Getting a Kawasaki KE175 street-ready | Kyle's Garage - Ep. 4

Kyle pulls his Kawasaki KE175 motorcycle out of storage and gets it ready for the road.
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[@nacholibre1962]

The KE175 was my first legal bike. Great little bike. I'd had a BSA Bantam 125, a Honda SS50 and a Honda C70 beforehand (I started riding when I was about 13), but the KE175 was my first licensed bike at 17 years old in 1979. When I lost my job and couldn't make the payments, I propped it up against a street light for a couple of days until it disappeared then reported it stolen and got my insurance money. When you're living on your own at 17, you do what you need to do to survive. The next year I joined the army and 41 years later I'm a year from retirement. I've had much bigger bikes since then, but the little dual sports have an allure all to themslves. I recetly bought a Yamaha TW200 and love it.

[@gamapunk328]

im 17 years old and im thinking of buying one in the close futur

[@tahirusman5929]

My memories with this bike go back to the 80s. What a great machine. Surprised to see these in such great shape after decades!!!

[@jonathanlongley1353]

Thanks for the video. I just bought a non running 78' last week. Hunting down parts and reading as much as possible

[@mrdfoutz]

Love it! Rode one from SW Virginia to NE Mississippi and back. Probably wouldn't do it now (I'm an old dude), but man, what a memory!

[@barrymontgomery9860]

Great video! One FYI point, back in the olden days people would put steel wool in the tail pipe of their (stored) cars to keep rodents out, but that was in the very back of the exhaust system of the car, never put steel wool that close to your cylinders or intake/exhaust, pieces of the steel wool will break off and get between your rings and score your cylinders. And rag and duck tape will work better/safer.

[@MitzvosGolem1]

Had this bike new in 1976. Cool bikes Rode from NYC to Quebec..Good in trails also.

[@davemohney]

Yes, Love those early 70s 2 stroke enduro bikes!

[@NSarg04]

I know it's been a while, but for the future if you haven't already figured this out, you should always put a little oil on the gasket so you don't have to pry it off in the future. It would also help slide it over instead of beating it with a hammer. The myth of "oil won't let it make a tight seal" has been debunked a while ago and I do it all the time with no issue

[@northerniltree]

The Kawi 125 is capable of easily doing 55MPH, the 175 is good for 65-70 MPH, the 250 will take you to 85MPH, and the "Bison" 350 will do 100MPH. I own all of them, plus the Suzuki Apache 400, and a few Yama DT 400's. I love these old 2-stroke enduros. It sucks the EPA killed 'em. Can't imagine how amazing they would be today if not discontinued!

[@ambernames1814]

I have a 175 and I’m not sure what oil it takes

[@northerniltree]

@@ambernames1814 2-stroke oil, if it's a 2-stroke. You can find that most everywhere. The crankcase takes a (different) motor oil. Refer to your owner's manual on recommendations.

[@rickharper1497]

You should use a manual impact screw driver to first break screws loose to tighten snug with screw driver and one hit with impact screw driver. Old school on old bike!!!!

[@northerniltree]

Correct.

[@evi1dav3]

Have a 95 Kawasaki KE100 a 73 F7 ( it's a KE175 before Kawasaki changed to KE+displacement in cc's on dual sport bikes) and a few parts bikes. Ride the 100 around a lot. F7 needs a restoration. One day I'll get to it. This video was rather inspirational. Started out on 2 stroke with a buddy letting me ride his Yamaha RD350. Love the ol' 2 smoke, er I mean 2 stroke. Nothing like the smell and sound of 2 stroke!

[@amyfreitag5707]

Like the Craftsman diamond tip screw drivers! Got the same bike but issues with wiring and getting the magneto/ lights to work.

[@craignelson6156]

Old bikes are rad

[@BrassCatcher]

Craig Nelson and some of them are faaast

[@au_nexus6912]

I learnt how to ride on a KE125 , brings back a lot of memories

[@Stickinit]

Woooooo hooooo KE's are awesome little bikes. Have fun ride safe!!!

[@patmurphy5237]

Great video, I learned a lot about these bikes, I’m picking one up this week.

[@daltonnadeau1339]

My dad has one that was left in the woods from when he bought their house in 03 it’s still there

[@Mutato-]

My first bike was 1978 KE100.

[@scootosan]

Sweet bike, nice touch returning with the Recycling bin. I enjoy your videos.

[@Friedbrain11]

It is nice to have oil injector instead of mixing the oil with the gas. I myself would work on the 'Vair. My favorite '60's Chevy is the Corvair :)

[@somerandomguy3868]

I would love to find one, even if it's a basket case, you can still get rings for most of the vintage Japanese bikes, jugs and pistons are mostly gone and what's not is expensive

[@miker7294]

I love what you do. Keep up the videos

[@aeror115]

Cool bike mate! Love the minimalistic design of this old bikes 👍

[@steve4628]

Learned how to ride on a Kawasaki 175 enduro. Had to push it to back patio to so i could lean it agaist it so i could get on it, kick start it. I wasn't big enough to have both feet touch the ground. Learned how to use a clutch on it. Soon after i was riding honda 90 atc ( but didn't like no clutch) then honda 110 atc( still no hand clutch), then 200sx and then 250R. Good times.

[@JERRYR708]

Picking one up tonight with 2000 miles on it for 2 grand. Dealer waiting list for dual sports are 6 mos and expensive.

[@reiahusarciuc2766]

Man, that’s a tuff cycle! I’ve been wantin’ one for some time, but I ought to find one, man..

[@ellethebelle9683]

Rotary disk valve with oil injection. Great technology for the time. I had the farm bike G4-100 version with duel range gear box. Much faster than a Honda XL250 of the same time. imagine if they made a modern version with direct fuel injection, it would be such a good trail bike.

[@CosmikDebrisFZ]

Great bike. My friend had one of these back in the 70’s. I had a Harley Davidson Z90😂 But 2 years later I got a Yamaha DT 400💪🏻

[@deopersad2915]

Awesome 👍🏾👍🏾 I got 2 dirt bike's but want to fix them to sell to get a smaller dirt bike so I can learn again as I have a injured knee and don t want to get injured again, so seen a older dirt bike but always need money as well as having a job is harder to get a the moment 😞 but will get there 🙂👍🏾

[@huskvarsm]

I had a KE 125 sadly they are disc valve not Reed valve so not easy to tune like a yamaha RD 125 or later a aprilia 125 two stroke you can tune those to over 35hp and that much HP on a small agile 2 stroke is a blast I’m a big guy but my aprilia MX 125 supermotard was tuned to 35 + HP and I got just over 100mph on a flat straight road great fun.

[@56cote]

Nice. I have a 72 F7175 it's, very similar. Fun bikes to knock around on.

[@roadrunner1580]

i also have a 71 f7. i like the f series kaws soo much better than the KE series.but it was nice to see they kept building these great bikes. cheers

[@agvaquero8361]

This was my first motorcycle, a 1975 version.

[@deweydodo6691]

My set of wheels when the weather was good back during college ,,,

[@rooster4450able]

Just bought one of these exact bikes yesterday mines a 1977

[@riosusiloanggoro]

Sir, I have a Yamaha RD125 Twin, have you ever restored and repaired a Yamaha RD Twin? I want to see how to fix the ignition side, thank you very much

[@WildBillFlysRC]

My first bike was a 78 KE250, bought it when i was 16 in 79. it had the worst transmission ever! the shift drum would break pins and get stuck in 1st gear. happened twice, fixed it twice. it sat behind my parents shed until the mid 90's and i gave it to a kid who was helping clean up. it was in rough shape.

[@northerniltree]

@@logicthought24 Nor have I.

[@Derek8888]

I had a kv 175 as a kid had a high low gearbox

[@warrenzevonsangryghost6055]

Suzuki did that too with a 185, IIRC.

[@megamindtvsydney3967]

Hi mate just wanted to know what voltage battery does the ke175 take ?

[@jkajje2945]

i have a husqvarna 250 wr also a nice bike

[@sportsteeme]

Hey i just picked one of these up and i’m curious about something. the previous owner had applied for a title so it had a title, but the bun isn’t working because it’s not 17 characters. Do you or anyone else have any idea what i need to do with this info to get it street legal?

[@mkshffr4936]

How practical are these old 2 strokes for daily use? Are there any important things to know about how to ride and maintain them for such use?

[@averagecarguy420]

Also do not engine brake on a 2 stroke. When slowing down pull in the clutch and use the brakes. If you were to engine brake, there wouldn't be enough fuel pulled in to lubricate the piston and cylinder and you'd fry your top end.

[@k6racebike]

@@averagecarguy420 You have no idea what you are talking about. That's why two stroke gasoline is mixed a little heavier with oil than it needs to be for steady/acceleration throttle, so there is surplus oil in the case/cylinder for closed throttle situations.

[@averagecarguy420]

k6racebike I'm not talking about the kind of engine braking that happens on a track, the short little bursts of deceleration and popping down a few gears. I'm talking about the kind that happens on the street. Long periods of time coasting and downshifting with no throttle, perhaps down a hill or coming to a stoplight off a highway. The crankcase will run out of excess fuel and things are going to get toasty. And I do know what I am talking about as I have studied and rebuilt many different types of 2 stroke engines since I was about 11.

[@kller3131]

@@averagecarguy420 you actually are right. It may be possible to engine brake a 2 stroke for some time, but not too long. How long is that? You never know. So avoiding it in general is the best you can do :)

[@averagecarguy420]

RandomRider exactly you said it better than I could it's a guessing game every time is Russian roulette but instead of a bullet you get a blown engine

[@ender2999]

Anyone know what kind of motorcycle stand that is? Looking for one that size. Thanks!

[@buckneighkidd419]

Presume your using JIS Screwdrivers?

[@ivorsmyle8937]

So, not only is a screwdriver a pry bar but it`s also a hammer, having said that, of course, every tools a hammer, just wipe your hands on an oily rag if you agree.

[@cameron7810]

What year is this bike?

[@ricktotty2283]

Go get some tags for it.

[@andrysupps2249]

Похож на Минск 125й👍

[@user-dj4js6qu4l]

ส่งมาให้ผมหน่อยอยากได้คับ

[@cokker]

ถามแม่ของคุณ

[@user-dj4js6qu4l]

@@cokker 5555

[@MuhammadAli-fe1or]

Kawasaki ke 175 81 modle oil injektr sistm send me

[@haikalespys]

hemm

[@evilsadvocate]

how to do a bunch of pointless things on a bike. nice suggestion youtube.

[@michaelhilber8284]

Really a rotten video.