First KZ1000 let's make it run!

I literally just watched that video

Is this the air idle screw Mikaw was referring to on pg 9?

Answered my own ? and just got back from a super good sesh at the garage! Got a new multimeter and finally got a proper reading from my secondary, 15.4k so I'm real happy with that and am now familiar with testing coils, both primary and secondary in spec. My petcock is sealed good now, no seeping or able to pull it straight out. When I was bitching about it not starting 1 kick after sitting my dumbass was putting the petcock on reserve instead of off by mistake so that explains that. Rear brake was squealing yesterday, seemed happier today with the cylinder full of Dot3. I checked the air idle screws and they weren't set the same at all, I turned them all in but not too tight as to damage the seats and then turned them out 1 1/2. Bike seemed much happier all around! Adjusted the idle in conjunction and the bike ran good. All 4 cyl lively and I noticed it settled into idle better. It backfires/afterfires on decel due to the huge open tip but even that was better. Correct me if I'm wrong, on those VM28s those screws turned all the way in are the richest setting, too far out and too lean risking high temps and motor damage. I did noticed the bike seemed way hotter after the change and with pods I should be setting them more on the rich side correct? Maybe i'll turn em' back a 1/4 or so and see. Way better though I could tell the bike liked the change. Last ENCOURAGING bit was I took the plugs out, re-checked gap, perfect, and checked compression again. Remember when I was getting a cold reading of 90 per cyl and was worried about it? At operating temp it read 125-128 on each cyl. Not amazing but waay better!

Not on purpose but I see good things happing by leaving you to figure things out on your own. I'm in the process of fitting and tuning new carbs on my bike. Your correct on the idle "air" screws. in is rich , out is lean, but that only relates to idle and just off idle. The pilot jets kick in next and handle just off idle to about mid throttle, then the mains kick in. I'm glad your coils tested out, Now you need to test the coil primary voltage. If its more than a volt lower than the battery voltage that could be why you think the spark is weak. I had to do a relay fix to get battery voltage to my coils. I wont distract you with that info yet till you test the primary voltage. Did you get a start button hooked up yet. What color did the plugs look like when you checked the gap recently?

The air screw adjustment made a bunch of difference, idle, warm-up, choke, everything all around. I think maybe it wants about 1/4 turn in to balance the pod setup so we'll see. Plus i'm missing a pod right now. I found the most inconsistency in idle, pilot kicks in solid, 2nd gear into 3rd is heaven on this bike. Main jet doesn't act clogged but shit w.o.t. is a commitment on a kz1000 eh? I did test the primary but that was with that meter than went bunk, they were right at the top of spec, 4.3/4/6. The left coil I can test right on the body 2 terminals and the right side coil I have to test the 2 wires. My battery holds at like 12.4-6 volts so what are you saying for the primary test? Just when I thought I could forget about my coils. 1/4 plugs were black, 2/3 were grey white but even after the gap check and screw adjustment I could see a more balanced color on the plugs. Not an obvious rich/lean anymore. I did a TEMPORARY push button start switch but promise you won't completely hate on me for how I did it. That cable from starter that has like a batt term on the end...I used to touch that to + so I got a short bolt/nut/washer and put it on the end with a heavyish gauge wire to pushbotton, other end attached to + battery. ?? I know it's not right so you can hate me now but I had to try it. If the thing kicks easy every time I won't mess with it, not leaving it on reserve overnight should help.

You tested the Ohms (resistance) of the coils, that tells you the are healthy. Now you need to see how much voltage they have. Low voltage (power) to them could be the reason you feel the spark is week. It's the wire that is on the +post of the coil. If you have anything left of the stock harness it should be a yellow with red wire. It supplies voltage (power) to the coils. Connect the red of your tester to said wire and the black to the battery ground (-) post. Make sure your toggle switch is "on" or in the run position you use to ride the bike, the voltage need to be within 1 volt of battery, which should be 12.6, if its less than 11.6 I have an easy fix that will teach you basic control circuits. They use low voltage to switch (control) high voltage.. MORE LATER. Not hating you for the quick fix to start but my concern is no fuse in the system. Any touch to frame or engine and there goes you battery or even worse start a fire. Please address that as soon as you can.

Cool! I'm gonna run over there and test real quick. I had already taken the pushbutton off cuz I wanted to redo proper (hide wiring/protect button/insulate) and run an inline fuse but wasn't sure what amp fuse to get.

Woowoo, battery: 12.68v, coil: 12.64. Finishing the push-button properly tomorrow evening.

Old_kaw: Thanks for the great videos. That Z1 has an awesome sound running on the high banks.

Bbd1983 wrote: Woowoo, battery: 12.68v, coil: 12.64. Finishing the push-button properly tomorrow evening.

Good news. We're checking off boxes

Edit: A 20 amp fuse would be fine.

Thanks man! I watched that video 5 times today.

I woudn't sweat the coil voltage too much. The kill switch is fed from the brown ignition wire that also feeds the voltage regulator. My bike was overcharging because the brown wire was feeding the regulator low voltage, so it was compensating for it by overcharging the battery. I added the relay there,to feed full battery voltage to the regulator and curb the overcharging. Like I said, my bike is an animal. No sputtering or spitting. Ever. People start having ignitions problems when they use the wrong parts, resistor plugs,resistor wires, etc..



None of my bikes had the airbox intact. I went to great pains to locate them. Gateway motorcycle salvage quoted me $150 for one, I located several on fleabay for 20-30 bucks, so I bought 3 for under 80 bucks, just to spite them. I have 2 spares here missing boots and whatnot.. taking up space..
This M1 sat in the same place in south STL behind an old row house that I had to take the calipers off to move it. (brakes were stuck) Notice the rust stains under it on the concrete. And yet ANOTHER one with a title that was filled out but never transferred.. and EVEN a Kansas Bank lien release that had to be dealt with in the titling process.. It had an expired Kansas plate that this sly fukr had bent over so that the overworked STL police couldn't tell it expired 8 year prior. Another nut and bolt rescue. Ran like a striped ass ape the day I sold it.

Note the air box. There is a reason I put those back on.


It's good that you are putting an effort into sorting this bike out. By putting back to stock, I meant the engine and drive train mainly. Gauges and neutral indicator lights sometimes come in handy. If you ever get this bike running like it did when new, it will be an animal. Smart little fukrs, those Japanese. Don't think you gonna out engineer them with a HF meter capn. LOL