New bars, old Loctite

The Ninjette has been neglected for at least a week since I finished up Abby the Frankenmiata. I cannibalized my wrecked 1999 Miata to build a nice daily driver and track car using a beater 1990 for a tub. The 1990 Miata now has the drivetrain and suspension of a 1999, hence the appellation Frankenmiata. And the name Abby? Well, if you are a fan of the Mel Brooks movie, Young Frankenstein, you will know the source.

Abby and I will be off to Thunderhill this coming Friday to see if I can get my driving chops back. Trackmasters is having a 7-session track day! No doubt I will be thouroughly whipped when the day is over.

But getting back to the Ninjette world, I am beginning to hate Kawasaki for its excessive use of red Loctite. Today I replaced the bars on my Ninjette. The previous owner had dropped the bike and bent the bars. He tried to straighten them but wasn't too successful. I got new bars and tried to put them on.

Turns out that everything was glued together with red Loctite. Nothing I could do would remove the screw in one of the bar-end sliders. I used an impact driver with a proper tip and it just twisted up the slots in the screw head. I ended up having to drill out the head of the screw. Turns out the red Loctite that Kawasaki put on was stronger than the steel bolt!

I took the opportunity to lube the throttle and choke cables while I was in there. What an improvement in feel and response with properly lubricated cables. Hopefully I will have the time tomorrow or Tuesday to modify the forks with the new springs and the new RaceTech cartridge emulator. Yet another step in my search for the ultimate Ninjette. I will post the pictures and instructions for doing the fork mod.