'86 Kawasaki 454 LTD Bobber

[rojo_grande]

I picked up this '86 454 LTD last year as a non-runner from a donate your auto type charity and the price was almost too good. Was told that it had been sitting for "a while". There was a sticker on the fender from a local community college from 1994 so assume it was parked in the late '90's. The tank had a few big dents on the right side. But the bike itself was complete.

Change of fluids, a new battery, some fresh gas, and a little contact cleaner on the ignition switch and the LTD roared to life. Cleaned the carbs up and he runs like a scalded ape and pulls like a train. Very high revving and quick bike for a 454cc.

A new/used tank, euro bend bars, trailer fender, and a few other odds and ends off ebay for the bobber conversion. Fabbed up some brackets to relocated the license plate, brake light and turn signals. A little matte black and maroon paint.

Before pic and after pics. His name is El Corcho (Spanish for Bobber)

[SpudRider]

My goodness, you did a beautiful job! Thanks for sharing your project with us.

[rojo_grande]

Thanks Spud. It was a really fun project.

[2LZ]

Nice work! Looks like a hoot to ride!

[rojo_grande]

It is a hoot to ride. The power band starts at ~5,000 rpms and goes past the 10K redline still pulling hard. The original specs at 50hp is huge for such a small bike. The engine is essentially the Ninja 908cc engine cut in half. Two cylinder, dual CV-K carbs, belt drive. Back in the day, Kawasaki raced the 454LTD against the LS 454 Corvette. The bike beat the Corvette in both 0 - 60 and 1/4 mile times by more than a second.

[cheesy]

[Adjuster]

Wow that looks great and unique! Did you shorten the wheelbase or whatever its called? It looks very short length wise.



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[Adjuster]

By the way there is a series of videos on YouTube of a guy that hunts for bikes the owners claim are frozen up. He gets them very cheap and even free for hauling them off. The videos are about each bike and the process of getting the motor unfrozen. Says its very common for a bike with an open air cleaner to suck in water or otherwise get rain water in the engine and just a little moisture can rust the cylinder walls sticking the pistons. He demonstrates several methods of unsticking the pistons and then he has perfectly good bikes that he keeps or resells. He gets a lot of high performance bikes because they are highly modified with open/exposed air cleaners and they are the worst for sucking in the water.


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[rojo_grande]

Originally Posted by Adjuster

Wow that looks great and unique! Did you shorten the wheelbase or whatever its called? It looks very short length wise.



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I did not shorten the wheelbase. I removed the original inner and outer fenders, sissy bar, and the tiered seat. I added a shortened trailer fender attached to the swing arm with struts and a fabbed up bracket so the fender moves with the swing arm/wheel. The exposed rear wheel makes appearance look much shorter. Also, the low rise handle bars give it a lower appearance as well.

I have seen some vids on Youtube for un-sticking engines. Fortunately, this one was not stuck. The main issue was old/bad gas, gunky carb, and dirty ignition switch.

Thanks

Rojo

[Weldangrind]

Very cool!

I'd call it a brat, since it still has rear shocks, but that's exactly how I'd build it. I'm too old for a rigid frame.

Nice work on the floating fender and struts.

[rojo_grande]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

Very cool!

I'd call it a brat, since it still has rear shocks, but that's exactly how I'd build it. I'm too old for a rigid frame.

Nice work on the floating fender and struts.

Thanks Weld! I just call it a blast to build and ride.
Agree on rigid. I'm no spring chicken either.

Rojo

[Louis Angel]

Just now seen this. Great job! I think the 454 engine was the basis for the Ninja 500 motor, was it not? (( and subsequently, the Vulcan 500 ))

[rojo_grande]

Louis,
You are correct.

The 454 engine is essentially half of the Ninja 900 (908cc) engine and became the basis for the Ninja 500 motor. Kawasaki increased the stroke a little to get to the 498 cc Ninja engine. The Vulcan 500 and Ninja 500 share the same motor.

Rojo