[kristee1125]

Hi everyone,
My name is Christy and my husband Jon has an Awesome Kawasaki Z1 900. Very Kewl Bike. Red with flames its Beautiful but something happened to it about 6 months ago and now there it sits. I know NOTHING about motorcycles but would Love more than anything to have this bike fixed for him. He loves this bike. But works 6 days a week and really doesnt know how to fix the problem. What I know is that it "Jumped time"? Thats what he told me. He says its a major thing to fix but is not sure exactly. He has a friend that told him that he could help him but that was months ago. Said something about $400 for parts. I thought I would ask if anyone here could give me their opinion on how much it would cost if we take it to a shop? Or if someone says they can fix it Around what price range would be fair. HEck someone could come up to me and say it will cost $1000 and I wouldnt have a clue. Any Advice would be GREATLY Appreciated. I would Love to Help him get this bike going again. THANK YOU I look forward to hearing back from anyone who cares to reply. I do have yahoo messenger that is always on but under invisible mode :wink: or I can be reached by email. I will also check back here. THANKS Again!!

 

[1Adam12]

First of all, what a cool wife!

What part of country are you at? Maybe one of the people on the board and check it out?

 

[kristee1125]

Hi Adam,
Wish someone would convince Him of that. Hahaha!!
We live in Blazing HOT California. 106 here the other day!! [/img]

 

[kristee1125]

Hi Adam,
Wish someone would convince Him of that. Hahaha!!
We live in Blazing HOT California. 106 here the other day!!

 

[1Adam12]

ARe you close to Los Angeles? Sound like you are in the high desert?

 

[kristee1125]

No Actually I am in Central California. Just north of Fresno. But it sure feels like the Desert at times.[/url]

 

[kristee1125]

HI there Its me Again. Thought I would show you a picture of Jon's Bike. I was trying to figure out how to put in directly into this post but could not figure it out so I just put in on a web page.
http://home.comcast.net/~kristee1125/KAWASAKI_Z1_900.html
Hopefully that will work.

 

[1Adam12]

Doh...That is cool. I didn't know a kawa could look like that. That is a shame its not on the road. If I were closer to Fresno I would stop by, but that is a haul. Try to coerce a little more information from him "jumped time" doesn't quite compute for me. Maybe one of the mechanics on board may understand.

I'll pose the question to one of the guys on the vintage japanese motorcycle club and see if it make sense to him.

 

[Ken7022]

Nice looking scooter. I pesonnelly am not much for flames but that is sweet! Sorry it it is not on the road. Best of luck on getting it back up and running.

Ken

 

[bud8fan]

yea..nice scooter..need more info on what the problem is tho...oh yea..welcome to the forum and thats real nice of you to try and get this scoot back on the road for your guy :wink:

 

[kristee1125]

Hey Thanks a Bunch for the Replies. He Loves that bike... well when its running anyways. I just asked him again and he says that the "Cam Chain Tensioner is worn out" He says that he knows a couple guys that might be able to help but really between you and I .... I would rather just take it to a shop or something to get it fixed and done with. We have an older Chevy truck that he had a "Buddy" work on and it took about a year to get it back. I would like to know about how much something like this would cost to fix. Jon has been somewhat of a grouch lately. Work, Kids, Me and everything else under the sun getting to him. I KNOW he would be in a LOT better of a mood if he was able to take his bike up to the mountains and just ride. If he got stressed out and had a bad day that was the quickest way to de-stress by just going for a cruise and of course he'd come home telling me about who he ended up racing. hahaha. Thanks again for your replies!!

 

[ZX Kawboy]

Hi, Kristee, I gotcha covered.

I'm a mechanic at a local (to Seattle) Kawasaki shop. First off, shop labor can be a pain, but you can be assured of a good job. Just check out the shop first, to be certain of a good reputation. Ask around about the place, and see what other customers/shops have to say about them.

As for your description, it sounds just about right on.

A faulty cam chain tensioner will allow slack in the cam chain. The cam chain runs from the crankshaft to the valve-cams. If the chain stretches...and they all do...eventually, the speed of the cams will let momentum build up in the chain. When this happens, any deceleration (even from simply revving the engine) can allow the chain to jump the sprockets by as little as one tooth, or more. As a result, the cam-timing *will* be out of adjustment. Since the cams are acting upon the valves, those won't open or close *exactly* when they need to to allow the engine to run properly. It all sounds more complicated than it really is, but it's still a PITA.

Up in my area, shop labor for a bike shop that will accept your old Z1 (many shops won't touch a bike over 10 years old) runs about $40-60 an hour. You'll probably find similar rates (and hopefully better) in your area.

Given that the job will be to replace the cam chain tensioner, and re-time/adjust the valves, it will likely average me about 3 hours total time. I tend to take things *very* carefully, which is why some might call me slow. I've seen a few mechanics 'whip it out' in an hour and a half, but that usually means they missed something.

From that, you can get *very* rough estimate of what costs will be.

Hopefully, this gives you some indication of what needs to be done, and that *yes* it's possible for the problem you described to actually exist.

Have a good one

Spoone

 

[1Adam12]

Hi, Kristee, I gotcha covered.

I'm a mechanic at a local (to Seattle) Kawasaki shop. First off, shop labor can be a pain, but you can be assured of a good job. Just check out the shop first, to be certain of a good reputation. Ask around about the place, and see what other customers/shops have to say about them.

As for your description, it sounds just about right on.

A faulty cam chain tensioner will allow slack in the cam chain. The cam chain runs from the crankshaft to the valve-cams. If the chain stretches...and they all do...eventually, the speed of the cams will let momentum build up in the chain. When this happens, any deceleration (even from simply revving the engine) can allow the chain to jump the sprockets by as little as one tooth, or more. As a result, the cam-timing *will* be out of adjustment. Since the cams are acting upon the valves, those won't open or close *exactly* when they need to to allow the engine to run properly. It all sounds more complicated than it really is, but it's still a PITA.

Up in my area, shop labor for a bike shop that will accept your old Z1 (many shops won't touch a bike over 10 years old) runs about $40-60 an hour. You'll probably find similar rates (and hopefully better) in your area.

Given that the job will be to replace the cam chain tensioner, and re-time/adjust the valves, it will likely average me about 3 hours total time. I tend to take things *very* carefully, which is why some might call me slow. I've seen a few mechanics 'whip it out' in an hour and a half, but that usually means they missed something.

From that, you can get *very* rough estimate of what costs will be.

Hopefully, this gives you some indication of what needs to be done, and that *yes* it's possible for the problem you described to actually exist.

Have a good one

Spoone

Thanks Spoone for stopping by.

A new camchain will run 147.89 - 189.60 if needed.
Tensioner assembly for chain 40-65
Tensioner holder 30-40
Push rod 20-30

All in all it looks like about $300-400 worth of work more or less depending on the cam chain and rate of labor.

 

[kyhick1]

Welcome To the Forum

Kristee1125,

Welcome to the forum. Lots of good advice and experiences here!!!! My husband has a 1981 KZ550A. Replaced the cam chain tensioner with a kit that cost about $40.00....it wasn't very hard to fix. The hardest thing was to move the carbs out of the way.....That could be all that is wrong it. Fix one thing at a time until it is running. Having a Kawasaki shop manual for the bike will help a lot. My husband works on the the bikes as a stress relief. Our collection keeps growing. His next project is going to be my BMW R80RT this winter.

The bike looks very sharp.... eye catching for sure!!!!!

Heather

 

[kristee1125]

OH MY GOSH!! LOTS OF INFO There!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! And thank you for the warm welcome. Off the subject here for a sec but I just have to say... When I was pregnate with my youngest I went into a forum for parents and they werent even half as welcoming as you all have been. I posted a couple of concerns and I got one reply 3 days later then nothing else. I posted about 4 or 5 times and I never got a reply. It was like they only talked to the regulars or something very wierd. Anyways THANK You for taking the time to look into this for me. Yeah he did mention something about broken teeth on the sproket. I remember he had been messing with it. I cannot remember what the problem was but then he road it over to a "buddy's" house who was attempting to fix the problem then I get a phone call saying that it was screwed up. Tom (the buddy) had done something and caused it to jump time. So he had to haul it home in the truck. Havent seen her run since. But if I have it my way that bike is going to be running again soon. I was telling him what you all had said and he seems to be getting on the ball and making some calls. He says He met a guy awhile back that says he can get him the parts all at discount prices. He also said he knows how to fix it but doesnt know when he'll get the time. God only knows how much he'll charge. But from what you said sounds like $400 is a good ball park figure and that is what someone mentioned to Jon so I know if someone throws out a $700 figure then I know to be skeptical. So thanks for all the Input. You all have been Great!!

 

[FatCat]

... It was like they only talked to the regulars ...

Ain't no regulars 'round here, we're all bikers. Cagers = regular (aka boring); Bikers = cool people

Fatcat

 

[kristee1125]

Sounds Like a Great Place to hang out. 8)

 

[1Adam12]

Glad to help you Kristee. Spoone is a friend of mine on another forum and lurks around here quietly, but really knows his stuff. I call him Obi Wan and I am his Paduan learner...ha ha.

Sounds like you may be back on the road this year???? Still have lots of riding months left.

 

[kristee1125]

YAYYY!!! Sure would be nice. I have never even road with him on this bike. As I have gotten older seems I've lost my nerve or something. I used to ride all the time when I was younger..... Now I'm starting to sound OLD! I'm going to be hitting that big 3 0 this year. So I guess I'm no spring chicken but anyways... I used to ride with my dad as a teenager and his friends. I've road with Jon a few times on his old KZ 650. But nowadays I'd rather just let him go. Its his Alone time. We all need some of that.
Thank you Very much for asking your friend and Please thank him for me aswell.

 

[ZX Kawboy]

YAYYY!!! Sure would be nice. I have never even road with him on this bike. As I have gotten older seems I've lost my nerve or something. I used to ride all the time when I was younger..... Now I'm starting to sound OLD! I'm going to be hitting that big 3 0 this year. So I guess I'm no spring chicken but anyways... I used to ride with my dad as a teenager and his friends. I've road with Jon a few times on his old KZ 650. But nowadays I'd rather just let him go. Its his Alone time. We all need some of that.
Thank you Very much for asking your friend and Please thank him for me aswell.

ROFL....old indeed... I've got a few years on ya, Christy. 30 is just a start...it gets better, trust me.

You're most welcome to whatever help I can give. As I've told a few others, I hate to see an old bike just languishing for want of attention.

I'm glad I was able to help in this case. Have a good one, all

Spoone