Motorcycle Repair: Misfiring in cold weather, kawasaki zzr 600, combustion chambers

Question
Hi

I have a Kawasaki ZZR 600 (D1) 1991 year. In freezing weather/ or very cold weather the bike starts fine and idles well, but when you have riden 3 minutes down the road it starts to misfire and only run on three, or two cylinders at low revs (Below 5000rpm)?

Any ideas

Thanks

Rick

Answer
Hi Rick,

There's not enough information to form an accurate diagnosis.

If the problem only occurs when the weather is below certain temperatures, I suspect the carburetors need tuning to correct the air-fuel mixtures.

If one or more cylinders are dropping at low rev's, consider cleaning, synchronizing, and tuning the carbs.

Learn to read the appearance of the spark plugs. Plugs may indicate problems with the A/F mix and ignition/combustion burning problems. "www.ngk.com" Click the "Plug 4-1-1" link.

Perform cylinder compression and leak-down tests to learn the sealing properties of the combustion chambers (condition of the engine).

Check and adjust valve clearances.

Cylinder compression and valve clearances must be within service limits for the carbs to work properly.

I would need to perfrom a few checks to learn about the engine and provide accurate diagnosis.

Hope this helps.

Respectfully,
Mark Shively