82 kz1000p wont start after top end rebuild

i have ran the adjustment needles all the way in and slowly backed them out 1/2 turns at a time and get nothing, i can simulate life with starting fluid, but carb cleaner just pops and gets a lot of fireballs, spark is in time or very close to the marks, compression seems fine, have checked it previously but i dont have the compression gauge anymore.

have the carbs off now, soaked all the hard parts except the carb bodies themselves in carb cleaner and have them reassembled, but the float bowl gaskets were so hard the crumbled, got some on order along with new cam end plugs and air filter and carb boots, also when i pulled the carbs i pulled the intake boots off and the bolts seemed to be very loose, wonder if i was getting too much air, i know i torqued them down tight during reassembly. have not pulled the head yet, gunna start with just all clean and fresh intake parts first to see if maybe i was sucking air.

also when i was cranking on it before it sounded like it was firing on only one cylinder, when cleaning the carbs i noticed one of my butterflies was not closing all the way, had a chunk o shtuff under it. but now they are 100% bench synched using guitar string(by the way guitar string is wonderful stuff to clean all the carb passages as well as brake MC)

the gremlins strike again!!!

i got it started today with the tank off, it ran great, throttled up smooth and idled great, ran out of fuel in the carbs, so i put the rest of the bike back together, filled back up the carbs, and now it wont start again!!!

i wonder if this is going to be a daily riding ritual, when i shut off the bike im going to have to tear it apart and clean everything, and put it all back together to get it started again.

wow what a pain. it looks like u may have found something though. the fuel mix could be off again as u said. Good luck.

Ok, you said you got it started without the tank on right? Could something be grounding out with the tank on it? Seem's weird the bike will start and run smooth without the tank, and wont start with the tank on.

I think I might have an idea for you. My trip to Sturgis was cut short for this same exact issue a year and a half ago. In my case I found that my bike doesn't like to run with less than 1/2 a gallon in her. Reserve, prime, doesn't matter. Do me a favor and dump a gallon of gas in and see if that's it. Sorry I didn't mention this earlier, I though mine was the only one with this trait.

well, after a week or so off of this project i decided to get back to it.

grabbed me up a compresion gauge and stuck it on, running a consistently sloppy 30-33 on each cylinder, so i said some nasty 4 letter words and took the valve cover off, found out that since its ran a few times my valve clearances have been reduced to nothing, so i figured when it started i maybe blew some carbon out of the head(i dont know from where, i put it together spotless).

so, i need to adjust them prolly tomorrow, i said ive had enough for today, ill keep you all posted on the progress.

update??

sorry, the engine in y truck tossed a rod bearing last week, that has consumed all of my time the last week or so, hopefully i get back to the bike soon, the weather has been so nice, at least i got my 78 honda cx500 running last week to help lul the no-bike blues.

so i finally got back to the bike this weekend, pulled the head off and while pushing the valves felt a couple snap shut, decided to pull the valve to change the stem seals and while i was putting the valves back in noticed a little touch of light coming through the valves. the gap was very minute, but since i have my old head i grabbed the valves out of it and swapped em over, two or three of the valves have a slight bend in them. going to try to reinstall the head later this week and give it another try.

i would think that u should have a valve job if u change out valves.

i have the equipment to grind the valves, and reseat them properly, it is already done. im not new to doing valve work, just this is the first time on a bike, i bought all new equipment just a week or so ago when i rebuilt the engine in my truck. by the way, the truck runs like a top, been chasing down a few leaks still, but nothing major.

ok all, its running like a top, all put together, i havent had a chance to ride it yet due to thunderstorms, but just a quick blip of the throttle and instant throttle response, love the way it sounds, and looks. taking it out for a few hundred miles tomorrow. then going to do a little fine tuning. its running a little rich now, but i will colortune and carbtune after my ride tomorrow.


happy riding, and keep the tires turning!