1982 KZ550 Just Purchased

Hello, new member here.

1982 KZ550 20,000 miles, purchased 12/8/2012.

The seller said it's an LTD and I believe it to be one as well but cyclechaos says the KZ550 LTD was 1980-1981.

It is extremely hard to start and won't idle under 1500 RPM. Above that it runs fantastic. The trans shifts great, clutch is very easy to engage, and neutral is very easy to find.

I need a seat, exhaust system, front brakes and a front tire. A carb sync would do a lot of good as well.

Look foreword to being part of the community.

A fresh set of sparkplugs, properly gapped will make starting easier. If the ignition coils, sparkplug wires & sparkplug caps are original to the bike the bike, you should think about replacing them. Even when new, the ignition coils were marginal.

NGK(the brand used in many Kawasaki's) ssems to be having quality problems, I've had new plugs fail either right out of the box, or sometime later, so consider using other brands.

If you go with new ignition parts, read this:

Ignition Coils And Sparkplug Wire Choices

What came with the bike, were ignition coils that even when new were marginal, add years of cooking under the tank in the stop and go traffic, and the coils will probably fail when hot.

Replacement coils can be bought at www.z1enterprises.com I believe “Emgo” is the brand. They also carry the popular Dyna 2.2 and 3 ohm coils, along with replacement sparkplug wires.

Now, you have a choice on sparkplug wires:

1.Copper plug wires with no supression caps (the best choice, but will produce audio noise on Radio’s and TV’s). Not only do the copper core wires deliver better spark, they will also deliver a much longer lifespan - carbon core wires are prone to erratic spark delivery and early breakdown, & short lifespan.

2.Copper plug wires with supression caps (a built in 5000 ohm resistor, that can sometimes fail, like what came with the bike). These should be checked with a multimeter now and then, as heat can cause them to become intermittent.

3.Copper plug wires with no supression caps, but using resistor plugs(the “R” in the plug number).

4.Supression plug wires with no supression caps.

NEVER use resistor plugs combined with supression caps along with supression plug wires, as now there will be possibly three (3) sources of resistance in the secondary windings of the ignition coils, greatly reducing the spark energy.

Another choice is the Accel 3 ohm coils, with a similar, primary(small wire)electrical connection, using ring terminals as the Dyna ignition coils do. Whatever brand of coil you go with, make sure the primary wires will clear the mounting hardware, as the spacers come close, possibly blowing a fuse. Some riders have replaced the metal spacers with non conductive Nylon spacers, reducing the chance of an electrical problem.

7mm sparkplug wires will fit the stock ignition coils(if they have replaceable wires, indicated by screw off caps on the coils with ridges). The sparkplug wires fit into a port with a brass ”Stinger” that goes into the sparkplug wire or lead(the Brit’s. Canadians, and other countries call the sparkplug wires (“High Tension Leads”).

Wow what an informative post! Thank you very much!

I believe some of my problems to be carb related but did not know about the poor ignition systems. Always thought NGK was a fantastic spark plug.

6 speed huh?

The_Proletariat wrote: Hello, new member here.
1982 KZ550 20,000 miles, purchased 12/8/2012...The seller said it's an LTD and I believe it to be one as well but cyclechaos says the KZ550 LTD was 1980-1981...Look foreword to being part of the community.

WELCOME to KZrider!

1982 KZ550-C3 (LTD)

Good Fortune!

The_Proletariat wrote: Hello, new member here.

1982 KZ550 20,000 miles, purchased 12/8/2012.

The seller said it's an LTD and I believe it to be one as well but cyclechaos says the KZ550 LTD was 1980-1981.

It is extremely hard to start and won't idle under 1500 RPM. Above that it runs fantastic. The trans shifts great, clutch is very easy to engage, and neutral is very easy to find.

I need a seat, exhaust system, front brakes and a front tire. A carb sync would do a lot of good as well.

Look foreword to being part of the community.

ltd? what does it say on the title?

May be a white vehicle identification label located on the right or left side of the frame steering neck.





Good Fortune!

hello THE_, welcome to the KZr forum, nice bike, i lusted after these LTD'S at the 1982 motorcycle show at the NEC in Birmingham, nice find.

Patton wrote:

The_Proletariat wrote: Hello, new member here.
1982 KZ550 20,000 miles, purchased 12/8/2012...The seller said it's an LTD and I believe it to be one as well but cyclechaos says the KZ550 LTD was 1980-1981...Look foreword to being part of the community.

WELCOME to KZrider!

1982 KZ550-C3 (LTD)

Good Fortune!

Definitely a C model LTD. Check my signature for carb info. If you are missing choke flaps, that would explain the hard starting. You can check for choke flaps without removing the carbs. They come out through the top caps, but then when you put them back in, you have to make sure to line them all up which is takes a little fiddling.

Also, there are several manuals in my signature which you should save to your computer.

CycleChaos' info is incomplete. The VIN can be checked at Kawasaki.com -->> Owner Info -->> Parts diagrams
All of the 550Cs are probably pretty much the same.

Thanks for the suggestions, and warm welcome.

Went for a short ride today. Likes to stall out without the choke.