1994 ZX7 engine operating question

Found this board today out of panic.... Went to start my 94 ZX7 (8000 miles) on the clock, this morning to store it for winter here in New England. The bike turned over very strangely, kind of erratic, not smoothly like every other time I've ever started it. I've owned the bike since new.

The bike started and smoked white the whole time it ran. Idled fine. I shut the bike off because it was smoking excessively..... went to restart, nothing. I ran the battery dead and got not one pop out of the engine. Any suggestions as to where I begin to figure the problem out?

I had not run the bike for a couple of months prior to this event. To date this machine has been flawless. My gut tells me it's mechanical not electrical......

Thanks Tim

you didnt get a heap of water in your fuel did you? because im wondering if that "white smoke" was water or not. Failing that it could be something else. when's the last time you ran it correctly?

The bike started and smoked white the whole time it ran.

"The whole time"? Does that mean, right from the off, or within, oh, say, 8-10 seconds of starting?

If the latter, then it's just water vapour which accumulated in the exhaust over the course of the couple of cold months you didn't ride it.

Have you been getting much snow over that time?

Does the bike sleep in a garage, or outside?

went to restart, nothing. I ran the battery dead and got not one pop out of the engine.

The part about running the battery dead is right. Sporadic riding and cold weather are a good combination for depleting batteries.

If your battery's a couple of years old, then there's every possibility that your kicking it to run both a starter motor and an ignition system on a cold, possibly misty morning was all that was needed to finish it off.

If the bike was cranking on the starter in a halting kind of way, doesn't it sound to you like that could be a sign of the starter not being able to draw the kind of current it would require to spin the engine properly?

As far as smoking yes it was the whole time.... normally after it sits for a lenghty time it will huff a bit for a few seconds but this time it was as if it were a chimney. I ran it for about 45 seconds, it responded well throttle wise.

The weather here has been cold not overly snowy however this week it was 50 to 60 degrees a couple days ago with heavy rain and a ton of condensation in my garage where I store my bikes (attached to the house). My battery is maybe 3 years old but it is abattery from a local auto parts store and I feel it may be on its last legs, now that you mention it.

I think I'll buy a new battery and start there. I got nervous because I've nver seen smoke like this pour out of the pipe. I parked it maybe 2 months ago and hadn't started it at all since then. In the spring it comes to life pretty quickly, I put stabilizer in the gas and run the carbs dry, remove the battery and cover it with a blanket. This bike is in mint condition and I fear something let go in the top end at first. I spent so much time this past summer working on a couple of old bikes I picked up , neglected this one and I thought it was paying me back for not riding it hardly at all this last year.....

I appreciate you guys help too by the way. Glad to have found this board. You guys are making me jealous with you having summer weather while I freeze until Arpil!

Tim

If you stick something cold behind the exhaust you can get condensation of the "smoke" happening - you should then be able to tell whether it is water, or something else.

As a first step, you could dump the fuel that is in it and fill the tank with new fuel.

But I would hazard a guess that the exhaust is full of water (well not full, but, y'know). Condensation and all that. Probably needs a jolly good ride to clear it out.

Now in case you are wondering (probably not) steam coming out of the exhaust (from condensation collection) is not necessarily 'white' like kettle steam, as it collects soot and crap from the system, so it can look like grey 'smoke'. Water entering the system by other means, eg leaky head gasket usually isn't grey as it enters the system as steam and just passes straight through.

i am going to try to get a new battery today although most shops are closed Sunday's in the winter. My old battery has been on the charger for several hours. I'll attempt to start it again later this afternoon when the temperature rises a touch. I am a bit concerned about getting it restarted. After I shut it down I must have cranked it for a minute (collectively) and got nothing. Hopefully it was because of the crap in the cylinders. I'll dump the gas pull the plugs and have a look. At least for now it doesn't sound too serious...... Tim

You were right about the smoke it wasn't clear like out of a tea kettle but it had density to it not blue but a grayish tint

I am not too worried as it didn't stop running until you turned it off. If it had of smoked, coughed and spluttered then died, well then I'd be concerned.

It should be fine, let us know how you get on.

i certainly will. thanks for the advice. I charged my old battery and just tried to get the bike to start, as no shops were open today .... turned over a bit slowly and popped a couple times. Tomorrow is a holiday here in the US and I have the day off from work, I'll pick a new battery the battery and give it a go.

I will monitor this board in the future. Seems like a good place to exchange ideas about
ZX Kawasakis.

This board is set up exactly the same as the Suzuki Two Strokw board I frequent also.

Tim

Firstly Welcome to KSRC ...enjoy . As for the scoot I'd say its a Fuel Drama & your Plugs would be shot if it didnt come clean at the pipe before you shut it down. Theres some more Canically gifted guys (like Felix) down south that may shed some light for you too mate.
Cheers Brett

good point, I'll pick up new plugs as well. I will post a follow up tomorrow afternoon.

Tim