Just bought a KZ700! Need some advice tho...

Yeah, I did it, i'm selling the KZ750 twin and I just bought a KZ700. BTW, if anyone is interested in buying...PM me

I got the KZ700 for $800 delivered which I thought was pretty good. 8500 miles, no oil leaks. It does, however, leak a lot of gas. The petcock does not have an "off" setting, only ON-PRI-RES, and gas flows out of it in all modes (and comes out even faster on PRI).

Also, carb #4 has gas dripping out the mouth (the airbox boots are removed right now). I figured something with the float.

I tried riding the bike briefly to get a feel for it. It pretty much did not want to rev past 3500 RPM and it felt like it had no power. I assumed this was related to the messed up fuel situation. Was I right?

Was also trying to get a manual for it...anyone know where I could get one? eBay, Haynes, and Clymer all didn't have anything.

Can the KZ700 use parts from a 4-cyl 750?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Post edited by: masospaghetti, at: 2005/11/07 18:05

Clean the carbs proably solve your reving problem. Your petcock is vaccume . Prime position will let gas flow freely. on and res will not let gas flow when the bike is off. Fuel flowing into airbox? check float level .when u have the carbs off check for crud in between the needles and seats and wear on them.(ive learned from experience and the advice from others on this site.)Also check for vaccume leaks had that problem too with the reving. New hose did it for me. Dont for get to check for corision inside the gas tank. If it is corroded that might be the root of your problem. If so clean the carbs seal the tank and get an inline fuel filter.

A petcock rebuild kit or a Pingle petcock will solve the problem of gas flowing at all positions

steell wrote:

A petcock rebuild kit or a Pingle petcock will solve the problem of gas flowing at all positions

Forgot that one. Had to rebuild my petcock too.

I just ordered a replacement non-vacuum petcock from Jeff (Z1enterprises.com) to get rid of the old one. I think it was like $26. Mine started leaking and then quit so I just figured it should go.

Post edited by: fergyfer, at: 2005/11/08 13:04

Couple of suggestions. First, have a look at your carburetors. There is a line connecting engine vacuum to the petcock attached to the front side of the #2 carburetor (or perhaps #3). If this line is cracked, the petcock won't work very well. If the line is in good shape, then the petcock itself is the culprit and it needs to be rebuilt (essentially a new diaphragm) or replaced. I suggest that if the carburetors are overflowing, this should be a priority before riding the bike. Your floats sound like there is either dirt in the needle/seat area causing the flooding OR these components are worn. When I buy a new bike, I flush the gas tank and remove the petcock anyway, to clean the screen. Install an inline filter in the gas line. I would NOT run the bike till I fixed the overflow problem as gas is not only running out the carburetor but into the combustion chamber. This means it has already washed your cylinder of oil and fouled the engine oil. Fix the float problem and then change your oil prior to operating the bike. The advantage to a non-vacuum petcock is that they tend to stop gas from flowing in the "OFF" position but you do have to remember to shut off gas.

Thanks for the replies.

I may have jumped the gun a bit because I went ahead and bought a petcock rebuild kit as well as an Vesrah gasket set. I haven't checked the vacuum line that controls the petcock...

Anybody know where I can find the service manual for this thing?

masospaghetti wrote:

Yeah, I did it, i'm selling the KZ750 twin and I just bought a KZ700.

Can the KZ700 use parts from a 4-cyl 750?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!<br><br>Post edited by: masospaghetti, at: 2005/11/07 18:05

Yes, but it looks pretty hit and miss. Cross referencing some parts for your bike, I used an 84 KZ 700 A1, gave me this:

Carb Assembly, part # 15001-1088 was used on this model only.

Engine Cylinder: A1 and AIL (california) only

Coil for cylinder 1/4 PART # 21121-1027:
84/85 ZN700
KZ/GPZ/SPECTRE 4 cylinders from 80-85
KZ 650 (CSR) 81-83

Oil filter , part # 16099-003:
used on 319 Kaws from EL 250 to the ZG1200

Intake valve: almost the same list as the coil.
82/83 650
6 KZ/ZN 700'S
25 4 cylinder 750's

It looks like some parts are one or two model issues, but many are not. You should be ok.

Post edited by: luvmykaw, at: 2005/11/09 13:01

Pretty cool. Did not know there was such a bike. Pics?

Salvy, That doesn't look like a 550 in your avatar pic... is that a Kaw W650?

I'll get a pic up soon...it's a pretty cool looking bike.

wiredgeorge, you were definitely right about the gasoline running into the cylinder...my oil level has risen from about halfway up the sightglass to WAY above it (even with the bike on the stand it's full).

So I drained the oil yesterday and it REEKED of gasoline. Now it's nice and fresh...and I put one of those little lawnmower fuel valves in the line so I can shut off the gas.
Now, even when there's not gas leaking all over the place, the bike still has very little power and I can't get it any higher than 40 mph. If I open the throttle more than just a little bit the engine wheezes and loses power. I'm guessing too lean, I am running without the filter and filter pipes attached, but would this make that big of a difference?
The pilot screws are still untampered with.

Also, I checked compression - its good (150 psi) and the spark plugs are clean.

Post edited by: masospaghetti, at: 2005/11/15 14:22