Clymer vs. FSM: a tale of two bikes.

[sgtslag]

I have two bikes, currently; had a third, but sold it off last Fall, to a very happy young man, who is riding it as his first bike.  I have FSM's for both current bikes (1993 Kawasaki Voyager 1200 and a 1979 Honda CB750K), and a Clymer for the other two (1979 Honda CB750K, and the now-sold 1983 Kawasaki 440 LTD).  Clymer never made a book for the Voyager 1200 (this bike was virtually the same machine, from 1986-2003; there were some minor updates, and multiple paint schemes, but virtually identical, and unchanged the entire 17 year production run...), supposedly because there were too few of them made, and purchased, in the USA.

I've gone through my Clymer manuals, numerous times, digging for troubleshooting information, looking for torque values, and parts, and a whole lot of dis-assembly instructions, and procedures (specifically what parts to remove, and in what order!).  You would think that the FSM would have that, and more, within its pages.  Well, for Honda, they do; for Kawasaki, they don't, at least on the Voyager!  I've used my books for too many tasks, and jobs, to list here.  They have proven invaluable.  Yet, Clymer, in my mind, beats the FSM's, easily.  Honda's FSM seems to be close to Clymer, but it still does not go into the depth of step-by-step removal procedures, that Clymer does.  I find myself using the Clymer more than the Honda FSM, but the Honda FSM has more detailed information, and more spec's, by far.

With the Voyager, there is only the FSM.  I needed to replace the choke cable:  should be pretty straight-forward, and relatively easy...  The FSM states, "If the cable is broken, or cannot be moved, replace the cable."  What it does not tell you, is that the handlebar choke lever end needs to be put on first, then the carburetor end -- if you are very talented; otherwise, remove the hand grip, disassemble the entire left handlebar (it is two pieces, bolted together, which then bolt to the steering head...), removing the switch box for the radio, turn signals, and some other do-dad's, to finally slide the choke lever off.  Once the cable lock is secured within the choke lever, re-assemble the whole, and bolt the handlebar back to the bike.  Finally, glue on the new hand grip...

I am about ready to replace the handlebar choke lever, with a dash-mounted choke knob, from a '79 Honda CB750K!  Damn, what a POS design!  In order to lubricate the choke cable, you must remove the cable first, which might be possible by disconnecting the choke slider end, at the carburetors, hold the carburetor end high above the bike, above the handlebar end, then inject cable lube; or you will be forced to remove the grip (WD-40, and a screwdriver, did not work for me -- it could have, but I didn't have a long enough screwdriver, nor the patience to work at it), disassemble the entire handlebar assembly, lube, re-assemble, and glue on a new grip...  The old choke cable rusted through, and broke:  the PO's never lubed it because they would have had to jump through too many hoops to even try.  Note that the FSM never mentions anything about lubricating this cable...  Built-in design failure, for maintenance service at the Shop?

If Clymer had invested the resources into writing a book on this bike, they would still be selling copies.  There are a lot of these bikes still running, with many owners making repairs themselves -- some of us, rather badly, thanks to the less-than-sterling FSM, and our inexperience with these bikes' peculiar needs.  Kawasaki would be way ahead if they recruited some technical writers from Honda...  Clymer may not be the best, but they're not bad, by a long shot.  Cheers!

[Lucky 1]

I have only seen ONE good shop manual in my life and it was for a Renault R5.

Here is the way it was laid out.
A photo of the part as it was in the engine compartment. Several views.
A drawing of the part with several views. With names of the parts.
A photo of the part OUT of the car,several views.

A page explaining what the part does, and how it does it.

A page describing how to test the part in the car and how to test it on the work bench.

A page explaining how to remove the part.
A page explaining how to reinstall the part.
A page telling about how to adjust the part.
Torque specs for that part.

[Lucky 1]

Worst workshop manual.....The idiot's Guide to VW's.

1. For instance , Idle screw (number of turns) Not listed.

2. For speedo cable replacement. (It literally says), "good luck".
But the way to get it out, is to remove the tray under the dash then you can get to it.

The drawings are funny though.