Fowling plugs

Hey guys this is the first KZ I have ever owned, it is my first bike. I'm having a problem with my plugs fowling out, one of my buddies told the carb is way open, but I have no clue what he is talking about and I'm not 100% positive he know what he is talking about. But... I gotta get this fixed, what should I do and how should I go about doing it?

First get a manual for your year and model ASAP. It will be a god-send.

In general this is the recommended troubleshooting order:
a) Compression
b) Ignition
c) Carburetion

Any other order will cost you time and money in equal measure. :pinch:

1) If the plugs are fouling with dry black soot then you have a spark problem and will need the WG Coil Repowering Mod (About $10 CAD in parts).

2) If it is fouling with oil, then you need to consider the rings or an exhaust valve seal.

3) If it is fouling with wet gas then you need to (in this order) adjust the carb bowl service fuel level, do a carb sync adjustment, adjust the gas-air ration or re-jet.

Best of success.

sounds to me like you probably have a bad float valve assembly in one of your carbs and please buy a manual it will help you get more familar with your motorcycle and all the sytems and how they are all connected.

all 4 are fouling out? whats the history on bike?
reg ridden? just out of storage?.......keith

The history is a little wishy washy from the guy. He says he has the carbs open more for dragging on the track but I don't know. I'm looking on Ebay for a manual right now guys. Thanx for the info.

sounds like ya might need to take a look at carbs.....good luck....lots of help here at kzrider.....

He probably means he has bigger mains in the carbs for better top end. You probably have no idea what I mean but when you get a manual you will see. Do you have individual pod filters? Aftermarket exhaust? Those will require you change the jetting. I'm betting the bike has 26mm carbs and the PO went crazy with the main jets and bumped them up way too much. They are easy to change and pretty cheap. One more thing have the compression checked. Low compression will foul the plugs with the fuzzy black soot.

If the plugs are fouling with dry black soot then you have a spark problem and will need the WG Coil Repowering Mod (About $10 CAD in parts).

Sorry Bill and others, not trying to start a war here but I have seen this posted way too many times now to not reply any longer.... This wiring configuration is not truly ideal...

Does it work, yes but not without other concerns now added to your already weak electrical system. This is only band aiding a problem, not repairing it. For if in a jam and the coil voltage is indeed on the weak side (<+12Vdc) and need to just make it home while out on a road trip, hell, don't even need a relay for that....

Black sooty plugs can be some as simple as the carbs being miss-adjusted... In my case, good power at the coils but still black/sooted. Cause, miss-adjusted pilots on brand new carbs... Then there's synch and proper jetting at idle and through the ranges to contend with...

KchiefA... the advice of getting the manual, study it, and go through every check & adjustment depicted in the maintenance section and you may find it to be something normal on a 30 year old bike...

You mentioned "dragging on the track".... well that alone may be a clue where the timing is advanced or retarded or he has the carbs tweaked to perform better at mid to high rpm range or maybe, he has a hot/cold plug in there for dragging.. who knows for now until you get the manual and get busy....

OMR

Yeah it does have individual carb breathers and aftermarket exhuast. A couple of the plugs have black soot and a couple have wet gas. I replaced all of them yesterday and she is currently running like a dream but.... I want this problem fixed so I am going to take the advice everyone has given me, "getting the manual prioity one" and all other advice probably print of the thread. I'm going to fix this and make it one hell of a bike. Thanx guys.

OMR, no-war-intended so no-war-taken. :laugh:

However, I am interested in:
1) why you believe it is not ideal and,
2) what other concerns might be added to a weakened charging system?

I think I have a handle on the benefits and, other than the $10 CAD cost, I have not come up with any significant down sides. Of course I have only implemented this on one bike, mine, so I may be missing some details due to my small sample size.

Again, no wars, just exchanging opinions/conclusions based on research and or experience between members.

Best of success.