Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

. ::;: ~ w Z W ..J U >- U From left to right ; after an d before. by Dave S choonmaker You probably th ought Kal-Gard was something which ke eps rocks out of you r mouth, right? Well dummy, I' ll have to admit that I had th at vague impression th e first time I saw those words blazenly marked across some motocrosser's chest. It had to be either that o r a vitamin . Mu ch to my surprise Kal-Gard turned ou t t o be a specia l coating &/o r lubrication process. One d ay last week a fellow named Ralph McCarthy called and in vited us out t o look the place o ver. Normall y we are a- little wary of new fangled way s to make y our engine run for yea rs a n d y ears at redline, But, we were a little primed through E.C . Birt, and E.C . is suc h a Kal-Gard fanatic th a t we de cided th at it had to be O.K. This is a caps ule of what we can tell you about Kal -Gard and where and wh en y o u can get it . Kal-Gard is a co mpany which has been ar ound for fifteen ye ars . It started its life (like so' many businesses) on a government co n tra ct. Kal-Gard was co m m issioned to make a coatin g which would prevent c o rr osio n in weapons used for underwa ter demolition work. Their first product was therefore called Gun-Kote. Gun-Kote resists corrosion in a constant salt spray of 5% (m uch higher than seawater) for at least 1,0 00 hours. What t hat me ans is that it absolutely will not rust. Gu n-Kote is a non-sealing p ain t, a fact which makes it cap abili tie s particularly unique. The non -seali ng asp ect makes it ideal for use in moto rcycle engines. It resists temperature s up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit but lets the m etal breath . Its coloration is black which enhances cooling. Therefore it makes an almost ideal protective coating on exterior parts of a motorcycle. It works like almost n othing else on exhaust pipes. On their d esert racer it has failed to be w o rn off either the frame tubes or exhaust pipe which are exposed to san d being thrown from the front wheel. It is applied like a paint and then baked at 300 degrees for one hour. The only part i cularly difficult part of the operation (which basically prohibits it from casual use) is the surface preparation need ed before application. The secret wh ich makes Gun-Kote so inpenetrable is a blasting wi th very fine grit which creates a minutely rough surface. Gun-Kote lik es to hide in the little p o ck ets. Considering that yo u can hav e y o ur frame, and swingarm done by Kal-Gard for $ 2 0, it is very com pe ti tive with an y special frame protective coating. Consid erin g th at the y will do y o ur pipe for $6.00, it is right competitive with a' ratty old can of spray paint. The fa ct that it cam e about by governme nt co n trac t means that it is about the best you Can buy . (Not because th e government is so gr eat , bu t simply be cau se they spare no expense or effort in getting what they want.] The Kal-Gard product which you might be more familiar with is the lubricating process wh ich they call "FA". " FA" is a molybdenum sulp hide particulate lubricant. It is sprayed on like a paint and then baked at300 degrees Fahrenheit for 60 minutes. Like Gun-Kote it is rust inhibiting, but it has more interesting properties. "FA" is a lubricant proved in co mp eti tio n. On the dynamometer it ' shows an average _lO% in crease in horsepower. T he in crease in horsepower is gained b y reducing fricti on , which has two e ffec ts . It minimizes fr iction drag and in current hors epower lo sses and it low ers temperatures drastically which to a point aids horsepower output. In many ways Kal -Gard "FA " is similar to a multitude of dry film lubricants. Its major differences are in th e care with which it is processed and the method in which it is applied. Kal-Gard re ceives 55 gallon drums o f . molybdenum sulfide and th en th ey grind it down to particles so small that th e substance flows n early like wate r. It is co m bined with a binder and a so lven t carrier o f e th yl alcohol and toluene. This mixture" is applied th rough paint sprayers in numerous thin coats with th e objec t being coate d at a temperat ure of 150 degrees. The sur fac e preparation is the same as for Gun-Kote, with th e exception of those objects which can ' t be blasted. These are first stripped an d then etched with acid to get the same rough surface. A chain is an example of one part done in this manner. • Kal -Gard "FA" has a rem arkable ability to withstand pressure while maintaing very low friction levels. When a compression load of 10 0,0 00 psi is applied to s shaft trea ted w ith "FA" th e torque produce d will n o t rise above 3 ft llbs for at least 35 0 mi n utes. T hink ab ou t it; that's p retty incredible. McCarthy r e c omm e n d s t hat transmission gears, pisto n s, valves, c am s an d any other gears in the bike, be treated with uFA". "We don't d o cranks mostly because it's such a hassle. Cranks require acid etching and when that is done as much as six hours of curing may be required to prohibit the crank from being ruined by the acid. It's j ust too touchy." A favorite object to Kal-Gard is th e drive chain. The Brook's DKW ran the Baja on a Kal-Gard chain and then did three more desert ra ces on it for good measure. As you can imagine, a ch ain is a little tricky to treat. After stripping and acid etching the chain is put in a vacuum tank full of "FA". By applying 25 inches o f vacuum to th e tan k the air is drawn out of th e links . and " FA " is drawn in. After baking, all th at is required is periodic lubrication with a Kal-Gard m olybdenum lubricant. What you can get out of all o f this is inc re ased engine life and performance . V ou migh t expect a 15% reducti on in oil temperature, crankcase or gearbox, and a low wear index. The best part about all of this is wh at it won 't co st you lots of money. For $40 you can ge t your trans gears, cases, barrel and head done (for a tw o-stro ke less th an 400cc) . You can get your piston done for $ 1.50 or your chain for $3 .00. The on ly con tingen cy is that everything be disassembled and free of dirt and grease. Otherwise a service c hage will be added. Ralph McCarthy is keeping Kal -Gard open weeknights until 9 pm so the working people can ge t over. Servi ce usually takes one day. Ralph is a forme r desert ra ce r and one of his major in terests is bikes. He'll be in terested in your problems, so why not ask him about your girl ? Valleywide Catering, Inc . Special Events and Concessions 11466 Chan dler Blvd. North HOllywoOd. Ca . 91601 (213) 766-4313 Apply ing Ka l-Gard FA is a lo t lik e spray pa int ing . lul-Gurd Is Righi Slick. KatBaRD - j -- lW:I1iG S Il P o 9 _ V t._.-- -1 -I ~~5 o$~ i~ : B 10 ! - -o j a COATING & MFG . COR P. 7118 GERALD AV E.. VAN NUYS. CA LIF . 91406 . - (2131 997·1673- j- InSI OIl Il a T o 8 a f----+~_,__,, +_- - _+_ L-- _J Il A a. 1 1- -+_ V B Il Il L 6 t-----jlC----+-r---+- - -j . PABTS C ED ~Q lDI g)'%'Jl" . 4 ~+Jl!lI II, C1IAJlBIR ..;. .lIIID , . ! , . • 10000 5000 I Il$ • s,rao a. p. M . 6000 6 500 1000 1SOO PRICES UP TO 250 ' CC T',10 CYCLl;; ENGI NES 400 CC PLUS 10% LIsr TRANS, GEARS, CASES , BARREL AND ID:AD TRA NS, GEARS, BARR S!. AND HEAD _ $40.00 , 2 8.00 TRANS. GEARS 1 5.00 BARREL AND HEAD 1 5. 00 P I srON 1 .50 FRAME AND swn ;GnlG ARM 20 .00 HANDLE BARS 3.50 · GAS TANK 1 2. 00 EXPANSI ON CllAMBJm CHAIII SAVE 6.0 0 3 .00 SAVE at SAVE CYCLE ' PARTS For Nearest Location ", Phone: (2 13) 334-5 195 BODY FUEL BY ENDURA Tested .and used by th e follOWI"9 D I~t . 37 riders : ERIC JENSEN • BO B MCL AUGH L.IN • t.,ARRY B E RG Q UI S T • LARR Y P FVTZE N RU ETER • E D SC HEI D LER ' WALT A XTHELM • L A RR Y H EAR N • GEO RGE M AG ALLON" M .D . II .~ O fo r 3 mo nth~ ~UP"ly CC.~I:.o~ ~e~~~ dMI~"Et.::.!:TURAL S 7.50 for 3 monthS 5UPply IC.llf. rft6dentl . ckI S" t .allt' . send Cfteck ~ money oro_ to: EnClu r.a Vitamin . DeP t . A . 638 S. Glencsora Ave .. G ie n dor.a, C•• 91740.

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