1989 Mojave

[lungwax]

I recently bought a 89 Kawasaki Mojave. I have only owned Yamaha's in the past. Are the Mojave's known for engine noise. It runs great and has a lot of power but is just noisy. I used the old screw driver to the ear trick and it seems to be coming from the valve area. I know in some ATV's a noisy engine is a happy engine.

[RCW]

I would suspect you need to adjust the valves, and the cam chain tensioner likely needs to be reset at the same time.

The engine also uses an automatic decompression device on the exhaust cam. The spring that handles the tension sometimes gets a bit loose and will begin to allow the decompression lever assembly to rattle. If the lever assembly itself begins to wear it is necessary to replace the entire exhaust cam assembly, or some people just remove the decompression components and run a really good AGM sealed battery and keep it well charged. That is a bit more stress on the starter with the decompression device removed, but as long as the starter is in good shape it handles the chore pretty easily with one of the new technology batteries. The old style batteries that were around when the machine was built will not handle the load with the decompression system removed after about 60 days of age, as they sulphate and loose too much capacity.

You can get the valve lash specifications off the owner info section of Kawasaki.com, but I would spring for a service and repair manual to get the procedure for adjusting the cam chain, and for a place to keep service notes as you become acquainted with the machine.

You can get the manual at a discount if you contact the sponsor at the top of the page and give them your membership id.

[86klf300guy]

does it vibrate also when acclerating?my buddys had the same concerns noisey valve train and a vibration on accel only come to find out it was the cam lube worn out on the flat but like rcw say adjust the valves first but while in there look cloesly at the cam lubes for where my friends is an 86 mojave-corey-

[lungwax]

Thanks, I will check the valves, timing chain tension and look at the cam lobes. I am hoping for a simple fix. I will let you know what I find out when I dig into it. I do have the book for it also. I just like to hear what others have already done. there is no vibration during acceleration. The noise seems to clear up during acceleration. It is more pronounced during idle.

[lungwax]

Ok here is what I found. The valves are really tight. That may have something to do with the slight starting issue. The decompression assembly is very sloppy. I have kickstart only so that may make removal of the assembly not a wise choice. What about a replacement spring. It appears I can get one from bike bandit.

[RCW]

Check the clearances on the end of the camshaft where the assembly fits. If they are excessive, then replace the entire exhaust cam assembly.

For some reason I seem to recall an upgraded camshaft and compression release assembly being available from Kawasaki. Call the 800 number at the top of the page and have a discussion with the sponsoring dealer's parts folks.

[86klf300guy]

compression release ? is it a valve or something you pull before you kick the bike and if so where is it. my buddies 86 mojave have one?or is it in the kick starter assy its self , this may sound a bit dumb on my part i didnt know about a decompression assy on these style bikes and i like to learn all there is about them so please explain where and how how it works for me thanks -corey-