Kawasaki Ninja Service Manual: Piston Ring, Piston Ring Groove Wear Inspection

Kawasaki Ninja Service Manual / Crankshaft/Transmission / Pistons / Piston Ring, Piston Ring Groove Wear Inspection

Check for uneven groove wear by inspecting the ring seating.

The rings should fit perfectly parallel to groove surfaces.

If not, replace the piston and all the piston rings.

With the piston rings in their grooves, make several measurements with a thickness gauge [A] to determine piston ring/groove clearance.

Piston Ring, Piston Ring Groove Wear Inspection

Piston Ring/Groove Clearance Standard:

Top 0.03 0.07 mm (0.0012
0.0028 in.)

Second 0.03 0.06 mm (0.0012
0.0024 in.)

Service Limit:

Top 0.17 mm (0.0067 in.)

Second 0.16 mm (0.0063 in.)

Piston Wear Inspection

Measure the outside diameter [A] of each piston 5 mm (0.20 in.) [B] up from the bottom of the piston at a right angle to the direction of the piston pin. If the measurement is under service ...

Piston Ring Groove Width Inspection

Measure the piston ring groove width. Use a vernier caliper at several points around the piston. Piston Ring Groove Width Standard: Top [A] 0.82 0.84 mm (0.0323 0.0331 in.) Second [B] 0.8 ...

Other materials:

Camshaft, Camshaft Cap Wear Inspection
Remove the camshaft caps (see Camshaft Removal). Cut the strips of plastigage (press gauge) to journal width. Place a strip on each journal parallel to the camshaft installed in the correct position. Tighten the camshaft cap bolts and upper camshaft chain guide bolts to the specified ...

Shifting Gears
Close the throttle while pulling in the clutch lever. Shift into the next higher or lower gear. Open the throttle part way, while releasing the clutch lever. For smooth riding, each gear position should cover the proper rate of speed shown in the table. WARNINGDownshifti ...

Compression Damping Force Adjustment
To adjust the compression damping force, turn the compression damping adjuster [A]. The standard adjuster setting is the 4 1/2 turns out from the fully clockwise position. WARNINGIf both adjusters are not adjusted equally, handling may be impaired and a hazardous condition ma ...