My 81 kz650 Nightmare continues 4 years later....

I havent been on this site in over four years. At that time I had just gotten an 81 kz 650 free! Unfortunately it needed a lot of work. I worked on it for a while, and then a friend talked me into selling it to him... Long story short, he wrecked the bike and I now have it back... Once again needing a lot of work. I have got her running again, she idles really well and revs great... That is until you put her into gear. As soon as she is under load she spits, sputters, and dies. I have cleaned the carbs twice. I am at a loss here. I also have a couple questions about the carbs. Under the number 2 carb there are two nipples... not the bowl nipple, but two others.... What are they for? Also under one of the carbs is a triangle shaped thing with no cover on it.. What is it? I will try to get pic soon, but if anyone knows what I am talking about, or can help in any way... please do so before I run this thing off a bridge... Thank you

Well you have a Kawasaki 1981 KZ650-H1 CSR if the information is correct.

How does it roll in 4th or 5th gear not running? does it feel very stiff or bound up not wanting to roll? or is it free and rolling good.

does the clutch seem to be free when used? does it engage and disengage ok?

I have no idea how it rolls in 4th and 5th... I havent tried, but will... The clutch is fine engages and disengages fine. What exactly does it rolling in gear have to do with anything? Keep in mind I'm still new to all of this...

Just checked, with the clutch pulled the bike rolls easy. With the clutch out the bike drags a lot while pushing

I'd do a full tune-up. Carb clean set the floats dry and wet, plug check, valve adjustment, timing check, Carb balance after getting mixture set. Side stepping this will only result in tail chasing

I'm not sure if your bike has a kickstand switch, but if it does, it can cause the ignition to sputter. See if the kickstand position makes a difference.

The 650-CSR doesn't have a kickstand switch, which kinda drives home the point that it could be anything. I would check & set and clean & lubricate everything as per the factory manual, instead of trying to chase down what it might be.... that's what I did when trying to figure out a misfiring problem which ended up being poor spark plug wire connections.

ok, well I guess I know whats going on now. Gonna tear everything down and start fresh..... again..

If not already done, would assure that the timing advancer is lubed and properly functioning, and that it's not stuck in the retarded idle position.

It's not supposed to look like this :sick: :




Good Fortune!

going to check that tonight....

gibson_david28 wrote: ... 81 kz 650... idles really well and revs great... That is until you put her into gear. As soon as she is under load she spits, sputters, and dies. I have cleaned the carbs twice. I am at a loss here. I also have a couple questions about the carbs. Under the number 2 carb there are two nipples... not the bowl nipple, but two others.... What are they for? Also under one of the carbs is a triangle shaped thing with no cover on it.. What is it? ....

triangle shaped thing with no cover -- likely part of the accelerator pump aka fuel pump used on some of the KZ carbs.

Lots of good info on kawasaki.com, including parts diagrams, part names, part numbers, models sharing same part, availability, etc. Here's a link for help with navigating the site and finding information.

www.kzrider.com/forum/13-bike-related/37...imitstart=0&start=20

Sometimes the carb diagrams fail to show the accelerator pump.

Good Fortune!

Under the number 2 carb there are two nipples... not the bowl nipple, but two others.... What are they for? Also under one of the carbs is a triangle shaped thing with no cover on it.. What is it?

Some carbs have the casting for the accel pump or some vacuum thingy, can't recall off hand what it is, as my 650's don't have them.
But what looks like a missing cover is OK, as that system is not used in your case.

The accelerator pump is in the pic below, on the right, the other system (triangle area) to the left.

Have been some discussions about it, and what the two nipples are for.
I will try to find them....

Here's some info on the 650info site;
forums.kz650.info/index.php?topic=11929.0