Hello guys, it's good to be here, thought I'd find something like this around here on the internet somewhere (It hasn't failed me yet)
Anyways, I'll jump right into it here. I recently purchased a 1986 Ninja 600 as a project for the winter. I got it at a really good price. It ran, and shifted, and everything, but has a few issues that I'd like some opinions on.
The main problem is the bike will idle, but is a cold blooded starter for sure. Once it gets to idle, it won't rev up normally past 3-4K RPMs, where it begins to stutter and will eventually die. If you manage to get it past 3-4K it will rev to 7K in gear, and all the way to redline in neutral, but it feels like it's running out of fuel or spark the entire time. Here's what I've done to troubleshoot.
1. I disassembled all of the carbs, inspected the jets, needles, floats, and diaphragms. All of them were good. The floats seemed about the right level, but I don't know because I don't have the right tool to measure it, and everything was clean. The jets had some varnish on them, but nothing too bad, and all of the diaphragms had grown a very tiny bit, but still sealed and seated into their groves and none had any pinholes or tears. The mixture screws came out easy enough, and the screws on carbs 1 and 2 were leaking. Upon inspection the o-rings were not in the best shape, so new o-rings are on the way. The fuel filter was clear of debris, as was the primary filter inside of the tank on the petcock. The tank did have a bunch of crap in it though, old varnish particles from sitting, however, none of it was on the petcock meshing and none of it was inside of the carburettors. I'll be cleaning the tank as soon as I can.
2. I've checked the resistance of both ignition coils on primary and secondary sides and they're all within specs. I'll be checking the pickup coil tomorrow when it's not so cold/wet/rainy out. I also checked the resistance of the spark plug wires, all of which are fine.
I plan to change the oil and the spark plugs as soon as I get a long enough extension to work around the coolant pipes and the right sized spark plug wrench, but my main problem is what I'm assuming is a fuel issue right now. If anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear them.
Thanks a lot guys, and sorry for the long first post.
-Gary
Anyways, I'll jump right into it here. I recently purchased a 1986 Ninja 600 as a project for the winter. I got it at a really good price. It ran, and shifted, and everything, but has a few issues that I'd like some opinions on.
The main problem is the bike will idle, but is a cold blooded starter for sure. Once it gets to idle, it won't rev up normally past 3-4K RPMs, where it begins to stutter and will eventually die. If you manage to get it past 3-4K it will rev to 7K in gear, and all the way to redline in neutral, but it feels like it's running out of fuel or spark the entire time. Here's what I've done to troubleshoot.
1. I disassembled all of the carbs, inspected the jets, needles, floats, and diaphragms. All of them were good. The floats seemed about the right level, but I don't know because I don't have the right tool to measure it, and everything was clean. The jets had some varnish on them, but nothing too bad, and all of the diaphragms had grown a very tiny bit, but still sealed and seated into their groves and none had any pinholes or tears. The mixture screws came out easy enough, and the screws on carbs 1 and 2 were leaking. Upon inspection the o-rings were not in the best shape, so new o-rings are on the way. The fuel filter was clear of debris, as was the primary filter inside of the tank on the petcock. The tank did have a bunch of crap in it though, old varnish particles from sitting, however, none of it was on the petcock meshing and none of it was inside of the carburettors. I'll be cleaning the tank as soon as I can.
2. I've checked the resistance of both ignition coils on primary and secondary sides and they're all within specs. I'll be checking the pickup coil tomorrow when it's not so cold/wet/rainy out. I also checked the resistance of the spark plug wires, all of which are fine.
I plan to change the oil and the spark plugs as soon as I get a long enough extension to work around the coolant pipes and the right sized spark plug wrench, but my main problem is what I'm assuming is a fuel issue right now. If anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear them.
Thanks a lot guys, and sorry for the long first post.
-Gary
