2007 kawasaki ninja 250r ticking sound

[GixSixR1S3Ninj]

Just got this bike, haven't even taken delivery.

But, I do know there is a "ticking" sound, along with erratic rpms at idle.

I will add more as I get the bike and get into it more, I just want to get a head start and am wondering if there are any common problems...

[Ghostt]

Some ticking is perfectly acceptable due to the solid lifters, but odds are it gonna need a valve adjustment, as it's one of the most overlooked items of maintenance. Valves out of adjustment Cam cause running, idling, and performance issues.

As with any used motorcycle assume your gonna need an oil and filter change, flush and fill all fluids, inspect all hoses, brakes, tires etc....

Was the bike sitting for awhile? Storage? Mileage? Was it taken care of? Etc.... You see where I'm going with this.

Is this your first bike?

[GixSixR1S3Ninj]

Originally Posted by Ghostt

Some ticking is perfectly acceptable due to the solid lifters, but odds are it gonna need a valve adjustment, as it's one of the most overlooked items of maintenance. Valves out of adjustment Cam cause running, idling, and performance issues.

As with any used motorcycle assume your gonna need an oil and filter change, flush and fill all fluids, inspect all hoses, brakes, tires etc....

Was the bike sitting for awhile? Storage? Mileage? Was it taken care of? Etc.... You see where I'm going with this.

Is this your first bike?

My friend bought it for his girlfriend with the ideal of her riding it, but she never was interested.

Its been garage stored for a few years, last year I took it for a decent ride and it seemed fine.

It has 7851 miles. Most of which were previous owner(s?). So I don't really know service history.

My first bike was a gsxr600k5 for 6400mi
2nd was a gsxr600k6 for 27k
3rd was a 2009 yamaha r1, only put 1k due to being laid off.
4th was a triumph speed triple 1050, again only 1k on it. Bought it prematurely after getting back to work thinking I could afford it, but it was a little too right for comfort.

My next bike hopefully will be an air cooled triumph scrambler, a triumph Bonneville t120, a Honda cb1100 or something similar.

This ninjette is just something cheap to scratch the itch for now

[Ghostt]

If your pretty handy, then you can do all the maintenance on the Ninjette, it's a simple bike, old school technology.

I own both a 250 & 500 ninjas, I like the simplicity of them, I've owned a lot bike over my many years, and I've got to admit I love these small parallel twins, I do all my own work on them both.

I've found that the best bang for your bucks is suspension upgrade A properly setup Ninjette with a skilled rider and hang with the big bores in the twisties,and even pull away, it's lightness, and nimble will amaze you, once it's dialed in.

Kawasaki did a great job squeezing all the HP out of a small engine once you get it up into the power band 8~12.5k rpms, these no large amounts of HP to be unlocked,

[GixSixR1S3Ninj]

Originally Posted by Ghostt

If your pretty handy, then you can do all the maintenance on the Ninjette, it's a simple bike, old school technology.

I own both a 250 & 500 ninjas, I like the simplicity of them, I've owned a lot bike over my many years, and I've got to admit I love these small parallel twins, I do all my own work on them both.

I've found that the best bang for your bucks is suspension upgrade A properly setup Ninjette with a skilled rider and hang with the big bores in the twisties,and even pull away, it's lightness, and nimble will amaze you, once it's dialed in.

Kawasaki did a great job squeezing all the HP out of a small engine once you get it up into the power band 8~12.5k rpms, these no large amounts of HP to be unlocked,

That's awesome, I love the look of the 500s, always been curious about them.

So, I'm assuming valve adjustments should be done at 15k? This bike has less than 8k, but it's 10 years old.

Could valves effect the idle?

Assuming the valves aren't the problem, what if the engine is junk? What do replacements run?

Any chance of getting a 500c.c in there? I'm assuming it isn't just a plug and play simple task...

[Triple Jim]

Valves adjustment definitely affects idle. That's mainly were you notice it... trying to idle with a cold engine. It wants to stall or run at 5,000 rpm. Then when it's hot it seems fine.

[Ghostt]

No to the 500,yezit can/has been done but the frame is crap on these bike, like the 500 frame is crap.

Replacement engines got from 300~500 USD, and these engines are pretty tough assuming you keep the full of oil,which is the main cause for failure, you only have 1.9 L of oil, so keep an eye on your oil level always.

The other thing I would personally recommend is better clutch springs, the OEM ones are weak IMHO.

[Triple Jim]

Ghostt, have you had a pregen clutch slip? I have not had mine even come close to slipping with stock springs. An advantage to not going any heavier than necessary with springs is protection of the drive train if a new rider revs the bike and dumps the clutch, for example, or if the chain breaks and jams up the front sprocket.

Not arguing with your suggestion, just wondering.

[Ghostt]

No slip on mine, I did it as a preventative measure, it's bigger brother EX500 with OEM springs does slip at higher rpms slightly, and over time the springs loose there umph.

It's a common upgrade on the EX500, so I just went ahead and did it, I must say it a more positive feel now. If your gonna be rough on the Ninjette, it's just a good idea IMHO.

[Ghostt]

http://www.ex-500.com/wiki/index.php...gs_Replacement

I'm just saying the OEM springs are weak, being it an entry level bike, and the upgrade springs are not crazy heavy, just a bit more, I hardly noticed it, and the Ninjette only uses 4 springs. The upgrade springs are made for a ZX600 which uses 5 like the EX500 .

[Triple Jim]

Thanks Scott. I'll keep an eye on mine and if engagement isn't crisp under high load, I'll know it's getting near time to change them.

I've measured the springs in my 45 year old H2 and they're still well inside the specs, so I'm not sure I'd agree that age weakens them much. It may be more likely that as the friction plates wear thinner, the stack shortens, reducing the amount the springs are compressed, so the spring force on them is reduced.

[GixSixR1S3Ninj]

I took it for a spin, it's crazy it redlines near 12, I had it near 8 and it sounded like it was going to blow up.

The brakes aren't super strong, but oh well.

[Triple Jim]

My pregen will do a stoppie. If yours won't, you should look into why. Or does it just take more lever force than you're used to?

(use caution with brake tests)

[GixSixR1S3Ninj]

Originally Posted by Triple Jim

My pregen will do a stoppie. If yours won't, you should look into why. Or does it just take more lever force than you're used to?

(use caution with brake tests)

Front seems decent, rear seems soft

[Triple Jim]

You sure don't need much rear brake on a Ninja 250, but if it's soft, it may need bleeding. The only time I use the rear is in wet weather or gravel.

[GixSixR1S3Ninj]

What's a pregen

[Ghostt]

PreGen is a model 88~07, NewGen is 08 & up.

With my PreGen my brakes were in dire need of repairs, and service, now the brakes are firm, and strong.

Most likely the brake fluid need to be flushed, filled, bled with new fluid.

I'd also service the calipers as well, also when changing brake pads too. Add the caliper service to the list of things that almost nobody does.


A lot of maintenance items don't get done to entry level bikes, due to they chance hands often, as some owners just buy them for short periods of time, and just ride them, sometimes without even doing a simple oil change.

[GixSixR1S3Ninj]

I'm actually confused as to what year this bike is. The res a stock yellow that has a black lower fairing... And a stock yellow that is all yellow and has orangish flames where this bike has the flowers... But also near the handlebar where it says ninja...

So why/how would those flames be gone?

ALSO, the later years of this gen according to Google seem to have flush mount blinkers, not the ones that stick out like the two in this bike...

Not that it matters, just curious

[Ghostt]

I wouldn't go by colors, or graphics, mine is 98 which came red, I changed out the fairings to an 07 silver, then a took off the flames, and added custom graphics.

What does the title/reg of the bike say? Also there should be sticker on the head tube, and of course the VIN.

[Ghostt]

Also flush mounts are an aftermarket item, like mine are.

The ZZR 250 had OEM flush mounts, which is similar to the Ninja 250, but has a different frame, but does look similar, and it's wasn't offered in the US.



It's also the yellow bike from Kill Bill Vol. 1 that the bride rode.

[GixSixR1S3Ninj]

A sticker on the frame says it's an 06

I THINK the bike was lowered at some point... Can I undo that? Does it look lowered?

[GixSixR1S3Ninj]

Sorry for lying to you guys this whole time saying it's an 07. I'm a poser

[Ram Jet]

Originally Posted by GixSixR1S3Ninj

My friend bought it for his girlfriend with the ideal of her riding it, but she never was interested.

Its been garage stored for a few years, last year I took it for a decent ride and it seemed fine.

It has 7851 miles. Most of which were previous owner(s?). So I don't really know service history.

My first bike was a gsxr600k5 for 6400mi
2nd was a gsxr600k6 for 27k
3rd was a 2009 yamaha r1, only put 1k due to being laid off.
4th was a triumph speed triple 1050, again only 1k on it. Bought it prematurely after getting back to work thinking I could afford it, but it was a little too right for comfort.

My next bike hopefully will be an air cooled triumph scrambler, a triumph Bonneville t120, a Honda cb1100 or something similar.

This ninjette is just something cheap to scratch the itch for now

I would consider a change of brake fluid a MUST! It'll cost you $6.00 and about 1/2 of your time. It will save you big bucks down the road.

Bill

[Ram Jet]

Originally Posted by GixSixR1S3Ninj

Just got this bike, haven't even taken delivery.

But, I do know there is a "ticking" sound, along with erratic rpms at idle.

I will add more as I get the bike and get into it more, I just want to get a head start and am wondering if there are any common problems...

When I got my 2007 this past March the valves were so noisy it sounded like someone was playing castanets under my gas tank. A valve adjustment and cleaning of the camshaft tensioner fixed that.

Bill

[Triple Jim]

If the sticker says it was made in '06, it may be an '07 model. Check the VIN if it matters to you.

[GixSixR1S3Ninj]

It doesnt, I was just curious.

[GixSixR1S3Ninj]

Originally Posted by Ram Jet

When I got my 2007 this past March the valves were so noisy it sounded like someone was playing castanets under my gas tank. A valve adjustment and cleaning of the camshaft tensioner fixed that.

Bill

So how urgent is it to adjust the valves?

[Ghostt]

Depends on how well you want to run.

At the very least check the clearances.

[Ram Jet]

Originally Posted by GixSixR1S3Ninj

So how urgent is it to adjust the valves?

A lot of the posters will disagree with me but I would buy the Kawasaki special tool for the valve adjustment. I have a difficult time trying to imagine doing the job without it. I think you can pass on the Kawasaki feeler gauges - way too expensive and I didn't even use it. Just an .004" and .005" feeler blade did fine for me.


Bill

[Ghostt]

Originally Posted by Ram Jet

A lot of the posters will disagree with me but I would buy the Kawasaki special tool for the valve adjustment. I have a difficult time trying to imagine doing the job without it. I think you can pass on the Kawasaki feeler gauges - way too expensive and I didn't even use it. Just an .004" and .005" feeler blade did fine for me.


Bill

Agreed, I got mine cheap off ebay, it does make it a lot easier and faster for sure.

Also doing the CoPs conversation helped too, as it eliminates the need to remove the coils, etc...

[GixSixR1S3Ninj]

Is this bike bright yellow or chrome yellow?