More fun than a rattlesnake..


The old dear who claimed to own the Kawasaki Z250 kept bending down to point things out on the bike, flashing a large pair of knockers that looked like they would flop all over the shop unless restrained by a bra. Took all my effort to stop myself going beetroot red, had to concentrate on the motorcycle! One of the first models, with twin rear shocks and chain final drive instead of the later Uni-trak and belt drive. Both of which were fine when new but potentially troublesome and expensive on anything more than half a decade old.

The Z was nearly 20 years old but in remarkable cosmetic shape and only had 17000 miles on the clock and two owners in the registration document. Knowing my luck, the engine was just about ready to blow its top end! I asked the lady if she did the oil regularly and she told me she always liked to keep well lubed up, giving me a wicked wink that only served to emphasize the deep wrinkles in her fifty year old face. The engine ran, didn't knock, didn't smoke and revved up without any hesitation. No test ride allowed but she'd take me pillion.

Quite an experience, given that she was wearing a flimsy mini-skirt, low cut blouse and black stockings. The only way to hold on was way too intimate. I was so overcome with embarrassment that all I noted about the ride was that it seemed to take forever! I said the bike needed new silencers, chain and sprocket set and a back tyre (they were actually okay for a few more months!). She accepted my four hundred quid offer straight off. The only hassle was getting out of there, she seemed to think a quick shag was part of the deal! In the end I gave in, ended up well bruised!

The Z250 proved to have a knackered seat that didn't have much foam left, causing some mighty twitches in some intimate places. I soon replaced it with an item from the breakers, off some other Kawasaki model. Ah, bliss! The bars and pegs were reasonably matched to my average height and weight frame, equally comfortable whether pottering through town or holding a steady 85mph on the motorway. The Z would go a bit faster than that but I didn't want to push a twenty year old bike to its limits.

If smoothness was any indication of the level of internal engine wear, then the Kawasaki was in fine shape. The pistons move up and down alternatively, no balancer, making it smoother than a higher mileage Superdream I'd had the brief pleasure of. No, it didn't blow up but was nicked by someone of little taste, ended up in the local river, no-one bothering to recover it. The Z really smoothed out between 5000 and 10,000 revs, good power pouring out - I actually had to restrain my wrist, otherwise it would've dived right into the red zone. At least in the first four gears. I never had much impression of power on the CB250N, more a case of the engine fighting through the godawful balancer system.

Handling was also better than the Superdream, though the Z had stock suspension against R and R shocks on the Dream. There wasn't that much in it, both relatively light and low powered, but the Kawasaki was easier to flick through curves and felt more stable on motorways. The front end sometimes felt a bit lost when hitting bumps on the exit of corners but it could hardly be called dangerous.

Only the brakes were a touch naff. The discs quite heavily scored and the calipers gummed up. There was a disc at each end but they didn't really seem to want to work together - perhaps it was just me. A Z500 I bought next had similar problems, the same kind of calipers that self-destructed when I attempted to take them down. The local breaker made derisory comments about my mechanical ability but matched all the components up with stuff in reasonable condition. The braking was still too remote but about two times more powerful - I still preferred the Dream's combination of rear drum and front disc, mind!

This was the start of a series of visits to the breakers to replace various components that fell apart or wore out. Silencers, tyres, chain and sprockets, disc pads, cracked mudguards, rectifier, battery, bits of the wiring harness, handlebar switches, etc. He even stopped insulting me; easy money!

These fun and games went down over a three month period, 21,400 miles on the clock at the end of it. Satisfied with my offerings, the bike then ran like a Swiss watch for the next 7500 miles. Did loads of UK riding, including an End-to-End epic journey in the company of some much bigger machines. Laughably, it was the BMW R80 that broke down.

Its owner had explained at length, as if to a moron, that the Z's top end must be only minutes off dying. He didn't realise that I knew the weakness all too well, changed the oil every 500 miles and didn't rev the bike until it'd had a chance to warm up for a few minutes. Once fresh lube got to the cam there wasn't a problem!

Some good stuff. Fuel ranged from 55 to 75mpg. Worn examples thrashed to the limit do way worse. Although I kept checking things like valves, carbs and ignition, worrying about the motor blowing up if they were neglected, they were always okay!

The bad side of the bike was the way it was eaten alive by the corrosion - frame, tank, engine and wheel alloy, the replacement calipers, and the exhaust. The swinging arm bearings were remarkably short-lived - 5000 miles or less! Their demise marked by some violent back wheel shuffling - replace immediately or visit the nearest ditch.

The bearings were a relatively easy job (as long as the swinging arm's spindle is given a good greasing, if not it won't want to come out again - I could work in a joke about the previous owner there, better not!), keeping the finish up to spec a daily chore involving much polishing and touching up of paint.

It went so deep that when starting became difficult and running awkward, I worked out straight away that it was probably crud in the fuel line from the petrol tank rusting away internally. Spot on. An in-line fuel filter was added and cleaned out on a daily basis. The tank not so far gone that it would actually give when caressed tightly with my knees.

As 29000 miles were approached, my attention was distracted from the fast disappearing finish by the engine rattling, nay, knocking. No effect on performance or frugality. Gave it another couple of hundred miles to see what would happen... was told by my neighbour, some kind of car mechanic, that it sounded like the small-ends were dying a death. I went along to the smart Kawasaki dealer who seemed annoyed by the thought of such an old hack still running; their mechanic reckoned it was the big-ends.

My more experienced mate helped with the strip. All the crank's bearings were loose! You just can't buy secondhand Z250 cranks and new ones were more than the whole machine was worth. Secondhand engines were rare but I tracked down one on offer from a private ad. Sixty quid, told the top end had gone. So combine the two motors, see what happens...

This was more like the typical Z250/GPz305 horror story. Loads of rattles, lots of vibes and not much performance - almost as slow as a Superdream 250! At this point I decided to let the finish have its way, use the bike for however long it lasted through the winter. I'd already bought a running Z500 as the next step up the motorcycle ladder.

The recombined Z250 made it through to April, 34,700 miles on the clock when it failed terminally. The engine was on its last legs - as in a 65mph top speed and 30mpg - but it was the rusted through rear subframe that really stopped me in my tracks. Literally but luckily at a set of traffic lights. For a moment I wondered why I was sitting on a bike with a 20 inch seat height; then I just laughed and legged it!

H.C.

K.F.

Good and Bad


My cousin had owned the 1980 Yam XS250 since new, 17 years worth of riding adding up to 54000 miles. In the last six months he'd had new electrics, forks and back wheel fitted to the bike. The engine was still basically stock, just some clutch plates replaced.

He was finally ready to move on to a bigger bike. Wait for it, a Honda CB250 Two-Fifty. The dealer was willing to give him 600 notes for a trade-in deal and I could have the XS if I could match that price. Not a bike I ever had dreams about but enforced poverty didn't exactly give me a load of choice and it had to be better than the knackered old Urinal 650 that loitered out front. No-one showed any inclination to nick it even when I left the key in the ignition.

There was nothing basically wrong with the Yamaha. Just that the mileage suggested the OHC vertical twin motor couldn't be far off meeting its maker. But then I knew the owner had treated it well, done regular maintenance and oil changes. The bike had gone through a vile phase when the electrics started to rot - typical of the breed, by the way - but that had all been sorted by complete replacement.

The specs worked out as hardly earth shattering, 30 claimed horses, an effective top speed of 90mph on the clock, good fuel at 65-75mpg and about 360lbs of mass to fling around. All the chassis bearings were new so the handling was steady, the bike basically a breeze to pot around on as long as you didn't mind a bit of throttle and gearbox work.

I didn't. Was amazed at the gearchange, (after the Ural) which should've been a bit loose and imprecise at this kind of mileage but wasn't. The new clutch plates must've helped. No real problems for the first few months then one of the silencers lost its baffling. The exhaust had been replaced twice over the years, so don't expect more than 20,000 miles from a set.

An XS with a baffleless silencer doesn't just sound odd, it runs very oddly, too. Large gaps in the powerband and not a lot of inclination to go above 7000rpm, where most of the power hides. Not willing to pay Yamaha prices, I fitted a set of cans from the breakers. Easy enough with a bit of cutting and couple of Jubilee clips. I also got a spare length of chain as that was becoming a bit stringy (cheap, short-lived stuff).

The bike ran a touch lean, as in not wanting to start from cold and hesitating around 6500rpm. On the other hand, it went deeper into the red when pushed hard and the indicated top speed improved to 93mph if I was in a desperate mood.

The engine never really vibrated even when the tacho went off the scale. In fact, the harder it was revved the smoother it seemed to run. The motor had a relatively simple design, lacked any balancers. Which meant no Superdream style tensioners to adjust. Hurray! The only serious maintenance needed was valve adjustment every 750 miles, the exhaust's clearances having a tendency to tighten up and burn out the valves.

The bike was a bit lacking in poke, I tended to rev it madly everywhere. Much to the old owner's annoyance, his Honda Two-Fifty couldn't keep up! The CB was nicer to look at and sit on, but in terms of performance it was a total loss, barely able to keep up with the cages on the open road.

All the mad thrashing finally took its toll on the bike, but not until I'd had more than 14000 miles and fourteen months out of the deal. The initial decline was down to worn carbs, became impossible to balance them and the tickover went all erratic, with lots of cutting out in traffic and then refusing to start. A couple of holes in the airfilter helped for a while.

Later, whenever I used the engine in anger there was a harsh grinding sound, like something was breaking up inside the mill. I put it down to my imagination and carried on regardless. Suddenly, there was a total lack of power below 3000rpm, the drag from engaging first gear stalled the motor dead numerous times. Soon, pulling the skin off a rice pudding was way beyond the bike's abilities and I began to wish for pedal assistance.

Finally, the engine clunked up solid with a very final crunch. Dead meat. I haven't bothered stripping the motor yet as it was obvious that the built-in obsolescence had caught up with it. At the moment a GS125 engine has been shoehorned into the chassis. An unlikely combination but it gets me out and about!

Dave Williams

DR Hack

Mixed pleasures, trying to ride the ancient Kawasaki 250 triple rapidly. The engine could still sing a song, aided by some heavenly spannies, but the chassis was all wrong. The geometry wasn't exactly inspired when the bike came out of the factory, add in a couple of decades of abuse, the result was best described as wanton. As in going in and out of frightening weaves in an entirely random manner.

I tried to check the wheel alignment out using a plank of wood but didn't get very far. Left all confused by the different sections of the tyres. Didn't look too far out, anyway. The rubber was pretty dubious Far Eastern stuff that could turn nasty on wet roads but there was plenty of tread. I suspected most of the problems were caused by the forks as they lacked any kind of smoothness in their action and often seemed to stick.

Bumpy roads had the front end going off on its own unique joy ride. The only surprising thing was that the bars didn't go right out of control. After the initial couple of weeks I began to realise that if it felt like the chassis was falling apart, the wobbles didn't develop into something really deathly. Impossible to ignore the front end's machinations but actually quite safe to ride flat out when the circumstances allowed.

Having failed to blow the motor up in the first month, despite revving the engine flat out everywhere, I opted to fit a GPz305 front end. I just happened to have one laying around the garage after exploding the vertical twin's motor. Didn't take much effort. The GPz's forks aren't exactly huge but the twin discs would surely come in handy, the old single disc on the KH never working very well. They didn't exactly go straight on but after machining the yokes I was set for the test ride.

All was well up to about 75mph when the most alarming speed wobble imaginable went down. I almost went down as well, the bike threatening to bounce right off the M4. At least the discs worked properly, hauled the speed right down in an instant and basically saved the day. An act subsequently repeated many, many times.

Not really wanting to be limited to 70mph in my daily excursions, I gave the front end another look over. Some very minor slack in the lower yokes. Loosened off the clamps, filled with Araldite, tightened up and waited overnight. It was with a very tentative right hand that I hauled the KH up to 75mph and was very pleased with myself when it continued to yodel all the way up to the ton with nothing more than the odd bit of weaving. In the right circumstances, 105mph on the clock wasn't impossible and 85-90mph cruising quite feasible (if you were an Arab sheik - see later!)

Turned out to be a rather splendid bike once the front end was sorted. Spirited, fast enough for modern roads and able to whizz-bang through most circumstances. Part of its charm was the way it went through spark plugs, oil and fuel... that's what I kept telling myself, anyway, and the small garage owner nearby always grinned widely when I pulled in to stock up on these essentials. It's probably possible to get 40mpg and 100mpp but the low revs involved will invariably gum up the spark plugs, so the unlikely expense will get you that way instead.

The good side of the triple was its unique exhaust note - a real spine chiller - and its wacky appearance that shouted style and power. At best, the handling was adequate, at worst it would get rid of constipation pronto. Pillions usually got off all white-faced, looking for somewhere to throw up. Well, the rear shocks were original fare but still up to solo riding - I guess Kawasaki just bunged on stuff off their larger triples and it worked well when new. The 250 always had the reputation, in later models, of being the triple that actually had a passing stab at handling.

Into month three of ownership, the 34000 miler began cutting out, refusing to start and threatening to burst into flames whenever I turned on the lights. Some of the wiring in the alternator was shorting out. I did the decent thing (exchanged it!) before it could take out any of the expensive black boxes or even the battery. Bits of insulation came off some of the ignition wires, another chore requiring a bit of time and effort if not much money, just replace the dying wires.

The three cylinder engine showed its distaste for high revs with excessive vibration, though it was always thrumming away in the background even under moderate usage. The power doesn't actually run out until the vibes reach a level that blurs vision, so the real nutters can run them into the ground in a few thousand miles. I always backed off from that extreme, was rewarded with an engine that ran until 43000 miles...

It always was a noisy engine, lots of ringing, dinging and slapping, but added to that cacophony was a large amount of knocking and rattling - thrashed big-ends and main bearings. I didn't let the engine explode, an exchange crankshaft did the business. In fact, the bores were heavily worn by then but I decided to sell it rather than fix it. At quite a nice profit, too.

Loads of Kawasaki triples still about, the 500's costing serious dosh, with the 750 not far behind. The 250 and 400 triples are the relatively cheap ones, which is all the odder when you consider they are the toughest and easiest to use. They lack the sheer class of the bigger triples, not to mention the wild, wild handling antics and mad acceleration. It's all down to buying something that takes your fancy and taking the consequences.

Al Reading