Kawasaki Motorcycle Forums - The Mechanics Corner

What is a Pulser?

billybones — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:33:27 GMT

I bought a stock 88 KZ1000 Police bike. After driving it about 1000 miles last month I settled in to start doing some repairs and maintance, the usual stuff you do when you buy a used bike.

I took off the radio rack off and cleaned things up on the back end of the bike with a soft brush and a quick rinse with the hose (no nozzle). I was getting ready for a test drive after rebuilding the leaking petcock. I turned the ignition on and deadness. I checked the battery, good. Popped off the seat and covers to trace wires and clean connections. Nothing seemed out of place.

After an hour of poking around I took a break for lunch. When I came back out the oil/neutral light were on (dummy me left the ignition on). I hit the starter button and she fired right up then died. I heard a relay click from the right side under the cover. I rapped on what looked like a flasher in a rubber boot and the oil and neutral lights came on. Start the bike, fires up and dies. I pulled this relay out of the boot and it is a rusty corroded mess. The rubber mount it was in got water in it from the quick rinse job I did. I tapped the relay on the frame, lights on, start the bike and it runs and goes dead, tap, run, tap, run. The relay was a bit warm as well. Not burning wire hot but warm to the touch.

Anyway, I ordered a new relay. I asked the Kawi parts guy what the description of the part was, a relay he said. The Clymer schematic calls it a pulser and it connects to the ignitor with 4 wires. What is it's function?

Torque Wrench Setting

bmann — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:35:33 GMT

Hi there, I am about to change the oil in my 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250 and store it for the winter. I bought a Mastercraft Mini-Adjusting Torque Wrench. I'm pretty sure I set it right, but is there any one that can verify the setting for me. The recomended setting for the 250 is 19.6 NM. There is no 19.6 on the wrench. There is an 18.1NM and the next increment is 20.3NM. I have to adjust the micro ring to bring the 18.1 to 19.6. The logical setting it the 1.45 (which is 7 and .75) Does this sound right? Thanks for your help. Cheers

93 Bayou vacum slide

09zkrankin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:23:11 GMT

I have a 1993( i think, not sure just got it and cant find year tag but thats ehat the guy dsaid it was) 300 bayou 4wd. It had been sitting at a buddy of mines house for ab 6 months. I brought it home to try and start it and got nothing. So i started tinkering and found out there was a poor connection at the coil. I remedied that and got spark but it was weak, so i replaced the plug and now have good spark. I then finally got it to hit but still no start so i took the carb off to clean it. i found that there had been muddy water in the carb due to the film in the bottom of the bowl from where it had dried. I started taking the rest of the carb apart only to find more dirty parts so i cleaned the entire thing and when i started to reassemble it i found that the diaphram on top of the slide would not go back into its groove because it is swollen. I have already tried putting it in the freezer where i left it for all night and half the day but it still will not seat back into its groove. i have heard that it must seat perfectly or it will not run. the diaphram is in good shape other than that and i really dont want to put 126 dollars into a new slide+diaphram. Any suggestions to this issue? btw this is the keihin 32mm CVK carb

'77 KZ1000 Transmission

jacky — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:22:17 GMT

I have a '77 KZ1000 with 83,000 miles. I need to replace gears on the input or output shaft. Can someone give me some tips on how to get started?

I am sure it's a problem with one of the shafts. When I pulled the oil pan recently, there were pieces of a spline washer in the pan. I ran it for another 3,000 miles, and it just locked up this week.

Please help!

88 Bayou 185 Power Problem.

Bigmanlittlebik — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:25:49 GMT

Hello,
I have an 88 Kawasaki Bayou 185 that starts up after a couple of pulls on the pull start with starter fluid and idles, but when you push on the throttle it revs a little and if you hold the trottle it doesn't rev high. If you put it into gear and push the throttle it rides really slow and some times the rpm will go up and down. Would a bad battery cause this problem? It ran but rough when I bought it. The person I bought it from said he had the cam chain changed and rebuild the carburetor. The old plug was wrong and covered with black sut so I changed it to the correct plug and the air filter was a home made one so I bought a new one.

Please help.
Thanks

Zx6r stick coil question

mick1275 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:38:47 GMT

The stick coils fitted on Model zx6r 2001+ ,they are shorting out onto anything metal around them all 4 r doin the same .I took plugs out and i held the plastic electrical connector and turned the bike over to check spark and got a rate belt from it and i noticed the stick coil(s) was shorting out onto any metal around it with and without a plug on. My bike is running like a sack of ****e
Should this be happening is something shorting out in loom

2000 super sherpa fixer upper

Teddo — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:26:09 GMT

I am in need of some sage advice.

2000 kl250 super sherpa in need of some serious TLC.
The bike is a salvage that my son and i are trying to get running. it does not have any of the lights or an ignition switch on the bike but all of the wiring harness is intact and all of the plugs are in good shape. we have so far been able to get the bike to turn over using the starter switch but i am not getting any spark. we have jumped out the hand brake switch and the clutch switch as well as having jumped the ignition switch plug to fake out it being turned on. (white is power in, 4 wires attached to this and 1 ground i left alone) i checked all of the fuses and they are all fine. found out there was a kickstand switch and raised up the kickstand but i still get no spark. i am wondering if there is anything else that needs to be jumped to get spark or if there are some tests i can do on the CDI and coil ect. i am also looking around for the missing pieces, headlight, speedo cluster, ignition switch ect. to get the bike back in shape so if anyone knows where there are some, let us know.
i know this is a big project but it something fun my son and i are trying out this winter. even without the lights it will be a good bike for him to learn on.
any help is greatly appreciated.
other rides, 1964 yamaha 90 (also a salvage in 1968), 1970 yamaha 175 enduro,1971 honda cb350, 1972 H2 (and i am still alive), 1982 kz750ltd, 2000 super sherpa.
Thanks Ted and Spencer.
Teddo

evoporative emission control system

mick1275 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:01:24 GMT

Some ZX6R J MODEL's are fitted with evoporative emission control system eg: canister ,purge valve,vacuum valve what does this system do ,also bikes that are not fitted with it ,What alternative does the zx6r have that isnt a California model . Because mine is fitted with the vacuum valve onle under air box and its a UK spec the bike wont run properly without it not fitted

Why do you want to take off the vacuum valve?
Just newly rebuilt my engine had bike in pieces foir a 1 yr and i dont know why it should have been fitted in 1st place i dont have the canister or anything else

Replace this fork valve?

polkat — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:43:36 GMT

Rebuilding my KZ750H3's forks. At the top of the internal piston I found this little black plastic valve (it's kind of like a ring for the piston). Looks like this.....
Attachment 32877

It doesn't look too bad, but I see some wear on the sides that contact the inner tube. Is this piece commonly replaced, and if so, is it even still available?

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1500 Nomad clutch problem

KYNomad — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:30:33 GMT

I ride a 2001 Nomad 1500FI (41K miles) and got back last Saturday from a long-distance ride across Texas. We started in Texarkana and rode through TX, NM and just across the AZ state line, the clutch gives out. To be more exact, I'm cruising at 75mph and pull in the clutch lever for an upcoming exit ramp and the transmission doesn't disengage from the engine. I have read some posts about clutch slippage, but this clutch went from working correctly to nothing. After safely coming to a stop, I adjusted the clutch lever to the #1 position using the thumb wheel by the lever and had a small bit of clutch. It engaged when the lever was still very close to the grip. When I stopped for gas again, the lever pull would not disengage the transmission.
Could this just be the spring wearing out, seems kinda sudden for that answer. We are settling in for winter in KY, so I have some time to work on it before spring.

1996 EN500 Vulcan trouble

Mekolo — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:22:11 GMT

Hi, I am new here and I am having trouble getting my bike to start. As topic suggests my bike is a 1996 Vulcan 500. I have not had the bike long myself and when i first got it, it ran fine. I took it home had a friend store in his garage (my first mistake) and he broke it. He broke the clutch rod and stripped the clamp around it. I replaced those parts after taking a long time for me to come up with the money. Once I took it back home it quit starting. I took the carb off and cleaned it, replaced the battery, did the ether test, spark plugs were in good condition. So at that point I was convinced something was wrong with the carb. So i took the carb off once again and took it to my friends dad. He checked it out and said someone messed with the air fuel mixture screws. He readjusted them but to the specs of an earlier model. Will that be a problem? So far I have put the carb back in and tried to start it. No luck! I checked the battery and seemed to be low so I started charging it. When I came back to it I noticed gas all over ther place. I am guessing I missed getting a hose on all the way. Which I will have to check tomorrow when its light out. So my main question is this, once it get the hose on all the way and my bike still does not start what should i look for next?
Sorry for the long history I just wanted to be clear on what I have done and how things were done in my case.
Also before the bike quit running if I pulled the choke even 1/2 then the engine would flood.

Stator change on a 2005 zzr600

kriv4o — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:24:09 GMT

Hi guys. I am a newbie on the site but from I read so far I think this is the plase to be if u r a kawi fan. Now to my question how hard would it be to change the stator of a 2005 kawasaki zzr600

Advice Zx6r ! Rebuilt Engine Not Running Right !

mick1275 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:47:10 GMT

Just rebuilt complete ZX6R J model engine . started it up today 4 the 1st time the engine is sweet no rattles etc.But this is were i could do with some advice ,(please only reply if you are clued up with engines:shock: ) The bike wont run WITHOUT full choke also i can only rev it upto 4000rpm before it trys to cut out, I know its a fuel problem but as severe as needing full choke all time is more than a tweeking of the carbs,could a bad plug not firing correct (weak)under compression cause this,There is nothing ,nothing wrong in the line of vacuum every thing is piped right. Its not the timing not cylinder head valve leakage all hardware is new and within tolerance of service limit

How do you clean and treat rusty exhaust pipes?

kxyang — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:45:28 GMT

Hi, my Kawasaki Zephyr 750's exhaust pipes under the engine are very rusty.

I was wondering if anybody can tell me how and what I need to clean it and prevent more rust from coming back.

Thanks!

1981 Kz 1100 A1

Hermien — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:26:52 GMT

Need some advise: Am the proud owner of a 1981 KZ 1100 A1, the bike is running very well in general but when it is cold (<20 degrees Celsius) she does not start easily, any ideas (carbs, valve clearance?). There is a new leak at the final gear case, any ideas what to look for?

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