zzr250 engine sound.

[Frogger]

i took my carbs off last night as they were cover with oily dirt , i opened them up and gave them alittle clean but nothing much the inside looked ok. then today i put it all back on the bike and started the bike and it started fine. but now when riding i hear a new sound , its like an electronic motor is going with the revs of the engine. a high pitched tone kinda thing lol. since i didnt have this before im wondering if i might have stuffed something up or did i make it better.

anyone else with a zzr250 have this sound ?

i also took the cam chain tensioner out and cleaned it and put it back so i dont hear the rattle from there anymore maybe that was blocking this sound before. any info would be good.

regards
Jones.

[Mr_FJ]

i also took the cam chain tensioner out and cleaned it and put it back so i dont hear the rattle from there anymore maybe that was blocking this sound before. any info would be good.

At a guess I would say this might be your issue. Can make a bit of a whine if its too tight (it might be ok depends on how loud this noise is your talking about) and would be consistant with engine revs. Most tentioners are automatic so you should be fine. You could be right if this was noisy before you may have been masking the sound

If you have any mates that are mechanically minded get them to have a listen just in case.

[Frogger]

well i stuffed something up, it wouldnt idle without the chock on almost full so i guess its running rich. but at the same time there are moments when it felt great and other moments when it felt like i had no power. i was told that my engine seemed to run on 1 cylinder at times and i know its burning oil fast. i need to find someone that knows this bike and let them ride it and tell me wat needs doing.

anyone interested ?

[Xuaxace]

Don't really have a clue from what you are saying...

Did you put the tensioner back ok? Was it worn out before?

[Frogger]

yeah im not to sure how to explain it, i think its as said the tensioner was to tight , the rattling had gone but now its coming back . thismorning when i started the bike it started fine but i had choke on then i was riding it and i turned the choke off and when i stoped at some lights and engine died and it would start again but die straight away, once i put the choke on again it was fine. i pulled over and set the idle abit higher and then it stayed on. but today while riding i think it flooded cause i started it fine but then i stoped it as i decided to goto the toilet before leaving and when i came back out to it it wouldnt start , after 15mins of letting it sit it started ok again but lacked power.

there have been times before when traveling home on the freeway and holding about 8 or 9k revs for most of the time the engine would just slowly die and id pull over for 10 mins or so and let it sit and then it would start no problem after waiting abit. would this suggest theres to much fuel and not enough air ?

[thro]

i'd check the carbs.

an "electronic limiter".... does it sound like it is making a tinkling noise?

like marbles in a can?



thats pinging.... maybe running way lean.


the fact that running it on the choke makes it start again also points towards running lean... guessing when you put the carbs back together maybe they need adjusting, or putting back together properly...


if it wont run without the choke - its NOT rich.

the choke will make the mixture MORE rich.

[Frogger]

ahh ok got it the wrong way around. it sounds like one of those transperth busses that run on gas. ill do some more reading and check the carbs.

[Frogger]

aghh im an idiot. i didnt tighten the hose clamps on the tubes from the carbs to the engine and fuel was coming out of there. ill go test it now and see how it runs.

[MotoMechanic]

Hi there. I worked at a kwaka dealership for a few years and as a result have serviced heeps of zzr and gpx carbs. You say fuel is leaking out from around where the carbs go into the inlet manifolds, this shouldn't be happening. carbs may be flooding? They are very sensitive to float levels which you may have accidently changed while playing around with them. Also check your oil level, if it's overfull and the oil smells of petrol this is a sure sign they are flooding. By the sound of your running problems i'de get someone who knows what their doing to strip, inspect float needles ect, clean, reascemble then carefully set float levels on the bench, install then balance the carbs + set the mixture screws properly.
From what your saying my bet is that this would fix it.

The cam chain tensioners on these engines also wear quickly and stick, slip and play up. If there are any signs of wear on the shaft or the cone from the ball bearing type part in there replace all three parts. A rebuild kit is available from kawasaki so you don't have to replace the whole tensioner.

[MotoMechanic]

Ps: there's a procedure to installing the tensioner properly make sure you or someone helping you knows how to do this properly to avoid serious engine damage.

[Frogger]

hey thanks for the info, it seems to run the same as before i messed with the carbs. ive been using this site for all my info. Main Page - Ninja250Wiki

ill have to read up about the float neddles, as i recall they didnt have any way of adjusting unless it was so small i couldnt see it. if i cant get it working properly ill take it in for some professional help , although i want to learn myself.

[Frogger]

ok so ive figured out that after running the bike in 6th gear on the freeway at around 9000 rpm or higher for around 20 to 30 mins then when i goto exit the freeway or slow down the bike stalls from being flooded. once the bike is at the speed of about 110 it becomes sluggish.

does this sound like the floats are set to high/low ? could it be a spark plug problem also ? since the bike might have been running on 1 cylinder maybe the spark plug is no good.

[GD Engineering (Gavin)]

It won't do 120 if it's only running on 1 cylinder mate.To be honest, it sounds like the bike has more than one problem..... do yourself a favour and get it checked by someone who knows their way around. A cylinder leakdown test will tell you a lot first up too. Their are a number of shops in Rockingham, maybe give it some thought before you get left on the side of the road at 11PM with your thumb out.

[Frogger]

well its never had a problem getting over 120, i was told that the bike sounded like it started on 1 cylinder but not sure, maybe it didnt.

[Frogger]

hi , ive been trying to get it working but its having problems and i cant afford to pay someone to fix it atm so , its at the point where if i add fuel to the carb and let it sit for a few mins the bike will start but unless i keep the rpm higher then 2000 the bike will stall and then not start again untill i let it sit again. so it seems there isnt enough fuel flow or something. in the manual it says the float height is 17 + - 2mm i set it to that and this is wat happened. i need anyones opinion so i can get an idea of wat it might be.

[Frogger]

its seems the hose's from the engine to the carbs have shunk half an inch and the air box nozel things are warped and dont fit properly, wat a pos .

[O'pe]

air box nozel things?
if you mean the plastic manifolds theres a thread somewhere on softening them so
they fit properly. Have you put new plugs in since all the dramas? And make sure you check your oil it will be full of fuel
Softening those old / hard manifold rubbers.

[Frogger]

i found the problem i think. the second "smaller hose from the carbs to the petcock was left open when i was testing. sticking my thumb over that made it run nice , when i took it for a ride yesterday the hoses wernt on properly as they are all deformed and kept poping off i boiled them in water and tapped them to shape then put them in the freezer and they held the shape close enough to wat i wanted. now ill put the bike back together and test it. heres hoping.

[Frogger]

ok guys i fixed it and its running amazingly. cheers for help. i think before the carb wasnt on well and the air wasnt getting through properly, i cleaned the air filter today and cleaned the carbs out again and its running realy nice. before i had no low end power and when reving it would struggle to get past 7 , now its got good low mid and high power and revs smoothly. now i need to paint it as all this oily grease has stained the white paint i put on