KAWASAKI

A spicy lemonade of 400cc
The two-wheeled season is short in Toronto, Canada, with snow everywhere three or four months a year. But that leaves a lot of time to be in the garage or in the workshop, giving rise to a discrete but prosperous customization environment.
The largest city in Canada is home to Brian Kates, Motobrix, who recently finished this tri-cylindrical Kawasaki called El Citron.
Brian started late in this from the customizations, though no one would have said, while looking at this creation. "I did not work with bikes or cars as a child, I did not even do any practical activity until I was in my twenties," says Brian. "It's already 34 now."
His salvation is a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master's degree in Biomedical Engineering. "I was interested in personalizing my first bike while working as a researcher in a hospital; I bought a Suzuki SV650 and tried to make it look more like a Ducati Monster."
"I studied other people's work in forums, asked questions and ended up with lots of tools and pieces, learning and doing things the wrong way. I finally did some welding courses at a local college and from there I continued to teach myself how to forge and fabricate. "
In 2014 Brian jumped. He quit his job, developed his skills as a motorcycle builder and builder and launched Motobrix.
He bought this 1974 Kawasaki KH400 S3 from a friend. It's a two-stroke 3-cylinder and 400cc, temperamental but supposedly not too difficult to drive ...
"El Citron was a difficult bike to build, because I had to change the workshop twice," says Brian. "I ended up working in three different locations throughout the construction of the bike."
The process of constructing the triple also became a seven-headed animal. "I read about the history of Kawasaki tricilíndricas and the nickname 'killer' that sometimes have, and I was excited to work on them," says Brian. "But when I got on the bike and went home, I barely got off the road and it stopped working."
"When I finally got home, the bike was dumping a black oily paste from the leaks all over my parking space. My friend still had fun with me for cheating on me! "
Was the bike a lemon? Well, since the deposit was yellow, it was then that Brian decided on the name The Citron. "I wanted to turn the S3 into something modern and sporty, maintaining the character of a two ancient times."
At the front, the GSX-R600's forks and wheel set the tone for modernization, with a Cognito Moto steering shaft to make everything look perfect. The headlight sits tight against the fork struts. "I realized that some new LED headlights are relatively flat and I've tried to figure out a way to mount one without using the bulbs available on the market," says Brian.
With the help of Rusty Girl, a metal artist, the light was fixed with an orbital mount. On the back, Brian chose a swingarm of a Suzuki Bandit 600, because it has a narrow shaft width - and allows the use of a 160 tire.
For the mono-damper, it chose a GSX-R1000 unit by appearance and shape.
"For the mounting points, I rode the bike with the right fork to the one I wanted, and made grips based on the point where the damper needed to stay. As much as I am an engineer, I sometimes trust my eyes and intuition." It was not an easy job.
"I had to space the rear wheel more to one side instead of changing the frame. After spacing the wheel, I had to reposition the brake to be slightly moved laterally, and then I had to find a way to keep the chain from sticking to the tire, "he recalls. "I looked at the supermoto forums for a plan, since they usually try to fit big tires into lean motorcycles. I used a 10mm offset pinion on the front, a GS500 rack to properly align the chain, and then soldered stitches to mount a nylon chain protector to prevent friction. "" The bike has essentially become a Kawazuki, a collection of pieces arranged in E-Bay ".
But even with all these changes, Brian decided to ride a 150 tire instead of a 160 to give a little more space. With the help of his friend Roger Leavens, Brian then turned to S3's engine and found that everything was in a bad state. "The kickstart pedal had been welded to the shaft, and many of the screws had ground threads from previous rebuilds."
The crankshaft went to the Triple Cranks of Maryland for a rebuilding and dynamic balance. The all-scratched cylinders went to Gord Bush Performance in Toronto where they were rectified one millimeter across and fitted with a new set of Wossner forged pistons. And Jeff Derstine, in Pennsylvania, rebuilt the oil pump.
Meanwhile, Brian cut and replaced the original sub-frame with a hand-crafted section folded in sand. Then he pulled out the backs of his old SV650, and set up supports to weld them to the frame.
For the autolube oil reservoir, Brian welded a mini-chopper style oil tank. He also upgraded the battery to a small Shorai lithium unit, which lies just below the seat near the tail. ("As the kick is only for kick, the battery does not need many amps.") Exhaust systems are obviously critical in a two-stroke, so Brian invested in a superb set of second-hand Higgspeed expansion chambers.
"I still had to modify one of the outer tubes to fit properly with the extended swing arm," he notes. "The footrests got a little high because of the leaks, and the gearshift lever was hitting the muffler, so I cut and re-solved the lever in a more external position."
By this time, Brian had been engaged in rebuilding for four years, working on 3 cylinders among client projects. All that remained was to paint the gas tank in yellow, which was finished by Amanda, Black Widow Custom Paint with that logo The Citron. "It's been a bit of a love-hate relationship," Brian admits. "He never stopped challenging me, but it's always been one of my favorite projects."
As they say, when life gives us lemons, it is best to make lemonade. And Brian's yellow KH S3 is a refreshing variation on "normal" customizations - the equivalent of a cool glass of ice-cold soda on a hot summer day. Pedro Araújo, de Portugal