Hi guys! The zxr lives! Finally got it all back together and got her registered. I have pretty much been riding non-stop finding any excuse to get out, to my other half's dismay. I have found that I need to start wearing ear plugs when riding though, these bikes are ridiculously loud. After a few rides, I've discovered some little characteristics of the bike and if anyone has any input or any opinions on them, that'd be great. Here goes: Low Temperature- Before I started riding and was just doing weekly start ups and idles for 10-15 mins, temperature would reach to a steady halfway on the dial, yet when riding it barely reaches a quarter. First thoughts are the radiator and coolant are probably doing their job since when just idling on kickstand there's no wind over the radiator hence higher temps. Gear Selecting- When coming to a stop and trying to get the bike in neutral ready for a hand off the clutch position, I find that the gear box is very, very touchy and without diligent execution, it will go into second gear. Also, several times I have found a false neutral in higher gears. This could be because of my technique not being positive and sharp enough. Also my gear selector rod is bent to all kinds of s***, which could be bending and absorbing energy out of the shift resulting in a sloppy shift. Clutch- I think my clutch may be on the way out. Under 10k rpm, the clutch is a dream. But several times, in a low 2nd or 3rd gear, I have booted it above 12k rpm which resulted in loss of power to the back wheel and the engine revving its tits off. Upon slowing down, the friction of the clutch is established resulting in drive. A quick internet search seems to support the worn clutch theory. Some people said it could be the cable needing lube, but this problem only occurs at higher rpm, not a sticky clutch which would happen all the time. I have found plenty of cork friction plates and HD clutch springs on ebay etc, but no metal plates? and lastly Flat spot between 6-8k rpm under load- On flat roads, the bike is superb and doesn't miss a beat. Just today I went for a ride up some medium slopes/hills and found that at around 6-8k rpm, the bike does not sound healthy at all, almost like a misfire. Rolling on the throttle results in a slow, sickly sounding acceleration until it gets out of that range. This has only happened on hills, there is no flat spot on level roads. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. I think most of problems, bar a possible tune-up, are not a out of my scope as a a DIYer but we shall see. Thanks!
What sort of pipes you running? I had a similar problem years ago with an aftermarket system that nobody could tune out. Finally changed to another pipe of same type and no problem. Just a thought.
Hey edwardo Good to hear from you mate, even better now that the zxr is a goer To your questions. 1 Temp, you've nailed in one, volume of air flowing through the radiator keeps things cool. 2 The bike is nearly a quarter of a century old, chances are that the gear box has not had any work done to it in that period. Selector shaft being bent probably isn't helping, remedy could be costly??? 3 Think you may need some new carbons for your clutch, these are not too expensive and it is also a job you can do yourself, not that difficult. When doing the clutch make certain that you clean and scrub the steels clean, very important. 4 Flat spot at certain rev range suggest carburation issue, again not too difficult to fix. Over all nothing to difficult, the gear selector may cause some problems, might be good to get someone to check it . Did you see the photos of my Across, no decals on the bike.
No 1, no need to answer as everyone else has, I assume its a straight through pipe ? No 2, get another gear selector rod, if its bent then that's more than likely your issue No 3, yep , worn clutch fibers No 4, I had this on my old bike, the seals were shot on my carbies , these were the seals that joined the plastic bits between my carbies were worn causing an air leak, which in turn caused a flat spot. check out http://www.litetek.co/Carb_Kit_Kawasaki_ZXR250.html for a kit to fix it. Thats my 2c Chris Ps - congrats on getting it on the road !!!
Thanks for the replies guys! Currently I'm running a stock end can that I cut to about 30cm in length while I searched for a proper end can (the old one was banged up etc) that could be causing the flat spot? Cheers Phil, I did see the old across, it looked pretty darn good! Almost looked like a spaceship haha When i did the across, I bought a new selector rod from probolt.com. Maybe I could find another replacement on there. I did look up clutch plate replacements, it looked pretty straight forward but all the kits I found only had the cork plates. Do you know what parts I would need specifically? I'm thinking new friction plates and new springs, maybe re use the old steel plates like you said. Anyone know the best place to get them? Ebay does have the goods though.. I have no idea about tuning the carbies lol Cheers for the link Kiffsta, I'll look into it!
As said above the gear lever being bent would not help ..... also pull off the rubber boots where the swivel joints are and make sure they are clean and greased up..... and if the lever is bent these may be damaged also. Also check where it splines on to the main rod (13242) and that its not stripped or loose. And in case anyone doesnt know, adjusting the rod (39110) will raise or lower the lever to suit your preference.
I had a guy come get some zxr parts off me today, he said his bike was making a noise and asked me to start me to compare. Told me mine was a lot louder than his, assume he has standard can as mine was a lot quieter with standard can...too quiet. Mine hardly gets to quarter temp at any time during normal riding, only time it has got high is over summer in constant stop/starting. Also have issue with finding neutral with some changes, seems you really need to be firm with lever. You'll find that you really need to rev these bikes, anywhere below 6-8k rpm and they are gutless. Just remember they have a 19k rpm redline, though I've never had the need to go past 16k rpm. But anywhere between 10-16k rpm and they sound and go awesome.
Hey mate, mine has a flat spot also, well had one. I've been running 98 octane fuel after the change to that the flat spot in the rev range all but disappeared. Bloody too right mate!
