zxr400 wont start

[lewisdale]

hello, everybody, i recently bought a g reg zxr400 as a non runner, the bloke i got it off told me it had no spark and he has replaced the coils etc, so i got it home and checked the spark, there was one but it was a bit weak!!! after a bit more tinkering i found that the fuel pipes were the wrong way round, so i swapped them over and it soon fired into life, great, however after all that i went to the bike today but it wont start, the spark is there but still weak, it fired every now and again but wouldnt start, even tried easy start!! i thought that id check the magneto and alternator but when i went to remove the casing it was full of oil so i didnt bother taking it off, just tightened it bk up, is this supposed to be full of oil? as i havent come across this before,usually it means crank seals have gone?? obviously if this isnt supposed to be like this that will effect the timing,spark etc? pls help me out lol

[zimm]

genny cover is meant to be full of oil .. weird i know.. but true.

if its not obviously crispy windings or cracked magnets im afraid you'll have to get her started in order to check the output.

[lewisdale]

so are the windings and magnets in oil then?

[masterofinsanity]

yep supposed to be, nothing to worry about. first thing i would do is put a set of new plugs in! then we'll go from there.

[lewisdale]

its had plugs,what about ignition timing?

[masterofinsanity]

what about the battery, how old, what condition?

[lewisdale]

well the battery seems ok, i did flatten it today though so i got a car battery and was jump starting off that, had plenty of power, spinning the engine over quickly

[lewisdale]

i did notice earlier that when i took the plugs out cylinder 1 had a s*it load of petrol init, i spun the engine over with the plug out and it literally sprayed out!! the other 3 wasnt like this

[zimm]

plugs foul really easily on zxr's ..

whip 'em out, clean them, dry them, heat them up pop them back in and jump start it off a car (car doesnt need to be running) should spin it dead quick and get her to catch .. full choke NO throttle.

[lewisdale]

ok cheers mate, the plugs are the split fire type, are theses the right ones?

[zimm]

throw them away and fit NGK CR9EK or CR9E plugs, splitfire are crap and i've heard nothing but bad things about them.

[lewisdale]

ok mate ill try that,thanks, do you think thats the problem then? is has been sat for about 6 months, ive put fresh petrol in it too so maybe once it starts it might need a good thrash to clear it out? could be half the problem maybe?

[lewisdale]

right, got the cr9e plugs,havent managed to put them in yet though due to crappy weather, hopefully tomorrow will be better, does anyone else have anyother ideas on what to check for at the same time?

[masterofinsanity]

check there are no breaks in the Ht leads.

[lewisdale]

there brand new, lol, i didnt know at the time but i just looked on here and the blokes advertised it on here as a non runner for £1100,nutter lol