Project Tony's ZXR250s

Soo after fixing the fuel tap and electrical system it's not running the best . I have a feeling a bit of crap may have found its way into one of the carbs. In the meantime I thought eh might aswell install these finally before i pull the carbs off .

4 ninja 300 coils and a small coil loom from a 2004 cbr600rr . Modified the harness to run the coils in series and installed them with a new set a sparkplugs while it was apart after I verified that it ran. (Old plugs were 3000kms old)

Looks like it was running decent with cylinder 1 looking a tad lean . ( also they look alot darker in the photo) .


Coils all installed and had to clearance the radiator fan slightly . Starts extremely easy susprisingly . Now to give the carbs a good clean and hopefully it'll run like normal again

 

Pulled the carbs apart and as usual they're full of fine rust , will have to do a tankliner in the future. Carbs all clean and rechecked the pilot screws 2.75 turns out. Started it up and checked the balance and cylinder 1 was pulling more air than the other 3, might explain why that plug was a tad lighter than the rest. Took it for a ride and wow what a difference . Easy to start and feels extremely smooth right to redline.

 

So unfortunately this happened yesterday. Combination of everyone suddenly braking . Me panicking and also being slightly distracted.


Nosecones destroyed, muffler is scraped, brake lever broken , handle bar scraped, front gaurd scraped and side fairing scrapped and cracked aswell as all the brackets bent plus a fair bit more. Missed the tank and rear end atleast. Pretty bruised and sore today and my ego's hurt but we never think of that

 

So did a bit of work on the crashed bike yesterday. Installed the new brake lever, repaired the scarred muffler and repaired the cut oil pressure switch wire and charged the battery up . I also found the charging system fault . I wish i took a photo. For a long time I noticed a fine white sand on top of the carbs and underside of the fuel tank. Thinking nothing of it I removed the reg/rec and lo and behold I found the charging system fault. I noticed the black potting material on the underside felt a little bit soft and it wasn't sitting level. The ceramic material inside the reg/rec had completely disintegrated ! That was the reason it wouldn't charge at idle . Replaced the reg with a spare, started it up and now it's charging properly which is a relief. Also while it was running I noticed cylinder 4 had a cold exhaust pipe so the carbs are going to need attention.

 

ZXR carbies service intervals: regularly. Bummer

 

Doesn't help when you have a rusty tank too hehe. Gives me a chance to try out @maelstrom s new seals

 

So the side fairing and nose cone are finally all repaired. Bit of a headache but atleast its all done. Bit of high fill on the repair areas and it's ready for paint

 

So I've decided to get back into this finally. Starting with the battery. The old lead acid one was completely rooted from the broken reg/rectifier. To the point where the positive terminal had melted out of the battery .

Bought a new ssb seal battery for it . The terminals are on the side but that's a small sacrifice for the gain. Much higher cca the last one!

Now seeing as the bike had been sitting the ol carbs had reared their ugly head once again. A good clean out and it runs once again. Checked the balance on them aswell just because I was there. Runs great again!

https://youtube.com/shorts/JW-ZS3vnyv4?feature=share

Next up was the fuel tank. After cleaning the carbs so many times from the rust in the tank I decided it was time to use a tank sealer. I used the KBS Coatings kit which is still holding up nearly a year later and the fuel filter and carbs are nice and clean luckily.

And lastly it was time to finally paint the panels .



It's not perfect but its arguably better than the last time it was painted .
Couldn't resist and had to take it for a spin around the block.

I still need to replace some hardware that was damaged , put some decals on, fix the warped front brakes. And replace both tyres before it gets historic rego.

 

Bit more work on the ol girl . Finally wrapped the nose. Was supposed to do it when it was finished the first time. What's everyone's thoughts on it ? I'm a bit 50-50 on it .

 

Well the big brake upgrade is almost finished would've been done if I didn't lose a piston seal...


Seeing the temperature gauge is a bit of a challenge now. May have to run the original reservoir .

 

Had a day off work today so I got a few things done. She's registered now under Historic registration.

The insulation on the side fairings was always missing so I made some templates and cut some out and glued them on. It looks fairly good , hopefully it'll stop the old brittle plastic crumbling from the engine heat.

 

That's a good idea but I've already put a seal kit into the zxr750 one . Kinda don't want to spend more money

And on the note this is reason why



Can't seem to find anything other than alpha 14s anymore. I was contemplating using a ninja 250 wheel but by the time I priced it up it would've been the same.

Before I have the tyres fitted I needed to paint a spare front wheel I have because the one on the bike actually has a pretty nasty buckle in it.







And as usual I couldn't help myself, after seeing the front wheel shining I've decided to paint the spare rear wheel I have too ‍♂️

 

I think it looks damned fine and it ain't easy getting smooth matched curves with tape as you've managed.

 

Well as usual I couldn't help myself and painted the rear wheel too, it was heavily corroded compared to the front one.



Meanwhile I thought it would be best to pull the rear suspension apart, inspect and grease it.



Turns out the last owner had mucked around and left one of the bolts loose in the suspension linkage And I rode it for a year like that.... that would explain the knocking. Note to self not to trust anything before I get to it.

 

Yea for the money it just didn't seem cost effective. FYI if anyone wants the old set they'll be for sale . I've also got a frame but the mount where the gauge bracket bolts on has been cracked off and re-welded on . Need the space

 

I use Aldertons to fix my wheels in Sydney. He does a perfect job every time.

 

and.... he always removes the tyre to fix the rim and puts the tyre back on and balances it..... so i have used this opportunity to change tyres in the past too.