04 ZZR250 Stopped on highway

... Remove tank, exhaust, Drain the coolant,loosen four bolts drop the motor... Very complicated bike to work on.

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To the OP: PLEASE, get this diagnosed properly by someone knowledgeable looking and listening in person, before you go jumping to conclusions sending the bike to a scrapyard or finding another engine for it. We are all operating based on what you have told us, and given that you are not mechanically experienced, it could be inaccurate. What you've told us is suggestive of something really, really bad ... but it doesn't take much for things to get misunderstood (or mis-explained ...) over the internet.
 
As I reread your post my bike was driving abit weak but kept driving it then one day the rpm just went, gave it throttle and it kept dying, made a terriable sound when it was dying very loud clicky, tired to start it again, turned over wouldn't start, some valves were burnt out. Do a compression or a leak down test before you buy a motor

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To OP: Are you checking the oil level on the kickstand/sidestand, or on the centre stand? You can't get a valid reading of the oil level on the sidestand
 
OP - roughly where do you live? Maybe someone would be willing to swing by to take a look.
 
I topped off the oil to see if it would change anything. And it did, idles on it's own now, but there is still a rattling/clicking. I don't have a centre stand but I got my sister to sit on it, gauged with my eyes to see if it was vertical (I know, not 100%) from the back and then poured the oil, checked, poured some more, ran it around the back yard and put a bit more in and such. That noise is scaring me from actually going to tthe street.
I'd love for someone to give an educated diagnosis from here. I'm located in the northern beaches of toronto, near VP and Kingston. If anyone would be willing to come by and give me their opinion in person, I'd be very grateful.
I might scrap this bike for like 500-700$ instead of spend the 400+ on a motor and get a 08+ 250 or 300 ninja. My riding season started in may, I'd hate for it to end in August.
 
DoubleJ said:
One hour change over I don't think so!
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Ever done it before? I've done three motor swaps on ninja 250s. Things are easier when you know what your doing, and having 20 grand in tools to make things faster. Air ratchets, screwdrivers, impact guns go a hell of a long way.

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DoubleJ said:
Oh 20 grand in tools.... i am getting impressed. Not
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I wouldn't be impressed either I know guys with 50 grand or more in tools my point is I know what I'm doing and I have the tools to do it, bring me a ninja 250 I'll have the motor out and back in, in a hour. Have you ever swapped a 250 motor?


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Thanks again for the online diagnoses.
Figured I'd just sell the bike.
Someone came by and gave me a more accurate in-person diagnosis, and it was rather similar to what most of you all came up with.
 
Mango Rider said:
Thanks again for the online diagnoses.
Figured I'd just sell the bike.
Someone came by and gave me a more accurate in-person diagnosis, and it was rather similar to what most of you all came up with.
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engine damage from oil starvation?
 
It was important to know how much oil was in there before adding more. If you still have the bike, do you know how much oil you added?
 
You might want to drain the engine oil into a CLEAN pan and see what is in the oil. (Maybe strain the oil through a clean rag)
Also remove the oil filter and cut it open for inspection.
If you find any more metal than a trace you could have large problems.
 
Selling a 250 with a blown engine will net you very little. You might as well source an engine for it and replace
 
... depends on the condition of the rest of the bike, though. I gather from post #1 in this thread that perhaps the rest of the bike might not be a pristine example, and in that case, it might be best to sell it off for parts.

Resale values of the older models (ZZR's, etc) took a plunge when the 2008 model came out.
 
I bought a 4L thing of oil a while back for the first oil change, used half of it on the oil change then, and a bit more on something else.
When I topped off the oil, I used the second half, almost completely (without oil filter change, it's recommended using 1.5L) until the looking glass measure was at 1/2 to 3/4 between the 2 lines. Sound got muffled, nothing more. I've also been scared to actually ride it anywhere since the noise started, even after the oil toppup.
My friend said a complete oil change was a good idea, but if it wasn't a fix, I was out 20-40$ for another thing of oil, filter, and more time without riding.
The bike isn't in the best condition and I wasn't willing to spend more money and time on this one when I'm in the middle of crunch time for classes.
The diagnosis the guy gave me was a bottom end engine problem, with the bearings spinning due to oil starvation. And the possibility of piston damage. Nasty.
Everyone who came by and actually showed serious interest in buying it, were ready to fix it themselves or had arrangements ready to replace it.
 
It's pretty apparent that the engine was run almost completely out of oil, which is consistent with major internal damage to the engine. It's also pretty apparent that you don't have the technical capability to fix this yourself. If anyone looked at the bike and gave you a non-zero offer to buy it ... SELL IT and let them fix it or part it out. Write off what you've lost as a learning experience ... keep an eye on the mechanical condition of your vehicles, including fluid levels.
 
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