I took a day off from the enormous deck I’ve been building to work on the Concours. After the initial clean up I got the instrument cluster off in preparation for a new speedo cable. This looks like a pretty easy job. The cluster is only held on with two bolts and the speedo cable runs directly from it to the front tire. You slot the ends of the cable in and do them up and you’re off to the races. Replacement cables only run you about ten bucks.
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| ’94 Concours clutch lever assembly. Those little bolts that hold on the cover are 4mm and hard to source (not much in the way of metric bolts around here). The clutch lever meets up with a pin and various odds and ends that connect it to the reservoir. |
I’ve also removed the rather sad looking handlebar end weights and looked at the clutch lever. The former owner said it was missing a grommet, but it looks like other odds and ends are missing as well from the lever assembly, which is remarkably fine boned. I’ve looked up prices online, but there don’t seem to be any Canadian online parts sellers that work in this kind of OEM detail.
Considering the relatively low cost of the odds and ends I need (about $30), it seems silly to buy American and deal with customs hassles and shipping costs that almost equal the cost of the parts. Even with dealer markup, my local Kawi dealer should be able to beat the shipping markup.
I finally got to the various fairing bits and panniers and they look to be in good shape after I got the cobwebs, mud and grime off them.
The current plan is to get the speedo operational, check other details and then put her back together again and take her in for a safety check. If all goes well there I’ll begin the process of putting her back on the road. With any luck I’ll get some miles on before the snow falls and then spend the winter stripping her down for a paint job.
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| The instrument cluster is a simple removal, two bolts underneath hold the unit to a subframe. The whole thing is connected to the speedo cable out the bottom and a couple of wiring harnesses out the side. |
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| Many bits and pieces make up a Kawasaki Concours. The instrument bezel (middle) cleaned up nicely after a soak in some armourall. |
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| I finally got the Connie up on the centre stand. If there is a trick to that I’d love to hear it. I ended up putting a wooden ramp out back and man-handling it up it in order to get the stand down. |