My first KZ!

Hey there! I just got a 1979 KZ650sr. Last time it started was last fall, so not too bad. I'll get it to fire up tomorrow once I can work on it a bit. I'm expecting it to be the battery, but we'll see. Anyway, I'm excited to have this bike!

So, here's my question: Is there anything I need to check on with this bike right away? Or recommendations based on what you all already know? I'd love your expertise and experience to let me know if there are any known problems I should look out for. Thanks!

Welcome.
Congrats on finding a KZ.
Go over the whole bike, checking everything in the maintenance chart, including the tires.
If they are older than 5 years old, you should consider replacing them.
There should be a 4 digit date stamp in the tire sidewall, something like 2204, which is the 22nd week of 2004.

Have fun and ride safely.

Make sure your carbs are are cleaned and you have fresh gas and oil, thats there is no rust in the tank, brakes are good and so are the tires...have a fun ride

I dont think Ive ever seen a fuel tank like that before
Very unusual
Check the carbs open up the drains on the bottom of the bowls
If it looks gummy give them a shot of carb or brake cleaner
Check the points clean em if they have any corrosion
check the plugs and clean em if required
check the oil and give it a sniff if it smells of gas replace
you can squirt some gas right into the chambers to get it going if the carbs are bunged up
some times doing this will get clean fuel running through the carbs and help clean em out
that tank is different then what Ive seen before

Thanks guys!

I got her fired up, but she's not running real smooth. I've removed the carbs and tomorrow (once there's more light) I'll be tearing them down to clean and inspect. I suspect they just need a good cleaning. I hope I'm not opening a can of worms because I haven't researched this yet (sorry), but if I chose to put pods back on instead of the air box... can I expect to tune the carbs after re-jetting to get the bike to run good... or is it highly recommended to only use the air box?

Also, I removed the oil fill cap, and I expected to see a dipstick, but there wasn't. So is the oil level supposed to be determined by looking inside the filler hole? Or what?

Thanks again, I look forward to making this bike work good again, and getting to know you all.

If it aint broke dont fix it
If its running good ride and enjoy it

there is a window in the clutch cover to check oil level
down behind the shifter

Keep the airbox!

jeffasaki wrote: If it aint broke dont fix it
If its running good ride and enjoy it

+1

Keep the airbox!

+1.

And get yourself a service manual.
Factory Service Manual (FSM) is best, and make sure it's for your year and model.

There are some service manual downloads kicking around for some models.

I just cleaned the carbs over the last few days... and today after putting them back in, the bike idled real nice! I spent a good long while doing everything I could to get the boots from the air box onto the carbs... the two middle boots were easy, but the end boots were impossible! I couldn't get them! Do you have tips on getting these boots on?

Here's a link to a video of it running today: My KZ650

told ya