While checking the bike over after replacing the radiator I found that the silly little light on the end of the number plate stalk wasn't working:
Further investigation revealed that the bulb had exploded! No problem thought I, a rummage in the garage uncovered a replacement which.. Didn't work. Checking the terminals in the bulb holder with a multimeter showed there was no power. Game on!
I followed the wires to the space under the rear seat and disconnected the connector block:
Another prod of the multimeter showed no connectivity between the spades in the connector and the contacts in the bulb holder. Curiouser and curiouser.. Get the tools and take it all to bits.
The thing is, there's supposed to be a bulb holder on the end of them there wires. Instead it's over here, not connected in any way.
I'm guessing, just guessing mind, that this has something to do with the bulb not working. All this hassle at 3.5 years old and 21865 miles!
A quick check of the parts fiche showed that this bulb holder and wiring cannot be purchased on its own, instead Kawasaki sell the whole stalk with indicators and plate holder and everything as a single unit! Most bemused I had a search on ebay, thankfully the same seller who sold me the forks and radiator had such a stalk also for sale. I wonder what he thinks of me.. Anyway, I guess the one upside to this is that it was easier to swap the whole thing than faff about threading the wires properly?
If only it really was easy. The stalk is connected to the frame by four allen headed cap bolts. These get sprayed by the rear wheel because the rear mudguard is a joke, and so they corrode into place. Lots of fun (hammering) was required to free them.
The old torx-bit-hammered-into-rounded-allen-hole routine eventually did the trick, though I ended up going through about three consecutive sizes of torx before they all finally came out/broke off. And no it's not just me, the replacement stalk also arrived with part of a bolt still threaded into its snuggly hole! Thankfully that turned out when clamped in the vice. I'm not even going to mention the state of the frame in that area.
Can you guess which one is my old one?
This was bought for £25.50 which helped ease the pain a little bit. I can imagine Kawasaki would've wanted that for the bulb holder if they had considered selling them separately. Bolting it on was straight forward enough, I found some other allen bolts in the garage and installed them with washers and lots of copper slip because no doubt I'll be back here doing it again in a few years. All Kawasaki had to do was cover the back of the bulb holder in some sealant and this wouldn't have happened but I guess those kinds of touches don't sell motorbikes.
Bonus round! I found the pin holding the left pillion peg in place had disappeared and the peg was about to fall out, so I used a nut and bolt instead.
Something to watch out for! The other side seems okay for now..
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