Tools to get started?

[WhiteRice]

So my 7500 mile service is quickly approaching and I need to get serious if I'm going to do this myself.

I don't have any mechanic tools so I'm pretty much starting from scratch. I'm waiting on a good sale from Harbor freight.

This is my list so far.

Front/Rear stands
Mechanics Tools Set (Waiting for a good harbor freight sale)
Torque Wrenches
Oil catch

Am I missing anything?

[Scattcatt]

24, 2x22mm deep socket, 17mm sockets for sure, snake driver or an offset driver will help sometimes, high temperature grease, oil for an oil change, coolant, high temp liquid gasket, spark plugs (maybe), measuring tape, service manual (f you don't already have it), socket hexic drivers are nice if you take the brake discs off, vacuum gauge or use Vex's DIY (I recommend his instead of buying one) or maybe it's not Vex, idk but it's this lol http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9754, micrometer, thickness gauges, one of those cable lubers might come in handy, and maybe a pressure tester though I never used either of those for the 7500, I think that covers it... Oh and a head lamp! Nerdy beyond all belief but they help soooooo much!

Oil filter/air filter if you need to replace them, I used diesel fuel to clean my air filters.

sorry... kinda confusing to read that list on their site, looks like they might have some of those sockets already lol...

[Alex]

Some good tool threads here....

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=77833
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=84857

[setasai]

Originally Posted by WhiteRice

So my 7500 mile service is quickly approaching and I need to get serious if I'm going to do this myself.

I don't have any mechanic tools so I'm pretty much starting from scratch. I'm waiting on a good sale from Harbor freight.

This is my list so far.

Front/Rear stands
Mechanics Tools Set (Waiting for a good harbor freight sale)
Torque Wrenches
Oil catch

Am I missing anything?

I would just get a good set from sears or something. They have alot of sales and you only need metric so the mechanic sets would only be 50% worth it since they include SAE.

[WhiteRice]

Gearing up for this valve job. Is a 1/2" torque wrench necessary? Harbor is having a sale on their torque wrenches.

[WhiteRice]

Ordered my tools. Now I need the rest of the stuff.

Oil
Filter
Sparkplugs
High Temperature Grease
Coolant
High Temp Liquid Gasket
Shim kit

Any suggestions?

[Scattcatt]

Originally Posted by WhiteRice

Ordered my tools. Now I need the rest of the stuff.

Oil
Filter
Sparkplugs
High Temperature Grease
Coolant
High Temp Liquid Gasket
Shim kit

Any suggestions?

Oil kind of depends what the weather is like, they come with 10-40 oil, but take me for example, here in Las Vegas the temperature gets super hot so I'm thinking of going with a 10-50 oil from Castrol or Mobile 1. I'm all for synthetic motor oil, but I know I've had some interesting discussions as to whether or not synthetic is bad for the bikes, as far as I've been told, organic oil is best for breaking in, but synthetic is better for our bikes after the break in. I've always put synthetic in mine and runs like a charm.

As for spark plugs, I stuck with the stock plugs, the NGK CR8E plugs. I considered getting the iridium ones, NGK CR8EIX (I think...) but was told that the differences aren't noticeable so I didn't bother. I've read about someone sticking a another type in with dual electrodes, but not sure what plug that was.

For grease I used: Maxima Waterproof Grease and it works great

Coolant for me was: Maxima Coolanol winter/summer Motorcycle and ATV and it's worked just fine

Liquid gasket from the DIY videos here on the forums was "Hondabond 4". I used Permatex Sensor-Safe Blue RTV silicone gasket maker that I picked up at Autozone and it's given me no problems.

finally the shim kit... I didn't get one. I found out what shims I needed and the local Kawasaki dealer ordered them for me

[TheTopher]

I'd advise against harbor freight tools.


The big difference between cheap tools and quality tools is going to be the tolerances (how close to the size printed on the side) to which they're machined.


For instance, I tried to use my new gen Kobalt wrench (comparable to the Habor Freight quality) on my brake torque links and started to round off the bolts. So I dug into my tools box and got out my craftsman set which pulled the bolts out fine.
This was due to the loose tolerances on the kobalt allowing it to slip while the tighter tolerances on the craftsman were able to grip.

Obviously craftsman tolerances won't be the same as MAC or Snap-On, but they're good enough in my opinion.


Now some HF tools will be fine and others will not, they have very loose tolerances so some of their tools may be more true to spec than others, and you'll see the same variance socket to socket if you buy a tool set from them.

Just my experience, and the reason I avoid them now.


A feeler gauge is this thing



Basically each piece of metal is the same thickness as the number printed on the side. They're mainly used for valve adjustments to get them adjusted to within thousands of an inch, but can also be used for other tasks.

You pick your desired clearance and insert it into the gap you're trying to measure. You'll "feel" just a little bit of resistance, but otherwise be able to fit the gauge into the gap, which will let you know it's the right size. If you can't fit the gauge into the gap, or you can't feel any resistance at all when you put the gauge into the gap, you know it's not the right clearance.

[Scattcatt]

Originally Posted by Phil7153

What is a feeler gauge? Excuse my ignorance.

Also, by shim kit do you just mean the washers used to shim the needles, is so you can just get the washers from radioshack.

Ah Chris beat me to it

Feeler gauges are generally metal strips that incrementally get thinner and thinner. You use them to determine the gap for the valve clearance. Each gauge has a number engraved on it indicating it's thickness.

I believe the shim kit he is in reference to is for the valve clearance. This goes hand in hand with the feeler gauges. If the clearance is too low, then a smaller shim must be put under the bucket in the engine to lower it, putting the clearance back where it should be. They're tiny, flat, cylinder shaped things, not washers. There's a DIY video around here somewhere regarding it, the video will clear these questions up much better for you if you're a visual learner.

Here's the forum with the video DIY, probably help answer a lot of your questions, I know it did for me when I did my 7500 service http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=83284

[alex.s]

all you need in life:

- digital calipers, feeler gauges, multimeter
- wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, taps and dies in every size. breaker bars and torque wrench
- hand drill, drill press with detachable tube coping tool
- lathe and a mill with adequate supply of various bits
- hacksaw, band saw, chop saw, skill saw, sawsall, rotary saw (dremel), grinder (4" and a big one) with cutoff blades, grinding disks and wire brushes, and a bench grinder
- welder (mig or tig... whatever... as long as you know how to use it)
- mandrel tube bender
- lots of metal... sheet... tube... bar.

life is nice with compressed air and air tools.

[WhiteRice]

Compressor has been on my list of tools to get forever! They can be so pricey!

I'll be sure to let you guys know how to harbor freight tools turn out.

[TheTopher]

Originally Posted by WhiteRice

Compressor has been on my list of tools to get forever! They can be so pricey!

I'll be sure to let you guys know how to harbor freight tools turn out.

I don't know how far into Jersey you are but I'm in Delaware just south of the Jersey border and selling a basic pancake compressor for pretty cheap, if you're looking for one sooner rather than later, of course.


It's more for pneumatic nailers but it can run an impact wrench for brief periods of time, long enough to crack a stubborn bolt loose.


http://www.lowes.com/pd_253750-70-C2...sor&facetInfo=

[WhiteRice]

If I'm missing any hardware where can I go to find replacements?

Washers, bolts, gaskets?

[pop0tart]

This is where your dremel comes in:

Kawasaki bolts are ridiculously priced and tend to come in odd increments (say 45 mm) Lowe's will usually sell the bolts you need in 40 or 50 mm. That's when I buy the next size up, use a nut to guide my dremel, and slice off the extra 5 mm. Removing the nut will also clean up the threads if you messed them up in the cutting process.

[Lil_Green_Demon]

One tool I can't stress enough is a breaker bar. If you make the noob mistake of overtightening your bolts like I did after my first oil change, you'll be glad you bought one.

[TheTopher]

Originally Posted by Lil_Green_Demon

One tool I can't stress enough is a breaker bar. If you make the noob mistake of overtightening your bolts like I did after my first oil change, you'll be glad you bought one.

Piece of pipe fits over the end of the ratchet/breaker bar to give you a little extra length.



In a pinch you can even slip a 6" extension into a deep well socket and put that on the end of the ratchet for a little extra oomph.

[WhiteRice]

Thanks again for the help