[Tommikawa]

The start of this thread has kicked off a few days ago when I bought the ZX-10.
Bike itself sits still in the previous owner’s garage, because I couldn’t ride it home.
It’s still Winter here and only the town streets and main roads are free from ice and snow.
Next tuesday I will be able to get her home with the help of my neighbour and his van.

Can’t wait to get my hands on her and change old fuel for fresh one and put in new oil.
Happy happy, joy joy

 

[Tommikawa]

That CMSNL parts page is very good also in identifying your bike. My Tomcat is a 1989 model B2 and was registered in 1990, I only wish it would have been equipped with that Tomcat lower fairing decal

 

[Tommikawa]

First day in garage with Tomcat. I took the side and lower fairings off and first thing I checked was the operation of cooling fan. It worked ok.
Next I will check the color of engine oil and take off fuel tank and cam cover.
The camshafts and everything under the cover may be well dry as the oil have drained to the sump years ago.

 

[Tommikawa]

 

[Tommikawa]

All fairings were ok and all screws and bolts original which is good for a 32 years old motorcycle.

Pretty tidy under the tank, no oil or dirt.

.

Last oil change, spark plugs and valve adjustment/check made in 2007 and just under 9000 kms away.

No 1 plug looks healthy, similar to No 3 but No 2 and 4 were a bit darker and slightly oily but I will ride the bike and see about the oil consumption.

In my opinion the cams look ok. I poured some new oil on the cams that they don’t rotate dry at first start.

 

[Tommikawa]

I used an endoscope to see inside the cylinders when the sparkplugs were out. The camera view can be very different from real but it looked like there was oily carbon on the top of piston. Then I thought that maybe the previous owner had poured some oil in each cylinder.
That would make sense and probably good for the engine as it was not even started in six and half years. Oil in spark plug theads also tells that oil was probably poured in the cylinders through spark plug holes and the spark plug wells were dry too.
I will not change the spark plugs as they have been in only for less than 9K kilometres.

Air filter element was very fragile and that must be renewed.

 

[92Ninjas]

Hopefully, the oil injected into the cylinders prevented any major scoring or deep grooves from happening once the motor fires up.

 

[Tommikawa]

Hopefully, the oil injected into the cylinders prevented any major scoring or deep grooves from happening once the motor fires up.

That is what I hope too.
But before I get to that stage there is again the infamous oli change problem.

The oil filter mounting bolt seems to be stuck into the filter cover. I hope it’s just the O-ring that’s holding the mounting bolt. The bolt is free from the thread but the filter assembly cannot be removed because the exhaust crosspipe is on the way. This is not what the factory workshop manual says about oil filter change. It just says: remove the mounting bolt and take off the filter assembly.
Well, that can’t be done. I have to try to hold the filter cover tightly against the engine and try to force the bolt out. Maybe the O-ring is hardened and is not flexible enough to let the bolt threads to pass through.
I can’t think of any other reason.
Any ideas?

 

[Tommikawa]

Original idea was to keep Tomcat as original as possible but now I have been thinking of getting a 4-1 exhaust and hopefully saving some weight and improve the looks too. Obviously the museum registration cannot be possible after that mod but I will decide that later when I get to ride the bike first.

 

[Tommikawa]

After loosening the bolts on mufflers I managed to drop the oil filter assembly in one piece. Now I can put in new oil and a new oil filter as well.
In the garage where the bike sits atm is freezing cold at -10C.
I have to wait for the Spring to warm up.

 

[92Ninjas]

Too cold for my blood

 

[ZX10 Tomcat]

That is what I hope too.
But before I get to that stage there is again the infamous oli change problem.

The oil filter mounting bolt seems to be stuck into the filter cover. I hope it’s just the O-ring that’s holding the mounting bolt. The bolt is free from the thread but the filter assembly cannot be removed because the exhaust crosspipe is on the way. This is not what the factory workshop manual says about oil filter change. It just says: remove the mounting bolt and take off the filter assembly.
Well, that can’t be done. I have to try to hold the filter cover tightly against the engine and try to force the bolt out. Maybe the O-ring is hardened and is not flexible enough to let the bolt threads to pass through.
I can’t think of any other reason.
Any ideas?

The rubber O-ring seal between the bolt and the filter cover is tight, mine does the same thing. You should be able to twist the bolt out. If you are worried about the o-ring being dry and being damaged by taking it out. I assume you have a big enough gap between the oil pan and the filter cover that you can squirt WD-40 onto the bolt to lubricate the o-ring.

Personally I would keep the 4-2 exhaust if it is in good condition, unless you are comfortable in re-jetting the carburettors fora 4-1 exhaust.

 

[ZX10 Tomcat]

View attachment 21490
All fairings were ok and all screws and bolts original which is good for a 32 years old motorcycle.

View attachment 21486
Pretty tidy under the tank, no oil or dirt.

. View attachment 21488
Last oil change, spark plugs and valve adjustment/check made in 2007 and just under 9000 kms away.

View attachment 21487
No 1 plug looks healthy, similar to No 3 but No 2 and 4 were a bit darker and slightly oily but I will ride the bike and see about the oil consumption.

View attachment 21489
In my opinion the cams look ok. I poured some new oil on the cams that they don’t rotate dry at first start.

Looks in really good condition, if the side panels are not cracked or damaged then you have been very lucky.
If the camshaft lobes show no pitting then again you are lucky.

I strongly advise examining the clutch basket, all the early watercooled Kawasaki engines from the 900R - ZZR1100's had a very poor starter clutch chain tensioner that can come into contact with the clutch basket and destroy it.
Take off the engine clutch cover and look for any damage or wear marks on the clutch basket. If it shows signs of wear/damge then the tensioner needs replaced immediately with an aftermarket tensioner that solves that problem.
Also take off the oil pan as there will likely be pieces of the clutch basket trapped in the pan.

 

[Tommikawa]

Thanks for the advice. I got the new oil filter in and semi-syn Motul 5000 10W-40 motor oil.

At first start the left side carburetor started flooding. On the next start it did not flood anymore. I guess the float valve was just stuck open.
Rear brake caliper was also jammed and I had to remove the caliper and put some WD-40 to the slide bolts. That worked perfectly.
Then I put all panels back on and went to insurance company webshop and purchased an insurance, 293€ per year.
After that I was ready for first ride.

The idling was not perfect but it idled at 1000 rpm quite nicely. I will use carbu clean spray and possibly some fuel additive.

The front brakes are very weak, maybe the pads are just old or the caliper pistons are not moving much. On the other hand they stick little. So I must do a brake service. First I will try brake clener spray on them.

Riding was very nice. Bike feels very stable and relaxed. Cornering on old tyres was also ok. Suspension works fine and the bike feels very good to ride. Surely there are a lot of things that needs attention but for now I do the front brakes first. Front fork oil seals need replacement too but they leak only very slightly.

In general I am very pleased on the bike. Engine runs nicely. Rideability is good. Rear suspension squeaks when compressed but that is probably some rubber part. I did grease the linkage.

What do you guys think about carbu clean spray vs. fuel additives? Which is more effective or less harmful?

 

[Tommikawa]

 

[92Ninjas]

what do you guys think about carbu clean spray vs. fuel additives? Which is more effective or less harmful?

Honestly, neither. Carb needs to be dismantled and gone through thoroughly for a decent clean. Fuel additives only help with the ethanol if you're using an ethanol stabilizer. Carb clean in a can only scratches the surface of built up varnish and old fuel.

 

[ZX10 Tomcat]

Completely agree with 92Ninjas, stripping the carburettors and cleaning properly with carb cleaner is the only way to be sure.
I recommend this video, I followed this and it worked for me:

Since you have standard exhaust and I presume airbox set up, follow the settings from the kawasaki manual for the pilot screws.

 

[Tommikawa]

Honestly, neither. Carb needs to be dismantled and gone through thoroughly for a decent clean. Fuel additives only help with the ethanol if you're using an ethanol stabilizer. Carb clean in a can only scratches the surface of built up varnish and old fuel.

I will have to take the carbs out, bike runs so badly on idle and under 3000rpm. Above that no problems.

The front fork seals leak oil to brake calipers. I already replaced the master cylinder piston and seals. Braking power is not good. Maybe the front fork seals replacement fixes the braking problem at least partly. Maybe the brake caliper service kit fixes the rest.

 

[Tommikawa]

A quick update, just finished replacing old fork oil seals. I took the front fork in bits and it was pretty easy, but putting it all back was not, until I figured out how to do it right. The factory workshop manual does not say very clearly in what order the parts go back.
Anyway, now it is all done except the oil which I have to buy tomorrow. And new brake pads too because I don’t want to use the oil soaked old pads.

At least I have now the brakes working. The carburation is next step.