I quickly put in 2000 miles on the original eight grand, when both baffles burnt out. The system consists of two sets of 2 into 1s which are linked by a balance pipe. The Kawasaki spares man declared that this was all one solid unit which would cost £200 to replace, or I could buy a non-standard system for around £150. I ignored this advice, hacked off the offending silencers and replaced them with Universal types (something now apparently illegal). The job was made a lot easier by the amount of rust that had eaten away the metal on the old silencers. The lowly tuned LTD engine did not appear to object to this transplant.
Within the next 500 miles the balance pipe went as well - it rotted through and actually fell off, despite my constant application of exhaust bandage. While at the dealers to buy a set of hotter grade spark plugs (as recommended by the manual for improved performance and starting ability in the winter), the guy in front was trying to convince the erk behind the counter that GPz750 exhaust systems came in bits and that the Kawa replacement kit he'd bought was missing the balance pipe. The erk eventually agreed that the balance pipe did indeed exist as a separate unit. When I found out that it only cost £3, I asked him to fetch me one in the hope it would fit the LTD. His smirk was very annoying when he informed me he'd just sold the last one. I had to wait for a whole month.
The clever side stand ignition cut-out decided to cut the ignition out whatever the position of the side stand. It's fairly easy to bypass. The CDI decided to pack up at 12000 miles, a new one cost £100. There was a long waiting list at the breakers. Mentioning CDI units to any LTD or GPz rider can lead to violence or sudden fits of crying.
I always like to do my own maintenance and found the LTD a nightmare. The tappets are bucket and shim, although they don't need much attention, but they are very awkward to adjust and you have to rush around buying shims. The air filter is located under the seat and is very difficult to change. The screw down top becomes trapped when you try to unscrew it, turning a relatively simple task into a horrible ordeal.
The oil filter was a lot easier to change. Struggling under the engine every 3000 miles wasn't too much of a problem. I changed the oil every 1500 miles, because this is vital on Jap bikes with the oil shared with the gearbox. I fitted an annealed copper washer to the drain plug and never lost a drop of oil.
Removal of the back wheel was the equivalent of a round with a heavyweight boxing champion. The only way to raise the Kawa far enough off the ground to actually remove the wheel, was to place a car jack under the centre stand pivot. The way the silencers blocked access to the axle didn't help one little bit. That also caused problems when trying to adjust the drive chain, an item that only lasted somewhere between 6 and 6 1/2 thousand miles.
My attempt to cure a weeping cylinder head joint was delayed when I couldn't remove the bolt holding the petrol tank in position. I had to chisel off the nut that was welded onto the tank locating bracket. And I still have the scars on my knuckles from that little adventure. I had to tighten the head down beyond the recommended torque settings before the weeping disappeared. Apart from this, the engine was quite reliable, the only minor problem occurring at fifteen grand when the clutch cable snapped. The normal smooth gear change disappeared, replaced by a nasty sounding clunk every time I changed gear.
One maintenance feature that I did applaud was the ease of changing disc pads. The calipers had a removable disc pad holder that made changes very quick and simple. This was just as well as there were twin front discs and a single rear. I changed the pads at 14000 and they still looked reasonable when I sold the bike with 20000 miles on the clock. Average pad life is probably around 7000 miles. The brakes gave plenty of stopping power with enough feel to avoid locking up the wheels. My only problem was the rear brake pivot, made from a remarkably corrosive steel that defied all my efforts at grease application and insisted on seizing at inappropriate moments.
Generally speaking, the bike doesn't stand up well to wear and tear. The seat cover, for instance, splits at around 12000 miles and the foam stuffing blots the lines of the bike. There appeared to be a supernatural relationship between the speedo and rev counter cables. They very rarely both worked at the same time. It was guaranteed that once I replaced a broken cable, the other would snap very shortly afterwards. I experimented by leaving the broken rev counter in place for a thousand miles, the speedo cable whirled merrily away all the while. Thinking I'd broken the curse, I replaced the tacho cable: the speedo cable broke on the way home...
The electrical faults mentioned earlier were probably not helped by the way the gap between tank and harness traps piles of dirt, and the shortness of the wiring harness means every time the rider is foolish enough to actually turn the handlebars, the wires between head race and front light are stretched, causing chafing which eventually wears through the wires and blows all the fuses. Clever, very.
An average winter spent on salt encrusted roads left the bike ravaged by corrosion. The front forks age rapidly, with pitted sliders (that ruin the seals) and bottom legs that could only be made respectable by applying several coats of silver paint. Ditto the alloy wheels. It was so bad that the tubeless tyres developed a slow leak because the corrosion undermined the seal with the rims.
Not trusting Jap tyres, they were replaced with Roadrunners which were fine, lasting 6000 miles rear and 9500 miles on the front. Tank paint was ruined by bubbles of rust, when I tried to remove the tank badge, the screws just chewed up (something that was to be repeated whenever I brought a screw driver near the bike).
Despite the bike decaying under me, I did enjoy riding it. The upswept bars and laid back riding position were a poseur's dream. This was ruined whenever I had to stop, the seat height was too high for my 29" inside leg and I was left precariously holding the bike upon the tips of my toes.
Despite its mass (it's a real pig to put on the stand, a killer to push more than an inch and a bitch to pick up if you drop it), the Kawa was a a cinch to throw around town. The throttle always responded immediately and it went fast enough to keep me from falling asleep. Fuel averaged out at 50mpg, which included keeping well ahead of rush hour traffic.
The only thing that marred my daily jaunts to work was an orange Merc. The driver used to take suicidal risks to keep up and then insisted on taking me on the bends. If the forks and tyres weren't leaking and the suspension correctly adjusted, I had a chance to stay with him up to 95mph. This kind of speed turned the laid back riding position into a hang on for life struggle. Putting chin on tank left my arms in a rather silly looking position. I don't mind sacrificing some comfort for style but when it begins to make the handling hairy I begin to have second thoughts.
My bottle finally went with the swinging arm bearings at 18000 miles. I'd been trying to kid myself that they were just a little loose (but it got to the stage where applying max pressure on the swinging arm axle nuts to close up the gap between swingarm and frame had no effect) but the back end wobble became decidedly vicious at speed. At the same time the self adjusting camchain tensioner stopped adjusting, leaving the engine sounding like there were a couple of loose nuts and bolts circulating inside the engine. This finally convinced me of the silliness of trying to go too fast.
This bike definitely falls into the poseur bracket. It looks good at first, but it's a lot of hard work to keep it looking pretty if you also insist on riding when it's not sunny. In the end, I gave her up because I wasn't willing to keep spending money on a bike that gave so little in return.
Ginge