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The Ongoing Chapters of the 650B2A.

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16 Apr 2017 18:14 #759328 by Johnbug
The Ongoing Chapters of the 650B2A. was created by Johnbug
Let's get everyone up to speed. Picked up my first bike ever about a month ago and have been working on it ever since! With the tires alone being older than I. And a empty garage I have set forth attempting to make this 650 run like it should and get on the road! Here is what the bike looked like when I first got it.

Proud Confused Owner Of A KZ650B2A
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16 Apr 2017 19:14 #759336 by Johnbug
Replied by Johnbug on topic The Ongoing Chapters of the 650B2A.
Here is video of the current project!



Currently painting and waiting on airbox. Notice those odd exhaust baffles, I have no idea why they are designed like that. Going to clean them up straighten them out and repaint the muffler black.

Proud Confused Owner Of A KZ650B2A

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18 Apr 2017 19:17 #759554 by rstnick
Replied by rstnick on topic The Ongoing Chapters of the 650B2A.
Welcome John.
Nice project you've got there.
She looks to be in decent shape, and with the help of those here, you should be able to get her road worthy again.
B)

Rob
CANADA

Need a key for your Kawasaki? PM me

1978 KZ650 C2, 130K kms, Delkevic ex, EI, CVK32, PMC easy clutch, ATK fork brace, steering damper, braced swingarm, ZRX shocks, 18" Z1R front wheel.
2000 ZRX1100
2011 Ninja 250R - Wife's
2005 z750s (aka GPz750)
1978 KZ1000 project
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20 Apr 2017 20:20 #759723 by Johnbug
Replied by Johnbug on topic The Ongoing Chapters of the 650B2A.
Airbox Arrived today, Installed on those VM22 carbs. All needles at 2 1/2 turns. Idles rough for a minute or two. Then idles pretty well at exactly 1000. 15 Jet, 102 Main. The moment I touch the throttle it stalls and drops rpm similar to when It was getting to much air when I dropped from 112.5 to 102 main. Im stuck in a bit of a loop on what exactly to do. Not to mention that airbox was the most painful thing to install. Will have video available tomorrow showing the problem. With some luck it will magically work!

Proud Confused Owner Of A KZ650B2A

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20 Apr 2017 20:42 #759726 by 650ed
Replied by 650ed on topic The Ongoing Chapters of the 650B2A.
Probably a dumb question, but did you have the air filter element in the airbox and the round cap on the airbox? Ed

1977 KZ650-C1 Original Owner - Stock (with additional invisible FIAMM horn)

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20 Apr 2017 20:56 - 20 Apr 2017 20:57 #759729 by Johnbug
Replied by Johnbug on topic The Ongoing Chapters of the 650B2A.
Yes I did. In fact I even made sure that there were no leaks in the airbox as it was an ebay purchase. All new hoses and everything was clamped up.

Proud Confused Owner Of A KZ650B2A
Last edit: 20 Apr 2017 20:57 by Johnbug.

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  • DoctoRot
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  • Oh, the usual... I bowl, I drive around...
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20 Apr 2017 22:10 - 20 Apr 2017 22:14 #759735 by DoctoRot
Replied by DoctoRot on topic The Ongoing Chapters of the 650B2A.
cool project. couple things to check in your trouble shooting efforts;
Is it still running on points/condensers? if so I would check that the points are good and timing set correctly.
while you're in there it would be good to check the advancer to make sure the springs are in good condition and it is functioning properly. have you checked the valve clearance?
Have you checked the carb float heights?

I have never seen the inside of a Mac muffler and now that i have I want one even less. good luck.
Last edit: 20 Apr 2017 22:14 by DoctoRot.

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21 Apr 2017 07:05 - 21 Apr 2017 07:14 #759765 by 650ed
Replied by 650ed on topic The Ongoing Chapters of the 650B2A.

Johnbug wrote: Airbox Arrived today, Installed on those VM22 carbs. All needles at 2 1/2 turns. Idles rough for a minute or two. Then idles pretty well at exactly 1000. 15 Jet, 102 Main. The moment I touch the throttle it stalls and drops rpm similar to when It was getting to much air when I dropped from 112.5 to 102 main. Im stuck in a bit of a loop on what exactly to do. Not to mention that airbox was the most painful thing to install. Will have video available tomorrow showing the problem. With some luck it will magically work!


Since the stock air box and filter are in place (a good thing) if it was mine I would install the stock jetting. Take a look at the image below, notice it shows a 90 main jet for the VM22 carbs. Those are the original jetting specs. Ed


1977 KZ650-C1 Original Owner - Stock (with additional invisible FIAMM horn)
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Last edit: 21 Apr 2017 07:14 by 650ed.
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21 Apr 2017 07:15 - 21 Apr 2017 07:16 #759769 by Johnbug
Replied by Johnbug on topic The Ongoing Chapters of the 650B2A.
Yes the bike still is running points, but it would seem that either no air has ever gotten into that area or the last owner replaced it. Because they seem alright from a quick visual inspection. Valve clearance is something that although I feel confident in my ability to do there is a place not to far from me that only charges a bit and they only work on vintage bikes. So not yet. As for carb float height yes I have and they are all set to be the exact same. Advancer spring? That's something I'd have to research before messing with. As for stock jetting, That is the next step right now the original 90 jet should be coming in the mail today. I also have the 107 jets just in case. I recently got my hands in a little in line spark checker to see if they are all getting spark. I'll put a video up later of the bike running with both the cover off the points and see if everything works as it did yesterday.

Proud Confused Owner Of A KZ650B2A
Last edit: 21 Apr 2017 07:16 by Johnbug.

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21 Apr 2017 07:52 #759771 by 650ed
Replied by 650ed on topic The Ongoing Chapters of the 650B2A.
Regarding valve clearances -

Before you consider having a shop work on it I highly recommend you first check the clearances using the Kawasaki Service Manual as your guide. Having owned my 1977 KZ650-C1 since it was new I have found the valve clearances have changed only the very slightest amount over the past 40 years. In fact, I have only made an adjustment to 1 shim in all that time, and that was when the bike had about 500 miles on it; it now has more than 60,000 miles.

Checking the valves is a simple task that only requires a set of feeler gauges and the manual. It is smart to have a new valve cover gasket in hand just in case you discover a previous owner has cemented the existing one in place. In that case it may be damaged when removing the valve cover. No sealant is required when installing the gasket, but for some strange reason some folks feel compelled to glue them in place.

If you find some shims need to be changed you may want to do that yourself or have a shop do it, but if you have a shop do it be VERY careful that you find a shop who knows these bikes and has a Kawasaki Service Manual for your specific model. Personally, I don't know of any shops in my area that I would trust to do the job correctly since I doubt anyone working at them has ever seen much less worked on a KZ650. Ed

1977 KZ650-C1 Original Owner - Stock (with additional invisible FIAMM horn)

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21 Apr 2017 09:35 #759776 by KZB2 650
Replied by KZB2 650 on topic The Ongoing Chapters of the 650B2A.
If these are 22 mm carbs I think the air screws you talk about are really pilot screws...... my manual shows 24 mm carbs with air screws (what I have up high and pilot screws (which are on the bottom of the bowl)...... Ed's chart shows that the 22s have pilot screws..... it says in my manual to set em at 1 and a 1/8 th turn out not 2 and a half but then again that is for 24s and you need a proper factory manual for yours to know what 22s are to be set at.

1978 KZ650 b-2
700cc Wiseco kit 10 to 1.
1980 KZ750 cam, ape springs, stock clutch/ Barnett springs.
Vance and Hines Header w/ comp baffle and Ape pods, Dyna S and green coils, copper wires.
29MM smooth bores W/ 17.5 pilots, 0-6s and 117.5 main
16/42 gearing X ring chain and alum rear JT sprocket.
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21 Apr 2017 09:45 - 21 Apr 2017 09:55 #759778 by Johnbug
Replied by Johnbug on topic The Ongoing Chapters of the 650B2A.
The bike now starts in a different way every time. One startup it would only maintain idle with almost full choke. Now it with full choke will shoot up to 4k then attempt to die. I'm stumped. Although the 90 jets are here so I'm going to attempt to instal those and try this again. Video of strange idle behavior will be up soon.

As for the idle screws. I recall in a pervious post centered around my carb trouble and from some research most recommended that it would be set at least 2. Although I sadly do not have the original service manual for a B2A. I will attempt 1 turn in after I reject this to the 90 jet size.

Proud Confused Owner Of A KZ650B2A
Last edit: 21 Apr 2017 09:55 by Johnbug.

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