FZR250R 3LN3 Restoration - Page 2

Linkin · March 29th, 2015, 01:58 PM

The radiator fan is not running all the time, it comes on and off on its own.

I checked the waterpump / impeller, it's not broken.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxgm0ZytOxY

Link to original page on YouTube.

greg737 · March 29th, 2015, 04:55 PM

okay, I was wrong... next contestant.

Linkin · April 8th, 2015, 05:50 PM

Head gasket aside for now, I'd been eyeing up a new exhaust for a while... and it arrived today

Link to original page on YouTube.

Linkin · May 6th, 2015, 03:26 AM

Head Gasket change prep. Engine block comes off the bottom end and has its own steel gasket on these bikes. Have a spare in case the bores are cracked or something

Linkin · May 7th, 2015, 01:05 AM

Multiple issues here. One nut was finger tight, so that doesn't help at all. Smelled horrid. Oil was very burnt and black. You can see that one of the long bolts came out with the head. I'll get to that in a bit.

The head gasket was not blown, but still a bit gross

So, the bolt that came out with the head.

It was in the wrong way!!!

The long thread goes into the block/bottom end and the short thread is for the nut on top. The nut seized on the long thread, I had to clamp the bolt in a vice grip and use a breaker bar to get it off. Now, the threads on either end...

Linkin · May 10th, 2015, 01:23 AM

Taking all the valve buckets and shims out. All of them except a few were ~0.65in, the rest ~0.6in

Yucky exhaust valves

Poured petrol into the valves to check for leakage... I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

sharky nrk · May 10th, 2015, 01:05 PM

your bike > our bikes ......

lol

Linkin · May 10th, 2015, 06:18 PM

Took the head over to a friend's place who kindly showed us what is what when it comes to valves etc, lent me the tools to get all the valves out & gave good instructions for cleaning and lapping of the valve seat surfaces.

Linkin · May 12th, 2015, 01:46 AM

Today I got all the valves out. All of the valve stem seals were hard as rocks when I pulled them out. I think I got 1 or 2 out in one piece, the rest were destroyed.

I got the block out. Itty bitty wittle pistons! Very dirty at that...

Thread in the bottom end does appear to be stuffed, but I haven't forced it in the right way as I did with the spark plug threads (which are usable but not perfect) Wonder if the thread can be re-cut with a thread chaser, or if it needs a helicoil

This is the cylinder base gasket. God only knows how it broke there... unless I did it when pulling it off, but I don't think so as I was careful. Luckily, the spare block I bought comes with the same gasket, and a set of pistons. I'm wondering if it would be worth using the spare block & pistons I bought (after having the measured of course) as it saves a lot of cleaning!

Also unsure if this is gasket material or oil sludge... the spare gasket is just steel...

Linkin · May 14th, 2015, 06:42 PM

Making the head and bores flat...

Linkin · May 15th, 2015, 01:59 AM

Got the headlight etc out of the way, bracket need to be welded. Mirror mount broke off.

Got one of bolts out of the spare engine, it fits straight, but won't go in very far by hand

Got the degreaser out and cleaned the swingarm, rear wheel and other bits. Also greased the chain.

Waiting game begins... Need the stem seals, helicoil for that bolt, weld up the front bracket.

Linkin · May 23rd, 2015, 01:30 AM

Yay chinese parts!

Linkin · May 30th, 2015, 02:21 AM

Still waiting for farkin valve stem seals, so fixing up various bodge jobs from previous owners and/or mechanics... Bike was missing a fuel pump, put in the one from my spare bike, and fixed up the fuel tap on my old mans' bike.

Linkin · June 3rd, 2015, 02:44 AM

Old man's FZR250 stopped running and won't start. Checked the valve clearances and it's not pretty. Almost all valves are borderline out of spec and some are way out of spec... See cyl #3 intake valves.

Couple of shims have the numbers worn off or have been ground down... Time to order a shim kit.

This is what the shed and concrete slab looks like at the moment... full of fizzers and fizzer parts. Only the yellow one still runs without issues!

Also pictured: Vintage Triumph Bonneville, spare FZR250 engine, and various ZXR250/GSX250 parts.

Linkin · June 7th, 2015, 07:35 PM

Picked up some stuff

Linkin · June 8th, 2015, 03:15 AM

Washing the head and cylinders in CT18 and hot water... roughly 50/50 mix. A lot of crap came off.

Shiny & Clean

New valve stem seals going on. Very easy to get on. Getting the old ones out not so much.

Valve lapping. Used the fine paste.

Spent the rest of evening hours getting all but one of the valves back in... dropped one of the little tapered bearings or whatever they are. Saw it hit the ground but couldn't find it, getting dark... Finding it will be tomorrow's task.

Panda · June 8th, 2015, 06:54 AM

Linkin · June 18th, 2015, 10:42 PM

Ended up needing 2 helicoils for the long thread. Friend is going to experiment with machining the old pistons to see if it can be done without breaking them. Old oil rings are either out of spec or very close to it.

Old thread

Job done

Linkin · June 19th, 2015, 11:14 PM

Checked the valve clearances with the head off by using the cam caps. Easy to do with the head off, as you don't need to worry about the timing of the crank. As usual, all but one of the valves were out of spec.

On another note, valve shims were posted on the 4th from the USA. Then went to Dubai and left there on the 11th. Landed in Australia and departed Sydney airport on the 12th... and then took a week to be processed by AusPost and scanned into the Granville sorting facility (which happened last night, after I rang AusPost).

USPS tracking has been useful. The AusPost tracking says stuff that doesn't even match up with USPS!

Linkin · June 22nd, 2015, 01:36 AM

Got the shim kit, tomorrow I'll change them on my bike and on my dad's bike.

Linkin · June 22nd, 2015, 11:58 PM

Valve shims changed out. Piece of cake with the head off.

Rearranging shims where possible to avoid using up the shim kit. We added the shims from the spare engine into the kit as well.

Linkin · June 28th, 2015, 06:02 PM

New decal kit arrived

Linkin · June 29th, 2015, 12:56 AM

So the issue with gaps between the head and the bores has been solved. The EvilBay bores are the cause. The original bores fit fine with no gaps.

2nd attempt at re-assembly halted though, due to one of the helicoils failing... caused by a little bit too much torque, due to an oopsy with the torque wrench. Completely my fault.

3rd attempt (and hopefully final assembly) begins tomorrow

So close!!!

subxero · June 29th, 2015, 05:45 AM

looks good. Will be worth it when it is all said and done

Linkin · June 30th, 2015, 01:47 AM

Speaking of which

Link to original page on YouTube.

Linkin · June 30th, 2015, 07:25 PM

Postman dropped by and had some goodies for me

Linkin · July 2nd, 2015, 03:18 AM

Idle tuning. Still not perfect.

Link to original page on YouTube.

sharky nrk · July 2nd, 2015, 05:43 AM

Sweet!!!!

Linkin · July 4th, 2015, 12:20 AM

Put the rest of the plastic pieces on today. Fuel tap is leaking a lot less with better screws. Still have a little coolant leak out of the one the hoses to sort out, but running great. Have also finished tuning the idle circuit on the carbs, uploading that video soon.

The Yellow Peril is looking a bit sad at the moment.

Little bit of Inox on the switch blocks & dash does wonders

Linkin · July 4th, 2015, 12:37 AM

Link to original page on YouTube.

Linkin · July 6th, 2015, 09:36 PM

Linkin · July 13th, 2015, 05:27 AM

Carb problem has been fixed... 2 bolts and a spring to keep track off and the 2 banks of carbs split apart. No messing with sync or balance at all!

Hero Danny · July 16th, 2015, 07:26 AM

Finally a build/restoration thread that appears to be seeing an end in sight! You've done a lot to that bike, this thread has been very entertaining to read through.

-I don't mean to be "that guy", but please wear a helmet though when riding. Even if it is just down the street.

Linkin · July 17th, 2015, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

Finally a build/restoration thread that appears to be seeing an end in sight! You've done a lot to that bike, this thread has been very entertaining to read through.

-I don't mean to be "that guy", but please wear a helmet though when riding. Even if it is just down the street.

Thanks, I'm not in any of the vids, I am in the under 50 age bracket thanks

The blue whore virgin is basically done. The last things to do are to replace the tyres (or wear out the existing ones), replace the fuel tap seals and change 1 coolant hose.

I will be getting my tax refund on Monday which gives me a few grand to play with for the other bike, I'll be making a separate thread for that.

Somchai · July 17th, 2015, 03:43 AM

Link to original page on YouTube.

May 10th, 2015, 01:05 PM	#47
sharky nrk Fighting Texas Aggie '05 Name: Neil Location: Hutto, TX Join Date: Feb 2009 Motorcycle(s): '07 ZX6R, '08 Versys, '09 250R Track, '93 F2/F3 Track Posts: A lot.	your bike > our bikes ...... lol __________________________________________________ Keep it rubber side down and enjoy the ride Get healthy - Get Fit - Change Your Life Click Here Or PM Me To Find More - Advocare

May 14th, 2015, 06:42 PM	#50
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Making the head and bores flat...
	1 out of 1 members found this post helpful.

May 30th, 2015, 02:21 AM	#53
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Still waiting for farkin valve stem seals, so fixing up various bodge jobs from previous owners and/or mechanics... Bike was missing a fuel pump, put in the one from my spare bike, and fixed up the fuel tap on my old mans' bike.
	1 out of 1 members found this post helpful.

June 3rd, 2015, 02:44 AM	#54
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Old man's FZR250 stopped running and won't start. Checked the valve clearances and it's not pretty. Almost all valves are borderline out of spec and some are way out of spec... See cyl #3 intake valves. Couple of shims have the numbers worn off or have been ground down... Time to order a shim kit. This is what the shed and concrete slab looks like at the moment... full of fizzers and fizzer parts. Only the yellow one still runs without issues! Also pictured: Vintage Triumph Bonneville, spare FZR250 engine, and various ZXR250/GSX250 parts.
	1 out of 1 members found this post helpful.

June 29th, 2015, 05:45 AM	#64
subxero dirty boy Name: Joe Location: Johnstown, PA Join Date: Sep 2012 Motorcycle(s): I don't even know anymore?? Posts: A lot. MOTM - Apr '14	looks good. Will be worth it when it is all said and done __________________________________________________ I love the smell of burning pre-mix in the morning I don't think I'm a lot dumber than you thought that I think that I thought I was once.

March 29th, 2015, 01:58 PM	#41
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	The radiator fan is not running all the time, it comes on and off on its own. I checked the waterpump / impeller, it's not broken. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxgm0ZytOxY Link to original page on YouTube.

March 29th, 2015, 04:55 PM	#42
greg737 - Name: - Location: - Join Date: May 2009 Motorcycle(s): - Posts: A lot.	okay, I was wrong... next contestant.

April 8th, 2015, 05:50 PM	#43
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Head gasket aside for now, I'd been eyeing up a new exhaust for a while... and it arrived today Link to original page on YouTube.

May 6th, 2015, 03:26 AM	#44
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Head Gasket change prep. Engine block comes off the bottom end and has its own steel gasket on these bikes. Have a spare in case the bores are cracked or something

May 7th, 2015, 01:05 AM	#45
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Multiple issues here. One nut was finger tight, so that doesn't help at all. Smelled horrid. Oil was very burnt and black. You can see that one of the long bolts came out with the head. I'll get to that in a bit. The head gasket was not blown, but still a bit gross So, the bolt that came out with the head. It was in the wrong way!!! The long thread goes into the block/bottom end and the short thread is for the nut on top. The nut seized on the long thread, I had to clamp the bolt in a vice grip and use a breaker bar to get it off. Now, the threads on either end...

May 10th, 2015, 01:23 AM	#46
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Taking all the valve buckets and shims out. All of them except a few were ~0.65in, the rest ~0.6in Yucky exhaust valves Poured petrol into the valves to check for leakage... I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

May 10th, 2015, 06:18 PM	#48
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Took the head over to a friend's place who kindly showed us what is what when it comes to valves etc, lent me the tools to get all the valves out & gave good instructions for cleaning and lapping of the valve seat surfaces.

May 12th, 2015, 01:46 AM	#49
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Today I got all the valves out. All of the valve stem seals were hard as rocks when I pulled them out. I think I got 1 or 2 out in one piece, the rest were destroyed. I got the block out. Itty bitty wittle pistons! Very dirty at that... Thread in the bottom end does appear to be stuffed, but I haven't forced it in the right way as I did with the spark plug threads (which are usable but not perfect) Wonder if the thread can be re-cut with a thread chaser, or if it needs a helicoil This is the cylinder base gasket. God only knows how it broke there... unless I did it when pulling it off, but I don't think so as I was careful. Luckily, the spare block I bought comes with the same gasket, and a set of pistons. I'm wondering if it would be worth using the spare block & pistons I bought (after having the measured of course) as it saves a lot of cleaning! Also unsure if this is gasket material or oil sludge... the spare gasket is just steel...

May 15th, 2015, 01:59 AM	#51
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Got the headlight etc out of the way, bracket need to be welded. Mirror mount broke off. Got one of bolts out of the spare engine, it fits straight, but won't go in very far by hand Got the degreaser out and cleaned the swingarm, rear wheel and other bits. Also greased the chain. Waiting game begins... Need the stem seals, helicoil for that bolt, weld up the front bracket.

May 23rd, 2015, 01:30 AM	#52
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Yay chinese parts!

June 7th, 2015, 07:35 PM	#55
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Picked up some stuff

June 8th, 2015, 03:15 AM	#56
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Washing the head and cylinders in CT18 and hot water... roughly 50/50 mix. A lot of crap came off. Shiny & Clean New valve stem seals going on. Very easy to get on. Getting the old ones out not so much. Valve lapping. Used the fine paste. Spent the rest of evening hours getting all but one of the valves back in... dropped one of the little tapered bearings or whatever they are. Saw it hit the ground but couldn't find it, getting dark... Finding it will be tomorrow's task.

June 8th, 2015, 06:54 AM	#57
Panda not an actual panda Name: dan Location: philadelphia Join Date: Aug 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250, 2009 CBR600RR (Sold) Posts: A lot.

June 18th, 2015, 10:42 PM	#58
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Ended up needing 2 helicoils for the long thread. Friend is going to experiment with machining the old pistons to see if it can be done without breaking them. Old oil rings are either out of spec or very close to it. Old thread Job done

June 19th, 2015, 11:14 PM	#59
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Checked the valve clearances with the head off by using the cam caps. Easy to do with the head off, as you don't need to worry about the timing of the crank. As usual, all but one of the valves were out of spec. On another note, valve shims were posted on the 4th from the USA. Then went to Dubai and left there on the 11th. Landed in Australia and departed Sydney airport on the 12th... and then took a week to be processed by AusPost and scanned into the Granville sorting facility (which happened last night, after I rang AusPost). USPS tracking has been useful. The AusPost tracking says stuff that doesn't even match up with USPS!

June 22nd, 2015, 01:36 AM	#60
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Got the shim kit, tomorrow I'll change them on my bike and on my dad's bike.

June 22nd, 2015, 11:58 PM	#61
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Valve shims changed out. Piece of cake with the head off. Rearranging shims where possible to avoid using up the shim kit. We added the shims from the spare engine into the kit as well.

June 28th, 2015, 06:02 PM	#62
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	New decal kit arrived

June 29th, 2015, 12:56 AM	#63
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	So the issue with gaps between the head and the bores has been solved. The EvilBay bores are the cause. The original bores fit fine with no gaps. 2nd attempt at re-assembly halted though, due to one of the helicoils failing... caused by a little bit too much torque, due to an oopsy with the torque wrench. Completely my fault. 3rd attempt (and hopefully final assembly) begins tomorrow So close!!!

June 30th, 2015, 01:47 AM	#65
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Speaking of which Link to original page on YouTube.

June 30th, 2015, 07:25 PM	#66
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Postman dropped by and had some goodies for me

July 2nd, 2015, 03:18 AM	#67
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Idle tuning. Still not perfect. Link to original page on YouTube.

July 2nd, 2015, 05:43 AM	#68
sharky nrk Fighting Texas Aggie '05 Name: Neil Location: Hutto, TX Join Date: Feb 2009 Motorcycle(s): '07 ZX6R, '08 Versys, '09 250R Track, '93 F2/F3 Track Posts: A lot.	Sweet!!!! __________________________________________________ Keep it rubber side down and enjoy the ride Get healthy - Get Fit - Change Your Life Click Here Or PM Me To Find More - Advocare

July 4th, 2015, 12:20 AM	#69
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Put the rest of the plastic pieces on today. Fuel tap is leaking a lot less with better screws. Still have a little coolant leak out of the one the hoses to sort out, but running great. Have also finished tuning the idle circuit on the carbs, uploading that video soon. The Yellow Peril is looking a bit sad at the moment. Little bit of Inox on the switch blocks & dash does wonders

July 4th, 2015, 12:37 AM	#70
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Link to original page on YouTube.

July 6th, 2015, 09:36 PM	#71
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296

July 13th, 2015, 05:27 AM	#72
Linkin Down Under Name: Linkin Location: Sydney, Australia Join Date: Jun 2014 Motorcycle(s): Kawasaki ZXR250C Ninja Posts: 296	Carb problem has been fixed... 2 bolts and a spring to keep track off and the 2 banks of carbs split apart. No messing with sync or balance at all!
	1 out of 1 members found this post helpful.

July 16th, 2015, 07:26 AM	#73
Hero Danny Inline 4!!! Name: Danny Location: MA Join Date: May 2014 Motorcycle(s): 2008 CBR600rr, 1987 KLR 250 Posts: A lot.	Finally a build/restoration thread that appears to be seeing an end in sight! You've done a lot to that bike, this thread has been very entertaining to read through. -I don't mean to be "that guy", but please wear a helmet though when riding. Even if it is just down the street. __________________________________________________ Be careful. Remember you are invisible

July 17th, 2015, 03:43 AM	#75
Somchai Freedom for Germany Location: This World Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250R-FI Posts: A lot.	Link to original page on YouTube.

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