Recently bought a 2000 Kawasaki 1100 zxi

[MM Jester]

Please help a new guy! I'm trying to get up and running! Thank you for
any help in advance!

- I just bought a 2000 Kawasaki 1100 ZXI w/ a remanufactured SBT engine
in it. I bought it from a Kawasaki dealer. Here is what they told me
about it:

1. The man that owned it blew the original engine...they're not sure of
the cause. The man then brought the zxi to the dealership and they
replaced his blown engine w/ an SBT engine.

2. The man proceeds to blow the SBT engine also. They say the reason
is b/c a cooling hose came loose and since the engine wasn't getting
cold water it burnt up a cylinder.

3. They use the no-fault warranty to get a new SBT engine. They
installed the new engine. That's where the story is when I buy it.
They tell me it's a new engine w/ 0 hrs, but they haven't had it out on
the water yet, just tested in the shop.

- I take it for a test drive. Being a noob, I didn't look at the
RPMs...but I did notice that it never got more than 40 MPH (I know the
MPH is unreliable).

- The only other problem is that it stalled out a couple times when I
would let off the throttle. I'd be going at high speed and then
completely let off the throttle and it would just stop running. It did
it like 2 or 3 times in a 25 minute test drive. Each time it did this,
there was NO PROBLEM restarting it. It just started right up. The
owner of the dealership attributes this problem to the idle being set
too low.

So I buy it.

- I took it out for the first time last weekend...had it out for 15
minutes, and it died. Accept this time, IT WON'T RESTART! It won't
even turnover. I get nothing. I did happen to notice in the short time
that I was out that I got to around 5300 RPM.

- I get a tow back to the dock and get it up on the trailer...look
inside the hull and it has like 6 inches of water in bottom of the
hull...! I'm assuming the water means there's a leak somewhere...I was
sitting on the water paddling w/out the engine running for like 45
minutes though, would that be a reason for the water? Or are we talking
leak?

In my limited research I've been told to test for a bad battery (since
it doesn't turnover)...I went to autozone today, tested the battery and they tell me the battery seems to be fine. As far as it
stopping when I let go of the throttle, Reed Valve maybe? Low idle?

And what possible cause for the low RPM? That I'm not sure of...would
water in the hull cause that?

I called the dealer and the owner is gone until Friday...hopefully they
will troubleshoot and fix for free but they might not...so I'm trying to
troubleshoot on my own while he's gone.

Can anyone give me some insight into these problems and possible
solutions?

Thanks and sorry for the longness...lol.

[MM Jester]

Re: Recently bought a 2000 Kawasaki 1100 zxi

That post is too long...let me summarize by asking:

What might cause this:

I'm driving at full throttle and then completely let go of the throttle. The engine stops. Now the engine will not start. Will not even turn over...nothing.

Thanks for the help!

[MM Jester]

Re: Recently bought a 2000 Kawasaki 1100 zxi

I see no replies...

but in case anyone is interested....

I took it back to the dealer and I talked to them today...they say the engine is completely fried...

I rode it for 15 minutes and the engine blew...unbelievable...murphy's law.

[Wheels&Waves]

Re: Recently bought a 2000 Kawasaki 1100 zxi

Ask the dealer if they rebuilt/cleaned the carbs. That ski has CV carbs and are expensive to overhaul, so most skimp here. You can throw all the new parts at something but if you don't fix the symptoms, you will never fix the problem. Sounds like the dealer dropped the ball here. If your water leak was from a cooling line, dealer or installer fault here too. This is the third engine for this ski, someone has missed the root cause. The dealership should have known what was the cause of the failures by examination of the engine. Also, SBT will give a diagnostic of the failure when there is warranty exchange. If the dealership has any creditability, they should work with you.