1993 400 ZXR L3 in France - homemade engine stand done !

Here's a chance to show off your zxr400, so get them digital cameras out and show us some piccies.Rebuilding your bike or modding it then let everyone in on it.

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
yogiFrench
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:16 pm
My Bike: 400 ZXR L3

1993 400 ZXR L3 in France - homemade engine stand done !

Post by yogiFrench »

Hi everyone,

after the small usual "hello thread" on the forum I start a fresh thread regarding my new ZXR ... I suppose that you like to welcome people but hey, we are motorcycles addicts right ? So let's get straight to the point :excited

I'm the current owner of a nice GPZ (new motorcycle driver - got the license in april) and even if I really like this bike I already made 10 000 kms on it in just 4 months and I needed to try something new, small, but with better handling capabilities. As a good surprise, insurance for the ZXR is cheaper than for my GPZ ... so I started to look for a nice example of this bike but this is something very difficult to find in France.

I found it a few weeks ago in a big shop in Netherlands. 42 000 kms, stock, and a good price. So let's go for it :smt001. Here are the pics from the shop :

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

I said stock ... yeah I know, except for the carbon sticker on the fork and the bubble. I have a 700 kms drive back home this weekend so I will have time to discover the bike :smt003
Last edited by yogiFrench on Sun Mar 26, 2017 2:25 pm, edited 4 times in total.

Get a FREE EASY SHIM NOTESHEET to check all your valves clearance with ease :
---
http://gearsandcoffee.com/
---
User avatar
wilko
Posts: 50
Joined: Sat Aug 25, 2012 12:14 pm
My Bike: zxr400 L1 & R1 4c8
Location: north east

Re: 1993 400 ZXR L3 in France - stock

Post by wilko »

Thats a lovely looking bike, are you keeping it stock?
Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely, in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting ‘Holy toad, what a ride!
yogiFrench
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:16 pm
My Bike: 400 ZXR L3

Re: 1993 400 ZXR L3 in France - stock

Post by yogiFrench »

Thanks. Yes I will try to keep it stock, and now that the bike is at home I can see that this is worth it.

It is 100% original and it never fall, fairings in very good conditions except 2 minor details. The only things I will add in a few days are crash pads on the frame and on the swing arm (the last one will also serve as diabolos for the paddock stand).

Get a FREE EASY SHIM NOTESHEET to check all your valves clearance with ease :
---
http://gearsandcoffee.com/
---
yogiFrench
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:16 pm
My Bike: 400 ZXR L3

Re: 1993 400 ZXR L3 in France - stock

Post by yogiFrench »

The pictures seen in the first post of this thread came from the shop, so here are my first pictures of the ZXR back home. I removed the side fairings in order to make some verifications, one especially (I will explain just after). So here we go :

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

The bike is in very good condition, no visibles signs of "bad treatment" on frame, engine or what so ever. Because I had a "big big big big f****** rain session" when driving the bike back home, I made a big chain cleaning with the help of an Ipone cleaner. Very good product I must say, and Motul grease. Sorry for the chain looking "wet" but it needed a good protection and greasing.

The rear damper looks good, but I don't know at all if this can be the original damper : is it ? Is it an aftermarket damper ? If you have an opinion about this, you're welcome :)

Image

I made around 600 kilometers back home with the bike and everything was fine ... until the very end confuddled .

1/ Speedo cable broken :

I was driving the bike and check the speed, ok, then continues and 2 minutes later have a new speed check on the cluster and .... 0 kmh. Not very surprised as I know that Kawasaki speedo cables fail regularly. I had the same issue at 45 000 kms on my GPZ 500 S. Just go for a new cable that's all.

2/ Not so easy : rising engine TEMP 100 kms before the end

I was driving on the highway, 130 kmh, and no problems at all with engine temp since the very beginning. It was stable and low (first quarter). Suddenly, I saw the temperature rising slowly but ... surely. When reaching the beginning of the last quarter (I was not on the top RED line) I pulled over on a service area and cut the engine. Stop the bike, wait for 5 minutes ...

When coming back, I had a big PUDDLE of coolant under the bike :smt017. So so so ... scratching my head and starting to analyze things, I found that the coolant leaking comes from the overflow pipe of the coolant expansion bottle.

Remove the small plate over the radiator and open it : radiator half empty shocking !!!!! I wait during 15 minutes and buy a big bottle of water, then fill-in the radiator with running engine (to avoid temperature "chocks" with cold water). Everything back on and let's go. I had to check the gauge and refill the radiator the same way 5 times to finish the trip (had no choice, I know ...).

Each time, I fill-in the radiator, drive the bike during 20 kms with no problems then temperature starts to rise slowly and then pull over to fill in again.

3/ Coolant situation, informations I have and ... your opinion ??

I made a lot of research and here is what I saw on the bike and found on forums or websites.

First, I checked the bike with fairings out : no leakings. The whole engine is dry outside (no coolant or oil leakings), radiators also (both oil and coolant), checked the pipes, water pump area or drain plugs ... looks ok outside.

I found that the 400 ZXR with this age (42 000 kms) can have issues on the coolant system :

- Biggest problem can be a HEAD GASKET GONE
- Smaller problem can be a malfunctionning rad cap
- Smaller problem can be a malfunctionning thermostat

So here is what I have done to check the situation :

- Totally drained and flushed the coolant system, and filled-in with water (for tests)
- Made sure all bubbles where again by checking the bike and running the engine 30 seconds without rad cap
- Closed the system with the rad cap, and let the bike RUN AND REACH NORMAL OPERATING TEMPERATURE
- Gauge reached the middle and then the RAD FAN started to run.

Here is a picture of the gauge when the rad fan starts :

Image

At this point :

- When engine running without rad cap : no big or small bubbles coming
- When bike is running : no leakings at all
- Before starting the bike : overflow bottle on the side was filled in 1 cm below MAX level.
- With bike hot (fan) : the overflow tank is at MAX level
- With bike cooling down : overflow tank comes back at 1 cm below max level

MY CONCLUSION :

- With all my tests, I cannot conclude if the rad cap is bad or not : with such a small price for this part, I already oredered a BRAND NEW ONE (security !)
- I have no leakings outside the engine >> not a faulty base gasket under cylinders
- All pipes are hot when fan starts : so nothing is blocking the system.
- No bubbles coming with the engine running with rad cap removed >> seems not to be a HEAD GASKET

I must say I am afraid to say "oh it was just a small problems, everything's solved with a drain and refill". I know that 400 ZXR's are used to produce blown head gaskets with such a mileage (42 000 kms).

The bike has no white smoke at exhaust when running, but I know that perheaps a COMPRESSION TEST will be able to confirm if this is a HEAD GASKET PROBLEM or not ... what do you guys think after all my explanations ??? (sorry if I said too many things, try to be as precise as possible !!)

Get a FREE EASY SHIM NOTESHEET to check all your valves clearance with ease :
---
http://gearsandcoffee.com/
---
yogiFrench
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:16 pm
My Bike: 400 ZXR L3

Re: 1993 400 ZXR L3 in France - pics and head gasket help please

Post by yogiFrench »

Today, I was willing to better check my HG problem. I made a full coolant drain, filled in with water and made necessary things to remove air bubbles. Started the bike with an overflow tank with water level at "top". Drove the bike with nice weather and 30°c temperature. Drove it on highway (10 kms), small roads, and made a few stops to let the fan engage on approximatively 50 kms.

No troubles, temp gauge always on first quarter, just reached the middle when fan engages ... that's all. No leakings at all, no overflow from the side tank, ... Water level inside overflow tank was stable, just moved to 1cm below max level then came back when the bike was cold.

Only thing noticed after all this : I opened the rad cap and noticed that the water level was 2 centimeters below the top of the rad (cap seal limit). Perheaps the bike drank some of the water ... but it is not smoking at all.

Your advices / feedback ... ? :gamer winks
Last edited by yogiFrench on Sat Aug 22, 2015 5:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Get a FREE EASY SHIM NOTESHEET to check all your valves clearance with ease :
---
http://gearsandcoffee.com/
---
User avatar
RedexRobB
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 7212
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2002 7:37 pm
My Bike: ZXR400L3
Location: Ipswich, Suffolk

Re: 1993 400 ZXR L3 in France - pics and head gasket help please

Post by RedexRobB »

Keep an eye on it and see how it goes. May just have needed a flush n fresh coolant.
yogiFrench
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:16 pm
My Bike: 400 ZXR L3

Re: 1993 400 ZXR L3 in France - pics and head gasket help please

Post by yogiFrench »

RedexRobB, thanks for the feedback. I just installed the new rad cap and will do new tests with the bike, with eyes on the TEMP gauge.

Get a FREE EASY SHIM NOTESHEET to check all your valves clearance with ease :
---
http://gearsandcoffee.com/
---
yogiFrench
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:16 pm
My Bike: 400 ZXR L3

Re: 1993 400 ZXR L3 in France - fairings out and check (pics)

Post by yogiFrench »

Today was a "remove more parts from the bike" day ...

I just received new parts (speedo cable, front master cylinder rebuild kit, NGK sparks, ...) and so prepare the bike for a general check and cleaning before starting to work on it.

Good surprise, the bike is in very good condition. Not perfect, but could have been worse ... exhaust header is not so rusty, fairings are really good and the carbs and engine looks good.

A few pics of the situation :

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Brand new radiator cap (Kawasaki) also installed.

Get a FREE EASY SHIM NOTESHEET to check all your valves clearance with ease :
---
http://gearsandcoffee.com/
---
titi bzh
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Aug 03, 2014 9:04 pm
My Bike: ZXR 400 L2

Re: 1993 400 ZXR L3 in France - fairings out and check (pics)

Post by titi bzh »

Nice!

Thierry
yogiFrench
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:16 pm
My Bike: 400 ZXR L3

Re: 1993 400 ZXR L3 in France - fairings out and check (pics)

Post by yogiFrench »

No news about the ZXR since a few weeks but things have been done on the bike and it is running far better now. I noticed or had to deal with a few problems on the bike on the drive back home, so I decided to strip it down and make some maintenance on it before driving it more.

Diabolos installation to try my brand new rear paddock stand. I like the way it looks on this picture biggrin

Image

I started with the front master cylinder rebuild. The bike was braking fine in term of power, but the lever feeling was horrible and the lever did not come back on its neutral position correctly. I ordered a complete rebuild kit including :

- Piston
- Piston seal
- Spring
- Spring cup
- Circlip
- Dust seal

An easy job, except when you have to install the Piston seal ... very hard, and a big risk to damage either the piston or the seal.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Job done, and mater cylinder back on the bike !

Image

I also replaced my broken speedo cable by a brand new one :

Image

Image

Image

---
Aside of my workon the ZXR, I spent some time with my father to bring a 1990 750 GSXR back home. This bike was the last one he drove 15 years ago (a 1989 model exactly, white/red) and we had a good opportunity close to our home. And I also like this bike a lot :smt003 :smt003

Image

Image

Get a FREE EASY SHIM NOTESHEET to check all your valves clearance with ease :
---
http://gearsandcoffee.com/
---
yogiFrench
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:16 pm
My Bike: 400 ZXR L3

Re: 1993 400 ZXR L3 in France - fairings out and check (pics)

Post by yogiFrench »

Hi everyone,

close to one year of ownership with my ZXR 400 and it's been a while without giving news of this adventure :) !

The bike has been stored since last december at my parent's house as I was starting a new job and had no time to take care (or ride) the bike. But before going to bed, the motorcycle received more maintenance as I like to know what's the situation with a new bike.

As the bike had problems revving over 10,000 RPM, I removed the whole rank of carburetors and made a full verification.

Image

Image

Image

First thing : I discovered the real size of a valve on this engine. This is so fuc**** small :smt003 !! I don't imagine what it's like on the 250cc ZXR ...

Carbs opening, and control of everything :

Image

Image

Very good surprise to see that first of all, the bike is not equiped with a shitty DYNOJET Kit or something else.

Then a cereful look at the parts makes me happy : this is all Kawasaki original and all jets (main, idle, ...) have the right factory size. Gooodd !

But in the end, this is not helpful for understanding why the bike does not rev as expected. And here comes the time where I do a big "rookie" mystake. You'll understand later why, thanks to the job done on my father's 750 GSXR.

I plan to install brand new spark plugs on all cylinders to help the bike revving and after a careful carbs reassembly, I moved on the VALVES CLEARANCES checking (next post).

Get a FREE EASY SHIM NOTESHEET to check all your valves clearance with ease :
---
http://gearsandcoffee.com/
---
yogiFrench
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:16 pm
My Bike: 400 ZXR L3

Re: 1993 400 ZXR L3 in France - new pics & more maintenance

Post by yogiFrench »

Next to the carburetors it was time to check all VALVE CLEARANCES on the engine as everything was already out. I removed the valve cover without major difficulties (good !) and removed the timing cover. It is necessary to find the right crankshaft position. I planed to change the O-ring on the cam chain tensioner also, and check the tensioner ...

We have to remember that this thing can rev up to around 15,000 RPM, this is not nothing !

Image

Image

Image

Image

To help me find the right new SHIMS, I used a NOTESHEET of my creation :

Image

Image

Image

In the end, I decided to create a NOTESHEET to share publicly with everyone, here is a view of this notesheet :

Image

You can click on the image to get on the website and download it for FREE, it is available for 2 and 4 valves per cylinder !

I had to finish the job by swapping 5 or 6 SHIMS only. But the main problem was elsewhere ...

The main problem was "put the mother fuc***g cam chain tensioner back in place" !!!!!! I checked it and it was in good condition, installed the brand new O-ring and ... spent a lot of time understanding how to lock it. If you don't follow the procedure, you simply can't reinstall it.

Image

In fact the procedure is well described, but the way and depth you have to reach with the tensioner back in is really disturbing and I spent something like an hour before finishing the job on it :smt019

But hey, that's done !

I finished to rebuild the bike with a brand new set of crash pads coming from UK. Good product, and a good idea as the bike had none before.

Image

Image

Image

All fairings are OEM and in good condition, it will be sad to fall without them ...

Get a FREE EASY SHIM NOTESHEET to check all your valves clearance with ease :
---
http://gearsandcoffee.com/
---
yogiFrench
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:16 pm
My Bike: 400 ZXR L3

Re: 1993 400 ZXR L3 in France - new pics & more maintenance

Post by yogiFrench »

Hi everyone,

it has been a long time without stuff done on this motorcycle but now has come the time to start a real big maintenance on the engine and the brakes.

I started to put a lot of parts off the bike a few months back, especially the engine, and started to prepare the maintenance but there was tons of stuff to manage on the side of it. Now I moved in my new place and serious work starts !

Here are some pictures in my previous garage when I started the job :

Image

Image

Image

The biggest job will be on the engine, and I don't want to work on it just dropped on 2 wood blocks, in the ground dust and other stuff. So I need an engine stand to work properly !

I will try to start with a few pictures of it as I draw a stand that I want easy to realize : there will be no welding on it and it will be made from wood & steel.

I hope pictures will help others doing a stand on a budget too.

Get a FREE EASY SHIM NOTESHEET to check all your valves clearance with ease :
---
http://gearsandcoffee.com/
---
User avatar
banner001
Track day God
Track day God
Posts: 2585
Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2011 3:27 pm
My Bike: ZXR400 L4
Location: Nuneaton

Re: 1993 400 ZXR L3 in France - new pics & more maintenance

Post by banner001 »

looking good!
UK ZXR400 L3 (1993) - Fully restored and on the roads, my green beast!
JPN ZXR250 A2 (1990) - Revs to 19,200rpm... 'nuff said :smt003
yogiFrench
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:16 pm
My Bike: 400 ZXR L3

Re: 1993 400 ZXR L3 in France - homemade engine stand done !

Post by yogiFrench »

Finally, my homemade engine stand for the ZXR 400 is done and works great :)

As I explained, the purpose of the stand was to try work clean and easy on my engine as I don't want to work on my knees just on the ground in the dust. I'm pissed of working like this on cars and motorcycles ...

So I saw a few stands on the internet and decided to go the way "without" weldings. Here are the pics of the job done and engine installed on it :

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

The two mains posts are taking all the engine wait while the steel flat bars running at 45 degrees are here to help maintain everything in position and avoid the engine to rotate due to its own center of gravity. So those bars don't need to be "oversized".

Hope it will help some of you to create one if necessary !

And oh by the way, the great stuff is that compared to a welded one, it can be dismantled and stored in a corner of the garage for the next use. Great :)

Get a FREE EASY SHIM NOTESHEET to check all your valves clearance with ease :
---
http://gearsandcoffee.com/
---
Post Reply