G'day Team Picked up a second hand ZR250 (my first bike) the other day and now that I'm waiting on some gear to actually be able to ride it, I thought Id read plenty of forums on here and have a nosy at some basic maintenance stuff on my bike. A couple of questions. 1) Underneath the engine there is a bolt of some sort (it is the lowest part of the engine I can see underneath the bike) and it seems to have a slight oil leak/oil build up on it leaving a couple of drips underneath the bike after it has run. I might be wrong but does tightening this bolt help or is this normal? Is this a major problem? 2) The oil level is at a minimum at the moment (seems like the first question would go hand in hand with this one =(.....so was wondering if I could top the oil up without knowing what went in the bike before hand? Best would be to get in touch with the person I bought it off but they are clueless about maintenance and always took the bike to a shop to do anything on it. I have no 1994 Balius manual so am clueless about what oil to put in it and whether it would be a problem to put a different oil to top it up than the one currently in there. 3) Took off the fairings and took out the cooler tank which had basically only a couple of milimeters of coolant left....Seems like everything is leaking on this thing?. Anyway I took off the tubes and gave it a clean as there was significant residue and build up of s*** inside there. The question is any advice on what coolant goes in there? Sorry if any of this stuff seems ridiculous and basic but Im a complete rookie here and would rather listen to what you guys have to say than take it to a mechanic who says Id need a grands worth of maintenance done on the bike..... Thanks team.
The bolt will be the sump plug for draining the oil ..... it needs a new crush washer if its leaking Dont bother topping it up as u wont know how much to put in anyway New oil and a new filter ..... @Grasshopper will help u with the filter Oil has to be motorcycle oil 10W 40 and NOT car oil Flush out the whole coolant system and fill up with red Nulon Use the ZXR manuals for reference Crush washer Coolant
Awesome thanks for this. So I should take it to a shop to change oil filter and get new oil in it? Have a mate that said he could do it. Your saying to drain the whole oil out and replace it? Or dont bother and mix it in with whatever is there? Cheers will go out and get riding gear plus some tools, coolant, brake fluid etc. Fairly broad question here but the bike did not come with a tool kit when I bought it.... Any essentials that I should get to build a nice little tool kit to go under the seat? Thanks Team
Oil and filter is dead simple to do mate, if you take it to a shop they will charge like a wounded bull, or "find" (invent) a serious issue with the bike that needs to be fixed. All you need is a rear stand, and oil pan, and a spanner/socket set, plus new oil and a filter. It's dead simple
Thanks Linkin Sounds dead right to me, have had plenty of experiences like that with car mechanics. Will definitely do the oil myself. Was still wondering if I need to drain the whole lot out and replenish it completely or If I can top it up (there is some oil but its below the minimum line and not sure what type or grade is in there) Im assuming motorcycle oils cannot be mixed? cheers
Drain the lot, don't bother topping up, no good. It's history is unknown. You can mix motorcycle oils, but don't use car oil as it has friction modifiers, no good for your wet clutch. Cars run a dry clutch mostly... You can bottle up the old fluids and take them to a mechanic to dispose of them.
Alrightie thanks for that So will find somewhere to get a crush washer for the sump plug that seems to be slightly leaking Will replace oil and filter completely myself and will look into flushing out the coolant system (no idea what so ever how to do this, Ive cleaned out the plastic tank but there obviously needs to be some that comes out from inside the tubes and whatever is left in the engine so will need to read up on this) or would it be okay just to replenish the coolant without doing a full flush?
Im assuming the system is the same as the ZXR ...... dont just add , drain it all and flush it with the hose http://2fiftycc.com/index.php?resources/kawasaki-zxr250-service-manual-part-4.36/ Oil change Go to supercheap or similar and get a basic set of metric sockets/spanners and an oil tray Put the tray under the bike ..undo the sump plug ...let it all drain out ..... then undo the filter and screw it off ..... should come off using your hands ... filter will have oil in it so be prepared for it to spill out. Leave it for a short period so it all dribbles out Clean at the plug hole and the sump plug .... clean where the filter goes ..... put on the new filter after smearing a little new oil on the rubber ring of the filter ..... tighten it with your hands as much as u can. Replace your sump plug with the new washer and tighten it with your socket ..... but dont over tighten ! Then find the oil filler cap on the opposite side of the bike Owners manual will tell u how much oil is needed Page 49-52 http://2fiftycc.com/index.php?resources/kawasaki-zr250-balius-owners-manual.233/
hey my bike takes 10 40 although the bike shop guy sold me 15 50 i think it is and said not a problem its cause ive done over 10 thousand ks will help being abit thicker. its a single cyl 4 stroke should he quit his day job or am i paranoid
You should be using wat the manufacturer recommends ... not wat some wankker in a bike shop tells you. Go to supercheap or wateva and look for the correct stuff ... like Penrite ..... especially if its on special .... and make sure its specifically for motorcycles and not jumbo jets
Look for the JASO MA2 rating on the oil bottles. You may not be able to get the same stuff in New Zealand, but there are a whole range of oils that would be suitable for your bike, look for the rating. I like the Castrol 4T as it is sold in Repco/Supercheap/Autobarn type motor shops and is only A$35.00 for 4litre here. Take off the lowest hose on the radiator or engine and flush out the old stuff. Fill with new coolant as per the manual. Enjoy riding your bike (mandatory).
Yep plenty of JASO MA2 rating oils lying around in NZ. Just got some the other day for NZ$65 for 5litres.
Well damn.....Turns out I cant even complete an oil change without screwing something up. I went in horns down trying to get the oil change done as soon as possible and like a complete idiot managed to undo the drain plug in the wrong direction.....(aluminium oil pan vs a hefty wrench and my eagerness to complete the task not a good combination). Feel like a complete tool and just adds extra unnecessary work.. Will have to re-thread with the next size up and find a bigger drain plug to fit the thread! What a way to create extra work for myself.
Mate, you aren't alone.....people tend to forget that aluminium pan and a solid steel drain plug are not the best "bed fellows". I tell everyone not to over tighten as it can go pear shaped so easily. Bet you won't do that again.
Your dead right there Phil. Overly cautious from now on when tightening or loosening any sort of bolt or screw on my bike. A mate of mine suggested I take out the whole oil pan and re-thread it when its off the engine as this will prevent all the aluminium shavings from staying in the oil pan and it will allow me to see how much "meat" there is left to thread in to because he reckons that the drain plug had been upsized several times as the drain plug itself is a M12 however he reckons it should be a M10. Anyone know what size the original drain plug should be for a ZR250? probably the same as other 250s with the same specifications that everyone else rides on here. What are your thoughts on taking the whole oil pan off? is this laborious and not for a rookie?. Have looked into helicoil and timesert but I dont see the difference to just rethreading to a bigger size and putting a bigger drain plug in there. Cheers team
Think your mate might be on the money, it certainly would be easier once off the bike to drill out. However you will probably need to replace the sump gasket.....unless your lucky enough that it comes off in one piece (don't like your chances) The sump on the Honda MC22 that I am currently working on has 10 bolts securing the sump to the block. Helicoils as you can probably imagine are used often for this task......keep us posted on your progress, good luck