I am looking at buying an '88 Tecate and have some questions, i've never looked at one before now so please bare with me. Is there anything out of the ordinary about the clutch(more expensive than other models to rebuild etc.)? Who makes aftermarket a-arms for these? Is the KIPS exhaust valve totally enclosed in the head(compared to snowmobiles where it is visible)? How do they fly? How many pounds of compression should I have when I do a compression check?
Thanks for any info.

 

I was just wondering did you find the tecate on her for sale or somewhere else.

 

I didn't find this Tecate on here, it was in the local paper. I bought it last night. This thing is great, man does it haul a**! I have a modified 300EX that is fun to ride, but it just doesn't compare to the hit of a 2 stroke! I heard that it's hard to keep these Tecate motors together. Is there any truth to this? What do you do as far as maintainence(I've always had 4 strokes)?

 

Just dont peg it out, and it will do ok=)

 

I had a 87 tecate and I only had three problems with it. I had to put new pistion and rings and some new power valves and the silencer mount broke so I had to make a new one.

 

welcome to the club ,one of the major diffs is the 87 has a round barrel carb,w straight lower a arms looking from the frt. 88 has a flatslide aarms w a bend and adj frt and rear shocks (clickers under rubber grommet frt shocks.so much for the major diffs 87-88.) Use a good 2 stroke oil period no crap brand oil.I suggest "bel ray h1r same price of mc1 but made for power valve motor,or klotz ben'ol . NOW mix 32:1 -T-4 will live forever this way. would reccomend K&N air filter also,the reason for 32:1 and not 50:1? (1) kawa reccomended it (2)more oil protection for crank and rod,piston skirt etc. most t-4 blowed up because round barrel carb was to lean on top end,riders would warm engine improperly, run any brand crap oil at dangerous levels,or do some uknowledgeable hop to carb,rember it has pwervalves unlike a 250 r honda. make shure your close to the factory jet sizes so you know what you have,run only the size of jet you need ,not what your buddy has in his xyz quad . the powervalves are in the front of the cyl jug. you can look and see if the are working properly by taking a small cover off the right cluch cover 2 small 8mm bolts w rubber grommet on bottom above water pump, take it off it is a mud &debris guard warm up bike throughly,now stop and quick rev in neuteral looking at arm if it moves outward smoothly with rev its working if its stuck or moves to slowly your "power band will suck" port timing will be wrong ,This is why you run good 2 stroke oil,the oil will gum up the power valves,thats why the "h1r" reccomendation.sometimes you have to warm it up for a long time if valves are starting to gum up.However if the powervalves are stuck park it.fix it properly and you will have a great time. not trying to sound like aknow it all but love a good reputation when some one sees a ol green tecate ripping around. ** quotes from the pits ** "if they can pronounce kawasaki& tecate"ya gotta smile&grin , you don't have to explain!!! t-4 88 39mikuni,la sleeve,fmf fatty,ac nerfs,skid&bumpers. works shocks,+2arms,ebc severe rotors &pads,mojave seat cover,itps or bent blue lables,+4 rear axle,fmf909 bars,easy pull msr clutch,custom ho made steering stem +3 taller, Hey kawasaki team green R&D I'M STILL WAITING FOR something NEWWWWWWWWWWWWW,gotta be getting close ? OR BREAK OUT the molds start making some vintage T-4 NOS parts,I'M getting b/o to death. even the finest machine will wear out with 13 years of hard riding.show me the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

Greencow-thanks for the advise. I bought a quart of Bel ray H1R today and will mix it at 32:1. I found the power valve cover and it seems to be working good. I will probably tear the top end apart soon anyways just to make sure the bearings are tight, and to just check it all out. The Tecate that I bought was mostly all stock, and doesn't look like it was used much at all. My'97 300ex is in much worse shape. I plan to use the Tecate only once in a while because I'd like to keep it in good shape, i'll use my 300ex for the nasty stuff, because I have many spare Honda parts. Buying a machine that was left stock has its good, and bad points. The good point is that it isn't all hacked up and probably wasn't abused. The bad point is, i've found that a lot of people that leave things all stock, seem to think that they don't have to do any maintainence. I was suprised that the power valve still worked because the guy that I bought this from, gave me a pint of "Homelite"(not kidding) oil, and told me to mix it 20:1. He also said that it needed a clutch(the cable just needed to be adjusted...LOL). I had some extra money left so I bought an FMF pipe and silencer and some reeds. I would like to get some Works shocks for the front sometime. I make plastic skidplates and sell them on ebay, now that I have a Tecate, i'll be making them for it. If any of you T-4 guys want one, email me and i'll give you a good deal. I would like to make the skidplates wrap up around the frame, and tuck under the front bumper, so that it saves the factory bash plate in the front. I won't be putting them on ebay though, I don't think there is enough demand.
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