New owner

As of yesterday i am now a proud owner of a 78 Kz1000. Sadly im still many miles from it. Meh but who cares it's still cool that i have one and im excited to get my ride on. As a small side note, is there some sort of compression release vavle for the engine when you try to turn the bike over? my dad started the bike to drive it up our 45degree drive-way and when he turned the key to the on position it hissed at him and scared the crap out of him. It was pretty funny to hear that over the phone.

No compression release. If it hissed at him then it will be somethng you pat attention to. It should not be doing that. Most likely have a loose spark plug or something. If it truely did it when the ignition was turned on then who knows what it could be.

MAKE SURE THERE ISNT A CAT UNDER THE HOOD!!!! :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

it wasn't running so i dont think it was a spark plug leak... he said he turned the key to the on. he didnt try to turn it over or anything.

and with my luck it is a cat lol.

Sounds like some kind of electrical short that was arching. Look over the wiring for bare wires, check the battery for corrosion and loose cables, things like that.

Check the coils for cracks....

If it had been run recently, it may have been the ignition making spark at on of the plugs and firing that cylinder a bit. My bike does that occasionally.
Enjoy the bike when you get it and

Ride safe

Does it happen every time the key is turned?
Could be as simple as a hot gas tank in the sun, put key in the ignition and swing the bike up vertical and have the gas cap vent hiss from the release of pressure.
Maybe not.
I hope it's not serious.

I think Cafe is on to something. My bikes hiss at me from the tank cover all the time in the sun. I had to open my 650 cover yesterday to stop that noise, it was annoying!

i'll have to check it when i get home but my dad says it only happens after it has been running and he says it sounds like the pressure release on the semi-truck breaks.:whistle: