Desperate Help

hey harriz
welcome to the forums.... i voted that YES you can fix your bike because some of the things you mentioned sound like a bike that just needs a good service...

but for the details.... ummm..... <!-- s:???: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_confused.gif" alt=":???:" title="Confused" /><!-- s:???: --> calling boz!! <!-- s:rofl: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_razz.gif" alt=":rofl:" title="Rofl" /><!-- s:rofl: -->

cheers

simon

 

Welcome to the forum. Here's a couple of things that you can check, however, what you described may stem from a range of things.

1. Does the radiator fan operate normally? If it doesn't come on at mid temperature, your thermostat may be broken and will need to be replaced or bypassed by a homemade switch.

2. With regard to riding your bike in the rain, have a look at the electrics. Are there any cables which are exposed or stripped bare? If there are damged cables on the loom, they will need to be re-insulated.

3. How does you motor sound? Are there any unusual sounds, rattles, pings, etc? Does the exhaust smoke?

4. Check the oil. Stick your finger into the oil filler after briefly running the bike. Is the oil honey coloured or black? If its black it will need to be changed along with the oil filter.

5. FZR's liked to be revved, so don't be concerned about having to apply the throttle, unless you can hear an obvious anomoly.

6. A good service would be well advised. Get your mechanic to clean and rejet the carbs and then balance them properly (you can do this yourself if you are up to it). A change of fuel filter, air filter and spark plugs would go down well.

I hope this helps, unfortunately with many mechanical things, unless you actually see and hear the subject in question, you only provide some basic troubleshooting advice. It sounds like you should be able to remedy some of your problems, however, I hope for your sake that you will not be made to pay for a previous owners lack of care or abuse towards the bike.

Good luck and let us know if you have any further problems.

Cheers,
RVZ

 

For parts your best bet would be a wrecker. Because the bike is a grey import and over 10 years old it is almost impossible to find new parts.

You can check out http://www.importmc.com.au for your front tyre guard. They specialise in imported bikes and send parts through the mail.

 

Not me!!! I know no more than anyone else on this forum - I just offer my opinions / advice more freely! <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s -->

Now to the questions. What the others above have said I agree with. Some of my added thoughts (in blue)...


1 - Riding to class the other day my front mud gard broke in half (Yes thats right it just boke in half, dont ask me why) So now I need a New front tyre mud gard and a new bracket that hold the gard because the bracket I have now it bent.
As said above - check out wreckers. Could try http://www.findapart.com.au. Some people have used this successfully in the past. Just have to make sure you are detailed with the part you need. And there is NO OBLIGATION by yourself just by entering a query. You may also find that some other bikes will use the same size mud guard, and bracket, so if you go to a wreckers have a look at the various bikes that have a similar wheel size to the fzr250.

2 - My bike overheats real easy. Also when it over heats (about 70% on the temp gauge) the bike dosent idle normal and stalls out. Also it loses alot of power and needs alot of revs just taking off.
Overheating to the degree you describe is quite common on the fzr. Many fzr's - not just the 250's - have their fan set to turn on when the gauge nearly touches the red. In the summer on my old fzr250 I frequently rode in the top 10% of the gauge. Provided you are not reaching the red, and provided your fan will turn on at some point before the red, it shouldn't be too great of an issue itself. It is possible to alter this, or (as someone on this site has done) install a manual switch so you can turn the fan on when you want to, rather than relying on the thermostat.

Not sure about the loss of power though with overheating... the only thing I can think of is (as suggested by RVZ) a good tuning should fix this. As for revving - you will likely need to be around 6-8000 for a clean take off. If the bike needs 12 000 revs or more to take off then there may be a problem (perhaps related to the 40% less power below...)


3 - Whenever I ride in the rain my bike dies in the ass. I will be riding in the rain for 5 minutes and the bike will just start playing up. For example I will hold the accelerator in the same prot while crusing at about 60 kmph and the bike will accelerate and slow down really quickly when i havent moved the throttle.
see what rvz said regarding electrics... Can't think of anything else...

actually- just looking at the spark plug chart from the site link below and it is possible that missfires in damp could be caused by your spark plug condition. (note - the fzr takes ngk cr8e plugs which cost around $5 a piece. You could opt for irridium (cr8e-ix) but these cost around $20 a piece. Replace all 4 at a time, don't just change a single one)

4 - My bike dosent go any where near how fast it should. I have had a friend of mine ride my bike (he also has the 1990 FZR) and he said its got at least 40% less power.
Have you ever checked the spark plugs? Or, after a ride, taken some water and sprayed it on each of the headers for the exhaust? You may find that if you spray water that 3 of the headers will steam, and one won't. If this is the case then you are only running on 3 valves, adn you will probably need to replace the spark plugs. Alternatively, if the spark plug is good, it may be something to do with the plug cap. Both of these are very easy (and cheap) fixes. If you haven't - it may be useful to take out your plugs anyways as you may find that they are worn (perhaps never having been replaced) or that you are running rich/lean/etc. - plugs should be a nice tan in colour. (see http://www.biketome.com/mechanics:maintenance:spark_plugs:condition_chart

5 - I was wondering If anyone knew where I could get some R2 stickers. I have the R2 paint job and Im looking for the stickers to put on my bike.
Most decal / signmaker shops should be able to provide these if you can give them the graphics. If you don't have the graphics available (or can't make them) perhaps contact http://www.importmc.com.au as suggested by bigkev.

I know you guys are probly just going to say get a new bike but I cannot afford it.
Never. A bike can always be fixed (provided it hasn't been mangled in a crash). We'll help you out as much as possible.

Ouch. that may be hot! You could check the oil, but if you have never done an oil and filter change now is the time. The oil is arguably the most important fluid in your bike, and if you have never had this changed since you bought the bike you should do so. Advisably, it is one of the first things you should do when you get a bike (and is the first thing I do after buying any used bike). It is cheap ($20 filter, $25 oil, 4 hours first time, 2 hours each time after). Particularly in a 250 that has a few k's on it, this will increase the longevity of the bike's engine and increase overall reliability.

Further - you never know what the last person has done. For example, my brother-in-law just bought an older gpx600r that had been sitting in a garage for 4 years. Got it home (on a truck), and he went to change the oil. He removed the plug, and he got over 5 litres of oil out! It is only supposed to have 2.8-3 litres of oil for that bike. Had he ridden it there could have been serious problems. I doubt that anyone else will ever experience something to this degree, but it is so simple to do changing oil is still advised... (I have heard of several people who have bought brand new out of the crate bikes and the shop forgot to put oil in...)

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

what everyone else said - plus take the tank cover off and have a look at the air filter too - if its like mine was when i bought my bike it'll be choked up solid with crud - when you can afford it get a full service / tune up - good luck!

 

BS BOZ. Your the master, hahahahah

 

I thought of a another thing, are you running proper engine coolant or just water? If you are running just water, I suggest that you change over to a good quality coolant.

Even if you are running coolant, a change would no doubt be in good order. New, good quality coolant can in itself bring the running temperature down a few degrees.

I also forgot to mention with checking the oil, never do it when the bike is hot. You'll burn yourself (as Boz highlighted) and secondly, it does not provide a good indication as to the condition of the oil, as the oil alters its viscosity at higher temperatures (this among other things I believe).

Let us know if you have any further problems.

Cheers RVZ

 

Yeah u should be getting at least 160 kms outta the 10 litre tank.

Also with the performance of the bike...do u find it 'flat spots' at certain rpms? I think this is a reasonably common problem with fzrs....I know I have a flat spot at around 14k. Many check your inlet manifolds and see if they are cracked, u could be drawing air through them which will cause a lack in performance.

 

Harriz, pick your mechanic carefully. There are a lot of bad mechanics out there who will charge you a hell of a lot for very little work and a sloppy job. My best advice is to shop around and obtain a quote before he starts any work.

Cheers and hope all goes well

 

Re: thnakxs

When I first looked into a complete service from a mechanic (a trusted one), it was going to cost about $400-$500 to get carbies balanced, replaced jets, spark plugs, and general tune up. The price wasn't too bad, but ended up doing most things myself instead.

When I had my fzr I was getting around 140 k's to 10 litres. But my bike was running rich...

And as for not reaching higher rev ranges... Does your bike almost sound 'hollow' when you try to accelerate hard? If so, I would be going back the spark plugs and thinking you are running one short...