rosszx9r

why change perfection.... still, we agree on one thing nowt wrong with his carbs, it's just the mechanic

what i realise its a different bike.... same make and similar carbs. kawasaki use the same style carbs for years (even back in '86) so long as the carbs are the same bore, they are likely to be ok. you may have to swap the main and pilot jets over if carbs from a bigger bike are used.

i've got a '94 zx9r and its carbs are fine (45k miles).... might need a new diaphram or emulsion tube to get it running right but having said that, replacements on ebay are only ~£40 only trouble is, they might be just as bad/worn! you can't fix worn sliders but you should be able to find a ripped diaphram! it could also be a blocked diaphram air jet (very small, easily blocked and very easy to loose if you strip the carbs down!). you could check this yourself by getting at the carbs, sliding the sliders up and down with your finger... you should hear a swooshing sound as they move and they should not snap shut (but close under some sort of resistance) if you can get cheap carbs off ebay, go for it but i don't think there is that much wrong with the ones you have, just needs a good mechanic to look at them...

i think you should get a second opinion as i really don't think your carbs are knackered. whats the mileage? new ones are £1350 from kawasaki it could be the float hieght thats wrong giving too much fuel at low speed or the choke mechanism thats stuck. the rattling you later describe could be the sliders rattling up and down. this could be a sign that the diaphram isn't fitted properly or has a tear (£130 each ) i'm not sure a cracked 'carb connector' (kawasaki term ) would cause high idle speed though. new carbs may well fix the problem but it's a very drastic way of getting them set up correctly. seriously, try somewhere else. the bike will run fine even with bad carb settings.

while it's good for the chain you'll spend the same again on degreaser to get the sticky old cr@p off the rear end in 6 months took mine off and gave the rear end a good clean. had the rear wheel out and couldn't believe the amount of crud all over the swing arm. under the front sprocket cover was the worst... sprocket was surounded in 1" of black paste. it had been on the bike a while and most likey not set up correctly so take your time and check the settings for it and use genuine scotoiler oil.

this one is a single piston. bled it three times now! i'll give it another go and try what stu also suggests about bleeding the master cylinder too... thanks guys. i'll let you know if it works....

i've got too much movement in the rear brake lever... i've put a new caliper on with new pads and a steel braded hose but it still has almost 2" of travel. it works if pressed hard enough! i had the same problem with the front brakes but when i tied the brake lever back and left it over night, it sorted itself out (air in the fluid). i've tried doing the same with the rear (not easy ) but that made it worse. any ideas/tips before i strip the master cylinder down and replace all the seals?

bit of an odd one. could just be the alternator is putting the power into recharging the flat battery and not enough to run the dash at the same time. the battery would have to be really flat for that to happen. you need to start at the beginning. charge the battery up fully. this will take a good 12 - 18 hrs. if the bike starts and runs ok then it could be a fault in the charger circuit or a failing battery. my battery is partially failed but so long as i use the bike regularly and keep the charge topped up it's fine. left standing for a couple of weeks and the alarm has it drained so the bike won't start!

it's probably worth a go it might be ok. i left my carbs dry all over last winter and the bike runs fine now with out a full strip down. i wouldn't waste money on fuel addatives though. if it doesn't run properly, fix the problem instead of trying to disguise it (speaking from experience ) one thing that is worth while is rinsing the tank with a little fresh fuel to remove any crud in the bottom and also drain the carb float bowls once you get the fuel connected up. there is a small screw on the bottom of the carb bowl that drains it down, again, this'll remove sediment that may of got through the filter or and residue that may be there from dried up fuel.

my zx9r did exactly the same.... needed a good carb clean and new pilot jets. the pilot jets are the main influence at those speeds/rpm so as long as your carbs are balanced, i'd focus on that area. may just need adjusting but could need cleaning/replacing depending how you get on.

could be an overfilled tank or a leaking float valve. most likely a bit of crud on the float valve seat. switch the fuel off using the tap when not using the bike and see how it goes over the next week or so. it will probably sort itself out. if not.... clean the carb bowls....

take the grip off and give it a good clean with white spirit to get all the grease off (inside the grip and the handle bar). let it dry for 1/2hr then try glueing again. silicon sealant will work too but only if you get all the grease off first.

could be any one of a collection of sensors. the diagnostic should find it pretty quickly especially if you can replicate the fault regularly. i assume there is no idle speed adjuster if it's fuel injected? if there is an adjuster it could just be set too high. when you engage gear, the clutch drag would/could then slow the engine down a little. just a thought.

3ml per day.... stick a rag in your back pocket to keep it clean and enjoy riding the bike...

nah, should be fine. i assume your previous post gave all the details of the leak. it sounded really minor back then. how much oil are you loosing? you could try nipping up the head bolts (Not just the the rocker cover!)to see if that helps but they would have to be loose in the first place for it to help. if it's minor, you can clean it up with spary 'gunk' then use liquid gasket from halfords to smear over the joint to minimise the mess. depending upon how honest you are, you could give it a good clean then flog it

thanks guys. appreciate the help.

i'm in abingdon and quite near to the MPS store where there are regular biker days.... any recomedations for this area?

i assumed it would cost more only because a carb change needs a carb strip as opposed to a tweak using a pc connected to an ecu. anyone know what a tuning session for a carbed bike is likely to cost? i was hoping that someone else had used a similar exhaust and knew the extent of the change needed. (appreciate your point tho' stu... just trying to keep costs down... )

hi, i've just bought a bewolf stubby exhaust for my zx9r. it says it's road legal and that it improves performance without change in fueling. seems a little odd as it must be more free flowing than a standard pipe so jetting must change. as the bike has carbs not ECU, dyno runs will be more time consuming/ expensive. anyone know where i can get more info on carb settings? i was changing the main jet and neddle anyway due to possible wear but thought a stage 1 k&n tuning set might be more appropriate. i'd appreciate thoughts/ advice....

well i poped into argos and picked up an impact wrench for £30 (halfords stopped doing them. only do air pnes now ) worked a treat.... eventually the nut was supposed to be tightened to 125nm, the wrench kicked out a healthy 350nm it needed a little help from a demel drill steel cutter to weaken it's grip but got there in the end... thanks for the help guys... every step is getting me closer to being back on the road... hopefully before the end of summer ...

you'll really screw up the fueling doing this. you may even find the engine does run if you restrict flow by putting bungs in. a longer, with more perforations, the baffle is will quieten things down. but unless your prepared to check/ adjust the fueling, i'd not recomend it. you can get replacement cans quite cheaply (less than £100) that will do a better job and not affect fueling or performance.

sounds like that could be a challenge your oil level was low and you knew the engine was running hot (in the red) and you took it for a 40 mile run..... what did you expect the sight glass and temperature gauge have a purpose as you have now found out to your cost...

Please say you were turning it the wrong way! Have you tried heating it? Otherwise yeah go for the impact driver. tried both directions to see if it would loosen.... it's a standard thread though. i would of thought 14stone jumping on the end of a foot long bar would shift anything... heating it up would probably result in an insurance claim on my TPFT policy given te amount of oil in the vacinity i'll pop down to halfords and see if i can get a decent impact driver.... hope it's worth it never used one before... always thought they'd rip my wrist off if the bolt was tight

i've tried everthing.... hit it.... wacked it..... jumped on it... chistled at it.... drilled it.... whacked it some more.... i'm trying to change my front sprocket and have run out of ideas how to get the nut off!!! i'm locking the chain using a mate standing on the rear brake pedal. 12" extension bar on the end of the socket wrench. can any one give me an idea how to do it... there must be a nack to it but i'd of thought brute force and ignorance was quite enough.....

fitting new seals isn't that hard. how long has it taken for the buildup shown in the photos to appear? that'll give us a clue as to how bad it is. i'd wipe the oil off and go for a decent run. if there are signs of significant weepage after that then you'll need to change the oil seals. the first photo looks like there is some light pitting of the chrome. you need to check the whole fork surface corrosion as that is what can damage the seals in the first place. if the pitting isn't too bad you might get away with just swapping the seals (might last a year or so). as for special tools, there are ways around this i used an old golf club handle to jam the damper in place while i removed the retaining bolt on a similar fork type to yours. just done my upside down forks and made the 'specialist' tool from an old piece of copper pipe and wheel nut for a push bike (£1.50 in halfords)... where theres a will theres a way