Couple of newbie Q's

Me again.

Being that this bike is my first foray into the motorcycle world (and being more familiar with cars), and it didn't come with the owner's manual, I have a couple questions.

1. How do I reset the trip odometer?
2. How do I check the oil level, or is there even a dipstick on this engine?
3. The idle adjustment screw (which I wouldn't even know about except the guy I bought it from showed it to me) does clockwise raise the idle and counterclockwise lower it?
4. The RPM's seem to "stick" occasionally when you rev the engine...seems to do it more when the choke is on. Is that normal?

May have a couple more as I play with the bike. Thanks

There should be a wheel on the top left of the speedo that you turn to reset the miles

I'm not sure on the bike you have but there should be a site glass on the clutch cover on the right side of the bike. Put the bike on it's center stand and the oil should be between the lines on the cover.

I believe counter clock wise lowers the idle.

The RPM's should be up when the choke is on. If it's slow getting back to idle when warmed up you could try lubing the cables or cleaning the carbs off. There could be some gunk around the throttle assembly.

First off, welcome to the wonderful and exciting world of KZ's... Your life will never be the same!

The best advice anyone of us will be able to provide is buy yourself a service manual for that bike. This is a must! Google search, e-bay, whatever but do yourself a huge favor.

Example: I have three different versions for my bike...
Kawasaki KZ900 shop service manual, Haynes KZ900 service manual and Kawasaki KZ1000/1100 service manual where they have the same engine cases (pending years) and other components that are direct matches.

Study and read every page, you'll be surprised how fast you'll learn the basic questions as you have asked but more importantly, get to know your bike. Again, this is a must!

Oh yeah, almost forgot, we love pictures here...

Old Man Rock

I found a place selling service manuals on CD for this bike so I bought one last week. Should have it soon.

BTW I have pictures in my "Newbie here!" thread that should be a few posts down in this forum.

I need to give this bike a good once-over, I know that much.

One more thing I wanted to ask but forgot to include last night- Is there an easy way to tell how old the tires are by looking at them? Do they have manufacture dates on them anywhere?

Never ridden a Motorcycle in my life... Don't think the 15 min ride on the moped counts...

Saw a KZ1000 in my driveway one night and thought "Wow, that's a mean looking bike!" Next day I asked my stepdad and he explained his brother was trying to sell it. And so, my bike was delivered to me before I knew I was gonna buy!

Bike needs work...
My 2nd carb is leaking like a faucet when the bike is stopped...
Allready emptied the fuel tank and will clean out, will be cleaning the carbs a second time. If the problem persist what then? Please Advise

P.S. All the Kawboyz out there say a prayer for me... My first bike's a KZ1000 A1.

"My first bike's a KZ1000 A1"... Meaning you never have ridden previously, dirt or street?

If so, the best advice we can inform you of is to enroll yourself in a riding/motorcycle/safety course. Seriously, for the power behind that bike in even experienced hands should be RESPECTED at all costs...

For those of us that rode dirt bikes as kids, rode street bikes as adults, I can't count how many times I have personally witnessed totally brand new un-experienced riders go buy a powerful machine and crash and burn within a two week time period or less.

These are not toys... Are they fun, yes, are they fast, yes, can they be dangerous with racer want a be's, by all means.

Do yourself a favor, enroll in a class, learn the in's and outs of your bikes handling and ride safely. Don't be one of those we all see everyday jetting in and out of traffic thinking they have it under control, it's only a matter of time for those fools.

OMR

SEE POST ABOVE.............

Also find someone with a small dirt or street bike you
can beg, barrow, or steal and learn on that first...........

XENU

KawKid84 wrote:

Bike needs work...
My 2nd carb is leaking like a faucet when the bike is stopped...
Allready emptied the fuel tank and will clean out, will be cleaning the carbs a second time. If the problem persist what then? Please Advise.

Agreed with the suggestions above about getting some experience on a smaller bike first. Many of the safety courses can provide you with a small bike to use for the class, often a 250cc bike.

Regarding your leaky carb, I would suggest that you first get a service manual, then take the carbs off and clean them. The leak could be caused by a stuck float valve which is not closing properly, causing fuel to continuously flow into your float bowl. It is not good to be leaking fuel around a hot engine, so please fix it before riding again.

del

I'm sure by now you know how to adust the idle.Well my kz was sticking and you just need to turn it down some.make sure the engine is warmed up and set the rpm at about 1400.Mine runs real good there.if it still peeks out after a ride just turn it down a little.Also,accelerator pump might need some work.that could cause a slow deacceleration. What ever you do,be carefull!!!that bike is fast,and light.If you dont respect it for every second your rideing it,"it will kill you".Ive been riding for 10+ years and mine will still surprise me.Good luck.and ride safe.

So it's been a few years. How have you fared? Did you figure it out or have you decided bikes aren't in your blood after all.