Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hey all i'm obviously a newbie here being that i've just got my first kwakka, a couple of you might know me from netrider or ozsportsbikes. i'd love to rave on about how good the new bike is and all, but i cant get the bastard to fire i bought it from a bloke i thought was trustworthy interstate (i wont say he isn't yet, this might be something simple still) so i never saw it in person before it got here.

anyways, its a streetfightered 91 ZXR750. havn't heared anything bad about these things and it looks the goods and the price was definately right, but i'm still kinda unsure about it cos it dont run. i was kind of hoping someone might be able to shed some light on the subject, or maybe point me in the direction of a good manual i could download (or buy if i have to).

basically, the thing has fuel, and it has spark but i cant get a single fire out of it. now if it were the old HZ wagon, i'd go and play with the dizzy straight away and i'd most likely find my problem there, but kingswood it aint, and i've never had a bike that i've needed to work on in that area so i dont know where to start....

if one of you kawasaki gurus have ANY advice at all, i'd be forever in your debt.... well at least for a while anyways i'm happy to take any suggestions at the moment, cos i'm fesh out of goddamn ideas

Gday mate and welcome.

You have good strong spark on all plugs?

hello and welcome

Welcome,

Steps for engine running are:

1. There is a crank when ignition is started

2. If doesn't work check the spark. Should be strong.

3. If there is spark, check fuel lines, carbs etc. Your bike was shipped interstate? Maybe it's flooded with fuel. Crank with full throttle open few seconds (10 seconds between cranks or you'll burn the starter motor).

Should be allright. It only needs correct fuel vapor and spark, that's all to it.

There is/was a blue ZXR750 street fighter in melbourne.. didn't look half bad.. very nice shade of blue too.. not a big street fighter fan, but it did look quite nice.

same bike??

i'm in melb, it was shipped from sydney so wouldn't be the same one you saw. i am a HUGE streetfighter fan so they all (almost) look good to me and yeah, the old ZXR has some decent lines to work with, all just as good or better than my old thundercat with the exception of the tank. not too keen on the big arsed air holes there actually, while i'm on the subject, what is the reason for them? they seem to run to no-where.... would i be ok to cut off the bits that stick out and cover it over?

just thinking about it, there ARE a couple of things i havn't done yet;
i havn't tried the old trick of pouring some petrol down the carbs (i just assumed that since the lines are full and refill when i empty them, that the carbs are getting plenty)
and i havn't actually taken the plugs out, the bike came with a box of goodies that had an old set in it.

i'll give these a shot when i gets home and can have a looksie at it again. also, what do you mean by a STRONG spark? i would have thought that a spark should be fine if it was sparking at all is there a sure fire way to check if its weak or is it just by sight? also, would there be any way the firing order might be out of whack at all?

sorry bout all the questions, but i really need help and you guys are the next best thing to calling a mechanic and bugging the shit outta them

thanks for the help thus far, rapt with the quick responses

howdy
and welcome
glad to see you have a goodie ...we luv our 750s

re your prob
will have a look in the manual tonite
can scan and post a few 'Troubleshooting' pages
btw
you say you have fuel and spark
I gather the tank is full (are the carbs getting fuel?)
and spark?
pulled a lead off and grounded it against the frame and watched?

also pull a plug out and see if it is OK (yeah I know the tank hasta
come off)


hth

btw
where in melb are you...??


cheers

pulling the tank off isn't a problem, its not bolted on at the moment. but yeah, i pulled the leads out and tested them with a plug that came in the box, all of the leads sparked it when held against the motor. i dunno about having fuel in the carbs, should the spraying be visable when i turn the throttle? it smells like fuel in the carbs and they're not dry, and the tank & lines are all full. but that doesn't mean its getting ENUFF fuel, could be a blockage somewhere i spose....

and i'm in keysborough, just near dandenong

and the 750 is a good bike then eh? do you reckon i'll see much difference between that and my old 600 thundercat?

99coconuts wrote:pulling the tank off isn't a problem, its not bolted on at the moment. but yeah, i pulled the leads out and tested them with a plug that came in the box, all of the leads sparked it when held against the motor. i dunno about having fuel in the carbs, should the spraying be visable when i turn the throttle? it smells like fuel in the carbs and they're not dry, and the tank & lines are all full. but that doesn't mean its getting ENUFF fuel, could be a blockage somewhere i spose....

and i'm in keysborough, just near dandenong

and the 750 is a good bike then eh? do you reckon i'll see much difference between that and my old 600 thundercat?

You really have to take each plug out individually and check them.
You will know the difference between a strong spark and a weak one by its colour.
You want a nice bright blue if its kinda yellow turf the plug.
also dont forget to check your plug gaps when you have them out.

Ment wrote: You really have to take each plug out individually and check them.
You will know the difference between a strong spark and a weak one by its colour.
You want a nice bright blue if its kinda yellow turf the plug.
also dont forget to check your plug gaps when you have them out.

no stress then so yeller = munted

i'll yank all the plugs out and see how it goes, i'm leaning towards something else tho, cos he reckons he rode it onto the truck it came down on and they were also apparently pretty new but then he also told me the discs were near new and they turned out to be worn pretty nasty....

do you have the plug gap specs there by any chance?

cheers!

Hey man welcome.

To see if the carbs have fuel just undo one of the allen screws in the bottom of one of the fuel bowls. If fuel comes out, at least you know fuel is getting that far.

G'day
Sorry dont know anything about mechanics, but thought just say
"HELLO AND WELCOME!"

99coconuts wrote:

Ment wrote: i'll yank all the plugs out and see how it goes, i'm leaning towards something else tho, cos he reckons he rode it onto the truck it came down on and they were also apparently pretty new but then he also told me the discs were near new and they turned out to be worn pretty nasty....

do you have the plug gap specs there by any chance?

When you pull out the plugs try to notice if they're wet or not. If wet, then it's a good chance the engine is flooded with fuel. Good plugs color should be brownish, gap 0.7-0.8mm, you need feeler gauge.

For the price and effort, I would simply change them with new ones. Test them by using the plug and contact against metal part of the engine. Spark should be clearly visible. Don't touch the plug while you're doing this and AWAY from fuel etc.

Gday Coconuts,

Welcome mate!

Good to see you buying a Kawasaki at last!

BTW - Im the bloke you bought your streetfighter headlights and screen from and bought your clip-ons a while back! Ive sold the Z750 now and Im looking for something else to pour money into.

Cheers

James

Welcome aboard