I'm going tomorrow to pick up a Kawasaki Tecate. 87. 250 2 stroke. The guy said he had the engine rebuilt and he took it around the block ( probably means "redlined it to the next county") and came back and it shut off on him. Since then when hes tried to start it, all it has done is backfired but not started. What do you guys think it is? Im getting it at 9 pm and im workin into the wee hours of the night to try and get it runnin for some weekend fun. Any suggestions?

 

Had the exact same problem when I first got my Lakota, it turns out that the whole top end was fried[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img] This is a four-stroke however, so it may be different, but just think logically here, when I bought my Lakota a few years ago, I paid $2000 for it with shot rings and valves, $300 for a Tecate, you should expect to be in the shop for a few days at least.

 

Its actually in really good shape. Plastics look great. I found it on craigslist and asked the guy what model it was. He said he didnt even know. Asked him if it was two stroke and he didnt know that. "well i think you have to use oil in the gas. drrrrrrr. It was just rebuilt. Its got a new wiseco sticker on it so im gonna tear it down and she what shes packin.

 

Hey BigRay,

Congratulations & Good Luck with the Tecate!
They're a pretty sweet ride...if you're into power not reliabilty.
Parts and service are kind of a B----, as I'm sure you know that they only built them for 2 years.
If you ever want to sell the Tecate, let me know as I'm looking for a parts machine.
I'll make it worth your time.

The name's Jason and my cell # is 231-690-1429.