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Help ZXR250 idle issues... (another one)

Discussion in 'Kawasaki 250cc In-line 4's' started by DanoHosko, Dec 7, 2019.

  1. DanoHosko

    DanoHosko Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    G'day all

    Not long got my ZXR250.

    - won't idle, bogs if throttle is touched
    - full choke will idle above 4k
    - above 4k rpm runs perfectly

    So far i have:
    - cleaned the carbs
    - removed silicon gasket glue which was everywhere on the carb intakes
    - replaced the airbox seals
    - reset mixture screws and played with idle screw
    - replaced throttle, choke and clutch cables


    Still no joy yet, in addition to that, i accidentally got carb cleaner on the new airbox seals and they instantly warped and no longer fit :(


    I'm probably going to have to open my wallet and gonna buy the LiteTek seal kits, is it worth also buying the full carb rebuild kits from motorcycle spares?
    I also have a spare set of carbs which are in a terrible state...

    Im guessing theres a vacuum leak somewhere, but I'll be damned if i can find it.


    Since it runs fine above 4k, im guessing the ignition side of things is ok, sounds like it must be a fuelling issue at low revs? (on pilot under 4k i believe, main jet after?)


    Cheers in advance!

    Dan
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2019
  2. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Where are you Dan? What city/area?
     
  3. DanoHosko

    DanoHosko Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Good old Mackay in QLD :D
     
  4. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    A bit too far for me to pop over and lend a hand.
     
  5. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    A very scrupulous clean of ALL passages/drillings and a Lite Tek seal kit would be my first job to do. Then set up with vacuum gauges to get all carbs running the same.
    Have you checked your valve clearances yet?
     
  6. DanoHosko

    DanoHosko Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    haha maybe just a little :p

    I can confirm i haven't checked valve clearances...

    To be honest, now that you mention it, there is a fair bit of noise (like tapping), figured it was nature of the bikes as my old zxr400 was similar although not nearly as much as this 250





    I'm gonna be out of the country for just over a month so when i get back the new seal kits should have arrived hopefully!
     
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    Last edited: Dec 9, 2019
  7. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    Thanks for you order. it will ship out on Wednesday. Crazy time for shipping now. Some things get delivered quickly and some slowly. I am sure it will be there well before Christmas.
    Cheers
    Blair
     
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  8. DanoHosko

    DanoHosko Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    All good buddy, I'm going away on the 17th Dec not back till the 20th Jan so no rush for me now haha ;)
     
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  9. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    @DanoHosko Best to get the PostOffice to hold all your deliveries while you are away.
     
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  10. DanoHosko

    DanoHosko Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Seals arrived while i was away, got a few things to sort out but I'll be onto it again in a week or two

    Cheers buddy!
     
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  11. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    If you are going to keep the bike or plan to have more 4 bangers, I recommend a Morgan Carb Tune https://www.carbtune.com/ rather than 4 vac gauges. In the olden days I use to use mercury tubes.
     
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    Last edited: Jan 25, 2020
  12. ShaneP

    ShaneP Well-Known Member

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    Hi Dan, I'm just down the road at Yeppoon. The other thing to watch is the float needles sticking and affecting the fuel height or simply overflowing into the engine. I just bought 4 new seats and needles from motorcycle spares warehouse for under $60 delivered. The airbox seals are not that important because they are upstream of the carby, a bit of grease is enough to keep the dust out. Yell out if you have troubles, I'm still trying to make an excuse to visit friends in Mackay.
     
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  13. TonyZXR

    TonyZXR Well-Known Member

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    One thing to be wary off is the size of the seats. I noticed the originals are 2.3 and the ones i received were 2.1
     
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  14. DanoHosko

    DanoHosko Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Hey all, sorry for the late late replies again, havent found much time recently been working out of town a bit aha
    Gonna hit it up again this month i think
    I found my fuel petcock leaks, is there a rebuild kit for these? Or just buy an ebay petcock?
    And am i right in saying that if it leaks it could suck air in through?

    @ShaneP cheers for the offer bud, I'll let you know how it goes when i replace all these seals after that and a carb rebuild im gonna be a bit lost potentially haha
     
  15. ShaneP

    ShaneP Well-Known Member

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    Yes, there are petcock rebuild kits, try litetek first, if not, genuine parts can be found at your Kawasaki dealer if you have the part numbers (probably the same as zzr250 and a number of other bikes), or A1 Accessories (might have to get a kit that is for another bike if the zxr isn't listed).
     
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  16. DanoHosko

    DanoHosko Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Am i right in saying a dodgy fuel petcock vacuum diaphragm could cause poor idle?
    Had my petcock in my hands and the diaphragm is looking worse for wear
     
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  17. DanoHosko

    DanoHosko Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Shout out to @maelstrom
    I fitted the Litetek kit today, very nice seals
     
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  18. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    The new one I bought from Impex was 2.4 and the Keyster version that I got was also 2.4. Maybe they are different across models.
     
  19. DanoHosko

    DanoHosko Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Hey guys, is there a rebuild kit for the vacuum valves? Or should i leave well alone?

    Weirdly the shape of the vacuum valve diaphragm looks very similar to the fuel petcock diaphragm...
     
  20. DanoHosko

    DanoHosko Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Moment of truth today, started her up.

    Promising at first, happily idled at 2k for about 30-45 seconds (no choke)
    But then revs dropped until it died, then it wouldnt idle unless full choke and was about 5k rpm
    On choke I'm confident i can rev to redline still


    So far i have cleaned and replaced seals on the carbs, new shims for valve clearances, new cam chain (timing looked spot on), new fuel tap (which is too damned small, and cleaned spark plugs (gaps fine)

    Back to the drawing board...
     
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2020

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