A new old member with questions

Hi,

I'm a new member and a new owner of a 1984 KZ550 F2 LTD, and I'm way older than the new bike. To tell the truth, my kids are way older than the bike! And it has only 6700 miles on it!

This looks like a great forum, and I'm glad to be joining it.

It's been decades since I last rode, and even then I only rode a few times. So I'm basically a newbie again, but a little more fragile than the first time around.

Anyhow, I've already got questions about the bike. Any help would be appreciated:

How can I get an owner's manual, either the real thing or a PDF? I've downloaded a PDF of the repair and maintenance manual, but that's a few hundred detailed pages. I just want the smaller owners manual that tells you where the controls are, how to start the bike, simple routine maintenance, etc.

The mechanic who set it up in the shop I bought it from says the motor is in great shape. After it warmed up, it ran fairly smoothly and drove and handled well. However, I asked the shop to replace the smashed right rear directional light and the rear tire before I pay the balance. The starter switch turns to ON and to KILL, but not to START. This same mechanic had already installed a switch on the left cover that kicks the starter motor if the key is in. Should I try to buy another starter switch and go back to the original setup, or just keep using the weird setup that he installed?

Should I take this bike to my local bike shop - a really good, honest mechanic - after I pick it up next week, and ask my local guy to check it out again? What would I ask him to look at?

Are there some simple things I should check out myself before I start riding it?

What is the most important maintenance I need to do? We have long, cold, winters up here in NH and I think the bike will be sitting in the garage for at least 6 months every winter.

I better save the rest of my questions until next time. Thanks in advance for your response!

Eric

Hello and welcome! This really is a great forum to join. As far as a manual, you can usually find a well-priced (possibly used) one on ebay for many of these bikes. As for the starter switch, if it is like mine, it should push in when set to the On/Run position, but yours may be different. If it seems to run fine, I would start with fixing the starter switch, and probably minor maintenance items (oil change, spark plugs) and go from there to maybe a carb clean and sync. Anyway, welcome, and congrats on the new bike.

~Clutch

during storage put some Sta-bil in her and run for 5 min to get it thru the system

works for me and my bikes and also maybe a battery tender
ride safe

Manuals( sometimes they sell used manuals,just ask)
www.repairmanual.com
www.manualsnmore.com
www.midwestmanuals.com/
www.books4cars.com/
www.repairmanualclub.com/motomanuals/
moto-manuals.com/
www.e-classicbike.com/

Eric,

Welcome to the forum.. I am fairly new here myself, but have found it to be a great sight with a lot of people willing to help out.

Congratz on the new purchase and if you have a trusted mechanic I would definitely let him a have a look at it. Just tell him you want it to be a good daily driver and he should know what you need.

With a bike of this age you can change by doing general maintenance, oil, tune up etc. Then next on my list would be the rubber components that may dry root over time.

Other then that Stabil as mentioned earlier in the winter and enjoy the bike..

Jack

Welcome Eric,

I am relatively new here too and really like the forum!

I am sure you will too - lots of good help and info here and many who can point you in the right direction.

P21 wrote: during storage put some Sta-bil in her and run for 5 min to get it thru the system

works for me and my bikes and also maybe a battery tender
ride safe

Battery tender is a great idea! I bought one years ago with my first bike, and use it all the time. For the most part it is plugged into my 750 when I'm not riding. Keeps the battery fully charged for me

Hi Eric,

Welcome to KZR!

Wire man will certainly say "Welcome to Z Jungle" and I be down with dat!

I've got a ton of manuals on disk and online but not the 84 550 owner's manual, Sorry!

Still don't give up on us, all told there are probably a couple of hundred 550 owners here, I'm one of 'em.

Start out with an oil change and a new battery, then resist the temptation to start 'er up once in a while! Don't start your motorcycle unless your willing to run it till it's totally up to temperature( 20 minutes minimum ). KZ engines and most other motorcycles have an additional burden to work with. It's the clutch and transmission, they are lubricated by the engine oil. While they're enjoying the oil bath provided by the engine, they provide additional volume for condensation to form when the bike is shut off prematurely.

I'm sure you'll have other issues as time goes on. That's why we're here.

Put us to work!

Bill