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Project 1990 FZR250 3LN3 Rebirth

Discussion in 'Your 250cc Projects' started by yak_attak, Mar 17, 2023.

  1. yak_attak

    yak_attak Active Member Premium Member

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    Figured I'd make a thread for my fizzy, I guess I've enjoyed reading other people's threads and seeing their progress and it also helps me keep a record of everything I'm doing.

    (will add some photos later)

    Purchased the bike at 33,000kms around jan 2023, all seemed great and did a couple hundred k's of riding, just enough to get a taste of that classic japanese screaming four experience. Then, it seemed I sucked up a bunch of crap into the carburettors or the fuel pump/filters, she bogged down and died in a 110km/h highway section which had been closed to a single lane. There I was, hard up against a concrete lane divider while trucks screamed past me about 1.5m away.. Not ideal! Somehow managed to get her started again by fiddling with fuel tap and giving her the beans on the starter, enough to ride a little further down the road where I could get some breathing room. She died a further two times on the limp back home (about 45kms), thankfully it was a sunny saturday and some fellow two wheel pilots stopped to try and help, and escort me back.

    I'm not a mechanic myself (very bold and expensive choice on this kind of bike + vintage) and have a reputable local bike magician (130/hr for labor.. ouch) for all the work - so based on the assumption that I have fouled the carbs, and also knowing that the previous owner DIY'd a carb clean and balance using some random ebay seal kits, I've decided to go for a full carb rebuild using Litetek seals and keyster carb kits. (edit: the dude basically molested these carbs .... :( )

    edit: feel i should add i plan to buy one of these needing work next and do it all myself. totally intrigued by the depth of knowledge and tuning required for what is, to the layman, an "old 250". seems like a great distraction from going to work 24/7 (and spending all that money on a mechanic l m a o )

    I needed to get her in for a valve clearance check and adjustment anyway so I'm timing it all to get done at once, and done to the highest possible standard.

    @ruckusman has been a big help in getting my head around what I should be doing, and I've agreed to be a beta tester for some brass tube inserts that go into the slide hole where the needles are to try and reduce slop and hopefully reduce emulsion tube wear. (edit: prestigious ex-yamaha mechanic carb wizard agrees and understands why so we are going ahead with this. )

    I've also sourced a spare fuel tank from my cousin who owns a wreckers, and that's been lined with red-kote. I plan to get it painted hopefully to match the rest of the fairings. (edit: i did)

    Also changing fuel filters, flushing the whole fuel system, inspecting the tap, replacing tap seals, blahdy blah.

    Also ordered a Venhill EXUP cable repair kit, once I get it in, I'm getting the mechanic to check the operation of the servomotor and inspect the cable + valve to make sure there's no issues there, since I know these can give you headaches as well.

    Oh, and while she's in the shop she may as well get an oil change so I'm going to give that DELO 400 MGX a shot

    Parts I've ordered:

    Ruckusman Light Industries Precision Brassy Tube Kit

    Keyster carb kits (1203YKS, 1203YKU - two of each)

    Keyster replacement float needles

    Litetek carburetor service kit

    Litetek fuel tank/tap o-rings

    Litetek silicone coolant hose kit + fancy clamps

    Litetek coolant system o-ring kit

    Venhill EXUP cable repair kit

    Delo 400MGX 15W40 - going to pick this up this weekend. $87 for five liters of oil !?!?! It better be as good as you guys say LOL!!


    Well if you got to the end of this wall of text, and you can think of anything else I might want/need to get done, PLEASE let me know.. I have spent hours and hours and hours reading different threads here and talking ruckusman's ear off and I think I've thought of just about everything to do to get her mechanically sound so I can focus on cosmetic restoration (and riding the bloody thing). It's currently pissing down with rain here so I will take some photos and decorate the thread a bit later on.

    Cheers, this forum is the best, and I will be ordering some 2fifty stickers to represent!!!
     
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    Last edited: Jul 30, 2023
  2. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Add a new fuel filter and check the tap into the tank as this can block too.
     
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  3. ruckusman

    ruckusman White Mans Magic Master Premium Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Only one correction, the brass tube inserts go into the slide hole for the needle to reduce slop [not eliminate it altogether] and hopefully reduce emulsion tube wear.

    Also FWIW, I've bought and used a variety of 'Diesel/mixed fleet' oils over the years, and I've noticed of late that some are actually listing motorcycles on them now.
    Diesel/mixed fleet oils don't have friction additives which cause motorcycle wet clutches to slip, they have excellent detergent properties - they do after all deal with diesel combustion byproducts, well priced because of the volume of production and they're from very high quality base stock.

    BTW have you tried to start it and go for a short ride since having to limp home.

    I think the assessment of a clogged filter in the tank was a good one as that fuel pump clicked much more than it should have if it was pumping fuel.

    EDIT Surprised those brass inserts haven't arrived yet, I'm in AUS, you're in NZ, it's not like I'm in Antarctica and you're in Lithuania...
     
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    Last edited: Mar 17, 2023
  4. yak_attak

    yak_attak Active Member Premium Member

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    Yeah I typed this out while on the sauce so, was bound to muck it up :D

    I've started it since, but haven't taken it out for a ride. I've also, as usual, been balls to the wall with work.

    Regarding postage .. Since that cyclone a lot of extra pressure on our postal system, and they were pretty hit or miss anyway. Will give it a few more weekdays and if it's not here by wednesday I'll give them a call - if you had a tracking number or anything like that, PM me. Cheers
     
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  5. yak_attak

    yak_attak Active Member Premium Member

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    Yeah I'm pretty sure some of the parts I got from litetek are to replace the tap seals? I forgot to mention it in my original post but the mechanic's specced out some new filters, and I plan to get him to just take all that apart and clean it out.
     
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  6. yak_attak

    yak_attak Active Member Premium Member

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    Been a while ... 3 months apparently lol. All my bits and pieces from litetek and MSW (keysters) turned up after a bit of mucking around with sending wrong items back. Peter Lynch and his worker(forgot his name) there are fantastic blokes and very helpful, highly recommend motocycle spares warehouse if you need any bits n bobs for your weapon.\

    So I picked up a spare tank and airbox from a cousin who owns a wreckers. Had the tank acid-dipped/abraded on the inside (since it was actually pretty much rust free inside to my surprise) and then lined with Red-Kote so no more worries about tank rust or carb fouling basically forever. NZ Fuel all seems to be well above spec regarding ethanol % etc . And the guy did a few more coats than was necessary just in case, i mean why not.

    The Airbox I didn't really need but I wanted the filter since apparently you literally can't buy them anymore ... Mechanic tried to tell me lots of people are running K+N panels or pods and all you need to do is oil them yada yada .. its like yeah sure but those japanese guys knew EXACTLY what they were doing and after talking with @ruckusman about heimholtz resonance and reading up on airflow dynamics etc . No way am i changing it. Plan to put the 2nd air filter through the ultrasonic briefly and hope it doesn't ruin it, will post results here since i'm not aware of anyone else ultrasonic'ing these.

    Just waiting for the bike wizard to organize picking up from my place and then we'll be away laughing!

    Getting a go-pro and mic so will definitely post up some rides here to show what this lil yammy can do :) IMG_20230611_013814.jpg IMG_20230611_013759.jpg IMG_20230611_013806.jpg imagejpeg_2.jpg imagejpeg_3.jpg imagejpeg_4.jpg imagejpeg_5.jpg
     
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  7. yak_attak

    yak_attak Active Member Premium Member

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    ah and for anyone wanted the paint code, will ask my painter guy , but it's pretty much the same as some BA Falcons/Territorys i think it's called Mandarin it's a (2 or 3 cant remember) multi stage metallic . Will post exact code when i know
     
  8. GreyImport

    GreyImport Administrator Staff Member The Chief Contributing Member

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    wash it in hot soapy water and dry it in the sun .... worked for my 3LN1
     
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  9. yak_attak

    yak_attak Active Member Premium Member

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    Sounds good, I just figured ultrasonic would really clear it out . But if you reckon hot and soapy is all i need.. will do that. Thanks
     
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  10. yak_attak

    yak_attak Active Member Premium Member

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    Soooo... lot to update here but will clean up the thread another time..

    Finally got the bike into the mechanics after a whoooole lot of f--k around, won't say why but mostly their end, administration issues let's leave it at that. No harm no foul since I was mental busy at work anyway.

    After getting it in they started with getting the fairings off and taking the carbys apart.. discovered this

    <a href="https://ibb.co/pZgJjzn"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/pZgJjzn/unnamed.jpg" alt="unnamed" border="0"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/5BwVzLC"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/5BwVzLC/unnamed1.jpg" alt="unnamed1" border="0"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/4RJpRCc"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/4RJpRCc/unnamed3.jpg" alt="unnamed3" border="0"></a>

    These guys are the top rated bike doctors in my town and they're busy, I respect their time so I didn't press too hard to explain everything to me (a big dumb idiot with bikes) but something about the last f---ing clown in my poor mikunis glueing seals in place and just generally being a f--kwit . Locator pins broken, cracks in the upper body.

    Luckily I have a cousin who owns a bike wreckers who sold me some replacement carbs which have likely been sitting on a shelf for about 20 years. They'll need a good clean but should be fine to replace the body, butterflies and what not should hopefully not be a hassle between the two sets.

    Feels like one step closer. I know I'm paying out the absolute arys for this job but it's a good lesson to learn in terms of learning to fix my own bikes .. It's not that hard surely. I want to buy a lil project one so I can put in the hours without hurting my pride and joy. Maybe a cheap 3LN1 . Who knows. Will update when more deets thanks for coming to my ADHD ted talk :D


    unnamed.jpg unnamed1.jpg unnamed3.jpg
     
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    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 30, 2023
  11. yak_attak

    yak_attak Active Member Premium Member

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    Turns out the carbs I picked up from my cousin were 3LN1 carbs .. So all that labor on the broken ones was wasted, I've had to buy new keyster kits as well, the mechanic thought he might have been able to make it work with the 3ln3 kits with some new main jets but I made the call to just do it properly. We're at well over 16 hours of labour at 130ph, i'm expecting something like 25 hours total.. Fork seals have started leaking so we're doing those now. Figured might as well do the valve clearances while she's in bits too. Replacing the fairing bolts with some snazzy matching orange ones from pro-bolt( i like shiny stuff and couldnt help it). New intake manifolds (ebay special, kinda rough but the rubber feels good) and airbox->carb rubbers (genuine yamaha, 180$ from japan ouuuuch).

    The end is in sight, hoping to get on her next week sometime, assuming the WOF goes smoothly. If there's any issues noted in tuning and I need to look at the head/block I will probably quit life and melt into the cracks in the pavement.
     
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  12. ruckusman

    ruckusman White Mans Magic Master Premium Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Home stretch, if those carbs are set correctly, then it will go ZOOOOM
     
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  13. yak_attak

    yak_attak Active Member Premium Member

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    I did a stupid again, ordered only two carb kits LMAO .... Shift work insomnia .. Paid for express shipping this time . Going on holiday later this week so hoping they can get her going before I jet off.

    BIG EXCITEMENT :headbang::dance2:
     
  14. yak_attak

    yak_attak Active Member Premium Member

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    Beyond gutted, and also furious.

    She was all ready to go back together - mechanic calls me and says there's no way the fuel tank will fit on.

    I'm not exactly sure what he meant until I saw it..

    I remember the painter had to lightly tap in the sides where your knees tuck in. The guy who did the acid dip and lining did a pressure test. I can't see any other way for this to happen other than his pressure test. I wouldn't have checked for damage after getting it back from him, and the painter wouldn't have looked at the bottom since we didn't paint it to keep the costs down. After painting it went straight to the mechanic where it sat on a shelf for 2 months while all the other BS was dealt with.

    My cousin who I got the new tank from is a panelbeater by trade who owns a wreckers and has 30+ years of experience - he (and I) would have noticed this amount of damage. The painter had zero reason to put any kind of pressure into the tank, and the mechanics didn't even touch it until they were ready to put the bike back together..

    Radiator guy who lined the tank completely denies it was him. So i'm out over $500nzd on this tank.


    I've been getting f--k all hours at work for last couple months and all my cash has gone into every other part and labor ive had to put in.. Just ordered a POR-15 sealing kit today and will have to have a crack at doing the old tank by myself.

    Unless I completely lose my **** and go hold a gun to his head and drive him to an ATM, my only option is to get statements from my cousin and the painter and go to the disputes tribunal which will take a while and there's no guarantee I'll win the case.

    So yeah, pretty f--ked off right now. The bike's ready to go, just needs a fuel tank so they can tune and road test....


    IMG_20231003_123642.jpg
     
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  15. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    What a horror story. How much pressure did they put in it? 5 psi and a brush with soapy water is all you need to test a tank like this.
     
  16. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Only way to repair that would be to cut the bottom out, beat it back into shape and reweld it in. Then you need to reseal it again.
     
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  17. ruckusman

    ruckusman White Mans Magic Master Premium Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    I was thinking of a small hessian sandbag and some strikes with a club hammer, it may well go back to shape without cutting it out
     
  18. jmw76

    jmw76 Well-Known Member

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    Looks to me like someone attempted to pop out some dents by pressurising the tank and just over did it.
    I would certainly start by trying to carefully tap down the underside dent. But it might not be all that successful. Be carefull not to damage the visible side in the process. A bit of vacuum to the inside of the tank might help when knocking the bottom dent back in.
     
  19. yak_attak

    yak_attak Active Member Premium Member

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    aside from a little spider rust on the exterior and faded original paint the tank was in perfect condition.
     

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