Kawasaki 305 Oil Pump Drive Sprocket options?

[Alpha9five]

Hi everyone. Most that know the Kawasaki 305 motors know they have 2 major flaws, the oil pickup and the oil pump drive sprocket, along with the rest. Is there any upgrade options for the oil pump drive sprocket? Or for anything in this motor at all. That is probably the most concerning bit for me if the teeth go on one of those and screws the rest of the motor.
Cheers

[stinkwheel]

The teeth won't strip if the pickup isn't blocked. Make sure the pickup doesn't block by removing the oil pump and cleaning the strainer once a year.

It will then be free to kill itself in some other way. My wife has killed three of those engines, none of them due to oil starvation.

I'd say the major flaw is that it's a 250cc motor that has been bored out well beyond its original design limits in an attempt to make it faster than a superdream. A shame, because it's otherwise a lovely wee bike to ride.

The best solution would be to sell it and buy a 400 superdream instead.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Alpha9five]

[stevo as b4]

36bhp and 10000rpm isn't bad for a 305cc air cooled two valve twin, so I'd say they would be more fun than a big superdream 400? I think they clocked 102-103mph in period road tests, so I'd be surprised if the CB400N is much faster or twice as reliable even?

All these little four stroke twins seem fragile, probably due to poor maintenance or neglect without frequent enough oil and filter changes, a big old Z1000 or similar would shrug off this neglect for decades, but a 250cc 30bhp twin that's ridden to the limit all the time won't. You don't hear about XS250's or GSX250's being unkillable or capable of serious abuse either, because they aren't.

Does the GPZ have an external oil cooler? If not and I really wanted to thrash one I'd consider plumbing one in, as it'd add oil capacity as well as keeping the hard worked oil cooler.

[redeem ouzzer]

Better off with an LC..
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Be a REAL MAN!

[stevo as b4]

Indeed! Standard 250LC performance without the acceleration at best, and without the option of an easy 20% power increase with a simple tune and set of pipes.

But someone out there has to love these little miniature wannabe GPZ's, GSX's and Euro stye Honda's. In a perverted way it must be quite satisfying for some to thrash these little bikes up to 5 figure engine speeds and on a good day with a strong tailwind see the speedo pass the 90mph mark. Even if an AR125 or TZR125 would do it much more convincingly.

[Pete.]

Yeah but who can afford to buy a LC nowadays?
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[stevo as b4]

I might have known someone who once passed on buying a 500LC that had a knackered gearbox which would jump out of 2nd and 3rd gear, and was up for £1400ono.

[stinkwheel]

However the 250 scorpion from which the 305 was derived was a fine wee bike. Just not as fast as a superdream.

The fact is that while a GPz305 CAN do 110mph, it under no circumstances SHOULD do 110mph because all the engine internals weld themselves together after a few miles.

Two heat seizures and one big-end failure (oil pump drive intact in all three cases).

If you want a 250-ish classic 4t, I'd go for a CB250RS.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[BusterGonads]