hello, i have a 1986 kawasaki eliminator zl600. when i bought this bike off cragslist it ran perfectly, but ive ran into alot of problems lately and the most recent one is that one of the pistons seems to be pre igniting in the cylinder causing piston slap and a loss of power, i was wondering if anyone knew of any newer enging (90s up) that i could buy that would fit the eliminator? because i am a full time student i dont have the time to rebuild the current engine in the bike, this is my only ride to school and work as of right now. please reply if you know what would fit.

 

Sometimes taking your new ride to a mechanic can save you some headaches and what if's.
Welcome to KF

 

What makes you think it's piston slap. That is extremely rare to actually hear it. Either get a mechanic's stethoscope ($4 at Harbor Freight stores or $10 on ebay) or a long handle screw driver (handle end against ear). Put the tip against various areas of the engine to locate your noise. You can easily find which valves might be loose or if the noise is coming from another source.

I'd find it unusual and hard to believe it is actually piston slap. That is a sign of an engine that is totally worn out, too much clearance on the piston skirt. I'd find it to make more sense if the valves are loose (reshim) or the cam tensioner failing and letting it make noise as the chain slaps around (happens on the ZX6 with the same engine and can cause performance issues, I've sold a few tensioners for the early ZX6s, have a rep for doing good for the KLX250s here). Another possibility is that your carbs are out of synchronization, causing problems. Do the cheap stuff first, check the carb sychronization. Then the valves, which might need reshimmed on some. The tensioner isn't a big deal if needing replacing, mine are a low buck permanent fix and it isn't an invasive job, but if it isn't broke don't fix it.

Nice part with the Eliminator is there's not a lot of bodywork to take off. You might want to look at the ZL-OA forum. It is an Eliminator group and the guys are good guys. I visit them at Mid Ohio every year for the past three years.