Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

I am so disappointed brought a zx2r250 the other day - deliberately brought one in good condition and low kms. Rode it for a week and now wont go. here's the story so far:

Registered the bike on thursday, rode it to work thursday, friday and saturday. Went on a out of town ride for a good couple of hours on sunday, rode it to work sunday night and when I got home could smell petrol. Went to go to work monday morning and bike started and stalled (could still smell petrol) Had to walk to work. When returned home bike was sitting in a puddle of petrol. Had a mate come around pulled tank off and air filter out and checked carbies - first couple of times bike would start but then no rpms and eventually stalled. Fooled around looking reconnected fuel tank and bike started and worked perfectly put everything back together and got dressed for ride and bike would not start, petrol started leaking from sump area of bike. Gave the carbies a tap as I expected maybe needle and seat jammed and drained bowls - bike still wouldnt start. As I am a novice to bikes I took it the the local motorbike shop (only have a honda dealer in town). Told mechanic what was going on and he cleaned carbies and reset float level stated they were a little dirty also stated that sump was full of petrol and oil. new plugs, oil bike still would start for mechanic he stated that valves needed adjusting. Mechanic did valve adjustment , bike still wouldnt start. stated he then did a compression test and found cylinder 1 was running at 90psi and the remainder 4 cylinders running at 140psi said he would fiddle with timing again. mechanic tryed areo start and bike still wouldnt start I rang him in a week now tells me he put a new compression tester on and motor is stuffed requires a total rebuild - needless to say told him I will take it elsewhere. Can anybody give me some pointers on what could be wrong? (mechanic did say plugs were wet and there was spark- reckons low compression is the issue). Intend on doing my own compression test before taking it to a dealer out of town. I dont want to sound like a novice so any help/ideas would be appreciated.

Where abouts are you mate ?
Someone may be able to offer advice /help if they know where you are

No Idea mate, but Im sure some wise old heads on here might know something,

Where are you located?

could it be the flux capacitor??

Location is Narrandera NSW

Narrandera is half way between Griffith NSW and Wagga Wagga

Dave The Rave wrote:Narrandera is half way between Griffith NSW and Wagga Wagga

ahh yes...i drive past there every time i drive home...

seriously, dont ask if its a flux capacitor (i was joking)... hopefully one of the boys can assist...

least now i got somewhere to crash on me way thru now

actually..its abt where i blew a tyre on the way home on boxing day...

G'day Dave,

At this stage there could be any number of explanations for what went wrong, so I'd start with the basics.

Check for equal and reasonably high compression across all 4 cylinders - this will give you an indication as to whether you have an internal mechanical fault (pistons, rings, valves, head gasket, etc) or an ancillary system fault (carb's, electrical, etc).

If compression is OK I'd be looking first at the carb's, and if it's not I'd be looking for a sticking intake valve on the cylinder that's low on compression.

Sorry we can't offer much more help than that, but as you can appreciate long-distance fault-finding can be a real biatch. Let us know how you get on, and welcome to KSRC.

It is quite likely that a sump full of fuel can cause the need for an engine rebuild. If a cylinder gets filled with fuel, damage can occur because that cylinder has 'hydraulic lock.' Can bend conrods and do all sorts of nasty shit.

going to sydney for the next 2 weeks will not have a chance to do compression test until I get back- will buy a tester in sydney.

I have read once compression test is done - I should also consider doing a leak down test to pin point where issue is? Will look at making a tester for leak down test or buy one. I have read a little about how to do a leak down test - it refers to ensuring piston is dead top centre (which I do understand) however states motor should be locked before applying compressed air - how do I lock the motor ?- is this as easy as placing bike in gear once I have obtained top centre for relevant valve with rear wheel on the ground (dont have a rear centre stand anyway).

I will post a reply to the compression test in a couple of weeks when I get back. Thanks you your advice to date If any one wants to continue to contribute their thoughts I will monitor the site while in sydney.

Mate,
You'd be suprised how many shop mechanics do not know/care enough to connect the gauges correctly and pass on dodgy info to the customer
don't try and make it too hard on yourself i.e.
Do a compression test and note the readings......squirt a bit of oil in thru the plug'ole and redo the test.......if it improves then it's shot a ring or if it stays the same reading then it's going to be a valve sticking in 90% of the cases

Latest update - Leak down test completed found leakage in the top end (sticky valve suspected). New mechanic has pulled appart top end and found sticky valve appeared to be caused by what appeared to be part of a rag (left over from the last owner/person to work on the top end). arranged for the head to be checked and bike put back together, only issue now is the thermostat was stuck partially open. Appears mechanic is having difficulties in obtaining a new thermostat (been waiting 2 weeks for one to be sent).

Can anyone let me know of a spare parts dealer where I can obtain a new thermostat for my zx2r250A (1989). Or even if someone has the Kawasaki part number for the thermostat. My nearest dealer won't even entertain the idea of ordering any part for a grey import. Maybe the zxr250 thermostat is the same as another Kawasaki model available in australia that I can order locally? Any help will be much appreciated (need one urgently).

Also excuse my ignorance but can the bike run without thermostat (used to do this all the time on my old torana during summer). Due to the high rev's of these motors is it advisable to run the bike without a thermostat ( If this is the case my bike is right to go. My mechanic is reluctant to let me have the bike without one - states could end up warping the head or doing some other damage to the top end?)

Any comments?