2 stroke - Couple of issues

**Marlov** · 24th December 2014, 14:18

Hi gents

I'm new to riding and have just bought a Kawasaki KRR 150. Initially I thought I got it cheap, but after the first few days of ownership I'm beginning to wonder...

First problem is it pisses (blue) 2 stroke oil after a ride. All over the expansion chamber:

http://i.imgur.com/HYnDPG7.jpg?1

And all over the ground. This was taken 2 mins after I turned it off - the puddle was 5x bigger half an hour later:

http://i.imgur.com/vSvCYrV.jpg?1

Am I right in saying it's probably coming from the oil pump? I degreased this area above the front sprocket before taking it for a ride. Came back and it was slick again:

http://i.imgur.com/Z0nxVU5.jpg?1

If it is the oil pump - is it an easy fix?

Next issue is she cuts out about 10 mins after riding. I'll be cruising along happy as and then it will just completely cut and I'll have to kick start the fucker 20-30 times before she cranks over again. Once it starts doing this it needs to be kickstarted every 1km or so. I have changed the spark plug - the old one was very black and oily... With the new one the problem persisted. I have blanked off part of the radiator to get the temp up (successfully) but its still cutting out:

http://i.imgur.com/uREgJuy.jpg?1

Am I right in saying issue #2 is carb/choke related. My choke is stuck in the up position (is this choke on??).

http://i.imgur.com/kr04lKr.jpg?2

I can hold the choke to the down position but it reverts upwards as soon as I take my hand away. Is it flooding? Doesn't seem to blow too much smoke but it did when I initially test rode it. Worth taking the carb apart??

Alternatively could a weak battery be to blame?

Hard to fix issue #2 when the bike is practically unrideable due to issue #1

Any advice would be much appreciated.

**pete376403** · 24th December 2014, 18:54

the choke plunger should be down for normal operation (ie up for cold starting) The knob is attached to a brass plunger that opens/closes a passage to allow in extra fuel. You should be able to unscrew the choke mech from the carb body and investigate why it's not remaining down. Should be a detent of some sort to keep in it place.

This might help - its for a KR150 (rather than KRR150 ) http://www.scribd.com/doc/30455888/K...-parts-catalog scroll down to the carb pages and have a look

**Racey Rider** · 24th December 2014, 19:35

The cutting out after ten minutes could be the fuel tank vent being blocked. This would stop the fuel getting to the carb as it should as it creates a vacuum in the fuel tank. When it happens again open and close the fuel cap and see if it then starts straight away, and then runs for another ten minutes.

Your choke pic is hard to see it. if it's a lever type on the KRR, then pushing the lever down will pull the choke plunger up. so working as it should perhaps.

Your oil leak could just be a crack in a oil line. Get in there and pull it all apart. there not much to it on these bikes, and it all good learning.

The bike won't need a battery at all to run.

Racey.

**Marlov** · 12th January 2015, 12:32

Thanks guys, you were both spot on.

The breather tube was indeed blocked.

The oil leak was caused by a split connection on the crankcase oil hose from the oil pump. A new oil line ($95 from kawasaki... ouch) and she was good as gold. Thanks to the red baron guys for their help fitting it.

So both of my original problems have been resolved, but as is sometimes the case with DIY I think I have created a much bigger issue.

I left the fuel tap on over the holidays and returned to find 2l of petrol/oil in the crankcase/transmission. I flushed it out and chucked in some new high quality transmission oil and all seemed well.

However on a ride yesterday the transmission started playing up big time. I initially couldn't get it into 2nd gear, then got stuck in first, then finally managed to get it into 3rd and limped it home with it in that gear.

Now the bike rarely wants to go into first, and if it does it will slip into neutral soon after getting moving and wont find another gear after.

I have drained out the oil once again and its pretty bung. It smells of petrol and there's gold flakes (!!) scattered through it. Replacing it with new stuff has done nothing to resolve the problem.

So what's the likelihood I've binned the transmission??

**Tazz** · 12th January 2015, 13:33

Originally Posted by Marlov

So what's the likelihood I've binned the transmission??

http://www.indra.com/cgi-bin/spikes-8-ball

**eelracing** · 12th January 2015, 20:09

Originally Posted by Marlov

I left the fuel tap on over the holidays and returned to find 2l of petrol/oil in the crankcase/transmission. I flushed it out and chucked in some new high quality transmission oil and all seemed well.

However on a ride yesterday the transmission started playing up big time. I initially couldn't get it into 2nd gear, then got stuck in first, then finally managed to get it into 3rd and limped it home with it in that gear.

Now the bike rarely wants to go into first, and if it does it will slip into neutral soon after getting moving and wont find another gear after.

I have drained out the oil once again and its pretty bung. It smells of petrol and there's gold flakes (!!) scattered through it. Replacing it with new stuff has done nothing to resolve the problem.

So what's the likelihood I've binned the transmission??

Where to start...Workshop manual,have you got one or can get one?...either way,get one

Crankcase filling up with petrol is a float height/sticking issue within the carburettor regardless of leaving the fueltap on...fix it.
Two stroke transmissions are separate from crankcase, if your gearbox oil is smelling of petrol then that sides crankcase seal is fucked.
When your bike was sitting,as well as filling up it's crankcase the petrol is leakin through this seal into the gearbox.
Consequently when bike is running it will be sucking some gearbox oil through into the crankcase.Makes for smokey exhaust & shit running bike.

Transmission binned???the above shouldn't effect gear changing.
Is the gearlever tight on the shaft?...are you using a motorcycle specific light gearbox oil?

Finally,how deep are your pockets?
It maybe an engine out and split to replace the seal (I don't know,it's a kwaka)so will be a good time to check out gearbox.

**Marlov** · 14th January 2015, 16:27

Originally Posted by eelracing

Where to start...Workshop manual,have you got one or can get one?...either way,get one

Crankcase filling up with petrol is a float height/sticking issue within the carburettor regardless of leaving the fueltap on...fix it.
Two stroke transmissions are separate from crankcase, if your gearbox oil is smelling of petrol then that sides crankcase seal is fucked.
When your bike was sitting,as well as filling up it's crankcase the petrol is leakin through this seal into the gearbox.
Consequently when bike is running it will be sucking some gearbox oil through into the crankcase.Makes for smokey exhaust & shit running bike.

Transmission binned???the above shouldn't effect gear changing.
Is the gearlever tight on the shaft?...are you using a motorcycle specific light gearbox oil?

Finally,how deep are your pockets?
It maybe an engine out and split to replace the seal (I don't know,it's a kwaka)so will be a good time to check out gearbox.

thanks for the comments, all very helpful.

Will get onto carb issue once the transmission is working. Thanks for info regarding crankcase seal - makes perfect sense for the symptoms I have witnessed.

I am using high quality motorcycle transmission oil which is the specified weight for my bike.

Can't find a manual unfortunately. I have one for the 250cc 2stroke of the same vintage which may help to some point. From what I have read online, krr150 manuals are rare as rocking horse shit. The parts diagram posted above may be of some use.

How deep are my pockets? Having owned shitbox cars in the past I'm very familiar with overcapitalisation. It's not that I can't afford to fix this bike, its a question of should I? Paying for labour is out of the question.

Parts seem ridiculously expensive for what they are (gear shifter mechanism is $200+ - just for 2 components controlled by the left foot). On that subject there is a lot of play between the two shifter linkages on my bike. I don't think this is causing the issue - it would cause vagueness/imprecision in the shift which I was aware of, but there is no limitation to the movement of these parts, therefore even if you have to move the worn components more to compensate for the wear, they will still turn the shifting shaft sufficiently to engage the next gear given a long enough crank on the shift lever... no gears are engaging so I am of the opinion the issue is internal.

Anyway, plan A is to try get some recourse out of the guy who sold me the thing. Having asked him were there any issues with the bike or had it been unreliable he unequivocally said no (total BS). Yes yes, buyer beware blah blah blah but there's one thing that irks me and it's dishonest assholes - so I am going to try appeal to his sense of decency.

Failing plan A, my old man rides dirtbikes and consequently has a lot of mates who like to tinker with stuff and are searching for excuses to get away from their wives during the evening. So dad's offered to strip the thing down, split the cases and have a look at what's going on inside the void. I can't see the cockhead who sold me the bike entertaining more than 1 phone call so this is probably the scenario I will run with. Hopefully should have her running in time for winter!

**zooter** · 19th January 2015, 08:34

On the bright side, you'll probably get more than your money's worth of education out of stripping it down with your old man and his mates.

Poorly running 2 stroke is a real minefield, not a learner friendly bike at all. As you have found, 1 little failure snowballs into complete destruction very quickly.

**Marlov** · 23rd March 2015, 17:08

Work has become crazy busy for dad and I so don't have the time to get this sorted. Anyone interested? Will suit someone who has the time and knowledge to fix. Alternatively good for parts.

Brand new rear tyre. Powervalve recently serviced. Engine pulls hard.

$500 takes it

**Yow Ling** · 25th March 2015, 14:43

Originally Posted by Marlov

Work has become crazy busy for dad and I so don't have the time to get this sorted. Anyone interested? Will suit someone who has the time and knowledge to fix. Alternatively good for parts.

Brand new rear tyre. Powervalve recently serviced. Engine pulls hard.

$500 takes it

Does this bike have wirespoked wheels or cast spoke wheels (mags)