Author Topic: New to me Invader  (Read 5240 times)

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cjd

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New to me Invader
« on: January 28, 2015, 08:28:01 PM »
I have been wanting an Invader for a long while now.  My family had Arctic Cat and Polaris sleds growing up, but there was this guy around town screaming up and down the trails on an Invader.  We tried but couldn't catch him. We never did find out who it was, but I always remembered that sled.

So now I've got an Invader 340... pulled the carbs and brought them to a local shop for a good cleaning/rebuild.  While I was there got the clutch tool and crank seals ordered, and I ran over to a boneyard in Hinckly, MN to get a new seat, air box, and recoil.  $300 and a little sweat equity into the project - I can't get the dumb smile off my face.  This is gonna be fun.

So here's a question for those more experienced:  can I tell by any markings on the sled what year it was produced? 

Also, the speedo cable is disconnected and seized up.  Is there a way to resurrect it, or are they readily available?   

mswyka

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Re: New to me Invader
« Reply #1 on: January 28, 2015, 08:35:32 PM »
Right hand side of the tunnel below the seat in the back should be a sticker with the build date.  If not, there should be a stamp with the production number, again on the right hand side of the tunnel just below the fuel tank.  On the engine housing, recoil side, there should be a sticker with a production number.
Intruders:  1978, 1979, 1981 Custom (Pink)
Invaders:   1980 440
Projects:    1981 Invader 440

IraqvetUSMC

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Re: New to me Invader
« Reply #2 on: February 12, 2015, 10:00:21 AM »
Hi. I also have just picked up a free 1979 Invader 340. I am new to sleds so I am in the process of learning myself. The sled hadn't ran in 5 years and the previous owner said the crank seals were bad. Long story short about 20 minutes later we had the sled running and idling perfectly on a mix of good and bad brown gas. Now I need to changed the fluids and I am wondering what the chain case uses and how much. Also in the tool box under the hood was a new gas cap, crank seals, brake pads, belts & thumb throttle which was broken. The hood has minor cracks and the seat has a nasty tear and is hard and brittle. Does anyone know of a cheap place to get seat fabric so I can recover the seat without spending a lot of money. Also I was going to clean the carbs but if its running perfectly now id hate to mess with them.

Boomologist

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Re: New to me Invader
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2015, 12:32:24 PM »
Welcome! You have one of the best sleds ever made, a Kawasaki. Treat it right and it will give you a lot of fun & pride.
First and most important is to use a "genuine" Kawasaki shop manual for your particular sled. They are the best ever made and cover how things work, theory, what to look for and how to diagnose and fix what's needed.
If your sled sat that long I'd clean the entire fuel system including replacing the hoses. May want to install an inline filter and fuel shutoff in the line from tank. The carbs have very small holes in the jetting and it doesn't take much of anything to plug a jet which will cause a lean condition (less fuel, too much air). Lean running cylinders tend to melt pistons.
The oil system should also be cleaned.
Jim should chime in about now with crank seals. He's right, that's a very important part of these engines. Bad crank seals will cause a major lean condition.
Can you get the history of what's been done to the sled from the previous owner?
Take your time and keep it clean when working on it. These engines were designed by the best engineers to be very high performance and tolerances are tight.

The manual calls for Dexron II ATF in the chain case. Fill it to the center of the sight glass. (I use a small mirror to view the sight glass).

BTW: We are in the process of putting the shop manuals online. If there's a page or two that someone needs before there posted let me know and I'll put it up on my site. Manuals can also be purchased through Kawasaki and sometimes on eBay. Just be sure it's a genuine Kawasaki manual for your sled.

IraqvetUSMC

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Re: New to me Invader
« Reply #4 on: February 12, 2015, 07:09:56 PM »
Thanks boom for the good advice. I originally planned on cleaning the carbs but since it ran & idled nicely I figured that I would leave the carbs alone (if its not broke don't mess with it) lol. I did go to vintage snow and they have the kawasaki dealer assembly manual and it was full of good info on how to sync the the carbs and adjust suspension and where the service points are and even how to time it correctly. I would assume that if the crank seals were actually bad on the sled then it wouldn't have idled and ran the way it did. I know a bad crank seal causes the engine to run like crap. I think it was just gunk in the fuel lines since it wasn't getting any fuel until we pressurized the tank until fuel started to get to the carbs but we do plan on replacing the fuel lines. I believe the sled only has 1600 miles on it. The design and from what I read seem to make the sleds more modern for their day compared to the other sleds. But overall I can't complain as it was free.

jimvw57

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Re: New to me Invader
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2015, 01:34:29 AM »
If you are lucky crank seals will make it run like crap. Usually when they go, you are riding across a lake at the farthest point possible from the trailer or home, the seal starts leaking, You notice the sled is running better than it has ever run before! A lean mixture will run really good just before the piston melts down and takes the cylinder wall out too.

A sled that has low miles, or been sitting for a few years even in a climate controlled area is still tough on seals. The seals can be 15 years old with small cracks in them just from age, crank shafts could have the oil lubricating the shaft/seal area go dry from sitting, or from being flooded. First time it is run, the seal could wear down quickly until oil gets redeposited from the oil\fuel mix.  It just plain is not worth taking the chance for the small investment of a few seals and a bit of work.  Same with the carb boots. I have seen brand new boots that buckle and leak once they are tightened down.

Same with carb needle and seat on the fuel inlet. Most are rubber tipped or Viton tipped. Once they wear or leak, after you shut down the sled, fuel will siphon from the gas tank to the carb (which sits lower than the gas tank) and if the needle and seat or the anti-siphon valve in the fuel pump afe not doing their job, you could siphon most of the gas through the carb, into the bottom of the motor, and out the exhaust.  This will dry out the seals (of course) but even more, once you start the motor, the fuel in the muffler comes shooting out onto the floor and once the air\fuel mixture hits the right point, could make for a loud BANG. Luckily it doesn't happen too often as the exhaust coming out of the motor usually doesn't have much oxygen in it so it won't allow the fuel vapors to burn.

Moral is; New crank seals, Mikuni needle and seats, and make sure the anti siphon valve is working in the fuel pump.  (should be a taller Invader or Intruder style pump, not the short standard pump)