first 2stroke bike help

[bennell09]

hay guy, got myself a kmx125 yisterday and overall im very happy with it, with it being my first 2stroke bike ive got a few q's i hope you guys can help me out with.

first is the gearbox/transmission oil, in the sight glassits completely covered no matter which way i lean the bike with black oil so my suspitions are that its been overfilled last time it was changed so i want to chance it but i dont know which bolt's the sum/drail bolt. there is a bolt directly in the middle of the engine with some oil/dirt round it but i want to make sure before i un-do it.

my next Q is about the coolant. ive opened the rad cap to see nothing inside just the grills so i want to drain the fluid (if theres any) and replace with coolant. again i dont know where the drain nut is for the collant and i also dont know what mix to put into teh radiator as ive been told 50/50 is too strong.

ive got some more q's but i dont want to overfill my first post

thanks guys


joe

[MarJay]

Good lad. Two strokes rock, and you sound like a guy who wants to look after his bike, and not just complain that two strokes are unreliable.

I'll address the issue of coolant first of all. Most two strokes don't have a master drain bolt that drains all the coolant. Mostly, you just remove the bottom radiator hose and allow the coolant to drain that way (with the pressure cap off). Some have drain bolts on the barrels that allow you to just get the last bit of coolant out. It'll be a 8 or 10mm head bolt on the side of the barrel.

With regard to the gearbox oil, there should only be 1 drain plug on the bottom of the engine. That SHOULD be your gearbox drain but if you are unsure you'll need to look at a workshop manual. If the oil is black or grey it'll probably need changing. I'm not sure how the oil level is measured on the KMX, if it needs to be completely covering the sight glass or not. There is a Haynes manual available for your bike, and I think it would probably be worth the investment.

Good luck!
____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[bennell09]

[Frost]

I had a friend whose sight glass was always full over the top. After a few days he found out that was just a stain and it was actually under the glass. So drain it and replace the oil so that you know for certain!

[bikersupermot...]

hey there bennell09

i got a yr 2000 / w reg kmx125 ... only done 1400 miles from new an looks like new too ... also have the owners manual / pack thingy ...

so reading and quoting directly from the kawasaki kmx owners manual:-

Transmission Oil.

Oil level inspection.

If the motorcycle has just been used, wait several minutes for all the oil to drain down.

If the oil has been poured in since the motorcycle was last used, start the engine for one or two minutes. the stop the engine and wait for two or three minutes. this ensures that the oil will "settle".

situate the motorcycle so that it is perpendicular to the ground.

check the oil level through the oil level sight gauge.
the the motorcycle held level, the oil level should come up between the upper and lower level lines next to the gauge.




( not from the owners manual ) - the oil drain plug is a large "nut" that sits under the transmission in between the frame of the bike - its right in the centre so you shud see it easily.

the manual recommends you change the gasket on the plug for a new one if its damaged - might be worthwhile to do this anyways.

the plug shud be tightened to a torque of 20Nm or 14.5 ft-lb

the oil recommended by kawasaki in the manual for the kmx bike transmission is :-

grade:- SE, SF or SG class
Viscosity:- SAE 10W40
Capacity:- 0.75L or 0.79 us qt



Coolant:-

the coolant level should be between the FULL mark and the LOW mark on the plastic coolant reserve tank.

the coolant mix from the factory is a 50% solution of ethylene glycol and has a freezing point of -35c.

it also provides the appropriate amount of heat transfer from engine to radiator for the design of this bike.


Also:-

you might want to put in a new spark plug, the correct plug for this bike is NGK b8Es or NGK br8es both are specified in the manual.

the plug gap shud be 0.7-0.8mm / 0.028 -0.032in

the plug torque shud be 27Nm or 2.8kg - m / 20ft -lb




hope all this helps - lemme know if u need any more info! - where abouts r u?


my kmx ( and crm behind it! ) :-


https://i327.photobucket.com/albums/k453/bikersupermoto/bikes/CIMG5937.jpg
____________________
tinybikes

[bikersupermot...]

hey again joe ...

your oil light going out is correct - if it comes on when your riding, stop as soon as you can safely ... and check the oil tank under the seat - thats your engine 2stroke oil ...

it doesnt matter if its over filled - mine hardly uses any - exisiting oil has been in there for almost 2 years now!
____________________
tinybikes

[bennell09]

[Suntan Sid]

What Marjay said.

If you think your coolant has some crud in it, drop the old coolant, fill with water, drop the water out, repeat a couple of times then fill with your 50/50 coolant mix.

I've got four water cooled bikes, I've changed the coolant on all of them in the last six months, I've never been able to get the recomended volume of coolant in, , so don't worry if you don't get it all in. I always seem to have between 100 and 200 cls that won't go in.

Technically the "engine" oil in a 2 stroke is the gearbox oil, the recomended mileages for changing it are usually astronomical, between 15 and 20 thousand miles!
____________________
"Everybody needs money, that's why they call it money!"

[bennell09]

i got you guys some pics (thought ild show her off). stipped her down to her underware because i had no oil or coolant and i wanted to do something.

first pic is of the bike before i started

https://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae338/bennell09/IMG_0466.jpg

this pic is a wire that connects to a spade on the engine which i have no idea what it does, maybe someone does
https://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae338/bennell09/IMG_0467.jpg

https://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae338/bennell09/IMG_0470.jpg

this pics is of the coolant reserve which i first thought was the fuel oil
https://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae338/bennell09/IMG_0471.jpg

theres fluid in there
https://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae338/bennell09/IMG_0472.jpg

next pic is of the 2 cycle oil tank
https://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae338/bennell09/IMG_0473.jpg

theres fluid in here too
https://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae338/bennell09/IMG_0474.jpg

heres a pic of the sight glass which i can conferm is showing a oil level 1/3 up from the bottom pointed out by my finger
https://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae338/bennell09/IMG_0475.jpg

last pic is of the sump bolt (i think) to drop the gear box oil, can any one conferm this is the right bolt
https://i985.photobucket.com/albums/ae338/bennell09/IMG_0476.jpg

now i know ive got coolant in the reserve, should i dump whats in the rad flush it out to clean it then stick in pre mix bottled coolant and brim it?

[bikersupermot...]

hey joe ...

the wire that u pulled off is the wire to the temperature sender - its what makes your temperature gauge give a reading as to how hot/cold your engine is ...

mine goes into the red when off road riding sometimes ... coz not moving fast ( esp in 1st gear ) so not a lot of air getting thru radiator but the engine can be working hard so it gets hot - as long as it doesnt steam i just keep going.

your correct - the bolt in your your last pic is the sump plug - id put on a new seal on it when you drain and replace the oil - looks bit wet down there.

i actually put the oil quantity u need - taken from the manual - in my posting - re-read it carefully an ull see it!

your bike looks like it cud be made really nice! - worth fixing up! - lemme know if u need any more help!
____________________
tinybikes

[bennell09]

[herulach]

No offence mate, but before you start on that get at it with some wire wool & a bucket of hammerite.
____________________
YBR 125>FZS600

[bikersupermot...]

hey joe - see how it runs with the standard exhaust ... my kmx is a lot faster than a dt125x that i had which had a dep pipe on it. when i took the dep off the dtx and replaced it with an original yamaha pipe it ran much better!.

if you do get a dep pipe ull maybe have to do some work to the carb as well ... which is ok if u know what ur doing with it and know about 2 stroke tuning. otherwise, id be tempted to stick with the standard pipe.

iv got the standard setup on mine, its fast and its good on fuel (approx 50mpg) ... the dt which had the dep and was supposedly "tuned" did about 30mpg and was a dog till i got the powervalve fixed to work properly and it was still not a very good performer. - it always looked better than it went!

hence i sold it an kept the kmx!

pick my brains / manual when / if u need to
____________________
tinybikes

[bikersupermot...]

hey joe - see how it runs with the standard exhaust ... my kmx is a lot faster than a dt125x that i had which had a dep pipe on it. when i took the dep off the dtx and replaced it with an original yamaha pipe it ran much better!.

if you do get a dep pipe ull maybe have to do some work to the carb as well ... which is ok if u know what ur doing with it and know about 2 stroke tuning. otherwise, id be tempted to stick with the standard pipe.

iv got the standard setup on mine, its fast and its good on fuel (approx 50mpg) ... the dt which had the dep and was supposedly "tuned" did about 30mpg and was a dog till i got the powervalve fixed to work properly and it was still not a very good performer. - it always looked better than it went!

hence i sold it an kept the kmx!

pick my brains / manual when / if u need to
____________________
tinybikes