ZXR250 servicing?

[RSrider]

Hi Guys (and girls),

I am relatively new to the motorbike scene and have recently purchased a 1993 ZXR250C. It's a great bike, but the previous owner had only done 200kms on it in the past 2 years, and I think it's in need of a good service.

First question:

Where do I buy oil filters, air filters etc for this bike from? Can I get them from Repco, or do only bike shops sell these parts?

Second Question:

What is the best oil to put in the bike? The service manual recommends SAE 10w40, 15w40 or 20w50. Can I use a good car oil like magnatec, or is there something specific for motorcycles you can recommend?

Now, I am going to do the above work myself, as I took all the fairings and other parts off on the weekend, and it doesnt look too hard. However I am going to get the bike checked out by a good bike shop and find out what other problems the bike might have. I believe it needs the carbs/jets cleaned. What sort of money am I looking at to have this done?

And one more question! LOL:

There is a fairly loud rattle on startup and idle, it dissapears when the revs are higher. I thought possibly the chain, but of course at the time that this rattle is happening the chain isnt moving, so kind of rules that out.

All your help is appreciated.

Thanks

Rory

[Ragingrob]

Hello and welcome :)

Oil and air filters are best bought from MC shops I don't think Repco would have them at all because they are specific to each and every bike,

From what I've heard, definitely use MC oil as opposed to car oil, there must be some difference, and there are a lot of opinions on how synthetic you want your oil due to clutch slipping etc.

For the last question I'm not too sure, let alone for the first two haha! It could still be the chain I guess, check how much slack it has i.e. there should be about 20-30mm movement of the chain up and down halfway between the sprockets. If it's slack enough it could be sitting on swing-arm and cause a slight rattle.

Lol that's my input, it's not worth too much as I'm learning everything too but at least I tried :2thumbsup

Rob.

[FilthyLuka]

Where do I buy oil filters, air filters etc for this bike from? Can I get them from Repco, or do only bike shops sell these parts?



Get em from a bike shop, repco suck as a general rule



Second Question:

What is the best oil to put in the bike? The service manual recommends SAE 10w40, 15w40 or 20w50. Can I use a good car oil like magnatec, or is there something specific for motorcycles you can recommend?



Im a big castrol fan, GTX 20-50 is the standard for thumpers with high milage, but i recon you would be better for with castrol GTX 15-40 modern. There use to be something called castrol GTX2, but its been renamed, one of the other guys on here should be able to remember what it is.



Now, I am going to do the above work myself, as I took all the fairings and other parts off on the weekend, and it doesnt look too hard. However I am going to get the bike checked out by a good bike shop and find out what other problems the bike might have. I believe it needs the carbs/jets cleaned. What sort of money am I looking at to have this done?


depends on where you go. There is a mechanic up here in auckland that will be able to professionally tune your carbs for about $200. Dunno bout stuff in welly though.




And one more question! LOL:

There is a fairly loud rattle on startup and idle, it dissapears when the revs are higher. I thought possibly the chain, but of course at the time that this rattle is happening the chain isnt moving, so kind of rules that ou


Could be camchain, could be loose mounting bolts, could be alot of stuff. Invest in a torque wrench and a manual, go and tighten up the engine and exhaust mounting bolts properly.

[boostin]

Hi Guys (and girls),

I am relatively new to the motorbike scene and have recently purchased a 1993 ZXR250C. It's a great bike, but the previous owner had only done 200kms on it in the past 2 years, and I think it's in need of a good service.

First question:

Where do I buy oil filters, air filters etc for this bike from? Can I get them from Repco, or do only bike shops sell these parts?

Second Question:

What is the best oil to put in the bike? The service manual recommends SAE 10w40, 15w40 or 20w50. Can I use a good car oil like magnatec, or is there something specific for motorcycles you can recommend?

Now, I am going to do the above work myself, as I took all the fairings and other parts off on the weekend, and it doesnt look too hard. However I am going to get the bike checked out by a good bike shop and find out what other problems the bike might have. I believe it needs the carbs/jets cleaned. What sort of money am I looking at to have this done?

And one more question! LOL:

There is a fairly loud rattle on startup and idle, it dissapears when the revs are higher. I thought possibly the chain, but of course at the time that this rattle is happening the chain isnt moving, so kind of rules that out.

All your help is appreciated.

Thanks

Rory

Generally you would get oil and filter from a bike shop, but I often get just oil from Supercheap because it is closer. They do stock a limited amount of M/C oil's.

As for the rattle, it could be the cam chain. It is common on ZXR's as the km's get up there.

[RSrider]

Thanks for the quick replies. The bike has only done 14,000kms. Which I assume is relatively low for a 4 stroke 250. As I said though, it hasnt been serviced for a while so is in need of one.

Can anyone recommend a bike shop in welly to take it to? Motorad are the kawasaki dealers in Wellington, and they are just down the road from work, so this is probably where I will take it.

[hellnback]

I would say the rattle is your cam chain tensioner....


Seriously, even a monkey could do it. I was a mechanical noob when I had to do it on my 250. You cant break it.

Basically there's two bolts to undo. Because there's a spring inside, you need to keep pressure on top of the thing before you finish undoing the bolts, then you can release slowly.
Inside, you'll see the plunger (the rod that effectively pushes on the cam chain), around the plunger is a bearing. In between the plunger and the casing you just unbolted is a spring (which provides the force against the plunger and onto the cam chain).
What happened with mine is the plunger became pitted by the bearing, so the bearing would not let the plunger move freely inside it. Which would result in a loss of tension, and the rattling that comes with it.

You can take it apart and put it back together. It's not going to leak oil or anything. Get in there and have a go.

[Squiggles]

Cam chain tensioner will look similar to this (attached), although many dont have that bolt sticking out the side

Plastic/metal bit on top is usually removed to reveal a screwhead you twist to wind up the tensioner before reinserting it

[randyp]

Hey this helps me as well,i recently bought myself a ZXR250 as my first bike. The bike itself had been sitting for at least twelve months and would not start. Cleaned the carbs, changed the oil filter and oil and got the bike tuned and it seems to go a treat (until the other day, another problem to diagnose and fix).

Mine also has that rattling sound so it is good to know it is nothing too serious. Is it normal for it to be rattling most of the time in all gears?

cheers all

[skidMark]

First question:

Where do I buy oil filters, air filters etc for this bike from? Can I get them from Repco, or do only bike shops sell these parts?


bike shops only, air filter could be a hard one to track down, just give it a clean.

Second Question:

What is the best oil to put in the bike? The service manual recommends SAE 10w40, 15w40 or 20w50. Can I use a good car oil like magnatec, or is there something specific for motorcycles you can recommend?

motul 5100 do not use car engine oil as bikes share engine oil with gearbox/clutch.....car engine oil has additives that will make your clutch slip like a bastard. i used silkolene bike oil but it does make clutches slip a bit.....motul 5100 ive found is the best...

change your oil and filter every 4,000km's

Now, I am going to do the above work myself, as I took all the fairings and other parts off on the weekend, and it doesnt look too hard. However I am going to get the bike checked out by a good bike shop and find out what other problems the bike might have. I believe it needs the carbs/jets cleaned. What sort of money am I looking at to have this done?

easy enough to do yourself dude, a bike shop will probably charge 200-300 for this due to the amount of labour involved. will be less if you take the fairings etc off as you say. if you end up foing it yourself be careful where you line up the clamps onto the rubber intakes between the carbs and head if you get the clamps wrong the get stuck in mechanisms and won't let you go full throttle.
And one more question! LOL:

There is a fairly loud rattle on startup and idle, it dissapears when the revs are higher. I thought possibly the chain, but of course at the time that this rattle is happening the chain isnt moving, so kind of rules that out.

it's your cam chain/ tensioner...
some people will say just replace the tensioner blade.
replace the chain also or you are wasting your time, how many km's has the bike done?, if more than or nearing 40,000 k's and hasn't been done already do it now...chances are if it's around 40-50k it hasn't been done. most bike shops will charge all up $400-$500 for this.


it must be done or it will all turn to shit, either snapping....or will get too loose and eat a hole through your rocker cover. $100 from a wrecker if this happens.

hope that helps dude.

Mark.

[skidMark]

hanggg on 14,000k's and the cam chain is rattling????!

i don't think so tim.

u sure it hasn't been wound back?

you will hear it a bit even if it's okay but it gets alot louder when they are shagged.....stand 4-5 metres away from the bike on the other side while it's idling.
if you can still hear the rattling then it's buggered.

[RSrider]

As far as I can tell it hasnt been wound back. Odometer read 11,000kms when it came into the country in 2004. At the end of 2006 it had done 13,900 and now it's done 14,500kms.

Of course it could have been wound back in Japan, the general condition of the bike to me indicates it wouldnt have done more than 14,000kms, but then again i'm far from a bike expert.

I replaced the oil and filter today, used Motul 5100, funnily enough Mark, the guy from Motorad recommended it as the best oil for it too. I'm going to attempt to clean the float bowls tomorrow and run a petrol treatment through it also.

[bungbung]

First question:

Where do I buy oil filters, air filters etc for this bike from? Can I get them from Repco, or do only bike shops sell these parts?


bike shops only, air filter could be a hard one to track down, just give it a clean.

Supercheap is selling an abbreviated range of filters. Oil filters made by hiflofiltro available for the zxr250. They also have bike specific oils.

[randyp]

Hey there,

Just reading about what you were saying about the shared oil between the engine and clutch. My bikes clutch seems to slip. alot. Usually when under load between 1st and second and in the higher revs of the higher gears. I et to about 12,000 in 6th and then it feels as though the clutch just loses all grip and the bike appears to rev freely. Just wondering if it is the clutch or possibly the oil, i think i'm using castrol synthetic based gpx 4 stroke motorbike oil.

thanks all

[bungbung]

It is unlikely to be the oil if it is a motorcycle specific oil.
Either your clutch needs adjusting, or is worn.

[FilthyLuka]

Hey there,

Just reading about what you were saying about the shared oil between the engine and clutch. My bikes clutch seems to slip. alot. Usually when under load between 1st and second and in the higher revs of the higher gears. I et to about 12,000 in 6th and then it feels as though the clutch just loses all grip and the bike appears to rev freely. Just wondering if it is the clutch or possibly the oil, i think i'm using castrol synthetic based gpx 4 stroke motorbike oil.

thanks all

Your clutch cable most likely needs to be adjusted. wind the wheely adjusty thingie on the bar in. There should be a couple mm of freeplay in the clutch thats just cable slack. Adjust it and see if that helps. If not you might need to look at your clutch springs and some other internal doowhackies

[steak]

Hey,
It's time for me to change the oil in my gsx250. After reading this thread and a couple of others like it I have decided to use Motul 5100. Does anyone know where is a good place in Christchurch to buy the stuff?