KawasakiTrax Community
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Boise_chief on January 24, 2018, 02:55:26 PM
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I have 4 Kawasaki sleds
3 77 440 invaders f/c
And a 78 intruder w/c
At least I think this is right.
2 of the invaders are sequentail vin numbers and have been together since new.
I am wanting to sell them but wanted a little advice.
Should I get them in running condition replace shocks etc. Or, sell them as is. The 78 runs, I cleaned the tank replaced fuel lines and cleaned carbs etc and it fired up. Then I found this site and realized it needs more work before I go riding it.
Any advice would be appreciated.
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Sounds like an interesting problem to have. If you are looking at the build dates on the tunnel, a 77 build date is for a 78 sled and a 78 build date is for a 79 sled. Invaders are liquid cooled and Intruders are fan cooled.
Do you have photos?
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Consecutive serial numbers would be a plus for some.
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I can post pictures tomorrow I will be down at the shop tomorrow. I have no idea of value on them as they sit.
If it helps here are vins
78's. St440a006137
St440a005895
St440a005894
79 ss440a011140
They were all sold to a family in the boise area and the story I had was that the son was hurt riding and they parked them in the 80's. All are low miles apprx 1000 miles or so. I will check tomorrow.
Is it worth my time to do a partial resto. Ie. Seat fuel system shocks etc. Or would I be better to find someone that wants to do it themselves.
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As far as fixing them up it depends on what you think your time is worth and do you enjoy that kind of stuff?
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This should help you figure out exactly what you have: http://kawasakitrax.com/models.htm
As far as fixing them up before selling, it's really hard to say. If a new seat cover and some cleaning and maintenance would make a show sled, then yes I think it would be worth it. If they are a little rough around the edges, then just get them running, slap some black duct tape on the seat and sell them as riders. But this may vary depending on your local market. Good luck. :)
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I will post pics of 3 of them today 2 78 and the 79.
I.did some reading yesterday and I have a few more questions.
How difficult is replacing the crank seal. Time est?
How well do they ride once they are right. Currently they feel like they have almost no suspension. Maybe I will want to keep one or 2
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This is just my personal opinion - the value of which may be only as much as what i was paid to offer it:
If I am buying a snowmobile I would much prefer doing the fix up work myself rather than having a former owner slap on a band aid only to find out later that there are bigger issues under the surface. (Like the one sled that came in looking pretty good but ended up that it actually had a bent crankshaft that shook the engine apart)
And, considering that every sled we bring in at a minimum receives new pistons, rings, jets, fuel needles, fuel line, filters, gaskets, and carb flanges - this alone equates to about $300 in parts and a day's worth of time. So on that basis, and reading between the lines above, it probably makes the most sense for you to offer them for sale as is.
However, be forewarned, that if you do decide to start down the road of fixing one of these sleds - even if you are only saying to yourself that i am fixing it just to increase its value so that i can sell it - you run the very real risk of contracting the dread condition colloquially known as Mad Kaw Disease. Be equally forewarned, there is no known cure or antidote -and a plethora of crank seals are, at best, only symptom relievers.
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79
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2
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3
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4
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2,900 miles on the Invader. Without a prior rebuild, that would generally be end of life for a set of pistons - and likely crank seals. But the hood and dash seem to be in good shape.
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The 79 is the invader without the seat. I have it in the shop to do a quickie recover. The pictures mixed up in my phone and I wasn't smart enough in the beginning to post multiple pictures.
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Nice looking sleds!
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It's been my experience that the time, effort and money I've put into some of the sleds I "fixed up" with the intention of getting more when selling them just doesn't seem to pan out. If you're looking to get them out of your life just sell them as is and settle for what you can get. This may very well end up being less than you hoped to get but so long as it's more than you've invested and you didn't do any hard work then you'll have done well enough. As for crank seal replacement it's a chore but not a nightmare job to do. Fan cooled Intruders are less effort as you can remove the engine without puking coolant everywhere when you extract it. You can do the seals on an Invader liquid without opening the cooling system at all but it requires more kneeling and bending over for longer periods of time. The task involves separating the upper and lower crankcase halves so that you can install the new seals without damaging them during the installation. The coolant on an Invader all lives in the upper half so it's possible to leave the entire top end together on the upper crankcase half without opening the cooling system. As for your harsh ride I suspect the cross shafts of the suspension arms are either seized inside the arms preventing them from pivoting or something else is binding up ? The Kawasaki sleds all give a well above average ride in comparison to most vintage sleds. If gone through and adjusted for your weight it should be a nice ride. As mswyka stated beware if you do fix any of them up to keep and ride. Mad Kaw Disease can be a powerful affliction you may have to suffer with the rest of your life. The first time I got out on my '82 LTD and had room to run I pinned the throttle only to end up laughing out loud so hard it fogged up my helmet lens forcing me to let off and slow down. Once slowed down I opened the lens and pinned the throttle again till my eyes watered from the cold and all the while laughed like a silly thirteen year old kid. If you do fix them up I assure you you'll enjoy them a great deal.
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I think I will keep one or maybe 2. I had a ball trail riding my kids 97 indy 440 today. I expect you can throw the kawis around in the corners like the little 440.
2 questions
Is there a definitive thread on crank seals you can point me to?
And secondly what should I ask for the 2 78 440s that are consecutive serial numbers? I'd like them to go to someone that use them for vintage runs etc