Helllo everyone

I just wanted to introduce myself. I am 17 live in Manitoba and have just recently (today actually) been given a 1977 kz650. She's been sitting in my dads shop all alone for 10 years and she is in rough shape but i hope to have her running by September 07 although a more likely target is May 08. I'm a total newb when it comes to engines and such but hopefully with all of your help i'l be able to get her going.

With that out of the way does anyone have some tips on where to start for this project? What are likely problems? what kind of costs may/will be involved?

Thats about it for me. Thanks for any input.

Hi, I'm new here too but welcome.

As for where to start, hard to say without seeing it. I would clean everything first, you can't fix what you can't see. Plus cleaning it makes you get familiar with it. Check to see if it will turn over, so you know its not seized up. Check the tank for rust, don't want that to get into the carbs. Get rid of any old gas if there is any in the tank. Change the oil and filter. Put in a new battery. Check your tires, rubber gets bad with age. After all that Is when I get excited and dump gas in and see what happens. What happens could point you in the right direction for further mainenance or you may be pleasantly suprised. Good chance the carbs will need cleaned. Others with more experience will probably have better guidance on that than I do. Can you tell us more about the bike?

Happy wrenching and riding!

Welcome, Shiska!
I think you'll have that bike running well before May, maybe before Sept.
Sitting for years will turn the gas to varnish. The carburetors are the most affected by this, so you'll have to clean them, unless your dad preserved them before he stored the bike.
You need to drain the fuel from the tank, and look for rust. Drain the oil, and replace the oil and filter.
Get a fresh battery and charge it up.
Put some gas in the tank, and see if the motor will start. It just might surprise you.

Like they said! Also, ebay may become your best friend for parts if necessary, but hopefully it just works with a nice clean up!

Welcome!

Heres the story with the bike. My dad bought it in 1977 when he lived in Burnaby BC. He drove it accross the entire country (one ocean to the other) and then brought it down to the states and repeated the journey through the states. He kept riding regularly for may years but had to stop riding because of family, work and such. He was doing maintenance on it when he decided to call it quits and so the carb has been out all these years. the bike was sitting outside for 3-4 years and spent the rest of the time in a shed. It is covered in webs, dried leaves and stuff like that. I'm worried some stuff got into the engine because the inlets from the carb were open. I'm afraid i'm going to have to take apart the engine for a thorough cleaning. The tank was drained before it was put away.

To start this project should i just do really routine maintenance (oil, battery, gas etc), put it together and pray that its starts without exploding or should I be very thorough and clean the entire machine inside and out?

I picked up a clymers manual to help out also.

Post edited by: Shiska, at: 2007/06/27 02:23

Another Canadian 77 KZ650, outstanding and welcome. If you run into problems here is the strategy I learned while being here:
1) Do I have compression on all cylinders?
2) Do I have ignition to all coils?
3) Do I have carburetion from all carburetors?

Lets hope you won't need this stuff. The manual you got is what I use and you should find it VERY useful.

By the way, to get the best feedback you may want to put your bike year and model (you can get help identifying it here too) plus your location in your signature... this is considered very friendly here. Remember, identifying your model correctly will help you determine which wiring diagram applies, which ignition system you have, which fuel petcock you have, etc. Can we get a "before" photo?

What's this Septembe buisness? Lets get you riding this summer. Best of success!

Post edited by: bill_wilcox100, at: 2007/06/27 06:25

Well I decided to start with the carburetor today as that was already out of the bike. i opened up the float bowl and was greeted by a gunky, oily mess. 3 of the 4 floats are completely stuck and the needle on the last is stuck. I'l do my best to clean what i can but right now im not too optimistic.

Welcome and good luck;)