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Help 1998 Kawasaki Balius ZR250 (A) Cosmetic restoration

Discussion in 'Your 250cc Projects' started by James Shaw, Jan 27, 2015.

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  1. Th3_Huntsman

    Th3_Huntsman Senior Member Contributing Member

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    last input from me tonight. did you ever find what was rattling around you're tank? i think i know
    _DSC6430.JPG
    when you turned your tank upside down with the fuel tap still attached, the intank filter for the on part will have fallen out. That's why your bike started running on rusty fuel and is now dying. (happened to me)
    download.jpg
    The longer one falls out quite easy. which is for on the shorter one is RESERVE. i used a pentorch and a reach grab thing from supercheap and alot of cursing and shaking to get mine out. See that you find it before doing the sealing kit. Quickest way to confirm my suspicion will be to take the fuel tap off and check.
     
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    Th3_Huntsman, Aug 31, 2015
    #81
  2. James Shaw

    James Shaw Member

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    Thanks for the advice mate. I'll be disassembling the tank (again). More so this time for the sealant kit so I'll make sure to check if there is still something rattling around. And try and nab it before doing anything else with the tank.
    I'm really looking forward to getting it all done and getting the bike back on the road.
    Thanks for the tips about chain noise. Mine doesn't sound that bad when put into perspective, which I guess is all I'm after when posting things on here. I'll give my current tensioner good clean before riding around to the spares shop.
    Did I tell you guys I found a guy at a parts shop wreakers that rides and races a Balius and ZXR250 as a track bikes? Ken47l YouTube.

    Could be a good resource for spares, although (just warning you) he knows exactly what they're worth. He was good to me though. I got a full rubber exhaust hanger assembly and bolt for $10 last time I saw him. They've got quite a few ZXR250 there and some Balius of various years.

    Victorian Motorcycle Wreckers
    http://goo.gl/maps/C9qWb

    Sent from my Moto G 2014 using Tapatalk
     
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    James Shaw, Aug 31, 2015
    #82
  3. MashtX

    MashtX Well-Known Member

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    I've been out to see him a few times, good dude but he'll talk your ear off haha
     
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    MashtX, Aug 31, 2015
    #83
  4. James Shaw

    James Shaw Member

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    Do any of you guys know of any generic (read cheap) mufflers (preferably) with removable baffling that I could replace my standard muffler with? The headers are a little beat up and I would like to replace the entire system but it seems a bit expensive for what I use the bike for (commuter, fun, project, fixerupper).
     
    James Shaw, Sep 1, 2015
    #84
  5. James Shaw

    James Shaw Member

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    Well, I had a bit of fun TRYING to replace all the seals in my carbs, unfortunately the metal frame screws at the front simply WOULD NOT BUDGE. I only managed to get one free after a few hours of penetrating spray/etc, one broken JIS tool. So I ended up just opening the float bowls and cleaning out what I could. The bottom of each of the float bowls was completely clogged (brown gunk) and one of the idle screws was jammed. After a good soak I think I got what I could out of the cleaners. Used a tonne of cleaner (probably lessened my life despite using a mask and ventilation). As I was draining the tank I noticed that the fuel came out clean. I'm still keen to use the tank sealant kit as the bottom of the tank from the filler doesn't look very nice (slightly pitted/rusty looking), but I thought it could wait.

    The first thing I noticed once it was all back together is that the idle didn't rise and drop when leaning the bike over left and right. The next day (Saturday) I went on a 2+ hour ride after being fairly confident it would work.
    The idle speed some sometimes above 2000rpm and sometimes below 1500rpm. We'll see how it runs I guess and next weekend I might do the tank clean out.

    I'm not sure if I'm going to reattempt getting the carbs apart... Too afraid I might strip the screws.
     
    James Shaw, Sep 7, 2015
    #85
  6. Moo

    Moo Plodge Racing!!!

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    worst case is you could drill them out if you wound them. or try an impact driver.
     
    Moo, Sep 7, 2015
    #86
  7. Linkin

    Linkin The Mechanic Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Sounds like it's still a bit lean. Varying idle means not quite right.

    Can you access the idle mixture screws with the carbs on the bike? The way to do it is warm up fully, sit bike on rear stand and tweak one mixture screw until the idle rises. Reset main idle and adjust other screw until the idle rises again, then adjust main idle again.

    Twist throttle sharply and then chop it closed. Should get an instant response and should drop back to idle speed straight away. Hanging at higher RPM is lean and if the RPM drops below idle speed it is too rich.
     
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    Linkin, Sep 7, 2015
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  8. James Shaw

    James Shaw Member

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    Thanks for the Tip, I thought it might have been the cleaners running through the motor. I'll have another look at it tonight. I should be able to get to the idle screws with a very small flat head.
     
    James Shaw, Sep 7, 2015
    #88
  9. Linkin

    Linkin The Mechanic Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Keep in mind, that procedure is assuming the carbies are synced.
     
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    Linkin, Sep 7, 2015
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  10. James Shaw

    James Shaw Member

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    The jets were a 38 pilot and 98 main all round. The muffler has been drilled out and might was well be straight through (Done by previous owner(s)). I think this will be (a small) part of the reason for the weird idling issues. The diameter of the end pipe is making it difficult for me to find a 'slip on' with a baffle.
     
    James Shaw, Sep 7, 2015
    #90
  11. James Shaw

    James Shaw Member

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    So I attempted moving the air fuel on one of the carbs and it jumps idle dies in one direction and doesn't make a heap of difference in the other. I think it's mostly due to either the chain tensioner or the primary chain itself. At certain rpm it seems to hit a bad part in the chain, right-hand cover taps/rattles and the idle drops. Which makes it almost impossible to know if my air fuel screw changes are making much difference. I might try and make a video this afternoon if I have time.

    Sent from my Moto G 2014 using Tapatalk
     
    James Shaw, Sep 9, 2015
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  12. James Shaw

    James Shaw Member

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    *and the idle dies in one direction and maybe goes up slightly in the other. But because of the chain issue interfering it's difficult to tell.
     
    James Shaw, Sep 9, 2015
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  13. DougFella

    DougFella Well-Known Member Premium Member Contributing Member

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    When you had the tensioner out for a clean did you check the spring? When you go to compress the tensioner to put it back in it should be quite difficult to compress a healthy/well tensioned spring.

    If the cam chain is slapping/tapping the cover do the tensioner again or replace the cam chain. If the chain jumps and messes up your timing you'll be in some trouble

    As far as the idle goes I'm no expert in tuning so someone else will have better tips. But i would have thought you'd need yo adjust all the carbs to get a difference, doing one is just going to throw them out.


    Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
     
    DougFella, Sep 9, 2015
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  14. James Shaw

    James Shaw Member

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    The spring and bearings on the tensioner all look/feel OK and firm. The only thing I note as a possible problem is some slight scoring/shiny warn spots in the tensioner 'slug' itself. I'll try to take some photos if/when its out again.

    Sent from my Moto G 2014 using Tapatalk
     
    James Shaw, Sep 9, 2015
    #94
  15. James Shaw

    James Shaw Member

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    Hey all, I've made a little video of the idling issues.

    I don't like the sound of my own voice so I hope the annotations/video are relatively self explanatory.


     
    James Shaw, Sep 11, 2015
    #95
  16. Murdo

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

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    Definitely sounds like a new chain needed.
     
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    Murdo, Sep 11, 2015
    #96
  17. Phil

    Phil Senior Member Contributing Member

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    Tend to agree
     
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    Phil, Sep 11, 2015
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  18. James Shaw

    James Shaw Member

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    ...damn. Any idea what I need and the process for doing this? Or should I just get it to my nearest moto shop?
     
    James Shaw, Sep 11, 2015
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  19. James Shaw

    James Shaw Member

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    Just dropped it off at my local bike shop with the replacement cam chain. They're good guys and they know the story behind the bike. They already called me back to confirm slack on the chain and that they'll need to order a new gasket for the cam chain/clutch cover.
     
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    James Shaw, Sep 25, 2015
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  20. James Shaw

    James Shaw Member

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    New cam chain, new plugs, new Oil, new Filter, new Gasket later. And it's running MUCH better. Still some chain noise, which is to be expected. But feels MUCH better all round. I might do another video.
     
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    James Shaw, Oct 12, 2015
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