1998 Kawasaki ZZR600 low rev misfire

[ALS96]

Afternoon,

Hope people can help, bought a 1998 Kawasaki ZZR600 it is misfiring, it had been stood for approx 8 months, when starting with the choke is fine but once warmed up and turn the choke off it starts to misfire, we are unsure if its a clogged up carg causing or the cracked airbox causing it by sucking in too much air.

Also after where the best place to get parts from please.

Thanks
Arron
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ZZR600 newbie owner

[stinkwheel]

Is the misfire apparent at a particular throttle position? An airbox leak could certainly cause issues at middle to higher rev speeds.

Rusty frame earths on the ignition coils seem to be a common issue on older kawasakis.

When were the plugs last changed?

EDIT: I've had problems on an older kawasaki with ethanol corrosion on the carb needle valves causing them to stick both open and closed. Modern viton-tipped replacements are available.
____________________
“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.

[stinkwheel]

With regard to parts, depends on what parts. If it's an airbox, a good 2nd hand one off ebay would be my goto.

For service parts, I usually use wemoto.

For carb parts, I generally see if I can get them from Allens Performance, then you know you're getting genuine keihin parts. You usually can unless they are very model specific.
____________________
“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.

[ALS96]

[Kawasaki Jimbo]

If the problem is isolated to one cylinder a cheap (£15) infrared laser 9V digital thermometer can reveal one downpipe significantly cooler than the others. I used this at the weekend to identify cylinder 3 as out of sorts, fixed with a new spark plug cap. A bad spark plug, bad contact between plug and cylinder head, or bad spark plug lead could give the same problem. If it’s not cylinder-specific, um… come back.

Regarding parts, I use Wemoto, Fowlers, Cradley/Cornwall/Colchester Kawasaki, or use their websites to identify part numbers and then Google it for parts from eBay or elsewhere. Cmsnl in Holland at a pinch.

[stinkwheel]

If it's an idle problem, it's probably not the airbox. Could be a loss of spark or could be a blocked pilot jet. I generally investigate the spark aspect first because that's more common and 90's kawasaki carbs and airboxes are a PITA to get off and on again.

For fork seals and bushes, I'd go for OEM even though they are 2-3 times the price. Pattern ones seem to be about 50:50 if they last more than a few weeks and the bushings are never a good fit. Wemoto stock them.

Or order them from fowlers or similar. Or search for the part numbers.

Fork seal part number: 920491363
Inner bushing: 440651080
Outer bushing: 440651079
____________________
“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.

[ALS96]

Just order one of them thermometers, if turns before i get back from work tomorrow I'll have a look, but ill start stripping it down anyway so its easier to check when it does turn up and I'll get back tomorrow or Wednesday with my findings.
____________________
ZZR600 newbie owner

[ALS96]

Just order one of them thermometers, if turns before i get back from work tomorrow I'll have a look, but ill start stripping it down anyway so its easier to check when it does turn up and I'll get back tomorrow or Wednesday with my findings.
____________________
ZZR600 newbie owner

[ALS96]

Evening, that thermometer turned up and cylinder 1-2-3 are running around 50°c when i checked and cylinder 4 was at 58°c, removed spark plugs and 1-2-4 are all shot, 3 was better but not much better. Currently removing the carbs as after speaking to some people they reckon the carbs aren't balanced and need cleaning as well.

Thanks
Arron
____________________
ZZR600 newbie owner

[struan80]

Although I appreciate your post. It is irrelavent without photos of bike.

[A100man]