TOPIC:

The spark and ignition timing was adjusted and both check out good, and when it was dissasembled the first time completely I made sure to put everything back exactly the same as it was and as for cleaning parts with the wire I didn't do thy. I did take each part out that I could/wasn't changing and blew compressed air through multiple parts. But I am going to go back and take it all apart again and make sure everything is cleared out.

Only use the "wire" if you suspect the port / passage / jet is completely plugged. If air passes thru, just spray with aerosol carb cleaner and then blow thru w/ compressed air. Remove any gum and varnish deposits with carb cleaner and a soft brass wire brush. If you are having problems with cleaning the carb bodies, get them ultrasonically cleaned at a small engine or motorcycle shop that has the equipment. You will save some money if you strip all the removable parts off of them first and only give them the carb bodies to clean.

Kray-Z wrote: If you are on a budget - get the Motion Pro carb sticks. They are good enough for the average home mechanic; I've had a set for nearly thirty five years and used them on everything from twins to CBX's. Just don't let the engine suck up any mercury......

The new ones do not use mercury. Thank the EPA. I have read that the new Motion Pro stick is more frustrating to use than the old ones, but still usable. It is also much cheaper than a set of proper vacuum gauges and cheaper still than the cream of the crop Morgan Carbtune.

Welp, it looks like the cheapo Amazon gauges are less than the Motion Pro.

www.motionpro.com/product/08-0411

www.carbtune.co.uk/c.com/

www.amazon.com/Vacuum-Carburetor-Synchro...-Gauge/dp/B004MSJ7E6

TexasKZ wrote:

Kray-Z wrote: If you are on a budget - get the Motion Pro carb sticks. They are good enough for the average home mechanic; I've had a set for nearly thirty five years and used them on everything from twins to CBX's. Just don't let the engine suck up any mercury......

The new ones do not use mercury. Thank the EPA.

Next they will ban a certain brand of outboard boat motor because it has to much "Mercury" in it....

(Professor Farnsworth voice) Good news everyone! Mostly...
So since the holiday weekend up until today i've ordered the carbtune and the colortune from the UK, am almost saved up for a good chunk of parts (tach cable, plugs/wires and those expensive green dyna coils) and have taken carbs apart although not off-rack for a thorough double cleaning. After everything was said and done turns out a lot of the problem for the 4th cylinder is what I suspected before which was no gas being sprayed. Retested fuel levels and set jets to 112.5 main and 17.5 pilot due to having pods and 4 to 1 exhaust. And so far cyl 4 now is getting gas, although it's still running rich and has some pops coming from the 4th carb hole if you listen closely. My grandfather suspects the valve or valve seat which I think are known to need changing on these bikes. More specifically the intake valve/seat.
My next plan of action: Perform a leakdown test (see if it indicates anything specific)

Valves adjusted. The seats generally don't go bad unless the valves are neglected.
Steve

Did the leak down test, all cylinders have a percentage of right around 22%. Was researching and can't really find if that's acceptable or not. An important note is when the 4th cal was tested it read 24% and when pressurized you could hear a very faint hiss coming form inside the oil filler hole. My grandfather said it was leaking past the rings, I hope this doesn't mean what I think it means Double checked the cam lobe gaps today again (misplaced the paper that I wrote them down on from last time) all within spec, but with that being said, one of the cylinders' exhaust valves was right at .14. I know the max is .15 but it seems to be alright for now. (Or would you guys say it warrants adjusting them all?) If not i'll leave it and tune everything once I get the tank back on and tools delivered. Also took the timing cover off to double check and noticed the timing mark was firing slightly off of the "perfect" mark, so readjusted that and loosened the air mixture screws 3 turns from lightly seated and it sounds/runs much better. No blue smoke coming out either which was a huge plus in my book.
Next plan of action: Wait for tuning tools to arrive!...Hopefully not perform a piston ring replacement for all 4.

Hey all, update on what's been going on: So the carbtune/colortune came and the bike went through both adjustments to where all carbs were within 2cmHg of each other and the air mixtures were right on point. It ran beautifully for a bit so I decided to take it on a small trip (about 30 mins). After getting back home I turned the bike off and rested a sec from the excitement, but as I turned it back on it surged up to 3k rpm and wouldn't come back down, so I turned off the bike and the overflow on carb #3 spit about a 1/4 cup of gas out. Confused I waited a bit and tried again to let it idle, and this time it was normal fora bit, then random pops would occur and if revved up it would sometimes backfire notably loudly, then after a while go back up to 3k rpm and I'd turn it off if it didn't come back down. Another weird thing was after turning the key on shortly after turning it off, carb #3 would puff a little out like it just fired. Not sure what the heck is going on but some other KZ owners in my area told me to check the carb for clogs and also to adjust the throttle cables.

So far I took the ignition plate off and clean/lubed the springs within (reset the timing to perfect), and took the carbs apart to check for clogs. I found a little fleck of metal inside the #2 carb needle seat but everything else was clear so I blew everything out thoroughly and reassembled but it still is happening. I'm in the middle of adjusting the throttle cables and after that I was going to check the cam chain tension/position, perhaps it is off a tooth? Any suggestions as to what it might be?

Points sparking?
Steve

Here is my guesstamate:

You have rust or other debris in the fuel tank that is getting into the carbs. Right now it sounds like you have at least one, maybe more, carbs that are flooding intermittently. You need to install a pair of (preferably serviceable) inline filters in series in the fuel line from the tank to the carbs, then start over with cleaning the carbs, and re-setting them again. This time, you should try to get the synchronization within 1 cm of Hg....2 cm is not good enough. In fact, I aim for nothing more than 1/2 cm of Hg when I tune carbs. After that, if you are still having problems, check your spark plugs and see how the mixtures are set and tune out individual problems with the idle mixture adjustment, of course assuming you started with all carbs set at the same baseline settings (jets, needles, screws, etc.) and synched to within 1/2 cm Hg.

Good luck, happy wrenching!