www.zxrworld.co.uk

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0159018582

After talking to 'Superman' he said this....

just thought mate look into this if you bid on that bike but i think after 20 thousand the head might need changing you might wana run that through the forum Rob B or Baz will know exactly

Can anyone shed any light on this?

It's quite close to me Leicester well 1 hour or so drive. FSH seems to have had lots done on it, but don't want to buy if it needs work doing almost immediatley.


Thanks

best to change the head gasket at 20,000 as its known to go around then.

Bugger.

That's a ball ache of a job! Did that on the zzr a few months back. Not expensive to do but very time consuming.

Seems a small mileage to have to change a head gasket? Purely gong off cars doing 90k+ sort of mileage before needing one.

looks in good nick wonder what the reserve is, still got the original can on so probably a sensible owner who's not thrashed it, just check see if its had a head gasket done at all cos it'll probably go soon. like the zx6 mirrors they go well.

jigga1980 wrote:Bugger.

That's a ball ache of a job! Did that on the zzr a few months back. Not expensive to do but very time consuming.

Seems a small mileage to have to change a head gasket? Purely gong off cars doing 90k+ sort of mileage before needing one.

so's changeing the oil ever 3,000 miles, cam chain every 30,000, new tyers every 3,000 miles ect ect

Fact is its a sports bike not a BMW 5 series thats been built around reliability. If you want a bike that wont need alot of looking after then get a GS500! Focused sports bikes are always going to need alot more looking after than less focused bikes. Same if you buy a ferrari!

jigga1980 wrote:Bugger.

Seems a small mileage to have to change a head gasket? Purely gong off cars doing 90k+ sort of mileage before needing one.

cars rev to 7000 rpm bikes rev to 14000 rpm (approx gen average) might have something to do with it.

Mind you once it's done it will be years till it needs doing again in theory.

Asked him about the head gasket.

deepends on your milage!

i was lucky with my zxr i brought it at 15,000 and decided that id run it into the ground (was a shiter). So i didnt bother replaceing the head gasket. i sold the bike with 38,000 on the clocks and it was fine.

Guess i was lucky as everyone else always says they go after 20,000

Well I've done about 3500 miles this year so far. Ironically missed out a few months as my head gasket had gone on the zzr, although it wasn't apparent at first. Would imagine to at least the same amount if not more next year. Also the weather has been rubbish too.

to paraphrase Caz on another thread...

"where exactly in the service manual does it say 'replace head gasket after 20,000 miles'?"

there's all sorts of things that can go wrong with bikes of all mileages. mine ate a cam follower (and then camshaft) at 11k miles. I've not encountered anyone else who it's happened to (I don't think).

Even considering them as having a finite life, how the bike's been ridden and maintained must introduce a tolerance of tens of thousands of miles to that - ride like a fool and don't top up the coolant and I bet you can pop one in a lot less than 20k.

Mine's currently on about 17k. Needless to say I wont be approaching the next 3000 miles with a feeling of dread.

As already stated how the bike has been treated makes a big difference.

Looks good to me, that side light in the headlights is a mod tho, thats not standard! And the brake light looks like its on

Best thing to do with any bike is request to see and test ride it. Have a good listen to the motor and follow the buyers guide on the main site. Its near by and you have nothing to loose by looking and taking it for a test ride.

FFS! please find me ANY document that states the head gasket on ANY engine is a consumable! it doesnt wear like a brake pad or chain. Do you actually know the function of the head gasket? it's a seal between the head and the block... nothing else.... Do you replace any of the other seals on your bike?
Yes, the cam chain needs replacing - that is because it is doing work every rpm, hence it will wear.

Other things are going to cause the headgasket to go... typically starting with poor maintenance. How many of you change your coolant every couple of years like you are supposed to?

A well maintained bike with 20,000 on the clocks (with evidence of regular fluid changes) is a much better buy than one wiht 8,000 on the clocks but has been kept by someone who doesnt have a clue and doesnt care about maintaining it.

Sorry for the rant......

Caz wrote:FFS! please find me ANY document that states the head gasket on ANY engine is a consumable! it doesnt wear like a brake pad or chain. Do you actually know the function of the head gasket? it's a seal between the head and the block... nothing else.... Do you replace any of the other seals on your bike?
Yes, the cam chain needs replacing - that is because it is doing work every rpm, hence it will wear.
Sorry for the rant......

deviant wrote:
"where exactly in the service manual does it say 'replace head gasket after 20,000 miles'?"

here........................

PMSL

It went for £1800, I was bidding £1850 but it took ages to confirm the bid, combo of crappy ebayness and my connection being hogged.

Still not in any rush. My mate said if it was him he would buy one with the head gasket gone so fixing it himself he know's it's been done properley with decent parts. In the case of my zzr the engine was bought seperate as it was a rebuild. The person hadn't put the engine together correctley, specifically the head bolts weren't tightened in the right order hence it leaking.

I just remember it took ages but having said that we did valve clearances and also cleaned all the parts which took a long time. Probably a days work in total.

Sort of agree with him there, while it would be nice to buy a bike that just works as I have one already it's no problem if it needs work doing. Just with the zzr it was my first bike and having to faff around for months replacing parts etc wasn't what I wanted.