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Hey, everyone.

So here's my '78 Kz200. I bought it from a neighbour on Craigslist for $500. As you can see, it's already been stripped down. My neighbour replaced the seat and added some dirt bike bars and knobby tires (which I think makes it look kind of badass). He also removed the airbox and installed pod filters. The battery and connections look like they're done up in kind of a bodge-job, but the bike runs and drives.

The only problems are that it runs rich (he gave me an extra spark plug and said, "You'll probably need this soon"), and last night I kickstarted it and the headlight blew. Looks like I'll be replacing the assembly, but what Google has told me. I'll also need to sort the wiring, as the blinkers and brake light don't work now. I noticed he'd taken off the regulator...could that be the reason?

As far as the running rich, I'm wondering if he didn't re-jet the carb after adding the pod filter. Good thing it's only a thumper, right?

Anyway, it's kind of a cool little rat bike, and I'm happy to have something to ride while I rebuild my KZ400. I'm also happy to have something my girlfriend can ride after she does her BRC, so I'm motivated to get it working properly for her as well!

It may not be rich. Might be bad valve guide seals.
Steve

Regulator is necessary.
Typically, when converting to a pod filter the mixture goes lean. If it is running rich, there are problems in the fuel system, or as swest mentioned, the valve stem seals are shot, or maybe both.
You really should get your hands on the genuine Kawasaki factory service manuals for the exact year and model of each bike. Yhe tuneup and diagnostic sections will prove invaluable.
Since you don't know for certain what has been done and what has been left undone, insuring that the basic maintenance items have been properly tended to will make identifying and remedying the additional problems less complex.
Correct valve lash, cleaning and adjusting the carb and a careful analysis of the electrical system (especially the ignition system) are good places to start.

Good to know, and thanks for that. I'm very comfortable riding bikes, not so comfortable working on them (although my first bike was a Honda CX500, and I knew how to clean carbs and do valve adjustments on that), but I'm hoping to change that. I want to be like Pirsig in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," where he just knows his bike well enough to understand what's going on.

I have been planning on tearing the carb apart and at least cleaning it out, but maybe I'll order a rebuild kit and that way I can be starting from zero.

As far as the regulator/rectifier, that totally explains why my lights don't work, or why I have to kickstart the bike to make any of the electricals work (which at this point is only the horn). I'm just trying to find out where I can mount one, and I'm not finding much on that. Where can/should I mount that?

I just found this article on Bike EXIF, www.bikeexif.com/motorcycle-wiring, that seems pretty helpful.