Kawasaki Balius having trouble

[mjrulesall]

I bought a 1992 Kawasaki Balius a few days ago with (for those of you who may not be familiar with the bike) the same engine as a ZXR250C. It has been running very well until today when I hopped on after work to go home and experienced a couple of problems. Firstly I went to start it and when I pressed the starter the motor clicked over a couple of times but as soon as I applied the throttle something happened (maybe a fuse blew?) and the starter motor no longer worked. After that I push-started it and that was fine, but after about 30 seconds it started to bunny-hop a little bit. This got worse, until I figured I must've run out of petrol and stopped it and walked to fill it up. After that the same thing happened again, but this time I kept driving in the hopes of getting it home to have a good look at what was going on. It just got worse, with the engine not revving higher than 6000rpm and the bike spurting forward and then losing all of its power again and again. Eventually I stopped it and walked it home because it was bucking around so much.
Does anyone have any idea what the problem might be? The things that I have condisered are: a faulty battery, bad spark plug/s, a clog in the air filter, a problem with the carburretors (which were given a "super clean" by Norjo's 10000km ago) or the fuel line, a wiring problem, or something else I don't know about. Any advice would be hugely appreciated.
Sorry for the length of the post!

[Ixion]

Doe sthe starter motor work now?

If not, I'd be looking at either the battery or, more probably , it's connections. Especially the main earth .

The 'bunny hopping" may be because, if the battery is out of circuit the engine has to run directly off the current generate dby the alternator, which is not smooth.

Look at getting starter motor working, and headlights etc. Odds are the other stuff will go away.

It is also possible your charging circuit is munted (dead rec/reg probably) and the battery is just running flat.

[hayd3n]

I bought a 1992 Kawasaki Balius a few days ago with (for those of you who may not be familiar with the bike) the same engine as a ZXR250C. It has been running very well until today when I hopped on after work to go home and experienced a couple of problems. Firstly I went to start it and when I pressed the starter the motor clicked over a couple of times but as soon as I applied the throttle something happened (maybe a fuse blew?) and the starter motor no longer worked. After that I push-started it and that was fine, but after about 30 seconds it started to bunny-hop a little bit. This got worse, until I figured I must've run out of petrol and stopped it and walked to fill it up. After that the same thing happened again, but this time I kept driving in the hopes of getting it home to have a good look at what was going on. It just got worse, with the engine not revving higher than 6000rpm and the bike spurting forward and then losing all of its power again and again. Eventually I stopped it and walked it home because it was bucking around so much.
Does anyone have any idea what the problem might be? The things that I have condisered are: a faulty battery, bad spark plug/s, a clog in the air filter, a problem with the carburretors (which were given a "super clean" by Norjo's 10000km ago) or the fuel line, a wiring problem, or something else I don't know about. Any advice would be hugely appreciated.
Sorry for the length of the post!


plugs/plug , leads/lead or coils/coil

[mjrulesall]

Brilliant, yeah I think it must be a lack of power as well, because I have just figured out that it is far worse when the revs are low than when they are high, and I'm guessing that higher revs mean more power output through the alternator to power the engine?
Thanks very much for your help! I'm going to take it apart tomorrow and have a really good look at all the connections, and if that doesn't help I'll take it to Norjo's.

[mjrulesall]

Oh and no the starter motor still isn't working, but the lights in the speedo etc. work when I put the key in. However when I'm riding the headlight is very dim and afterwards the light in the speedo etc. are gone.

[hayd3n]

regulator/rectifier
and note its one unit not 2

[hayd3n]

Oh and no the starter motor still isn't working, but the lights in the speedo etc. work when I put the key in. However when I'm riding the headlight is very dim and afterwards the light in the speedo etc. are gone.

have you tried another battery to see if the starter works??
or charge your battery??
dont ride it around too much or you can do more damage and it will cost more moolah

[Jerry74]

My Balius did exactly the same and I got it from Norjo's too .. it was the voltage rectifier which they fixed free of charge.

Mine kept cutting out and I got sick of crash starting it.

Quite common on the Kawasaki of that age..

[skidMark]

There is a balance hose setup that plugs onto top of carb...take off take and check this is on...

Also check all your vacuum lines off the intake manifolds that run up to the fuel tap...

It could also be an issue with your handlebar kill switch... the starter will not work if this is not working properly....

also check the wiring from the loom is into the back of your speedo... if it is off you will have problems with revving...

The starter having problems and then the motor not revving up is a strange one, you may have cooked your regulator/ rectifire...

If you want to check your fuses if it is the same as a zxr it should be a box with 2 plugs going into it ( about the size of 2 packs of cards) on the back there is a panel, pop it off and your fuses are in there...

Could also be a crook battery... do the indicators aetc work if you just turn the bike on...

Another long shot is the clutch switch... but i can't really see it relating to the rev out problem.

usually a rev out problem like that on zxr's is like i said earlier in the post, the balance hose setup on top of the airbox.

Let me know how ya go, and i can try help ya nut it out from there.

[motorbyclist]

^listen to skidmark - he speaks from experience with these bikes (or atleast the zxr250) so should know what he's talking about :)

definitely sounds weird enough to be electrical though


higher revs mean more power output through the alternator to power the engine?

yep, bang on


so just don't slow down and you'll be sweet:2thumbsup

[mjrulesall]

Thanks everyone for all your advice and help! It is very strongly appreciated.
I just put a multimeter across the battery and found that it has 12.4 or so volts, which sounds about right or maybe a little under I think? The ZXR manual says 12.8 volts or so should be normal anyway. So would that mean that it isn't the rectifier or anything? Forgive me for my ignorance, I don't actually know what the regulator and rectifier do, I'm just assuming that if they were out then the battery would be low on charge. Can anyone confirm that?
However I think it is definitely an electrical problem - the indicators and other lights seem weak when I just turn the bike on.
Oh and also haha I've got the fuse box, but I can't get it open! SkidMark, is there a secret switch or something? Or do you just pull on one end with pliers? Once again please excuse my ignorance!
Right I've got another battery to try now so I'll do that just in case.

[mjrulesall]

Forget that last question skidMark, it seems I was looking at the wrong box...:whistle:

[mjrulesall]

OK, the battery on the Balius has a charge of 12.5V. The other motorcycle battery that I tried originally had a charge of 12.84V, I hooked it up and the electric start worked straight away, and I stood there revving the bike for about 5 minutes (I couldn't drive it because the battery was too big to fit in the bike). When I stopped the bike and checked how much charge was on that battery I found that it had actually increased to 12.92V, which means (I'm assuming with no knowledge of these things) that the alternator and reg/rec are working well. However I noticed that the engine itself didn't sound as well as it used to. When I let it idle the revs stayed lower than they usually do, though that could be because the engine didn't get warm enough, and when I revved it it sounded a little more spluttery than I remember. Perhaps I should get a new battery (which the previous owner has just informed me needs to be done) and see whether driving it is any different? Is it possible for all of those problems to occur all of a sudden just because of an old battery?

[skidMark]

OK, the battery on the Balius has a charge of 12.5V. The other motorcycle battery that I tried originally had a charge of 12.84V, I hooked it up and the electric start worked straight away, and I stood there revving the bike for about 5 minutes (I couldn't drive it because the battery was too big to fit in the bike). When I stopped the bike and checked how much charge was on that battery I found that it had actually increased to 12.92V, which means (I'm assuming with no knowledge of these things) that the alternator and reg/rec are working well. However I noticed that the engine itself didn't sound as well as it used to. When I let it idle the revs stayed lower than they usually do, though that could be because the engine didn't get warm enough, and when I revved it it sounded a little more spluttery than I remember. Perhaps I should get a new battery (which the previous owner has just informed me needs to be done) and see whether driving it is any different? Is it possible for all of those problems to occur all of a sudden just because of an old battery?

Yep if it gained voltage ya reg/rec is fine, battery may have had a plate inside collapse etc...

Go buy another battery and ya should be fine...

Yeah wouldve been running crap because it was cold...

Get a new battery in her...

Will be on about 13.2 - 13.4 volts when fully charged with bike off...

When bike is running with a little bits of revs (maybe 4k or so) you will be getting about 14.7 volts coming out of the reg/rec.

God speed young padawan.:2thumbsup

[motorbyclist]

Forgive me for my ignorance, I don't actually know what the regulator and rectifier do

the reg/rec rectifies the AC current that your bike generates to DC and also regulates the voltage so that so that it can charge the battery and thus run everything on your bike

if it dies, the battery doesn't charge.



However I noticed that the engine itself didn't sound as well as it used to. When I let it idle the revs stayed lower than they usually do, though that could be because the engine didn't get warm enough, and when I revved it it sounded a little more spluttery than I remember.

well if it hasn't been run in a while the petrol could be getting old

if it's col it's going to be a bit slow

and if you're charging a huuuuge battery that might slow the revs a bit too




and yes, it is normal for headlights to get brighter when you rev the bike - they're getting moar volts for the same reason that a bike won't charge at idle. to charge the battery, take it for a ride.

i'd suggest buying that new battery

[xwhatsit]

and if you're charging a huuuuge battery that might slow the revs a bit too
Why's that.

Remembering motorcycle alternators are fixed-magnet types.

[motorbyclist]

Why's that.

Remembering motorcycle alternators are fixed-magnet types.

good point. i assumed an increased load would slow the motor like when jump starting a car with another car. of course a larger battery would be pretty negligible in either case.

i was/am sick/hungover so it seemed reasonable at the time :rolleyes:

[Ixion]

It is. EMF load is the same reagrdless of field type. Basically , electricty produced is energy. Energy produced, ahs to come from somewhere (otherwise you just invented the perpetual motion machine). Only place it can come from is the engine.

When the rotor coils rotate in the magnetic field electricity (EMF) is produced. But there is a reverse reaction that expresses as drag. The coils don't want to be moved through the field.

[xwhatsit]

It is. EMF load is the same reagrdless of field type. Basically , electricty produced is energy. Energy produced, ahs to come from somewhere (otherwise you just invented the perpetual motion machine). Only place it can come from is the engine.

When the rotor coils rotate in the magnetic field electricity (EMF) is produced. But there is a reverse reaction that expresses as drag. The coils don't want to be moved through the field.
But because of the fixed magnets, isn't it producing EMF whether something's drawing on that power or not?

Remembering I'm an analogue-electrical dumbarse.

[Ixion]

No circuit has to be complete. If the circuit is open, then no current flow.

[mjrulesall]

Alright! I got a new battery for the bike yesterday, put it in and went for a brilliant ride around the Port Hills with no problems at all last night. Thanks for your help everyone!!!