New! to me 1979 kz750 pictures for attention

She's pretty, she just doesn't start I guess. I kicked her a couple times to turn the engine over, and that's fine. "Ran a few weeks ago" said the seller. I know the headlight doesn't turn on with the bike, and there's a strong smell of gasoline in my garage now, so it's leaking fuel somewhere.

I'm new to the old bike world, so I'm hoping there's at least a few of you here that are active and can point me to parts.

Any tips on where to start I'd love to hear, otherwise I've got the service manual and will start at the beginning.

Welcome to the Forum. Not a bad looking twin but I still say the side covers are the ugliest things in motorcycledom.
Check the basics. Is there spark? You smell gas so there is fuel somewhere but I suggest pulling the carbs and cleaning them thoroughly.

ThatGPzGuy wrote: Welcome to the Forum. Not a bad looking twin but I still say the side covers are the ugliest things in motorcycledom.
Check the basics. Is there spark? You smell gas so there is fuel somewhere but I suggest pulling the carbs and cleaning them thoroughly.

Got rebuild kits and floats from ebay coming, I'll rebuild tuesday.

I figured with the gas leak step one was checking out the carb floats and rebuilding. That would cause both my leak and stop me from starting. It was a long day yesterday picking her up and dropping off the uhaul an hour each way, didn't have time to see if there's spark yet.

Agree that the carbs will need a thorough cleaning. Check the petcock too. Mine would not shut off properly so I got a new one. I rounded the back corners of the side covers to make them look better. Also did a two-tone paint to make them visually smaller. See pics.

kzsolo wrote: Agree that the carbs will need a thorough cleaning. Check the petcock too. Mine would not shut off properly so I got a new one. I rounded the back corners of the side covers to make them look better. Also did a two-tone paint to make them visually smaller. See pics.

What size is the petcock? I'll just order one now for good measure.

Are they vacuum operated too? (Manual makes me think it is not)

Not bad. Seen much worse. Good luck!

SeaCur wrote: Got rebuild kits and floats from ebay coming, I'll rebuild Tuesday.

Use as much of the original jets, needles, etc... as possible. The KZ750 rebuild kits use a lot of generic parts that are not exactly the same as OEM. Take particular note of the float needle valve size.

I would suggest getting a steel fender or a fork brace or both, they do a lot to stabilize the front end.

also check the points and see that they are clean and gapped properly.