STRANDED AT THE ROADSIDE 😞 | 11th May 2024 | Kawasaki S2A

It was supposed to be my first ever visit to the Hungry Hogs Cafe in Belton, Leicestershire...

Buy me a coffee!

[grahamsmith]

All's well that ends well. Sadly condensers are like wives, there's no telling when there going to go bad. Much cheaper to replace though!

[paulsilson]

Nice soldering job Derek. Glad fello bikers stopped to see if you were ok, shame not all stopped to inquire.

[michaeljohnson-linn]

Nice bit of soldering Derek. I thought you may have taken the opportunity to upgrade to an electronic ignition system and dispense with the contact breaker points altogether. I fitted a Newtronics system to my Suzuki GT750 and it was probably the best upgrade I have ever done. The main control unit was small enough to be fitted on the battery tray with ample wiring length to run to the electronic actuators where the points used to live. The timing was initially set (static) and then re-set with the engine running using a strobe and three timing marks cast into the cover housing. Just out of interest, I did check the position of these three marks by using a dial gauge fitted to the spark plug holes and the cast marks aligned perfectly with the pistons where at the correct ‘firing’ positions. The bike ran like a dream and started on the button, a very worthwhile upgrade in my opinion.

[SherKhan-bkes]

As mentioned below Electronic Ignition is the remedy!
Back in the 70‘s whilst touring the south coast of England on my 1972 BSA 650 Lightning (which I still have!) with friends both on Suzuki GT550‘s 3cyl 2 strokes, the condensers failed on my A65L.
Luckily we were able to get things fixed in a shop nearby, problem having been of doing to many Evel Knieval style jumps coupled with pot-holes.
The system got converted to Pirahna (who don’t exist anymore) Electronic Ignition and it still works flawlessly. I will never go back to condensors and points which rest somewhere in the oblivion of my garage.
Excellent work Derek and best wishes from Düsseldorf 😉

[MichaelZZRrider]

Nice video mate. Glad you did not have to wait too long for pickup. If you had to breakdown that was as good a day as you can have. When I lived in the UK I broke down on a freezing wet night and it took hours for them to pick me up. The joys of riding.

[northof-]

Superb video. Having owned a BSA A65 L, I suspected points caps too.
Riiding with a faulty one was fun; bang bban .... BANG ...bbbb ... bang - LOL!

[KawasakiSC-tdkl]

Nice video glad you got it sorted and hood to see you did it yourself, excellent! Nothin beats the sound of a triple! 👍

[Bonanza]

Yeah, we used to carry spares in the old days and some sand paper or emery boards to clean and polish the points. I came to the conclusion that arcing and burnt points accelerated the condenser failure. Keep them clean and polished and she'll run better. But, converting to electronic is the way to go for sure. Great Video keep it up.

[Banditmanuk]

Glad it turned out only to be a condenser and not the new piston.
It's great that a few fellow bikers stopped to offer help.
Hope you manage to make it out to the Hungry Hogs. It's a terrific place. Run by the brilliant character Sue. Food's not bad either 😋

[DillyDillydave]

Great to meet you today at the pot kiln cafe I've subscribed to the channel 🙏🏼 Dilly Dilly Dave

[johnr]

Nice, neat solder joint Derek 👍 Glad that's all it was for you and not an internal engine issue. Many years ago I had a lot of problems with a Yamaha 125. I fitted new points and it was fine for a few weeks then the performance went. In those days I knew nothing about condensers so I was changing points on a regular basis. unfortunately having that problem put me off what was otherwise a good bike. Wished I'd known about electronic ignition back in 1976

[ozzyprogdomino]

What a lovely looking bike. My husband got a puncture on Sunday it was a tube tyre so not fixable and had to to call the AA, that took three hours, so your 90 mins with RAC was pretty good. Glad you got the bike fixed.

[wolfdog]

Sweet looking MC. I have the same in orange.

[lauriebloggs]

I recently waited over 6 hrs for the RAC. (tubed back tyre but met some lovely people whilst waiting!
ps that Kawasaki is gorgeous!!

[TommyTucker]

great video, beautiful bike, 2 strokes are just the best !!

[vwpieces]

GRRRR, sad day, but could have been worse.
Condensers? My 1963 CB77 and 1965 YA6 have the originals and were rescued a flooded basement long ago. The 1971 H1 also running the same one that it had in it when found in 1990.
New does not mean it's better.

[johnbarlow]

hi Derek, just come across your channel and enjoying it, Spitfire flight was brilliant and something I would like to do. Re this video, i know you said that you were pleased that three bikers stopped to see if you were ok but I was seriously shocked how many didn't! Maybe I am just old school (riding since 1975) but i know myself and my friends would not just ride past a fellow rider stopped at the side of the road like that without stopping to at least ask if you needed help.

[charliestoybox]

Glad it was a condenser instead of an internal engine issue. No telling how long they will last. I would have just replaced the bad one and kept the rest as spares. You made soldering look very easy lol.

[johnc]

I fitted a Boyer Bransden electronic ignition to my KH250, easy to fit and zero issues.

[patmays]

Incredible how a little condenser can cause all that anguish? But, it’s the small things that matter sometimes? Unlucky. 🏍🏍🏍