Out of Cash and Patients

Well, I was fixing up my 1980 KZ650 F1 but I've run out of money and patients so it's time to count my losses and put it up for sale. I realize I’m not going to get out of it what I’ve put into it because it’s not running all that great right now but I’m going to list my upgrades and you tell me what I should ask for it. I originally paid $1k for it last fall. This spring I have put on new tires, new dyna coils, plug wires, valve cover gasket, totally rebuilt the carbs, rebuilt the accelerator pump, new carb holders, new boots, and new condenser and points. The bike has 29k miles on it. So, how much is it worth?

Did you try the suggestions wired george spoke of in your post in the Carb section two weeks ago?
You seem so close just to give up now. Just think, a bit more time, some more work, and it can be running very nice. You've made good progress, don't give up now.

Unfortunately if you sell, you won't get back what you put into it. If you can get back what you paid for it, then consider that a good deal. However, this would be worth so much more to you when it's a good running bike than having some money in your pocket...didn't you get the fever working on her and thinking about winding her out on some back road? Sure you did. Hang in there bud, it'll happen soon if you stay with it.

OKC_Kent wrote:

Did you try the suggestions wired george spoke of in your post in the Carb section two weeks ago?
You seem so close just to give up now. Just think, a bit more time, some more work, and it can be running very nice. You've made good progress, don't give up now.

Unfortunately if you sell, you won't get back what you put into it. If you can get back what you paid for it, then consider that a good deal. However, this would be worth so much more to you when it's a good running bike than having some money in your pocket...didn't you get the fever working on her and thinking about winding her out on some back road? Sure you did. Hang in there bud, it'll happen soon if you stay with it.

I second OKC_Kent's vote...

Where are you located? Maybe someone from the KZR nation could come and give you a hand! Your too close to give up!

I realize I’m not going to get out of it what I’ve put into it because it’s not running all that great right now but I’m going to list my upgrades and you tell me what I should ask for it. I originally paid $1k for it last fall.

And because "it's not running all that great right now" you'll be doing well to get $1000.00 out of it.

Sure you don't want to reconsider?

In for a dollar ...in for a pound.

Sounds like you have everything there. Just need to dial it in. Write up all you've done and what the symptoms are.

Okay, there certainly is a bit of discouragement going on here because I’ve been working on it more than riding, that and it almost got me flattened on the road the other day. It’s been getting worse each time I ride but it started about a week after I got it running; the rpms like to stay real high. They don’t start high, but as soon as I get above 3-4k rpm it stays there. Now I do have a bit of rust in my tank, though I acid washed it twice this spring and messed up my paint, but I’ve been putting new in line micro filters about every 200 miles. I’ve spoken to a local mechanic and he thinks that most likely the rust has made it through and is gumming up everything. Along with this problem I believe my clutch is going out. I had to really baby it the last few times I went out riding do to the fact every time I stopped at a red light I’d have to take off with the bike sitting at 4000 rpm. I live in northern KY. I’m guessing I’m looking at least a new tank and clutch, and of course paying someone to tune it up once I clean the carbs again.

Dude, you have an air leak. That's why it won't idle down. You probably need to replace your carb boots and airbox hoses. Z1 Enterprises sells them.

My buddy's bike was acting just like you describe. He was discouraged, just like you are. He was afraid that he had bent valves or something seriously wrong, and that he'd have to spend a bunch of money on it. I finally convinced him to spend a little more money and buy new rubber bits. It took maybe half an hour to install the new parts and the difference was like night and day. The bike fired right up and settled down to a smooth idle, revved up easily and came right back down to 1500 RPM.

Fix your bike and you'll realize how stupid it is to want to sell it when you're this close.

Never admit defeat to an inanimate object.

Let's take one thing at a time.
In my humble opinion only, paying someone to work on an old KZ for general street riding is not wise. Many guys who claim to know how to fix them really know just what they read from the Haynes manual, honestly you can do the same. Letting someone else work on them can result in damaged parts, tiime wasted, etc...these bikes can be worked on with simple shop tools, and I think you have those so save your money. Especially if it's just a tune-up!! So simple to do, just use your common sense and follow the book.

You do have a manual, I hope? At least a Clymer, and if you can get a Factory Manual from e-bay do it.

The tank cleaning and filter is a good idea, keep it up. When you acid washed it what did you do? We have a few write-ups on how to do this, (I wrote one, shameless plug) in our Filebase area.

The high rpms may mean there is an air leak in the manifolds, or sticky throttle cables, or misrouted cables, or bent cables. To check for an air leak spray some WD-40 on the intake manifolds after the engine gets warmed up. If the rpm's change than you need to find the leak and seal it. New manifolds are the way to go, but if you have some RTV you can remove the manifolds and smear a thin film on the surface where it mounts to the manifold. Look for cracks on the outside of the manifold and seal them up too. This is temporary until you get some new manifolds. Throttle cables should be cleaned to get rid of all dirt, and oiled up. When you route them to the carbs let them have smooth curves, don't get them pinched between the tank and frame. You should be able to turn the handlebars from lock-to-lock without the rpms changing, which can be due to pinched, bent or even having the wrong cables on there. You might have cables that are too short. Check them.

The clutch needs to be adjusted properly of course, and it may slip if you are running the wrong oil in the engine. What oil do you have in there? Auto oil should be fine for now, but it better be at least a 10w-40. If you stuck 10w-30 in there you will have oil with "Friction modifiers" that can give you a slick clutch that acts like it's going out.

And part of a good tuneup is checking and adjusting the valves! Have you done that?

Did you follow the advice given in the post you made in the Carb section a few weeks back?

Let us know what you find out when you do the WD-40 test and check the cables.

Jeez, I'm getting excited for ya now, I can see a smooth running bike in your future!!:woohoo:

OK I just re-read your post in the carb section and you replaced the manifolds and boots, good. Now check if they leak with the WD-40.

Did you set the points? Are all cylinders getting spark? They may spark but is the cylinder really performing? Start it up and get it warm, then spray water on the exhaust pipe coming from the head. Does it sizzle and vaporize or just run down the pipe? If it turns to steam it is good, if it runs down the pipe then that cylinder isn't firing, got to figure out why.

And did you take out the ignition advancer and clean it up? It may be rusted, they usually are, and throwing off your timing a bunch. The advancer is behind the points plate. Let us know what it looks like.

Excellent, I will try all you have suggested. When it came to the tank cleaning i first used the Kreem kit (swishing around some small nuts inside to break it up) minus the coating. That didn't really do the trick so I tried muratic acid and don't think it was a strong enough solution so I did it again this time I used a half acid half water solution and it seemed to eat it right off. Unfortunately when dumping the solution it ran down the side and messed up the paint. I then proceeded to thoroughly rinse it out with rubbing alcohol (I figured this would be better than the enemy, water) and quickly filled it with gas. Now the tank sat for about a month until I got the bike running but I figured that the gas would keep it from rusting, guess not.

Tell me if I am wrong but doesn't it have a throttle positioning adjuster in between the carbs? It sounds like thats what it is