1984 Ninja 900

ricksaia · 05-17-2009

Hello all. I picked up a 1984 Ninja 900. I rebuilt the carbs, got new coils and CDI. I got it to run after a long time trying. I let it sit for 2 hours went to go for a ride, and it would not start. The bike has spark and there is fuel in the bowls. It turns over and has compression. It is like there is no vacuum sucking the fuel into the engine. Any advise? I have the battery on the charger, thinking it was not getting enough voltage. Please help, thank you in advance, Rick

Ole Yeller · 05-17-2009

************************************************** ********

Lawn Masters · 05-17-2009

How are your valve clearances? tight? loose? might help us diagnose it.

ricksaia · 05-17-2009

Hi, the valve adjustment is the next thing I am going to try. The thing that does not make sense is that it ran great, and I could not get it running again. The petcock is fine. I have worked on motorcycles for a long time and I just cannot figure this out

oldcatman · 05-18-2009

If the valves check out or don't fix it, try hand-choking it by pulling the air cleaner and using your hand to close off the venturis on as many carbs as possible while hitting the starter. If that starts it, you may have plugged enrichener circuits.

ricksaia · 05-18-2009

I will give that a try this morning, this really is confusing me

vinnye · 05-19-2009

I know you said the petrol tap is fine - but they are awful!
Did you check to see that the screen and seal has not got distorted. They can go out of shape and cause problems.
The diaphragm can fail and there is a small seal that can leak - apart from that they are OK!
If your tank has not been cleaned - you can have particles getting into the carbs - even though you cleaned them - they can get a small bit of rust . crap blocking a hole / jet.
Repace with a PINGEL tap - expensive but worth it.
You can get a vac one (very dear) or a manual - remeber to turn it OFF and ON again!

ricksaia · 05-19-2009

Hello all. The problem was with the tank. It looked beautiful, but down low in the tank was rust and it kept getting into the carbs. I know, total rookie move. I cleaned the carbs for the third time and installed them. My friend has the same bike, I used his tank and the bike started right up. The carbs do need to be synched, but it ran well. I am so happy and thank you to all for the advise. I love Kawasaki's from the 80's, you cannot kill them.

05-17-2009	#1 (permalink)
ricksaia Newbie Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 5	1984 Ninja 900 Hello all. I picked up a 1984 Ninja 900. I rebuilt the carbs, got new coils and CDI. I got it to run after a long time trying. I let it sit for 2 hours went to go for a ride, and it would not start. The bike has spark and there is fuel in the bowls. It turns over and has compression. It is like there is no vacuum sucking the fuel into the engine. Any advise? I have the battery on the charger, thinking it was not getting enough voltage. Please help, thank you in advance, Rick

05-17-2009	#2 (permalink)
Ole Yeller Forum Supporter Forum Supporter Join Date: May 2008 Location: Space, the final frontier Posts: 295	************************************************ ****** __________________ 4 cylinders are better than 2 1985 ZL900 ELIMINATOR Last edited by Ole Yeller : 05-17-2009 at 10:45 AM. Reason: never mind, misread post

05-17-2009	#3 (permalink)
Lawn Masters hates stupidity BTK Expert Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New Port Richey FL Posts: 2,108	How are your valve clearances? tight? loose? might help us diagnose it. __________________ ZedX 1k owner. henceforth The bike shall be Zed.

05-18-2009	#5 (permalink)
oldcatman New old guy Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Fallbrook, CA Posts: 16	If the valves check out or don't fix it, try hand-choking it by pulling the air cleaner and using your hand to close off the venturis on as many carbs as possible while hitting the starter. If that starts it, you may have plugged enrichener circuits. __________________ '76 KZ900 A4 '84 ZX900 A1

05-19-2009	#7 (permalink)
vinnye Turtle Wax Taster BTK Intermediate Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 189	I know you said the petrol tap is fine - but they are awful! Did you check to see that the screen and seal has not got distorted. They can go out of shape and cause problems. The diaphragm can fail and there is a small seal that can leak - apart from that they are OK! If your tank has not been cleaned - you can have particles getting into the carbs - even though you cleaned them - they can get a small bit of rust . crap blocking a hole / jet. Repace with a PINGEL tap - expensive but worth it. You can get a vac one (very dear) or a manual - remeber to turn it OFF and ON again! __________________ UK - South Yorkshire

05-17-2009	#4 (permalink)
ricksaia Newbie Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 5	Hi, the valve adjustment is the next thing I am going to try. The thing that does not make sense is that it ran great, and I could not get it running again. The petcock is fine. I have worked on motorcycles for a long time and I just cannot figure this out

05-18-2009	#6 (permalink)
ricksaia Newbie Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 5	I will give that a try this morning, this really is confusing me

05-19-2009	#8 (permalink)
ricksaia Newbie Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 5	Hello all. The problem was with the tank. It looked beautiful, but down low in the tank was rust and it kept getting into the carbs. I know, total rookie move. I cleaned the carbs for the third time and installed them. My friend has the same bike, I used his tank and the bike started right up. The carbs do need to be synched, but it ran well. I am so happy and thank you to all for the advise. I love Kawasaki's from the 80's, you cannot kill them.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
'84 GPZ 900 Ninja FOR SALE (blown motor) only 8000 miles!!	godsend_85	Streetbikes Buy/Sell/Trade	14	10-10-2009 10:31 PM
I'm Worn Out from all of the Complaints about the 900	FL Vulcan Rider	Kawasaki Cruisers	396	09-29-2009 10:44 PM
Paint code for 1984 Ninja red	kyle_hensley	Vintage Motorcyle Info	1	05-16-2009 10:00 AM
Happy 25th 1984 900 Ninja!	KanemanGPz	Kawasaki Streetbikes/Sportbikes	0	04-15-2009 01:25 AM
800 vs 900 quirks??	bikeaholic	Kawasaki Cruisers	13	12-08-2007 02:20 PM