Not a Rumor, many stories on here as well as pics. Kawasaki is well aware of the problem.
A $100 is well spent, to save a possible TOTAL ENGINE REBUILD
Bought a new 04 200 in 05, broke it in nice and slow, have not had any problems. My wife purchased the extended warantee (I would not have), so if it blows up, Kawa fixes it. Love the bike, and NO problems after a season.
Not a Rumor, many stories on here as well as pics. Kawasaki is well aware of the problem.
A $100 is well spent, to save a possible TOTAL ENGINE REBUILD
The engine rebuilt is just if you get away lightly!! or you end up like me where the piston skirt drops off into into the crank which punches out the crankcase into the gear box letting it suck in gearbox oil and air ( hmm... yes jetting was a bit of a problem!!) anyway I spend about 4 hrs rubbing the crankcase halves over wet and dry paper on a surface plate to get the to meet up again (checked using bearing blue) I have filled as many hairline cracks as i could with Epoxy.... but it has never been the same again. I will never buy a bike again without putting a new piston it before I fide it! :bang: Good thing I like working on bikes as much as I like ridding them eh?
Believe it or not, mine still runs strong on a 16 year old piston !
I do tear it apart frequently though and change all the gaskets and clean the ring gaps and everything. Plus, it's a 250 !!! The only problems I had was my KIPS. I had those power valves replaced a few times now...
I am doing the top end next month for the first time. I just hope the bottom end doesn't collapse from the increased compression that it isn't used to anymore :think:
Have not torn the engine down, and it has 120 miles on it.
I intend to tear down and inspect as soon as the parts come in that I need to put it back together.
With minus two degrees wind chill and new snow on the ground, I won't be going riding for a few days, anyway.... :|
Bought mine new in 2001. Raced the hell outta it. Over heated it many times. Dualsported it and rode on the street for one year. Just tore it down for a new piston. Typical plating piston etc. I will admit I am a right side cover offender. But really stupid I forgot the power valve shaft was reverse thread....OPPPPPPS. New shaft etc etc etc>>>>.......
I see no need for tear down after break in. Like the pipe visual though.
Hi Michelle, You may consider as an alternative to removing the head any of these options. do a compression check before & after break in, or buy a cheap bore scope & have your look at the cylinder thru the spark plug hole or the exhaust port.
Good luck, Porkchop.... ;)
Just tore my 2006 200 down this morning, after a ride on Friday. The piston is slightly scored and will be replaced. The ring end gaps are still way less than service limit. The cylinder shows some marks that cannot be felt. The bike has 450.1 miles on it.
The bike still has the original spark plug in it, which is very clean, as is the piston crown. The head had some discoloration on it that wiped off with WD40 and a clean rag. Very clean; no deposits in the exhaust port. I was pleasantly surprized. I guess the Kawasaki 2-stroke oil burns cleaner than most think.
Give Kawasaki credit. they build good stuff. I for one have taken apart a new one just to see if the manual is correct......just couldnt stand it.
On the ones I took apart all was fine. no need to replace anything. Got to wonder if its a typo.......lol. I bet an engineer got a bonus for adding that to manual...... :nod:
Btw.. I let new ones warm up at idle, run them through the gears at half trottle, up the road and back apprx a mile or so do the same thing back. let cool completely, do that a couple times...then run the hell out of it! I have never had a problem.