New guy from MN

Well if you need help let me know. I would strongly suggest a factory service manual. It will help immensely. I drive through Rockford quite a bit taking HWY 55 on my way to Richmond, MN on weekends.

Cory

Very nice. I just moved here and was planning on waiting out through the winter but it looks like I may be relocating to the North Eastish burbs of Mpls

Well after the last bike went on to become more trouble than it was worth, it ended up being sold before it was fixed. We were moving and it was just the right decision at the time.

Moving forward a to earlier last month I picked up a new nightmare of a project (glutton for punishment I guess).



82 KZ650. The guy told me it was a 750 and that it was running well last year. I’m starting to think he was a liar on both counts. I did pick it up for $550 and figured it’d be worth the trouble. It needed a battery and the starter died almost immediately after replacing that.

Got the starter rebuilt, verified(I think I verified) the electrical and still haven’t been able to get it to run.

So far I’ve
-rebuilt the starter
-gave it new gas
- made sure(again, I think) everything is grounded/connected
-topped off the oil

Was hoping some of you fellas might have some ideas as to where I can start looking for obvious problems. If I’m out of line I don’t mind copying this to a tech section thread so let me know if I’m out of line asking in here.

Other clues,
- 2 plugs are wet after trying to start and 2 are dry
-All four wires provide spark and I was able to arc the plugs to the frame
-While cranking I get a puff noise every revolution, so Id guess at least that verifies the engine and valve train are at least turning if at least on some level its sucking and exhausting air

I don’t know what to look for when going after them but my next direction was going to be the carbs(floats? Set screws? Jets?) or the valves(maybe the valves are too tight to allow fuel in the other two cylinders? Not sure)

Any help would be excellent and very highly appreciated. I don’t have friends to help me on this and Im pretty new to the old stuff like this. Thank you very much in advance.

Regarding the year of the bike and engine -

On the right side of the engine near the oil filler you will find the engine's serial number; stamped on the steering neck you will find the bike's VIN. Assuming it is a KZ650 you can look both those numbers up at the link below to see what year / model bike and engine you have. Ed

models.kz650.info/index.htm

Hey thanks for getting back to me Ed.

Yeah I found the info under the seat when i went to change the battery. I wanna say it was a 650 *csr but I forget off the top of my head. H2 I believe?

I have the information written down somewhere on my desk at home.

Carbs. Check this out.
Steve
kzrider.com/forum/11-projects/598262-kz-...-will-it-live#672882

From my description are you pointing me to carbs? That's what i assumed you meant.

Either way thanks for the info I'll read up now.

Id honestly rather play with the carbs than valves anyhow haha... thanks again!

That will be your next step. :dry:
Steve

Yeah after seeing how bad that guys was that'll definitely be my first place I'll check.

Thanks again for the heads up, that's a great thread.


Oh wow "that guy" is you! Started reading too quickly and didnt even notice. What did you clean them with? I have goof off wich has been working miracles an everything for me so far.

We all know what a PITA adjusting the valves are but look at it this way, they'll be good for 3-5000 miles. I'm about to change a rear tire. I check my valves at the same time. Once you do it, it becomes routine. Very common for a bike with carb problems being sold turns out the valves were too tight. :whistle:
Steve

I use carb and choke cleaner and a guitar string for the pilots. Take them out and squirt through every hole. Smear grease on the gaskets to help them seal. Mine are 30 years old.
Steve

I appreciate your help greatly, thank you.

Im going to go dig in. Im sure I'll have something to report later.

Thanks again!