. While it will work I would recommend you go back to the correct design. It will snap right into your cable guide.
View attachment 84149

 

[El mariner]

First start this afternoon. I put some mixed fuel in the tank. Oil pump look is gonna go, just need a little more time, I can see air bubble being pushed around. Looks like gaz is leaking from one of the 2 drains lines. Had to go so I did not have mutch time.

The small spring loaded knob is a drain valve, the other could be a bowl overflow? I'm looking through the shop manual now. I remember seeing a picture where they use one of the line to check fuel level in the bowl? Those hose are quite dry and tinted now, need new one I guess.

 

[Dog Walker]

When starting for the first time run pre mix fire engine and manually hold the oil pump wide open and watch the oil flow thru the line, thats how I do my Kawi Triples.

 

[El mariner]

Yep, will need new fuel for the STIHL.

Just found this for the Mikuni VM carb: http://www.mikuni.com/pdf/vmmanual.pdf

 

[Dog Walker]

Did you clean a pack the exhaust baffle. I cleaned mine it was about 1/3 plugged not sure if I should pack it there was zero sign of packing in there maybe it never had it

Eagerly awaiting the arrival of your throttle cable brum brum when it gets here

 

[El mariner]

Other than a spark arrester in that middle piece, there was no packing in there. It did not look filled with crud, but I only had a quick look.

 

[Gatecrasher]

There are two exhaust designs. Neither had any type of packing.

The original MT1 "Parnelli Jones Dynamite" had a one piece baffle and pipe that attached to the end of the exhaust chamber. It was a cool design but it only lasted one year because the spark arrestor didn't meet the required U.S. standards. In 1972 Kawasaki eliminated the original baffle and added a 2-pc design which improved the spark arrest (but they look goofy and don't sound as nice as the original one piece style did.

The main muffler remained the same throughout all the years and you can install a 1971 baffle in a 72-80 muffler. That's why the 1971 baffles are popular. You see them for sale every now and then and they usually get snatched up quick. They were cooler looking and bolt right on any year exhaust. I have a few of them I have swapped out on my bikes.

Here's a picture of an NOS 1971 baffle: