KZ1000 hopeful!

speeducky wrote:

Thanks for the heads up on Z1enterprises $30 bucks cheaper for intakes than what my local kawi dealer quoted me today. Are you asking me for pics? I'll post some as soon as I can get them. I'm supposed to pick the bike up tomorrow ( it was supposed to be saturday but my boss (who rides) said to me today "what?!? you got it? f!ck that, you're not working tomorrow, You got important sh!t to do. Go get your bike" How could I argue with that?

Man, I wish my boss was like that. Is there any way you could loan em out to all of us in Colorado.

Alright, I made it back. It definitely has some problems. I'm pretty sure it has a vacuum leak and needs new intakes, it doesn't like to start without the choke, even warm. Im also afraid it needs a clutch, top speed seems to be around 75 mph, and it surges with power for a split second and stops, it does this repeatedly. The rpm's go up when it does this. It also doesn't like hills, it starts to vibrate under heavy load. It also slipped out of first and into neutral a couple times and I'm not sure why it would do this, I just know it isn't good. Thoughts and opinions appreciated!

first off. Wellcome.
When u order new boots, order a manual.it will pay for itself fast.u can go to kawasaki.com to look at parts diagrams that will help from time to time.
slipping out of gear is probably bent shift forks and or worn dogs. feel the bike out for a while before u tackle that.i think u can get the forks out through the bottom cover.look at the diagrams and your new manual.Good luck

Everything you just described sounds like a normal fixable prob without new parts needed except the slipping gear thing. My 1000 never starts with choke, but that was never a problem for me. Your clutch sounds like it just needs adjusting to bring the clutch closer to the flywheel to transfer power, a contribution to the hard uphill climbs and high RPM above a certain rpm, so you clutch slips, big deal.There is a little cover plate on the left side of your engine, remove that cover and there is a flat head screw locked down by a nut. Loosen nut, turn screw out till there is no tension, then screw in til you feel the slightest tension the put lock nut back on, then test drive. Try the clutch adjustment first because if your clutch slips, the tranny doesnt spin and the sensing balls for nuetral go steady and maybe is putting you in neutral. I had that problem, plus my bike is older than yours. It has 25,000 and more miles on it, not sure of yours.

Thanks for the Tips! This forum has already proved to be very useful! Do I have to worry about losing oil when adjusting the clutch as you described? (just trying to plan for the job) My bike has 99,000 miles on it for now. I took some pictures but I'm not sure how to post them on here but it can be viewed here: www.flickr.com/photos/9837891@N03/

I have another question also (possibly a stupid one) but there are three settings on my petcock: ON, RES, (I at least know what these mean), the one that baffles me is PRI? I'm assuming this means off however I rode it down town on this setting earlier today with no hick ups? I also think the filter (assuming this style has one) is clogged as RES doesn't want to do anything when I'm out of gas on the ON position. Luckily I live near a gas station.:blush:

Post edited by: speeducky, at: 2008/03/02 16:57