The Yeager's 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 250R Maintenance Log

 

Maintenance Journal Entries

September, 2005

• 35 miles -- Oil and filter change (Castrol 10W-40).
• 101 miles -- Oil and filter change (Castrol 10W-40).
• 392 miles -- Oil and filter change (Kawasaki 10W-40), checked valve clearance, check head bolt torque, and "500 mile" check all done by dealer.

October, 2005

• 678 Miles -- Inspected and lubed chain. Checked tire air pressure.
• 1308 miles -- Oil and filter change (Kawasaki 10W-40) and cleaned, inspected, and lubed chain. Checked tire air pressure.
• 1978 miles -- Inspected and lubed chain. Checked tire air pressure.
• 2365 miles -- Lubed chain. Checked tire air pressure.
• 2858 miles -- Oil and filter change (Kawasaki 10W-40). Checked tire air pressure.

November, 2005

• 2906 miles -- Inspected and lubed chain. Repaired leak in rear tire. Checked tire air pressure.
• 3145 miles -- Performed 3000 mile service except for carb sync (I will be performing the carb sync and valve adjustments together) cleaned, inspected, and lubed chain.
• 3569 miles -- Used touch-up paint on a couple of fairing rock chips. Cleaned, inspected, and lubed chain. Checked tire air pressure.
• 4037 miles -- Oil and filter change (Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40) and cleaned, inspected, and lubed chain. Checked tire air pressure.

December, 2005

• 4525 miles -- Completely cleaned, inspected, and lubed chain. Cleaned chain guard and trailing arm. Replaced stock worn Dunlop rear tire with a Metzeler ME 880 Marathon 130/90HB16.
• 5160 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.
• 5497 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.
• 5787 miles -- Performed 6000 mile service: set valve clearance using the classic 2 feeler gauge method and a Kawasaki valve clearance tool. I used .004 inch (.102 mm) as a "go" and .005" (.127 mm) as a "no-go" for intake valve clearance; .005 inch (.127 mm) as a "go" and .006" (.152 mm) as a "no-go" for exhaust valve clearance. All set screws were torqued according to Kawasaki specifications. Synchronized the carburetors using a Motion Pro carburetor synchronizer. The carburetors were only slightly out of synchronization. Changed oil and filter (Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40), cleaned, inspected, and lubed cables, linkages, and drive chain. Noted a slight oil leak at the bottom of the clutch cover and torqued bolts to 9 ft-lbs as recommended by Greenville Kawasaki. **NOTE** Prior experience gained from owning and maintaining vehicles with solid lifters turned out to be paramount. If you haven't set solid lifters before I recommend you get help the first time. It is not hard but I can see where it would be a bit overwhelming. It will take quite a bit less time the next service as I know what to expect and I repositioned (rotated) some hose clamps to provide more room for maneuvering the camshaft cover.

January, 2006

• 6090 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.
• 6507 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.
• 7012 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.
• 7222 miles -- Cleaned, inspected, and lubed chain. Checked tire air pressure.

February, 2006

• 7654 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.
• 8120 miles -- Used touch-up paint on a fairing rock chip. Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.

 March, 2006

• 8795 miles -- Performed 9000 mile service: Changed oil and filter (Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40), cleaned, inspected, and lubed cables, linkages, and drive chain. Checked tire air pressure.
• 9424 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.
• 9568 miles -- Cleaned and inspected engine, suspension, and lower portion of frame and fairing after running through a surprise road construction on the way home from work. Cleaned, inspected, and lubed chain.

 April, 2006

• 9764 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.
• 10,112 miles -- Used touch-up paint on fairing rock chips. Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.
• 10,532 miles -- Cleaned, inspected, and lubed chain. Checked tire air pressure. Checked fairing bolts.
• 11,571 miles -- Used touch-up paint on a fairing rock chip. Lubed chain. (After two day ride in Arkansas).
• 11,785 miles -- Performed 12,000 mile service: Set valve clearance (only 2 intake and 1 exhaust valve was out of spec). Synchronized the carburetors. Changed oil and filter (Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 -- the oil was amazingly clean and no oil needed to be added since the last oil change indicating good piston ring seating), cleaned, inspected, and lubed cables, linkages, and drive chain.
• 11,927 miles -- Double checked valve clearance (found 2 exhaust valves slightly loose) and checked tire air pressure.

 May, 2006

• 12151 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.
• 12705 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.
• 13162 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.

 June, 2006

• 13195 miles -- Checked tire air pressure. Replaced stock worn Dunlop front tire with a Bridgestone Battlax BT-45F 100/90H16 sport touring tire.
• 13,364 miles -- checked valve clearance in preparation for the 50CC Quest ride (all were in spec).
• ***** miles -- West coast oil and filter change (I have no idea what oil was used). Lubed chain every 400 miles or so during the 50CC Quest ride.
• ***** miles -- East coast oil and filter change (Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40). Lubed chain every 400 miles or so during the 50CC Quest ride.
• 19,111 miles -- Post 50CC trip service: Set valve clearance (only 1 intake and 1 exhaust valve was out of spec). Cleaned and lubed the cam chain tensioner. Synchronized the carburetors. Changed oil and filter (Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40), cleaned, inspected, and lubed cables, linkages, and drive chain.

 July, 2006

•  19,684 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.

 August, 2006

•  20,226 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.
• 20,237 miles -- I noted the "trip meter" was not advancing correctly. A warranty issue handled by my dealer, Greenville Powersports, with professionalism.

 September, 2006

•  20,892 miles -- Adjusted chain slack, cleaned chain, lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.
•  20,943 miles -- Oil and filter change (Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40).  Cleaned and oiled the cam chain tensioner.. Checked tire air pressure.
•  21,033 miles -- Installed a K&N stock "replacement" air cleaner.  The air cleaner installs on the twin snorkels (down tubes) of the air cleaner housing cap.

 October, 2006

•  21,935 miles -- Completely cleaned, inspected, and lubed chain. Cleaned chain guard and trailing arm. Replaced stock worn Metzeler Marathon rear tire with another Metzeler ME 880 Marathon 130/90HB16.  The first Metzeler ME 880 Marathon lasted 17,400 miles even with the hot desert (Ninjette Summer 50CC Quest) trip I took.

 November, 2006

• 22,327 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.

 December, 2006

• 22,684 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.

 January, 2007

• 23,064 miles -- Completely cleaned, inspected, and lubed chain.  Checked tire air pressure.  Cleaned and oiled the cam chain tensioner.

 February, 2007

• 23,439 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.  The cam chain had been clattering during idle for a few weeks at this point even though I had cleaned and oiled the cam chain tensioner several times the last few weeks.  This time I cleaned and greased the cam chain tensioner.  The cam drive chain still began to clatter after a hundred miles or so.  After some research on the Ninja 250 Riders Club Site and speaking with a couple of experienced and well informed motorcycle mechanics I determined that just putting motor oil on the cam chain tensioner was inadequate and had worn the tensioner -- in fact  I had begun to notice wear on the tensionor shaft.  I ordered an new cam chain tensioner and picked up a can of Silkolene Pro RG2 Synthetic grease.

 March, 2007

• 23,691 miles -- Performed 24,000 mile service. Synchronized the carburetors. Changed oil and filter (Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40).  Installed and greased the new cam chain tensioner.  I got a new metric feeler gauge so I set the valve clearance using both the English and metric feeler gauges and a Kawasaki valve clearance tool. I used .10 mm as a "go" and .005" (.127 mm) as a "no-go" for intake valve clearance; .005 inch (.127 mm) as a "go" and .15 mm as a "no-go" for exhaust valve clearance. Adjusted chain slack, cleaned chain, lubed chain and checked tire air pressure. Cleaned chain guard and trailing arm.

 April, 2007

• 25,334 miles -- Over 1,600 miles and not a peep from the cam chain during idle -- replacing the worn cam chain tensioner seems to have been the issue.

May, 2007

• 25,334 miles -- The drive chain needed to be adjusted 3 times in the last 1,000 miles so it was time to chain the final drive out before the riding season got fully underway.  I replaced the stock chain with a Western Power Sports heavy duty O-ring chain.  The sprockets were replaced by JT items the Ninjette came from the dealer with. the 15:41 final drive ratio (JT Sprockets; JTF 516.15T and JTR 486.41T respectively) was kept as I had no compelling reason to increase or decrease the resulting gear ratio.
• 25,514 miles -- Adjusted chain slack.
• 25,762 miles -- With summer approaching and several big rides planed in the next few weeks I decided to get a jump on checking the valve clearance.  Three valves were slightly loose.

June, 2007

• 27,141 miles -- Performed 27,000 mile service. Synchronized the carburetors. Changed oil and filter (Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40).  Greased the cam chain tensioner.  Checked the valve clearance using both the English and metric feeler gauges (two intake valves slightly loose). Lubed various cables.  Adjusted chain slack, cleaned chain, lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.
• 27,541 miles -- Adjusted chain slack, cleaned chain, lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.
• 27,915 miles -- Adjusted chain slack, cleaned chain, lubed chain, checked tire air pressure, and checked oil level.

July, 2007

• 28,053 miles -- Installed rear grab handle fully coated by Rhino Linings of McKinney and mounted one inch BikeMaster adhesive convex spot "eyeball" mirrors mounted on stock rearview mirrors.  Checked tire air pressure and oil level.
• 28808 miles -- Adjusted chain slack, cleaned chain, lubed chain, checked tire air pressure, and checked oil level.
• 28,991 miles -- Changed oil and filter (Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40).  Greased the cam chain tensioner.  Adjusted chain slack, cleaned chain, lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.
• 31,240 miles -- Began to assess and repair wear and damage from the Western Power Sports heavy duty O-ring chain failing while I was on a trip.

August, 2007

• 31,240 miles -- Installed a new RK X-ring chain replacing the junk Western Powersports Heavy Duty chain.  The sprockets were replaced by the same JT Sprockets; JTF 516.15T and JTR 486.41T.  Synchronized the carburetors. Changed oil and filter (Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40).  Greased the cam chain tensioner.  Checked the valve clearance using both the English and metric feeler gauges (two intake valves and two exhaust valves were out of spec.). Lubed various cables.  I had Sherman Power Sports check and repack the steering head bearings and the swing arm bearings.

September, 2007

•  31,892 miles -- Checked chain slack, lubed chain, and checked tire air pressure.
•  32,567 miles -- Lubed chain and checked tire air pressure.

 October, 2007

•  32,850 miles -- Checked chain slack, lubed chain, checked tire air pressure, and topped up engine oil.

November, 2007

•  33,632 miles -- Adjusted chain slack, lubed chain, and checked tire air pressure.

December, 2007

January, 2008

• 34,114 miles -- Changed oil and filter (Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40).  Greased the cam chain tensioner.  Checked the valve clearance using both the English and metric feeler gauges (one intake valves and three exhaust valves were out of spec.). Synchronized the carburetors. Lubed various cables.

God Bless America

 

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