Kawasaki ER5 Mods and upgrades

[@billyjames9861]

Really nice bike, good vid - I've just acquired one myself with 12, 500 miles and full service history. It kept loosing power on the motorway whilst riding it home after I had bought it. I stripped it and found that the previous owner had snapped and glued back together one of the floats in the carb and couldn't get an accurate float height due to not gluing it back together accurately. (3 - 4mm out) Anyway I went the whole hog and did the valve clearances replacing the O rings with Kawasaki OEM on the coolant pipes, changed the oil, coolant, plugs, fuel tap diaphragm and bench sync'd the carb which I had to balance once it was back together. I'm well chuffed with it. Just to rub it in, it came with a Givi back box and engine guards and a Puig Screen, so i'm just going to stick some hand guards on it with a trickle charge to USB port to finish it off now. But yeah, they're a real smooth to ride with great gear boxes, and great on fuel - I think i've got the same aftermarket wing mirrors as yours too which are really good. I also find that the rear drum brake is better than any rear disk brake i've used on other bikes. Good job 👍

[@thats_Roll]

I would've loved to see a full paint job done on one of these as I am planning to do so on mine next summer! Great video, you covered everything of interest. Cheers!

[@richardfreestone3938]

Interesting to see what people have done with their ER5s. It looks great. I also painted the radiator shrouds and got some clear indicator lenses. Went for bar end mirrors and a hugger.

[@cjrides.1]

Thanks. A hugger sounds interesting, maybe I’ll look into that! 👍🏻

[@highriser6739]

Literally doing the exact same thing got myself a black ER5 in quite good nick for £900 with custom aftermarket lights and BW exhaust and im gonna do a full respray of the engine and the bike hoping it turns out half as good as yours. :) also have young family so mustering through on the willpower end but can't wait to see more content.

[@cjrides.1]

Good luck with it mate! It’ll probably throw up a few problems but keep the faith ✌🏻 More content on the cards but life extremely busy currently. Thanks for commenting 👍🏻👍🏻

[@f.e.1952]

Nice one Chris, nice to see a different paint job for a change. Mines blue like every other ER5 I see. Stay Safe Mate

[@cjrides.1]

Cheers 👍🏻

[@Paul.Gascoyneuk]

Great video and yes the fuel taps and regulator/ rectifier can be a pain but still decent bikes for not a lot of money , love my old er5 👍

[@TUDCAREL0L]

LOVE IT, I gotta shed of shit too lol. I have a black er5 A1 1997, 34k miles. Been mine 14 years And counting, I too changed my pads and brake lines for Hel lines and full stainless Viper exhaust system. Benefit of early er5s is carbs, spits and bangs on overrun, neighbours LOVE IT at 5am.

[@jediknight2350]

braided line is great only green doesnt go with the bike does it weres your sense of clarity lol.

[@cjrides.1]

I agree it doesn’t “match” but I bought it before I’d decided on the final colour. It’s grown on me, each to their own though 👍🏻

[@Tallfresh]

looks great and sound great man

[@cjrides.1]

Thankyou 😁

[@hellebarde1450]

Nice upgrades for the ER-5, especially the exhaust sounds nasty, I like! (No one needs to know the real 'power' of the engine, lol) Well, regarding the budget, I guess every reasonable person wouldn't invest one cent into ER-5 upgrades, but.... ;D Meanwhile mine is my 2nd bike, but always loved it and don't want sell it. I use it for daily city commuting, winter rides and the 'ugly tasks'... well, I couldn't be happier too. A reliable working horse which looks also classy... And yeah, I also invested unreasonable, added Wilbers suspensions and forks, LED backlight, same seat, steel brake lines, etc etc... ;D

[@toma3valentin]

Beautiful!

[@cjrides.1]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@BezTeh]

Lovely bike, thanks for sharing your mods! Just picked up a 97 plate which seems to have been well cared for by previous owner.also got the stage 1 kit but with a blue flame exhaust - bit longer/quieter than yours but nice sound! Reg/rec not done but aside from that it’s just mirrors on my list as I’ve got tiny bar ends and can’t see a thing! How do you find the visibility on the mirrors you used?

[@cjrides.1]

Mirrors are good, still a little “shakey” at speed but loads better than the originals! Congrats on your purchase

[@BrunoSa96]

beautiful work! thanks for sharing, too bad most links are expired

[@bikerdotty7395]

Morning...do you know what setup your carbs are (jets)ect I just put sane endcan and pipes in and uts being a right pain now....my freind changed the main jet to 180 but I think that's way to big..Nice bike btw

[@cjrides.1]

From memory it’s a dyno jet kit with either 105-108 main jet. Cheers 👍🏻

[@RRRRefuelRideRace]

Well done. Looks fantastic. Enjoyed it. The blinkers are just like stock ones, just white instead of orange. Do this company make also the same blinkers for other brands? Will check the link in the description. Thanks a lot man and drop by when you can. You may like my content. Keep it up.

[@danpeters6454]

good video

[@nadineokur9279]

Nice bike, looks great👌and a very nice dog 😂

[@cjrides.1]

Thanks 😂🐶

[@BreezyRider66]

Some say that you cannot polish a turd and some say that you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, I think you may have proven them wrong. Nice work...

[@cjrides.1]

Thankyou 👍🏻🏍️

[@glenroyjackson9081]

great video man

[@cjrides.1]

Thankyou :)

[@robbie2awesome]

Also what bulb did you use for your headlight Chris?🙂

[@cjrides.1]

I used a Halfords advanced +200% bulb, pretty decent I must say 👍🏻

[@robbie2awesome]

@@cjrides.1 Hi Chris, looks pretty decent, have you tried any LED's

[@cjrides.1]

@@robbie2awesome I have the LED tail light on the bike which is really good I must say. Did look into it for the front but decided against it as I don't ride much at night. Some decent ones on the market though....might upgrade in the future! 👍

[@michaelbelfast1]

Just got one of these, the exhaust looks like the best upgrade you can do to them, looks like Black Widow no longer sells the exhausts for them. Do you know of any other alternatives?

[@cjrides.1]

Congrats on your purchase. You could try Delkevic. They offer a full stainless system. Mine was running a Delkevic end can when I bought it and it sounded decent 👍🏻

[@robbie2awesome]

Chris, the exhaust bracket manifold nuts that clamp the exhaust to the cylinder head, do you know what torque they should be, I've searched the manuals and can find no setting. Have new copper gaskets to replace and need the torque settings, if you can help its really appreciated, kind regards Robbie

[@cjrides.1]

From memory I’m not certain that there is a specified torque. I’ve checked the manual I have and I can’t find one. I’m pretty sure it’s a case of tightening evenly, run engine up to temp, let it cool down and then retighten as needed. Hope this helps 👍🏻

[@robbie2awesome]

@@cjrides.1 yes that makes sense, awesome Chris, thanks so much

[@deyanzhelyazkov511]

Subscribed for more videos of this bike! 😃 Amazing bike and the exhaust is fire🔥. I'm searching to buy a bike like this, so maybe in few months i will need more info about that black widow. 😃 Amazing sound, beautiful bike, good work! Keep it up!

[@cjrides.1]

Thankyou! More content coming soon (weather and work permitting).

[@jamiegoodman2224]

Did you say you going to post the links for all the mods?

[@cjrides.1]

Apologies, not sure why they were not showing up. You should now be able to see them all…well spotted 👍🏻

[@jamiegoodman2224]

@@cjrides.1 nice one mate, also what size rear tyre on it…yours looks bigger

[@cjrides.1]

I did consider a bigger size but decided to stick to stock in the end. 130/70/17

[@michaelbelfast1]

Hi mate, did you take the old seat cover off before you put the new one on? And did you have to staple it on? I see they are no longer available on ebay, but can get one on etsy.

[@cjrides.1]

Yes took the old one off first. You will need a high power staple gun to secure the new one I.e not a hand one. Yeah still available on Etsy, bit of a pig to fit…or at least mine was!

[@michaelbelfast1]

@@cjrides.1 cheers mate. Thanks for your video, it's given me lots of ideas for mine to be honest. I think they suit this cool, funky and muscley sort of look. Going to go with Kawasaki green on mine and paint in one of those really hot days in the summer when the metal is hot and prime the plastic bits with plastic primer first, then lacquer tank and plastics. Already upgraded brakes to er6 calliper and a green HEL braided line - big difference. Already got the mirrors from your link - they are sweet. Will get the clear indicators too as they are great looking. I had a Kawi ZX9-R and tidied up the tail by hacksawing a chunk out of the rear mudguard and throwing on a smaller number plate - so will do the same with this. I don't think LED indicators will be worth doing on this bike as I like the chunkiness of the originals - I think the bike suits them. Going to get the black with green piping and embroidered seat cover. Will get my local upholsterer to put it on as don't want to say a 'few choice words' - sorry, l learning through other people's mistakes, i.e. yours 😅 Will get the 200mm Delkelvic exhaust as love a loud grunt and this wee bike suits a bit of muscle as per your example. Black and green er5 handgrips from Amazon. And a DID chain and sprocket. Want to do the cush drive rubbers while I am at that. Also, cut the front mud guard down to a few inches and restore forks. Didn't have to take tank fully off to flush coolant which was handy. And new Hegon springs, love the chrome ones you have - will measure those as apparently they can be different sizes. I'm leaving the more expensive items to last as only got the bike and still uncertain about the reliability of the engine - that said, once I have invested a lot of the stuff, I would buy a new engine if needs be. Don't think I will go as far as taking the engine out - a bit of surface rust around rear spring hinges and underneath as it is 1997, but will probably whip that off with a wire brush drill bit and just paint with a brush.

[@Del197]

Links expired for the mirrors and rear led light .can you repost them please .

[@cjrides.1]

I’ve updated the link for the mirrors but I can no longer find the rear light listing…maybe out of stock or discontinued…

[@oceano271]

Whats your ultra bright bulb? Got a link boss?

[@cjrides.1]

From memory I think I used one of these… www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs/halfords-advanced-plus200-brighter-h7-477-headlight-bulb-514942.html?cm_mmc=Google+PLA-_-Motoring%3EMotoring+Products%3EBulbs-_-Motoring%3EMotoring+Products%3EBulbs-_-514942&_$ja=tsid:%7Ccid:18030148076%7Cagid:%7Ctid:%7Ccrid:%7Cnw:x%7Crnd:4858541727958906683%7Cdvc:m%7Cadp:%7Cmt:%7Cloc:1007149&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIv62229y6_gIVi5ntCh1Chwv8EAQYASABEgKUlPD_BwE

[@joshuahigham9377]

Where did you get your exhaust from have you got a link for it

[@cjrides.1]

Links to parts are in the description but sadly I think the ER5 has been removed from black widows site.

[@craigshone7896]

Hi mate you said about jetting it and dyno what jets did you go and what was the power it made thanks

[@cjrides.1]

I used a dyno jet stage one kit. The actual bhp is only about 45 which for a 17 year old engine with no history isnt bad I don’t think. The throttle response and low down torque is now much improved though. 👍🏻

[@craigshone7896]

@@cjrides.1 did you get the power before the jet kit have you noticed any improvement with the top end I am very tempted to get this done with mine thank you

[@cjrides.1]

Didn’t get it on the dyno before I install the kit due to the fuel leak, sadly. Top end is slightly better. I’m most impressed with the additional pull throughout the entire range though. I’d highly recommend it if your tempted.

[@craigshone7896]

@@cjrides.1 I’m not keen on the price of the kit the cheapest I found was £115 I will do it when I need the carbs done th

[@leonardocurto4996]

Boa noite, consegue enviar o catálogo de peças dessa moto. Comprei uma e aqui no Brasil é muito difícil conseguir peças.

[@cjrides.1]

Hi, You could try kawasakioriginalparts.com that’s where I got most of my parts, they might ship to you 👍🏻

[@tomholvey5703]

Gonna need help here i cant find the exhaust 😭

[@cjrides.1]

That’s odd, the ER5 is no longer listed on the site at all…..maybe email them? Sorry I can’t be of more help to you. Good luck 👍🏻

[@pedroandrade1092]

Gosto muito foi minha primeira moto grande ainda quero comprar outro

[@cjrides.1]

Thankyou! You should definitely buy another 👍🏻🏍️

[@sanderdegreef379]

Your exhaust sounds like a tin can man damn... that’s crappy

[@cjrides.1]

I happen to like the sound and ultimately that’s all that matters. But thanks for commenting, have a nice day 👍🏻