Bike wont start.....

[geniusloerts]

OK, so i am going to start off apolagizing already for bringing this up.....but my dad in order to relive his glory days went and bought a 80 Kawasaki Kz1000...the bike wont start regularly.....it will sit there and turn over and over. the only way it would start is if the fuel is left on for a long time. we went over the carbs and checked for clogging, checked the compresssion...its good, and sparks as well. we are about to chek the timing though.


Any ideas clue me in...

I know its not a yamaha.

[prometheus578]

KZ1000.. beautiful bike. As easy as an XS to work on.
Good, now pull the battery and recharge it.
Probably crankin' too slow.
Aslo, on an odd chance... pull the fuel lines, turn the petcocks on and see just how much fuel is flowing.
Had one once where the petcock was loaded with rust. It would only trickle fill the float bowls. (it would start after a long time, like you mentioned, but run out of fuel quickly)
If it starts, which you say it does, the timing should be correct. Will it run for you after it starts?
Back to the battery...setting for a long time rejuvenates them... maybe that's why it'll start after setting a spell... cranks stronger.

[AlanB]

Hi geniusloerts,

I don't know if the US models are the same as we got over here, but most jap bikes of that age are like the XS; the choke jet is hidden in the bottom of the float bowl, and is the first thing to block; I have had the same problem on a couple of GS Suzukis and a KZ650. They were very hard to start, but ran great once warmed up.

After turning the bike over for a while, it should smell strongly of fuel; If not, your problem is in the fuel system somewhere.

AlanB

[geniusloerts]

Well, other things to be ruled out... the fuel flow is fine we had just replaced the petcocks. we went throught the carbs and checked for blockage, none to be found. once the bike did start it ran very well. its just a hard one to get started. I have a trickle charger on it so i have plenty of cranking juice to turn it over.

the main problem is gettting it to start. it will sit there and crank for a bit and then act like it is going to start but dosent get moving on its own. Maybe the mixture screws are off? dose any one know the standard turns out for these? they are mikuni carbs. when we took them apart they were all at 1 and 1/4 turns out except one which was 3 turns.... we set them all to the same turns out.

dunno this one has bitten me in the butt so far.

thanks guys

[geniusloerts]

so get this, it seems that when it dose try to start on its own it is when the spark is jumping good, from my observations the spark is inconsistant and when it does spar is when it trys to start.,....points or coils? we are looking at the gap on the points now.

[randy]

we are looking at the gap on the points now.

Well, there's your problem, get rid of the points and install pickup coils

Sorry, couldn't resist. The proper gap at the coils is .7mm. Also, one of the causes of intermittent spark is the plug wire / cap connection. Water infiltration, heat and just plain age causes corrosion over time. The caps unscrew from the wires and if you cut the wires back 1/4 inch it will give you a good connection. The other main cause of intermittent spark is fouled plugs.


If you rule out the above and you still have the problem you may need to do the 'solder fix' inside the TCI.

[geniusloerts]

victory is mine

so here is what i did to get it running,

1st, checked the clearance on the pickup's -good
2nd, the plugwire caps-re-cut and put on again (aparently one was not even touching the wires)

with that i was able to get it to fire up, but it would not idol without the throttle wide open....so...

3rd tuned the motor by ear....no it runs better than it ever did since we bought it......im in the process of getting a carb sync to tune it right.

[randy]

XS-ellent!