I'm starting to notice that my bike is slow, is this expected having a 250cc bike or is my bike losing power?


Another thing I'm worried about, strange noises coming from the bike when i'm riding it, is this to be expected also?

 

Welcome to KF,

250cc bike is faster than the average car and slower than the average bike. It is a good bike for learning on and most people progress from there. Not to say that there is not a lot of people who ride 250 on a daily basis and love them. There is also "those other people" who need the 150+ hp and ride bigger faster bike. I am an other!

The sound or noise, you will need to give us more detail.

 

strange noises? LOL! What kind of noise do you hear? Is it coming from the engine itself, or elsewhere? If you have never checked your valves, do so. You could have zero clearances on your valves! (that is bad!)

 

Shouldn't the valves have been checked at the 500 miles service?

 

I believe they should be but were they is more the question. Also Kaws are known to have a ticking sound, but if it is real bad there could be something going on. Could even be the cam chain tensioner.

 

they should of been checked, but that doesn't mean they really were. I would assume by your above post that you bought the bike used? I so, you never know what the original owner did. Some people are lazy, and don't bother. The 500 mile valve service is not covered by kawasaki, so some people skip it, thinking it doesn't matter.

If it's making a ticking sound, that means the valves have a lot of clearance between the cam. The chain tensioner on 250's I don't think were ever a problem part. Some kawi tensioners, Like the one on my KZ were though