big shinny slug

1765 Views 18 Replies 2 Participants Last post by CB750F, Dec 13, 2007

mattd424

Discussion Starter · Dec 8, 2007

ok im back agin with yet another question.i got on my bike yesterday warmed her up and took her for a drive.i hot to the hill at the end of my road and there is a stop sign at an incline.when taking off the bike seemed to have lost power.i stalled the bike twice before i made it.so i got on my way back home playin with it the whole way and if i had to estimate ide say like a loss of 8 to 10 hp.well then at home i noticed oil leaking from a roughly 1/4 hole on top right side of motor.ive been reading up on motors for these bike hoping to learn to fix all of it myself so i thought ide come here and see what yall thought of my diagnosis.im thinking its a spark plug gasket.but even if i am right i still have 2 questions

1 would this be somthing for me to try for my first repair?

2 this ones really got me.would one of these make the bike run off like its seeming to?

i appreciate any feedback thankyou

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

CB750F

· #2 · Dec 8, 2007

They don't have spark plug gaskets per say, except a little metal ring on the bottom of the plug. To say where the leak is I would have to see the bike. If you are going to try and repair anything on your bike yourself the first thing I would buy would be a service amnual. You might want to have a friend who knows bikes be around also in case you get confused or lost.

A million things can make a bike stall and loose power,1 of them is bad spark plugs. Another is a vacuum leak (like around the carbs). This is one of those things that's going to be tough to diagnose through text.

G

· #3 · Dec 8, 2007

What you are saying is difficult to understand

mattd424 said:
ok im back agin with yet another question.i got on my bike yesterday warmed her up and took her for a drive.i hot to the hill at the end of my road and there is a stop sign at an incline.when taking off the bike seemed to have lost power.i stalled the bike twice before i made it.so i got on my way back home playin with it the whole way and if i had to estimate ide say like a loss of 8 to 10 hp.well then at home i noticed oil leaking from a roughly 1/4 hole on top right side of motor.ive been reading up on motors for these bike hoping to learn to fix all of it myself so i thought ide come here and see what yall thought of my diagnosis.im thinking its a spark plug gasket.but even if i am right i still have 2 questions

1 would this be somthing for me to try for my first repair?

2 this ones really got me.would one of these make the bike run off like its seeming to?

i appreciate any feedback thankyou

The description you gave is a little confusing. What MC is it (model/yr)? Is the spark plug missing? Are you seeing a gasket or just suspecting there is a gasket. If you could get a Pic of the problem area it would be helpful. Is the hole irregular shape, or uniform?

There are several preliminary checks you can perform. Check spark plug fit and torque (not loose). Check the plug itself to see if it is oil fouled. Check all plugs to assure thay are all the same brand and heat range. Check the oil level to see if the oil was over filled.

Since getting the MC have you changed the oil filter and oil? Did you do it correctly? Most older MC must be in a straight vertical position to correctly measure oil levels. Not uncommon to over fill if you had MC on side stand when filling. Have you had the air filter off?

Detail of what you have done to the MC recently will help.

Lots of possibilities, but need more clear detailed description

Ride safe & long,
Colorado Fats

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CB750F

· #4 · Dec 8, 2007

98 ZX-6R Kawasaki Ninja right? Sounds like there is a screw missing from the 1/4" hole on the top right side of the motor. There shouldn't be any holes in the top of the engine I don't think.

mattd424

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 8, 2007

yes thats the right bike 40 k on it recent valve job and tune up.all done by dealer.seems i have made a mistake getting names mixed up on the diagrams the name is a bearing cap gasket.the manual explain that when water or what not gets in this area that it will leak out this hole.since all were replaced was thinking oil is seaping out this hole maybe due to bad gasket part is in the cylinder head.i havent seen the gasket was just trying to see if i can diagnose a problem thru reading.the hole is a perfect circle no threads i can see but hole is very deep atleast 2 to 4 inches from what i can see

thank you for the quick responces

CB750F

· #6 · Dec 9, 2007

Still running rough?

mattd424

Discussion Starter · #7 · Dec 9, 2007

well i changed to plugs and it runs a little better.tho i dont run it long since i haft to put oil in everytime i start it.it idles fine nice and smooth.no bogging or anything on accel just seems.still doesnt feel like it used to.spark plugs are covered with oil on the plug side.maybe the oil is causing problems with the spark.

CB750F

· #8 · Dec 10, 2007

It could be shorting the plugs out. I think you need to find that leak before doing anything, including riding. If it's the valve cover (the part they took off to adjust the valves) then to me it would be the people who did the valves fault.

mattd424

Discussion Starter · #9 · Dec 10, 2007

well i decided to bite the bullet and take the bike back to the shop since trying to learn i dont think its a good idea to tear it apart.well i was in the right area for the gasket but there were a couple bad o rings and a gasket was leaking.he said all were replaced and showed me in there books were the had ordered them.he said eithier he put it in wrong or its a bad peice of rubber.well they r replacing all of em agin just to be sure.as for the power im unsure as of yet i took it down there on my trailer i get it back tomorrow afternoon.they are putting new plugs in agin so we will see.hopfully all is well i still wanna get the forks rebuilt and brakes done before i take my trip this year

CB750F

· #10 · Dec 11, 2007

I still think you found a good shop. If I had one of those near by I probably never would have learned to wrench on my own stuff.

Start out small with like oil changes and brakes. Buy a service manual and some good metric tools.

mattd424

Discussion Starter · #11 · Dec 11, 2007

i definatly haft to agree about the shop.i jst want to learn a little about my bike.i work on packaging machinery for a living.i can work on cars no problem but my bike im scared to touch.

CB750F

· #12 · Dec 11, 2007

They aren't much different than cars, same basic stuff applies.

mattd424

Discussion Starter · #13 · Dec 11, 2007

yeah but i can just imagine with my luxk snapping a cam or sumthin.lol

mattd424

Discussion Starter · #14 · Dec 12, 2007

ok update i got my bike back and its running perfect and much stronger i guess this repair was just outta my skill level for the moment.i do have a question tho.i ve been ridin alot today motor was spotless i get home and see smoke coming outta my front end.there is oil and dirt caked around the topside of the exhaust manifold.looks like its leaking from valve cover gasket.but i clean it all off and ride it and then no leak.i went to gas staion on it tonight before i goto bed and leak is back but alot less of a leak.my oil level hasnt really dropped and its running perfect it is possible the gasket hasnt seated or is it somthing that i should take the bike apart agin for?

thank you

CB750F

· #15 · Dec 12, 2007

If they just had that off it shouldn't be leaking. Something isn't right.

mattd424

Discussion Starter · #16 · Dec 12, 2007

yeah i guess i was just being hopfull.i stopped in there and they said they would do it no problem mechanic said its been a real bad week for him the 3 other ninjas hes had are now leaking.what im wondering is why its possibly leaking?are bikes like cars and not suppose to use silicone to seal them?they said its safe to drive until i can drop it of since oil is not really dropping but i dont know

CB750F

· #17 · Dec 12, 2007

It depends on how much it's leaking. I don't like to run a motorcycle much if it's leaking oil. Silicone isn't a good idea on motorcycles. It doesn't seem to work real well with rubber gaskets like motorcycle valve covers and so on. I use it on cars but only on paper gaskets and only a real real thin coat mainly just to hold the gasket there.

mattd424

Discussion Starter · #18 · Dec 12, 2007

i was thinking it probably wasnt a good idea.i took it in and they took it all apart with me there.they found it was a bad gasket uneven and cracking.that makes 3 new orings bad and 2 gaskets new that were bad.they showed me all of them to insure me they were not causing the problems.im wondering whats going on at these gasket companys.but they are fixing it for free.so i guess all is ok.just sux bikes been in shop more in past 2 months than ever has since it was new.guess i should have pid more attension to details when buying it.but all in all i still think its was a good deal.2500 40,000 miles i had to get valves done since they never were done before.fork rebuild and sprockets.o and a radiator hose.but the bike is a pefect it for me.2 to 3 hundred miles and im not sore or anything

CB750F

· #19 · Dec 13, 2007

I don't think you went wrong.

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