Kawasaki ER5 - Cuts out at low speed / Rattles

[sebulba]

Right, so I have recently bought er5 (99 plate). Its last MOT had 1 advisory indicating" exhaust is leaking but not excessively noisy". here are my issues with the bike;

The rattling:

It would start ok ( with choke on) and sounded ok when not riding. When im on the bike it is rather loud to me but I assume that's because of the hole in the exhaust(?) It also kind of rattles when riding at lower revs ( 2-3k) when above that it doesn't rattle as much or not at all. Now, is this because of the hole in the exhaust? Or the engine is F**ked?

I did start the bike with no problem but later on I did have to bump start it as I thought the battery died. It was starting fine for a bit. Sometimes I had to use the choke sometimes not depending how long it stood not running.

The cutting out problem:
Very recently, after a day of riding the bike it started to cut out on first gear. Basically as I would come to a stop at traffic light, change down pull the clutch the revs would just go down and the bike would die. It happened couple of times and then finally it just wouldn't start. The motor would turn but it would not start.( tried with choke on and without - did not start) I managed to bump start it again but the revs kept coming down and if I wouldn't have revved it up it would cut out again.

My question is; could it be the air filter? fuel filter or maybe the spark plugs? Maybe its dying because it doesn't get enough air in? Or is it the battery fault?

Does anyone have any clue what could be up with it? I have air filter and 2 spark plugs . Should I change them and see if it helps?

Thanks


EDIT: I forgot to add that I managed to get home and the revs gone down from about 1k ( idle) to 800 and the bike did NOT cut out.

[lihp]

coil?
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[sebulba]

You think its the ignitions coil fault? need a new one? Hmmm ok. and as for the rattling noise? Is this normal with the hole in the exhaust?

[CG Sam]

When was it last serviced? Could just need the carbs cleaning for the cutting out/revs dying. The rattle may just be your chain is overly loose.
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CG125, SV650S, CBR600F, GSXR600 SRAD

[prawny1]

If your carbs need syncing the engine (mostly clutch) will rattle and chunter at low revs due to the imbalance.
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[sebulba]

Recently, just before I bought it HOWEVER, there is no paper work for that. The guys i bought it from got brand new tyres on it, oil and lubed chain which I checked and is pretty tight. Also, I got a free air filter and 2 spark plugs with it that I will prob change it later my self.

pawny1, regarding the carbs syncing. I'm not too sure... The bike sound alright on idle or when revved a little its only when I ride it.

[sebulba]

So a little update and also a question.

Ignition coil has been changed as well as the HT lead cables. The spark is much better now and the idle is good. At least it was ...

The bike was running fine but now the problem is back again. The bike starts to "slack" and kind of loses a bit of power. It just feels like it's not running properly as well as the idle goes down from 1.2k to about 500 or less. But not always. Sometime si give extra gas and it stays normal...

Another thing: Basically, I was riding along and I heard this bang like a metal hitting another metal or chain. It felt like the chain would lock up and the bike would like stop pumping fuel for literally a half a second. It's hard to explain but it was like; lock up ( the bike would kind of slow down) > bang, power back on and the bike is running again BUT still kind of struggling and it feels weird.

Id like to add that this used to happen before the ignition coil change.

Another thing I found the other day was like a oil leak or something from the cylinder? Anybody have any clue what the hell is that. It's only on one cylinder tho...

[CG Sam]

Gut reaction says a gasket or seal has blown, maybe even piston ring. I imagine the new coil and lead helped at first as it was igniting despite it not fuelling properly.
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CG125, SV650S, CBR600F, GSXR600 SRAD

[sebulba]

thanks for the reply. so a blown gasket would lead to those problems? like sometimes it would run fine and sometimes it wouldn't ?

[CG Sam]

Not entirely sure, if it was only starting it could have been causing momentary lack of compression, get worse as it goes.
How confident are you with spanners and working on it? Could be worth removing the head to investigate.
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CG125, SV650S, CBR600F, GSXR600 SRAD

[misscrabstick]

Oil leak to me looks very minor, I think first thing I'd be doing is a carburettor removal and thorough clean followed by a balancing, your issues sound like random crap blocking your jets every now and then.

[i2ico]

Ive just cleaned my carbs on my er5.

Little advice leave the carbs attached to each other, dont separate them, just disconnect from air filter and mannifold.

Make sure to drain your float bowl before taking it off to access the pilot jet, main jet and starter jet.

Spray carb cleaner in all the jets.

I found my pilot jet was blocked and cleaner wasnt getting it out, so just ran some fine electrical wire through the hole, (is very very small) till when i held it to the light i could see through it.

Good luck
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Limitations are only what you make of them.
Current: ER5, Stolen/Recovered:Honda CG

[sebulba]

I very much appreciate your replies and help. Right, I'm gonna clean the carburetor and update you shortly after.