My First Kawasaki Sled 78 ?? 440 FC Intruder

[Rollingmenace]

Did some trading and I acquired my first Kawasaki Sled.. I believe it’s a 78 440 FC Invader.
I’m planning on running it In a vintage stock 440 FC Class Oval Ice Races here in Colorado.
The numbers on the tunnel read ST440A - 001308


Motor turns free and has good Blue spark . Unable to test compression as my tester is out on loan lol.  I did try and hit it with a little ether and it popped a bit but didn’t really run. The plugs kept coming out wet . The carbs are dry and the oil tank is off . So I’m guessing there is a bit of oil or something in the bottom end Fouling the plug.. I’m planning on pulling motor and at a min disassembling topend and taking a look...

It appears someone installed some homemade brackets to raise the rear of the tunnel. Also it appears the rear shock is some sort of coil over is this normal for this sled??

I’ll attach some pics as soon as I get to my laptop.

[gixxer6]

Welcome to the site! 

ST440A1 = 1978 Intruder 440
ST440A2 = 1979 Intruder 440
ST440A3 = 1980 Intruder 440

All nice sleds...Which do you have? 

You'll want to change the crank seals while you have the motor out. 

[Rollingmenace]

I believe it’s still a 78 A1  from all the research I have done it is the model with the headlight inset on top of hood to drivers right side . I believe 79 had a pop up similar to the intruders..

I planned on doing crank seals already ordered a complete gasket set with the seals.. may even throw new bearings in it when apart I’ll just have to inspect .

Like I said It’s my first Kawasaki sled but I’ve been on Kawasaki dirt bikes for about 36 years. I recently got into sleds and ride Arctic Cats in the mountains here.. I just got a wild hair and decided I wanted to race some ovals on a sled that was different than the typical Polaris and Doos you see everywhere .. I’m no stranger to wrenching on my stuff this sled will be the 6th Green Machine in my stable and the only thing I’ve ever had in a shop was my Polaris  utility quad...
 
Once my clutch puller gets here the fun will begin!!!!!!!!!!!

[Interceptor398]

welcome to the site!!  You found the right sled to race as it is the lightest of the Intruders if I remember correctly.

[gixxer6]

The "ST" in the model number tells us that it is an Intruder, not an Invader. 

None of the Intruders had a pop-up headlight, all of the Invaders did.  The 78' Intruder is unique in that the headlight is inset in the hood, 79-82' Intruders all had a non-popup headlight that protruded from the hood. 

http://kawasakitrax.com/models.htm

[Rollingmenace]

Well I got my compression tester back today and just out of curiosity I pulled compression..
Clutch side about 90 and mag side between 75-80...

As soon as the clutch puller gets here motor is coming out..
Also got my gasket kit today there appears to be 3 oil seals I’ll have to figure out what the third seal is for...

What are you guys using to pull your flywheels off.. the manual calls out for a puller with a part number..  are you using another type of puller or should I try and find a oem one

[mswyka]

There are two oil seals on the PTO side of the engine.  One between the crankcase and the oil/gear case and the second on the outside of the gear case.

I use a three pronged harmonic balancer puller for the flywheel.  I had to buy 8mm x 60mm hardened (10.9) bolts.  Be careful how far the bolts are threaded into the flywheel.  If they go too far they can damage the coils.  A photo of my puller is attached.

[gixxer6]

Now is a good time to invest in a factory service manual

[Rollingmenace]

Thanks guys I have a balancer puller .. just wanted to confirm beforehand I could use it....

My factory service manual arrived yesterday...

[Rollingmenace]

Added a photo

[mswyka]

Definitely a 78 Intruder hood.  Looks to be in very nice shape.  We have a 78 Intruder that has proven to be one of our most used sleds - it has also given us more than its fair share of interesting stories.

[Rollingmenace]

It is for sure a 78 intruder.. Only issue with it is at some point someone cut and raised the running boards on the tunnel . And they made brackets to hold the rear suspension. I’m on the fence about  leaving it as is or trying to lower back to stock and repairing tunnel ... I am in the process of pulling and rebuilding the motor as it is a bit low on compression.

This sled will be used strictly for a fan motor stock class vintage oval ice racer.

I will add more pics here shortly. It’s just a pain converting them to jpeg off my I Pad

[Rollingmenace]

More pics

[Rollingmenace]

Under the hood

[Rollingmenace]

Pulled the motor this evening and started the disassembly process... it is going well .. on a side note the belly pan is in almost perfect shape only like 3 small and very repairable cracks...

Now i just got to finish up pulling carbs, fuel pump and secondary then ill degrease and pressure wash everything..

On crack repair do you guys recommend overlaying the crack with an additional piece of pan and pvc gluing or or will taping off bottom and just filling crack with glue be sufficient???