Messages

2010 bike in good condition with 38000 miles, R&G crash bars, serviced regularly at home, new discs and pads, never dropped, ECU flash at Hilltop.

eBay prices seem all over the place.

[2.4mm x 16.3mm Viton 75 Metric O-ring]

Short version, not too bad.

Longer version....

I first noticed all was not right one day when I noticed some oil on the left had side 'fins' on the fairing. A closer look showed that there was a fair amount of thick sludge on the front left side of the engine. Oh, shit I thought, this could be bad. However, a quick read on the 'net suggested that it was the exhaust camshaft sensor leaking and it is a relatively easy (and cheap) fix. The general consensus is that the o-ring Kawasaki have used is marginally too small and the issue can be cured by fitting a slightly bigger seal.

The recommended size to replace the OEM seal is 2.4mm x 16.3mm Viton 75 Metric O-ring which can be found on eBay for not a lot of money. I've been putting this job off for a while now, I wasn't getting any smoke on start up from the exhaust headers and the oil level wasn't dropping by any noticeable amount. But I was off work on the hottest day of the year with a hangover so what could go wrong?

I'll preface this by saying that I've not taken the fairings off before so was learning as I went. I also have crash bars which added a bit of time to the dismantling process. Before not long, the bike was looking like this



I didn't take any photos of the sensor pre-clean unfortunately - suffice to say it was caked in thick oily crud - I couldn't even see the bolt holding the sensor in place. After blasting the area with various cleaning products it looked like this (the sensor is the black plastic bit with the two wires coming out of the top)



You can see a comparison of the o-rings here



Sensor replaced and the bike put back together. All in all it took me six, yes 6 hours. In my defence I wasn't rushing and I changed my clutch fluid while the fairings were off - it was the colour of Lucozade. I also forgot to connect one of the front indicators so had to sort that little cock up out.I think if I were to do this again 3 hours would easily be achievable.

This is the thread I used as a guide http://forum.cog-online.org/concours-14-zg1400-general-chat-and-tech/cam-sensor-o-ring/50/

More specifically this post by slidebite


1. Remove windshield. I simply find it far easier and faster to do this to get at the plugs for the top fairing panels than monkeying around with a little tool. I know others may disagree so YMMV
2. Remove front black plastic gas tank cover
3. Remove top fairing side covers
4. Remove black plastic panel directly underneath headlight, the one held in by 4 push rivets for bulb access
5. Remove both main side fairing panels. Take your time and don't beak anything. Just maneuver it, the bottom clips especially require some finesse especially if you haven't done it before
6. Remove front fairing signal light panels
7. Remove the 2 bolts that hold the horn bracket (for maneuvering rad, makes it easier and safer for the rad). I just let the bracket hang from the wires because it weighs almost nothing. I did not do this the first time, but I think it is a good idea and takes less than a minute
8. Unbolt 2 top and 1 bottom rad mounting bolts. First take out the little rubber plugs which make it easy to access to the top bolts from each side. Note, depending on your tools it may be a little tight if you are using a 3/8" socket setup unless they are thin. I had to use a 10mm 1/4" drive w/extensions to fit through the access holes. With the 3 support bolts removed, you can now move the rad forward and down significantly and have reasonable access to the sensor with without removing the rad. Don't worry, the hoses and lower fairing are easily enough to support the rad. You may/may not need to unplug the rad fan(s) for slack
9. Roll the bike out of garage and clean accumulated oil on front of motor. Do this so when you remove the sensor you're not worrying about getting a bunch of dirt and grime in the motor when you are working on the sensor. Plus, it's just much nicer to work on a clean motor. I sprayed the front of mine with a citrus degreaser and then hosed it off. Worked well
10. Put bike back in garage. I used a blow gun on the front of my motor to dry it off really quickly
11. Now you have ready access to a clean front exhaust cam sensor. From the right side (when sitting on the bike), remove the 10mm mounting bolt
12. Wiggle and pull sensor out, remove o-ring
13. Install new and improved non-leaking o-ring of your choice.  Put a dab of oil or grease on the new o-ring to facilitate. I found I had better access and maneuverability from the LH side of the bike for this. I used a push and twisting motion and eventually got it, but it took some work. Reinstall and torque bolt back down
14. Reinstall everything else, Reverse procedure

Well, now I have sun stroke, I think it's time for a cold beer!

Holy thread revival!

Any updates on these discs now some time has passed?

Mine need replacing and am looking at options.

Thanks wildebeest.

Looking at the service manual it seems the groove for the fluid seal suggests the seal will be cut at an angle. The replacement seals I have seem cut square, is this going to cause a problem do you think?

I'm about to replace the seals on my rear brake calliper, it's the first time I've one this on a bike with ABS, can I just drain the fluid and bleed as usual to refill?

Thanks

Is there a decent write up of this somewhere on the net?

My bike has just ticked over 30k so am thinking about tackling this myself.

Is there a guide anywhere on the 'net on how to do the filter?

I've been putting it off but need to do it.

I saw in my right mirror something flick backwards - I thought it was something in the carriageway that I hadn't seen then when I got to work I put two and two together.

It's very annoying - those boxes ain't cheap.

The nice colour matched cover is now in a thousand pieces somewhere on the M25 

I'm fairly sure there's a (very faint) tinge of blue smoke in with the vapour but that's the trouble with this time of year, it's difficult to tell.

When I start the bike there's nothing coming out of the exhaust, after about 30 secs to 1 min it starts.

Hello,

I've got a 2010 GTR, 20k miles doing a 65 mile round trip daily commute, oils and filters changed about every 4k miles.

I know it's a cold time of year but I'm fairly certain I'm seeing smoke out of the exhaust on start up which would indicate valve seal problems. Is this common on the GTR?

Cheers

Well no reoccurrence since, bike has behaved perfectly. I do now keep  the necessary tools to access the battery compartment on the bike now, I think it must have been a dodgy earth, here's hoping.

Hello gents,

Thanks for the help, most appreciated.

I've cleaned connections to the battery, checked fuses including the 30A by the battery, all seem OK.

The frame earth that connects to the same bolt at the battery negative, is that the only one?

Check the basics first.
Clean shiny tight battery connections and earth points.

Batter connections all seemed good, tiny bit of corrosion on the earth but nothing that should affect it.

Hello,

Last night coming out of work I went to my 2010 GTR and went to start it as normal. Turned the ignition to 'On', the dials did their thing, thumbed the starter and the bike seemed to crank for a fraction of a second and then died. Completely dead, dials dead, no flashing light on dash etc. Pushing the black ignition dial did nothing at all, thought it was just a dead battery. Called RAC, waited for 1.5 hours and sods law the bike behaved perfectly normally, started fine etc but the clocks had reset - the time back to 1:00 etc.

The RAC bloke tested the voltages and said the battery seemed OK, rode home without a hitch.

Tried bike this morning, not a problem. Got my multimeter out and tested the battery, here's the voltages

Bike off : 12.74v
At idle : 14.05v
At 4k : 14.32v

I was hoping it was a duff battery as this would be an easy fix. Just to add, about a week or two ago I left the bike over night and the clocks had reset but the bike seemed to start fine although it did need cranking for a second or two when it normally starts on the button.

Any thoughts?

Cheers.