New project- Whoo hoo it lives!

It looks like I've found another new project and I've got some questions. The bike is an 84 GPZ1100 with a little under 10K on it. From the pics I've seen it looks to be all there and in nice shape. The owner tells me it runs but due to a FI problem it fouls plugs. Normally I'd try to fix whatever is wrong but parts for the FI are a pain to find and the guy he got it from replaced the airbox with K&N pod filters.:S

Since I've currently got a like new set of BS34's sitting in the basement as well as an NOS throttle cable I'm planning on just yanking the FI system off and installing carbs. I'm likely going to have to run pods due to the MIA airbox. My first question concerns the location of the petcock I saw that Kano mentioned in his thread that it will have to be moved so as not to hit the carbs.

kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&...it=20&limitstart=100

Since his bike is an earlier model I'm wondering if anyone here knows if this will be an issue? From the pics I've been able to find on the web it looks like I might be ok but I'm trying to confirm.

Also I seem to remember reading something about the ignition system being tied into the CPU, does anyone know what I'm going to run into on that?

Here is a pic of my latest find.

And one from the other side.

i had an 84 like that back in 84-85 when nobody knew how to deal with fi insues i just stuck a set of 29 smoothbores on it to solve the problem,i dont remember having petcock problems of course it was 25 years ago though. :laugh:

That's good to hear, 29's should sit up even higher than BS34's so I think I should be ok. I wasn't looking forward to having to move a petcock.

Can anyone out there shed some light on the ignition question?

im trying to remember what was involved with the ignition mods

Success! I finally found a pic on the net of a GPZ1100 converted to carbs. Looking at the pic this is going to work out just fine, no issues with the petcock at all. So now I'll just need to figure out the jetting and all systems should be go. I hope this bike is as nice as I think it will be, I guess I'll know on Monday when I go to get it.

I think one of the basic problems is that the owner put individual pods on the FI rather than running the airbox. The airbox has a sensor in it that monitors air intake ...if you remove that sensor, your fuel/air ratio will be compromised...hence the fouled plugs. I suspect that if you replaced the pods with an airbox w/sensor, those FI issues might sort themselves out. Kawasaki had more FI issues with the 1980/1981 bikes than with the 1982/85 FI bikes. BTW, FI components aren't that uncommon on eBay...and they aren't that expensive, either.

From what I've read about the FI system on this bike I suspect you are correct Michael. Here is what the owner wrote me about the bike "this thing has fuel problems,it loads up and fouls the plugs and needs a battery since it has been parked since fall of 06. the motor ran well but the control module threw a engine temp sensor code. I relaced the sensor and checked the wiring to the ecm but found nothing wrong. I have too many projects now to put the time in to this bike. The bike has less than 10k on it and yes the title is clear".

If I was planning on this bike being something I was going to keep I'd likely put forth the effort to fix the FI and keep it original. My plans for this bike is just to get it running well and then flip it for some profit. From what I can tell replacing the FI with carbs won't hurt the value of it much at all and may even make it easier to sell. I also have almost nothing in this set of carbs even though they are like brand new. So all I should have to spend is $40.00 or so for a set of pods, maybe some larger jets, a battery, and this thing will be ready to go. The owner told me he replaced the fork seals and the tires have just one riding season on them.

Yesterday I went and picked up the new beast and I can't say that I'm disappointed. It has a few little cosmetic issues but all and all for a 25 year old bike it looks pretty nice. The seller was a very nice guy and he gave me a Clymer manual so I'm not totally flying blind. The only bad thing is I misunderstood him, he bought new fork seals which he gave me but they are not yet installed. I don't know how difficult this is going to be yet because this thing has the anti dive setup on the front forks.

I spent the morning working on it between rain showers and managed to get the tank and side covers off, the battery on the charger and the throttle bodies and injectors yanked off.

I just looked at the new set of carbs I'm going to use and they currently have 37.5 pilots and 127.5 mains. I'm planning on ordering some pods from Z-1 Ent. but I'm trying to get some input on what I should use for jets. I looked at the jetting for the ELR figuring since it came stock with a Kerker and an airbox that should put me close to where I need to be with a stock exhaust and pods. They list a 37.5 pilot and mains ranging from 122.5 up to 132.5 with a side note that all these mains are for racing use only.

I'm not really that familiar with these BS34's so I figured I'd bounce it off the brain trust here. Does it sound like the current jetting will be close here or should I order some bigger jets when I order the pods?

Thanks to the excellent service from Z-1 Ent. the parts I ordered on Tuesday arrived today at around 1:00 pm. I installed the new manifolds, carbs and pod filters by 2:30. The battery is toast so I jumped it off my truck, about 2 or 3 revolutions and it fired up. It sounds outstanding, no bad noises, it starts instantly and based on the throttle response I've got to be pretty close on the jetting. All the electrical stuff seems to work as it should too. I still need to change the fork seals, buy a battery and give it a powerwashing but it's pretty close to being ready to go. I'm almost afraid to ride this thing, it sounds scary fast just sitting in the driveway running. All in all a very good day.

The other day I finally got around to replacing the battery so I could take this thing for a shake down run. Cost me $70.00 for a freaking battery I'm used to paying about half that. I ended up riding it to work and back I guess I put about 10 miles or so on it. The bike runs really well but I'm still lean on the main jets, when it hits about 6K it wants to die out. I'm thinking I need to go up to about a 135 main and checking the plugs confirms the lean condition.

I like the way this bike runs, it has so much low end torque that it is like riding automatic transmision bike, in that it doesn't seem to care what gear it is in you can just dial the throttle and it goes. What I really don't like is the ergonomics, the low handlebars suck. Even in the short distance I rode it I found myself looking forward to traffic lights so I could sit up straight for a few minutes. The front fork seals are shot so that doesn't help either but I don't see how the guys who ride sport bikes handle this riding position. I guess I'm getting old but I still like the riding position of a good old UJM.

Glad to hear you enjoy the bike...I really like the motors and I like the UJM seating stance of the earlier 1981/2 GPz1100's. The later 1983/5 GPz's was when Kawasaki was transitioning to current riding ergonomics. One of the bikes I desire is the 1984 KZ1100R1, which has the later GPz1100 motor (your motor) in a KZ frame (= ergonomically pleasing stance)...the last of the aircooled monster muscle bikes.