How do you set the iginition timing?

Hey everybody!
I was wondering how I can retard the timing on my 79 KZ1000st. It's pre-igniting, and the valves ping pretty bad if you lug it at all. (I think it's due to the high-comp pistions in it) I pulled the R/S ignition cover off, and tried to rotate the plate a little to retard the timing, but couldn't get it to move even after I loostened the screws off... What am I missing here? :huh: Do I need to pull the left side cover off? I didn't think there was anything under there related to the ignition... It has electronic ignition, and my experience has always been that you could rotate the plate with the igniters on it.


Help!!!
(Thanks in advance!):S

Post edited by: hat0791, at: 2005/11/10 10:07

The ignition timing is not adjustable. I said how my past KZs would not run without pinging with high compression pistons and 30 other guys said they had no problem, so I guess with you it makes 2 of us
You can however modify the timing plate to adjust the timing. This means taking off the 3 philips screws that mount the plate to your engine and getting a dremel tool, file or whatever and slotting the holes in the plate to allow the plate to be rotated slightly clockwise when it is reinstalled.
hat0791 wrote:

Hey everybody!
I was wondering how I can retard the timing on my 79 KZ1000st. It's pre-igniting, and the valves ping pretty bad if you lug it at all. (I think it's due to the high-comp pistions in it) I pulled the R/S ignition cover off, and tried to rotate the plate a little to retard the timing, but couldn't get it to move even after I loostened the screws off... What am I missing here? :huh: Do I need to pull the left side cover off? I didn't think there was anything under there related to the ignition... It has electronic ignition, and my experience has always been that you could rotate the plate with the igniters on it.


Help!!!
(Thanks in advance!):S<br><br>Post edited by: hat0791, at: 2005/11/10 10:07

Perfect!!!! :woohoo:

That's exactly what I needed to know. I thought about trying that, but I didn't want to start hacking away at somthing if there was a "right" way to do it.
Thanks a million!

One thing to keep in mind, when you modify a stock motor to obtain more hp, you loose streetability. If you are going to run high compression on the street, then you are going to have to use premium gas and forget the low rpm band (no lugging). The Kawasaki engineers did a real good job at designing the bikes for street use, when they are modified for higher performance then you have to live with the consquences. Gain in one area, loose in another, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch

Hope ya'll don't mind I moved this thread to the electrical as ignition is electrical I think...

As to the question, you can also purchase a Dyna 2000 from Dynatek or one of their vendors. These ignitions have adjustable advance or retard curves and I was forced to use one on a Vulcan with very high compression pistons to control pinging. They also have built in selectable rev limiters; another nice feature.

No problem about the move... Thanks.

It's running Wiescos at 10.2 compression, It's running a tad rich, but other than that it runs great and starts easily. It has decent low end power, and the top end is phenominal, however, under acceleration, even at high RPMs it pings on premium gas... I put some octane booster, and that helped a little, but I need a more permanant fix. I'll try buming the timing back a little, and if that doesn't get it I'll go from there.
Any other suggestions?

What spark plugs do you have in the motor? It is really unusual (in my experience anyway) for a motor to run rich and ping at high rpm. Have you done a WOT plug chop to determine whether you are running rich at high rpms? It's fun doing a 100+ mph plug chop, you can coast the last mile after cutting the motor off

Pre-ignition and detonation are two different things and have different causes (and solutions). Your statement that octane booster helps somewhat indicates that the problem is detonation. Cams with more duration and overlap would probably help by lowering the dynamic compression ratio, while enlarging the combustion chamber would probably help by lowering the static compression ratio. If you are running pod filters, then replacing them with the stock airbox would increase the intake restriction, therefor lowering the dynamic compression. For a cheap and easy fix, slotting the timing plate holes and retarding the timing ought to fix it.

I'm assuming this is actually detonation and it only does it under accelleration.

Post edited by: steell, at: 2005/11/11 04:19

yeah, it only does in on acceleration.
haha, and a WOT plug chop sounds a little scary.


:blink:

I had that thing up to 120 before then just cracked the the throttle wide open to see what it had in reserve up there. Let me tell you, it had a little more "reserve" power than I expected. Scared me a little. I don't know about cams, the guy I bought it from was quite a tinkerer, so it's a possibility that it has a little bit hotter cam in it.
My theory with the jetting is that it runs on the lean side at idle, but if you blip the throttle, you get a little puff of blue smoke. I think I need to go with a smaller jet and raise the needle a notch or two.

I'm gonna tinker with the timing first though.
I'll grind it tonight and let y'all know what I find!