20 Most Recent 1980 kawasaki KE 125 Questions & Answers

Hi, From what you describe it sounds like the big end bearings to me. Gearbox problems tend to be slipping in and out of gear or difficulty selecting a gear. Be careful doing this but if you place the blade of a large screw driver against the engine casing and place your ear against the handle, you can use the screwdriver as a stethoscope and listen for engine noises. It may give you an indication where the noise is coming from. Get someone to hold the bike steady with the engine running as you put the blade of the screwdriver against the engine casing and the handle close to your ear. Watch out for the hot exhaust in particular. The longer the screwdriver the better. Do take care doing this but it's an old mechanics trick to trace noise problems. Good luck, I hope you get it sorted.

Yes, there is a lighting coil that only powers the headlight when the engine is running, all other lights/indicators can be run off the battery when not running.

A new carb at Babbitt's is $209.23. Having a shop clean the existing carb would probably be $40 if you take the carb to them. Be aware that most shops will not work on bikes over 10 years old. Call a shop and ask for sure. The problem with buying an older bike is parts availability. Kawasaki parts are easier found than the other Japanese bikes. Go to the site below for parts. Please rate my answer.
www.babbittsonline.com/pages/parts/viewbybrand/default.aspx

Alldata.com :)

I don't know if I can solve it but it sounds to me like you're not getting enough fuel. has it been sitting awhile or just start doing this randomly? If it's been sitting there's a pretty good chance you'll need to clean you carburetor. when gas sits in the bowl of your carburetor for too long it will get thick and smell almost like varnish. My Suzuki 250 4x4 had a similar misfire and cleaning the carb fixed mine.

burning to hot, change air filter. adjust mix on carb, tight in and 1 and 3/4 out

Petseal will fisx the petrol tank and the carb is probably blocked with dead insects and corroded jets etc.

Check out Babbitt's. You can see exploded parts diagrams and order parts. Please rate my answer. www.babbittsonline.com

No you do not need the battery just make sure that your key or kill switch are all working properly.

try under the seat

The parts are available as well as complete carburetors, I checked. Go to www.babbittsonline.com and you can order from them. On the site you can see an exploded view of the carb. But if you don't want to put a few bucks in the bike, I would be happy to put it in my garage. :-) Please rate my answer. Thanks.

Typically there is a piece called a one way clutch. It is bolted to the back of the flywheel. In this case the one way clutch is not grabbing the large starter gear. You will have to remove the engine side cover, pull off the flywheel, and replace the one way clutch and starter gear. Then, when the starter motor is spinning , the clutch will grab the starter gear, the motor will turn over, and hopefully start.

1. check piston rings 2. check valve seal 3. check spark plug tight 4.check head bolts 5. check gaskets
do all these one by one and check the compression.

I would suspect a chafed wire caused by vibration.

Check www.mrcycles.com as they often have diagrams for such things on the web free of charge.

I had a problem with my gold wing like that, once you make sure that there is no frame damaged setting your bike on a center stand do the one pice string around the back tire pulled to the front on both
sides,(make sure your rear tire is alined on the same marks for the swing arm) checking your triple tree for damage or just might need to be loosened and retightend

About 3500 miles or 5000 klm. Change the oil filter as well.

I suspect you have a blocked jet. Strip the carburettor down and clean thouroughly.
Hope that helps.

It sounds like there is a problem with the voltage regulator. Check the regulator by substitution.
Hope that fixes it for you.

You might try and find a good used one. Contact these folks here. >>> Link 1 >>> Link 2 >>>> Link 3 >>> Link 4