oil pan mod

[vinny]

Hi, I have just bought an 87 ZL 1000 - I have always fancied one and now have the funds ! I have heard about a oil starvation problem on rod #3. I have contacted WESTECH who say they no ;onger carry out a mod to fix this. Any suggestions as to where to go next? Cheers, Vin :bringiton:

[Fern]

I think you can get a kit from Mr Turbo.

Here is the link: http://www.mrturbo.com/

[LUMI]

What is the problem? I have droven these ZL´s in my life 90 000ml´s and have ever had any broblems with oiling :violent1:

[vinny]

I appreciate that you have had a lot of miles without oil starvation probs Lumi, but a twenty year old motor deserves to be pampered a little dont you think?
I have seen several references to oil starvation problems on GPZ900, Eli 9's and Thous - so would rather prevent than cure !
Keep on clocking them miles up - catch you later.
Vin
:bringiton:

[vinny]

Thanks for the info Fern, I have used your link to Mr Turbo's website and am suprised that they don't have an email address for anything except sending photos of your bike with their kit on ?!
I will send a letter snail mail, or try to contact them on the phone - a little problematical since I am in the UK - time differences etc.
Have a great New Year,
Regards,
Vinny.
:bringiton:

[vinny]

Just been serarching KERA and found a cautionary tale regarding oil feed problems. It caused loganmn $3500 to repair damade done by #3 bearing failure. Very soory to hear about that , but pleased that all appears to be well now.
I know this is someting that has been discussed since intro of GPZ900 and its derivatives - including Eli's, but some of us have been away from biking for a few years (or more), and need to re-hash some of this.
Also found 2red alert in the oil pan" - regarding clogging of oil filter mesh, which may also contribute to starvation.
Sorry to all you guys who have been here before, but that is a lot of cash to fork out - if it can be avoide.
Cheers, Vin.

:bringiton:

[LUMI]

Well i did not found anythin on that http://www.mrturbo.com/ website what is the part number to fix this broblem and how much does it cost?

And how a hell you can spend 3500$ on a ZL motor lower end, it is insanity :rotf: , you can buy 5-10 new "low miles" GTR 1000 engine for that :D

I change oil and filter every 1000-1500mile and use only original filters not aftermarket crap :cool10: and good 20W50 oils

on my ex ZL900 there was over 140 000km on the clock and no broblems ever

[vinny]

Hi Lumi,
the fix on Mr Turbo's site is ;
109 024 NINJA OIL BY PASS $295.

Hope this is of help.

Glad to hear that you have been problem free, seems like its a bit "pot luck" - some motors are prone to problems - others are fine.
Problem is we don't know until we have problems.!
I agree with your attitude of prevention rather than cure. Oil and filters every thousand miles or so is nothing compared to the expense and hassle of tearing down an engine etc.

I would probably use the $3500 to put a ZRX12 ubit in - that looks awesome.
Catch you later.
Vin
:bringiton:

[LUMI]

OK thanx for the info

Has anyone bought this and what does it contains? Only on bypass valve, or somethin else too?

[motorsiklemad1]

I would probably use the $3500 to put a ZRX12 ubit in - that looks awesome.
Catch you later.
Vin
:bringiton:[/quote]

Sorry to disappoint but the ZRX motors have been known to have the same problem.
I also have a ZRX1100 and spend some time on the ZRX owners site.

My ZL1000 had 60000 miles on the clock before i stripped it and everything was ok considering milage. Just keep changing oil & filter and keep the oil on the full mark :)

[Fern]

Mr Turbo used to have pics of product, no longer there?

http://www.mrturbo.com/products/oilbp.html

[Kris900zl]

:detective: Or is it just an old wives tail :detective: 26000 KM on mine with no problems. :cool10: :cool10: :dancingfool:

Kris900ZL
:yeahthat:

[Rick_in_WA]

the early 85 and late 84 gpz engines did in fact have a starvation issueo @#3 down pipes, the quick cheep fix was to put a bigger oil line on them and in llate 85 Kawasaki saw this problem and fixed it at the factory

[vinny]

I have heard both sides of the story from different people!
Some folk have not had any problems (as of yet - and I hope that remains so!).

But it is difficult to ignore the first hand writings of ZL, GPZ and also apparently, the much newer ZRX owners who have had major expense (and could have had major injury!), from the same "old wives" !

So far "er indoors" has not told me any tales about oil starvation - I get plenty of earache over her not having anything to wear (despite the evidence in several wardrobes to the contrary!). :stir:

I would be happy to fit larger diameter oil lines if i can source some, but if Kawasaki fixed the problem at source in late '85, my '87 Zl 1000's should already have them in?! :detective:

Until I have a definitive answer, I will change the oil and filters frequently and keep my fingers crossed! :good luck:

Vin

[Kris900zl]

:cool10: :cool10:

Kris900ZL

[Rick_in_WA]

I had an 85 gpz with nearly 60K on it on the orig timeing chain and engine, never once was it opened and I did run that bike pretty hard.

[Shlim1]

From what I remember, this oiling issue came about after VERY hard riding / Drag Racing!! For those that don't remember, very shortly after the ZL's were released, there was an influx of these bikes on the drag racing circuit, as they could be launched HARD, and in their time, the trannies and rear ends held up well! When Dale Walker http://www.holeshot.com/ started his drag racing school, the ZL's were the only bike he used!! When I worked for Kawasaki in the 80's, I only saw a handful of ZL's come back to the shop. Most were in for regular maintenance, and the ones in for more than that, were usually there for accident related issues, as the ZL gets up to speed very fast, but the stock brakes didn't always slow fast enough!!

The oiling update from Mr. Turbo consisted of you sending in YOUR oil pan for their modification. The mod seemed to be an added oil line tapped into the pan to reroute or add additional oiling to the #3 bearing on the crank. They used to have the info & pics on the site, but all I see now is a $295 price tag with just a title.

Hope this helps the interested....... :good luck:

[LUMI]

This issue worried me so i googled a bit and found

http://www.gpz900r.org/gpz900r/showthread.php?t=88&page=7

http://www.zx-12r.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=20518

[vinny]

Thanks for that Lumi. I think ! :)

I have read through the threads on the links, and the easiest option appears to "clean up" the oil tubes of any burrs etc that were left on after manufacturing.

May look to source some pipes to dremmel and then just swap them over.
:detective:

Thanks again,
Vin :)

[LUMI]

I will defenetly drop the oilpan of on my driving -85 and inspect the #3 bearings before riding season starts here, and do the tube cleaning if not anything else, it has 12634ml now.

On my -86 i will not have to do anything cos i dont drive it at all, it has 2987,1ml on the clock and thats all what it gona get in my lifetime :bootyshake:

[Kawasaki-krazy]

On my -86 i will not have to do anything cos i dont drive it at all, it has 2987,1ml on the clock and thats all what it gona get in my lifetime :bootyshake:

Why??

KK

[LUMI]

On my -86 i will not have to do anything cos i dont drive it at all, it has 2987,1ml on the clock and thats all what it gona get in my lifetime :bootyshake:

Why??

KK

i have one 900 to drive, i dont have to ruin the other (yeah i know bikes are made to be droven :toothy10: ), it is only a decoration purpose on my garage :toothy7:

i let the engine run 2 times a year and change the fluids regulary so it wont be jammed

By the way we have a really low mile ZL900 here in Finland, perhaps one of the lowest on earth

http://www.japsirauta.fi/kawa900eliminator85.html

same guy owns
http://www.japsirauta.fi/YAMAHAV-MAX12002005.html

they are both on his garage wall :cool10:

[zlMark]

Nice collection.

http://www.japsirauta.fi/X4.html

[LUMI]

:yeahthat: X4 is a cool bike, i will definitely have one someday,
it is the only bike since ZL900 and Yamaha Vmax that i really like

you can still get new ones at
http://www.kawashop24.de/
and there
"Neufahrzeuge Honda X4"

[Kawasaki-krazy]

On my -86 i will not have to do anything cos i dont drive it at all, it has 2987,1ml on the clock and thats all what it gona get in my lifetime :bootyshake:

Why??

KK

i have one 900 to drive, i dont have to ruin the other (yeah i know bikes are made to be droven :toothy10: ), it is only a decoration purpose on my garage :toothy7:

i let the engine run 2 times a year and change the fluids regulary so it wont be jammed

By the way we have a really low mile ZL900 here in Finland, perhaps one of the lowest on earth

http://www.japsirauta.fi/kawa900eliminator85.html

same guy owns
http://www.japsirauta.fi/YAMAHAV-MAX12002005.html

they are both on his garage wall :cool10:

Speechless :dontknow:

KK

[memo58]

Hi Shlim,

I've just been paging through the posts regarding oil problems. I have a ZL900 - 1985. It runs great, I have to fix a couple of oil leaks, but nothing major. However, it has quite a loud motor sound at idle from the top end. Is this the normal overhead cam noise on these motors, or is there something else I should look for? The bike has 25,000 miles and isn't using oil. But the sound is sort of like a mild "roar" (don't know how to explain it better) that goes away as the rpm's go up. Any ideas? Thanks

memo58

[kawboy]

Hi Shlim,

I've just been paging through the posts regarding oil problems. I have a ZL900 - 1985. It runs great, I have to fix a couple of oil leaks, but nothing major. However, it has quite a loud motor sound at idle from the top end. Is this the normal overhead cam noise on these motors, or is there something else I should look for? The bike has 25,000 miles and isn't using oil. But the sound is sort of like a mild "roar" (don't know how to explain it better) that goes away as the rpm's go up. Any ideas? Thanks

memo58

If it's a clatter at idle when cold and goes away when warmed, it's not unusual. Try resetting the cam chain tensioner.

[golddrakul]

Oil problem referred to in threads won't roar, will just seize one day and often throw pieces through the case. Have one of those in my garage right now. "Roar" is kind of confusing, engine noises are usually fairly metallic - click, clack, rattle, clunk, etc. Roaring may be related to exhaust or intake, does it have pods or stock air filter??

Also, for more info on the oiling problem, ZLMark did a series of mods to his motor to fix the issue, can't find it right now but I know it's on the site.

[memo58]

Thanks guys! Maybe the "roar" is the normal sound - exhaust. The bike is all stock. I've had twins and v-twins, and this is my first zl. So maybe the sound is normal. At 8,000 rpm she sounds real sweet! :-)

memo58