Ninja Project Write-Up

[NinjaGirlATL]

I'm posting this project on a local forum I am on in Atlanta, but wanted to share with the Ninjette's also. A year ago I was not riding and had never done any maintenance at all, even in a car. Seriously, I even drive into Goodyear if I want my tire pressure checked. I got my first bike last February and the only thing I really did myself was lube the chain. I have a great local shop in Atlanta (shout out to MSP) so they have kept the bike well serviced for me. I have never even changed my own oil. When my Ninja 250 broke down last month, something inside me told me I needed to fix it myself. I knew it would mean replacing the engine. I contacted a friend on my local forum who is kind of a "motorcycle hobbyist" and we decided to do the project together. The idea is, as we do it, I will learn a lot about motorcycle maintenance and just overall have fun learning. Here is a report of day one:

A few weeks ago I sincerely thought this was the last pic of me on my ninja:



But after a sad few days of being "ninja-less girl" I decided to try to fix it. I enlisted the help of Zeduno--we found a donor bike:





Not the prettiest bike, but when I went to see it, it "sounded" ok.

We started by taking the engine out of this bike. The sides were glued on with black bubble gum. Then we loosened lots of bolts to pieces of the body. (If you are looking for technical detail--this is probably the wrong thread). I got the fuel lines disconnected.



then we put it up on a stand



When we went to take it out, we had a couple of things still attached: "oops, we need to unattach that radiator line" (and things like that)--Paul picked up the frame as I held the engine so it wouldn't tumble to the floor. With a bit of wiggling, we got it out.

I don't know if I know a heck of a lot more about engines now, but I think I have a better idea of what it is going to take to fix this bike. It is clear we have only gotten to the "easy part."

[NinjaGirlATL]

Here's the next write up. This brings you up to date. I will post again next time we work on it:

Zeduno and I did some more work on the Ninja project. We removed the damaged engine from my Ninja, and cleaned up the donor engine we will put in it. We thought we would have to paint the donor engine. It was pretty grimy, but after some scrubbing, we were surprised by how nice it looked. We also did a compression test. I had never seen that before--it was interesting to connect to a battery and see the power that the engine displayed as it tried to turn over. I didn't know you could do that just sitting out on a table!

We removed one of those totally cool light kits from the Ninja (it was installed BEFORE I bought it, I swear!) We were more careful than I would have liked to have been. I would have yanked the damn thing out, but Paul is more patient than I am and was very careful with it. Neither of us understood why anyone would want that in there, but we thought it was something we could try to sell, at least. Finally, he got it out in good shape. Then, I ran across this the next day (and sent it to Paul):


After that, we loosened a few things from the damaged engine, in preparation of dropping it out. I loosened all the engine bolts, disconnected the fuel lines and unplugged some electrical wiring. Paul decided to take off the radiator. When we removed the donor engine we didn't and it took a good bit of wiggling to get the engine out since it is in the way. Our plan is to only replace the engine proper--the radiator, carbs and exhaust (among other things) will remain, so we were extra careful taking every piece apart. When we removed the damaged engine, we left the carburetors connected to the airbox, so that we wouldn't have to undo the throttle cables. Our plan is to part out anything we have left, so keeping everything intact and maintaining order of each and every bolt/washer is important. Currently we have lots of baggies!

Once we dropped the engine out, we secured the carbs to the frame with zip ties, so they weren't dangling and decided it was too cold to stay outside working!! Time for a beer and to discuss next steps. We ordered gaskets, and managed to find a valve adjustment tool, so those are some next steps (which can take place inside, if needed!)

Some pics:



Hard at work:


All done removing engine (isn't this bike just SO pretty!):


Donor engine all cleaned up ready for the compression test:


Damaged engine out for good


All plugged up waiting for gasket and valve work:

[Jono]

Wow great job!!! I am all for people working on their own vehicles!

How many miles were on the original engine when it died?

[NinjaGirlATL]

12,000
I still am not sure what happened. A piston blew. It was low on oil but the oil light never came on and it never redlined. I guess that is why I want to fix it myself. I really loved this bike and feel like my own ignorance contributed to its demise.

[Jono]

Originally Posted by NinjaGirlATL

12,000
I still am not sure what happened. A piston blew. It was low on oil but the oil light never came on and it never redlined. I guess that is why I want to fix it myself. I really loved this bike and feel like my own ignorance contributed to its demise.

Wow low miles. Yeah checking the oil level is super important. Oh well, you learned a life lesson. As well as learning how to swap out a engine on your bike. That is pretty good for someone who has never even done an oil change themselves. Try to keep the new engine running a little longer!

[NinjaGirlATL]

Originally Posted by Jono

Try to keep the new engine running a little longer!

That's the plan!

[exploring/carolina]

It's fun to working on your bike!

The more someone learns about their motorcycle, the better chance they have of fixing it, if it breaks down on the road.

Great Post!

[NinjaGirlATL]

Thanks! It's been fun so far! The next step will be where I learn some real maintenance, like checking valves and gaskets. The main thing is I've just learned not to be "afraid" to touch something. I ordered some levers for my Versys and had planned to ask a friend to install the clutch lever for me, but then I said to myself "I've taken an engine out of a bike before!" and I just did it myself. I didn't even break a nail!!

Originally Posted by exploring/carolina

It's fun to working on your bike!

The more someone learns about their motorcycle, the better chance they have of fixing it, if it breaks down on the road.

Great Post!

[bluepoof]

Love it!!! Working on bikes is so rewarding and fun. Go you!

[NinjaGirlATL]

Last night we did some real engine work! We opened up both engines since we needed to decide if we would trade out some parts from my bike. We knew the case covers were nicer on my bike, so we planned to use those ones. The donor bike has a lot more scrapes and bruises than my beautiful Ninja.



When we took the side off, we adjusted the valves. We got the clearance from my side panel and Paul had this handy thing called a feeler guage:



This was tricky! It would be perfect and then it would tighten when we tightened the bolt. But after a few times of doing it very carefully we got the intake set to .13mm and the exhaust set to .15mm.



After that, we cleaned up and replaced the gasket, attached the side and flipped the engine over to see the clutch. Before we opened up Paul said “I have a feeling your clutch will be better”—I told him I never burned a clutch out of a car, and I know how to shift gears smoothly, so I guessed mine was in good shape too. He worked on opening the donor engine, while I opened my engine. However, I was a little nervous in case mine looked bad. But when we opened it it was beautiful. ☺



We were right in that it was better looking than the one on the donor engine. It was fascinating to me how you can tell the riding habits of someone by what their clutch looks like!

We decided to use my springs and bearings, too, so we traded all that out. There is a papery gasket on that side and Paul very carefully scraped it clean (remember, he has a lot more patience than me!) Then we closed it up:



After all the taking off and putting on of bolts, I found that when I turn in the right direction, I am masterful at this work!! And now, we have our engine!!






We also put all the parts back in my old engine, which we now call the “autopsy” engine, since we plan to dig into it at some point.

Next time we are going to put the engine in my bike—we need to reattach the fuel lines, alternator lines, radiator and whatnot. Then, the fun will begin when we give it a whirl!

[exploring/carolina]

Sounds like you are becoming a "Gearhead". (That's a compliment)

Urban Dictionary meaning:
"Gearhead, A person who is into all things motorized. This can be cars, motorcycles, machines, planes, or boats, but specifically relating to the engine and power delivery. Knowing how to weld and machine metal are also traits of a gearhead".


It's a great feeling to perform maintenance on your motocycle. Bet you don't have "issues" with the bike during the test ride, either!

Great Post!

[Jono]

Nice work! It is kinda depressing seeing our engine off the bike, because you realize just how small it is. Haha. I bet the valve adjustment was super easy with the engine off the bike.

Thanks for all the pics! It is fun to see the insides of my engine without ripping mine apart.

[NinjaGirlATL]

Originally Posted by exploring/carolina

Sounds like you are becoming a "Gearhead". (That's a compliment)

Urban Dictionary meaning:
"Gearhead, A person who is into all things motorized. This can be cars, motorcycles, machines, planes, or boats, but specifically relating to the engine and power delivery. Knowing how to weld and machine metal are also traits of a gearhead".

Definitely a compliment!! Thanks. I need to do some welding! That sounds fun.

[alex.s]

looks like fun. makes me wish i was tearing apart an engine right now

[cerberusrex25]

Damn NinjaGirl, you have more cojones than I. I had to take my engine to a mechanic out of fear of messing it up. good luck with the project and definitely watching your thread.

[Guoseph]

Valves are SOOO easy when the engine is off the bike

Of course there's that whole bit about actually taking the engine OFF the bike that's a bit challenging

Great stuff, should take the old engine apart and show us what happens when we let the engine oil get low.

Keep up the good work

P.S. Loved Road A when I lived out in Atl.

[NinjaGirlATL]

Thanks guys. It's been an interesting and new experience, that's for sure. I will definitely do an "autopsy report" as well.

[Alex]