Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

OK.
who thinks one of these would make a good track bike?
I'm a little worried about taking the 9 which i will have by this w/end!!!!!!!!
to the track.
i can get a kr250 (same as a kr1-s/kr1) in pieces for $700.
would it be worth putting together for a track toy?
i like the idea of going hell for leather with total disregard for the safety of my bike.
good idea or bad??

if you have the coin to afford doing it, i sa go ahead, i've heard good things about the kr-1s. at the least it'd be a learning experience yeah? and if it didnt work for you at the track, a fully reassembled bike is worth more than the sum of its disassembled parts, yeah?

I'd say no to the KR if i were you.

I had one back in the day and like most examples this twin crank machine, it had a tendency towards engine problems. For example it lost its rings at least 3 times.
The kr1 and kr1s are a much better bet if you can find one of those go for it.
They changed to a more conventional crank set up for these and it was a huge improvement.

oh shit, major difference i had no idea about!

uhm, disregard all my rumormongering.

Awesome little bikes but not the most reliable (even for a 2-stroke), I'd got for an RGV250 or a 400 4-stroke instead

Ment wrote:I'd say no to the KR if i were you.

I had one back in the day and like most examples this twin crank machine, it had a tendency towards engine problems. For example it lost its rings at least 3 times.
The kr1 and kr1s are a much better bet if you can find one of those go for it.
They changed to a more conventional crank set up for these and it was a huge improvement.

whats the diff b/w a kr250 and a kr1
the year?
more info would be great.
i would like a stroker for track usage.
cos 1. it'll go ont the ute pretty easy.
2. It'll have plenty of power for a 250
and 3. I'll hopefully learn a bit about bikes with little consequence if i fuck up.

The KR250 is what they called a tandem twin, so it has two cranks and the barrels sit at an angle but one on top of the other.
for the kr1(1989) and kr1s (1991) the went to a conventional v-twin setup.

If you are keen on the KR check out http://www.kr250.org/KR_home.htm

theres heaps and heaps of info about em there.

I still think if you want a stroker 250 to go have some fun with, go the kr1s.
it was clearly the most powerfull and reliable of the lot.

Ment wrote:The KR250 is what they called a tandem twin, so it has two cranks and the barrels sit at an angle but one on top of the other.
for the kr1(1989) and kr1s (1991) the went to a conventional v-twin setup.

If you are keen on the KR check out http://www.kr250.org/KR_home.htm

theres heaps and heaps of info about em there.

I still think if you want a stroker 250 to go have some fun with, go the kr1s.
it was clearly the most powerfull and reliable of the lot.

cool thanks heaps for that ment.
i'm gonna expect any bike i look at to be possibly rebadged.
so what dop i look out for to tell a kr1 and kr1-s apart.
obvoiusly i want the traditional v-twin set-up. but what else do i look for?

um, my knowledge bank is running low at this point.

A friend had a kr1s and it was a f'ing rocket but i do recall it having some issue with the power valve rods or some such.
I think they tend to come loose easily. but thats a hazy memory from ten years ago, and many a fine ale has been conspired to muddle the memory since.

one of our members has two of em, just cant remember who.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/93-kawasaki-Raci ... dZViewItem

AND it's in Melbourne!

Bloody hell here is ANOTHER one in Melbourne!

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/KAWASAKI-KR1-Roa ... dZViewItem

Diesel, just a couple of quick tips:

the KR 250 is a 'Tandem'-twin, not a 'V'twin. a Tandem twin has 1 cylinder behind the other, on the KR's the rear cylinder sat higher then the front, this gave room for the gearbox to sit underneath. The first KR250's were out in Australia in the early-mid 80's, so any example you find now, unles it is in mint condition, is *almost* certainly going to need a freshen-up of the motor ( pistons, seals etc). These engines have 'rotary-valve' induction ie. the carbies feed through the *side* of the motor, not from the *rear* like a normal parallel twin 2-stroke ( think RD, RG, etc). Rotary valve induction was used by Kawaski for many years during the '70's on all sorts of 2-strokes, including their GP racers - 250 and 350. It is technically way better than piston-port or even reed-valve induction.

The KR-1 and KR1-S are parallel twins ie cylinders sit side-by-side. These are later models, and are definitely a better bet for what you want in a track bike. ( Get a good one, rip off the lights etc, and you are pretty much ready to go. )

Easy way to tell what you are looking at - the early KR250's had a 'staggered' exhaust system, one low, one high. The later KR1 and KR1S had a normal system, one pipe out each side at same level.

That one on e-bay looks pretty good How Fast Do You Want To Spend ???

Simple tips for buying a 2-stroke - 1- make sure it starts easily, 2 - with not excessive amounts of blue smoke ( if you can still see the bike, thats not excessive ), 3 No loud rattle from bottom-end under load ( ie go for a test-fang).

cheers
I 2StrokesDave

thanks mate.
can't buy the one on ebay.
i'm taking posession of a ZX9 today.
I was looking at a kr250 in dandenong, which is complete but in pieces for 700 bucks. that i could buy. but i'd have to put it together. and it is a tandem. so i'm outta luck there.
i'll just have to keep my eye open.
cheers again.

A mate of mine had a KR1 (not sure what designation)... It cornered like pooh... at least it did compared to my GF-250SS (yes, a spewzuki)...

He didnt really have any problems with it until he wrapped it around a tree...

diesel wrote:i'm taking posession of a ZX9 today.

Nice one, hope it is what you are looking for, them 9's are great.

For a KR250 in pieces, I wouldn't pay more than 500 anyway. If you do get an urge to get trackside, the KR1-S is the one I would go for. But you gotta have fun on your 9 first

cheers