1979 KZ1000 LTD Project...

Yes, 2 post ago I stated I was wrong about the year.

Have you checked valve clearances yet?

Have you checked to see what kind of voltage you are getting to the coils? If you're not getting full battery voltage,(with engine off, key on) then its time to fix that before messing with the carbs more.

Pull the gas tank and check the yellow/red wire that splits and goes to each coil. I'll try to get you a photo if your not sure which wire to check.

Also look at this....

www.wgcarbs.com//index.php?option=com_co...sk=view&id=Itemid=89

You need to do these two things first and then dial in your carbs. Or else you may just be chasing your tail.

Great advice. I was concerned about the spark and was going to replace the plugs. They look good but was going to replace them anyway. I will pull the tank as soon as I get a chance and check the voltage.
As for valve clearance, have not done that yet. It sounds fine, not any loud tapping but I know that doesn't mean much. Just wasn't ready to pull the valve cover off yet. Guess I am going to have to. Just too cheap to take to a shop, when I know I can do the stuff myself (Problem, I get a little lazy at times).

Thanks for your help.

You're not looking for a tapping, what happens is the valve clearances get tighter with use.

This holds valves open, bleeds off compression and burns valves, check and fix ASAP or you will have bigger problems

daveruckel wrote: Great advice. I was concerned about the spark and was going to replace the plugs. They look good but was going to replace them anyway. I will pull the tank as soon as I get a chance and check the voltage.
As for valve clearance, have not done that yet. It sounds fine, not any loud tapping but I know that doesn't mean much. Just wasn't ready to pull the valve cover off yet. Guess I am going to have to. Just too cheap to take to a shop, when I know I can do the stuff myself (Problem, I get a little lazy at times).

Thanks for your help.

It gets expensive buying all the tools and such you need but I think its worth it. Z1E sells two different versions of valve tools. Original style and and pry bar kind. I went with the OEM style for $55 and I really like it...makes the job really easy. Do some searches, there was a recent thread about this subject. I think the aftermarket tool is a motion pro. Batwing I think they also call it?

I wont take my bike to a shop, no way! I just don't trust anyone to know enough about these old bikes to work on them. Our local Kawi dealer is all kids back there working on 4 wheelers and dirt bikes. I wouldn't even consider letting them near my bike.

I know there are specialty shops that really know their old bikes, but none around here that I know of. So I decided to just buy a factory service manual and do all my own work.

There are lots of threads here on cam end plugs. Thats probably going to be the hardest part of the job, getting the new ones to seal. You will just have to read all the info and decide what to do. 3 options, go OEM for about $40 a set, aftermarket rubber for $8 or aftermarket aluminum for abound $30.

You will also need a torque wrench that reads inch lbs down to 50 or so. This Husky seems to get good reviews for the price with lifetime warranty....

www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-1-4-in-Torque-...c239Zrd#.Uh__hj-XTnY

The craftsman ones from sears are junk now so I hear. Plus they only have a year warranty now? If you can find an older US made one they are good. My neighbor has a Craftsman he bought in 2003 that I borrow and I really like it.

If you plan to work on the bike and keep it for awhile you NEED to buy a factory service manual. Don't waste your money on a clymer or Hayes like I did. Just get the real deal. There is a guy on ebay out of New Zealand that sells reprints. Thats what I bought.

I think you can go back and edit the first post to say 1977 instead of 1979.

Here is the thread discussing the valve shim removal tools. Near the bottom of page 1 Patton links to them and gives directions for using the "batwing" version.

I bought the factory version and it was very easy to use. But the "batwing" is $50 less! If I knew it could be used without the prybar I probably would have bought that one. The idea of prying on the bucket/cam didn't sound very appealing to me.

www.kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/590451

74ullc, I really appreciate your advice and guidance. I did the power to the coils mod, and it made a huge difference. I would suggest that to anyone. I think it cast me about $20 in parts but has saved me bunches of time chasing what I thought was the issue but was not. Great fix!

Now if I can just get my #3 carbs to stop leaking fuel. The float gets stuck and floods out the carb. If I tap it with a screwdriver it closes off. The carbs are clean, so I have no idea why it would stick. Do you have a trick up your sleeve for this. Any help would be great!

for the sticky float.
you might try removing the needle from the float valve and polishing the four sides of it with some fine emery paper.

leon

I will pull it out tomorrow and polish the needle. I thought about swapping it with number 4 carb to see if it moves to that carb.
THanks for the advice.

anything that is made of metal and wears together will be "mated" with wear patterns and should typically be kept in the same locations together.



keep us posted,

leon

So i received this bike in boxes so I really did not know what I was getting. I have her together and running but I have an odd carb issue that is leading to my question. So here I go...

I am guessing they are stock carbs - VM26SS - I have them jetted and it runs good from idle to half or 3/4 throttle, then that is where the issue happens. At this point they hangup and stick. Carb #4 slide runs smooth, #3 hangs up big time, #1&2 slightly hangup. At this point the throttle will stick, I can take it back down by twisting it back. But the issue is #1-3 will not open all the way which is leading to me not being able to get to full throttle.

I taken the carbs apart and cleaned them. when I did, #4 slide comes right out with no effort. #1&2 require some effort. #3 requires much effort to get removed.

Can the carb bodies or slides warp or become malformed from heat? I am just guessing here and need some input. Maybe someone else has had this and has a fix that is obvious that I am not seeing.

Thanks for any help I can get.