Trouble starting my new (to me) '77 KZ650

When I bought my bike I had a heck of a time starting it as well. 3 years later and it starts up on the first kick or push of the button.

Here is what I did, and it did not cost a ton of money....

1) NGK B7ES Spark Plugs - a new set will make you a happy camper. The bike will be much easier to start.

2) New Battery - if the battery is not new then splash out 50 bucks and get a new one. Do not forget to bring the old one in to get the environmental levy refund.

3) After the new battery has been installed check the voltage at the coils to ensure 12 V. If not getting 12 V with the new battery at the coils, then do the WG coil mod, again not expensive and there is a lot of material on this site to help you get it completed.

4) Check the fuses to make sure they are not corroded, a new set of fuses would not hurt either and is a cheap way to buy peace of mind. A lot of fuse boxes get pretty ugly over 30 years and a new fuse box will run you $20.00 (Try Z1)

5) Buy a battery tender or trickle charger (again $20) to keep your battery charged in between rides to prevent having to jump the battery, which is not really the best idea to get it stated. Some come with a boost option built into them.

6) As mentioned above - check and service points and timining and look into getting the carbs synced.

Over time if you desire, you can tweak and tune the carbs and repace the airfilters.

I always have an extra set of plugs under my seat in the tool tray with a spark plug wrench just in case you are left stranded someplace.

Last but not least, make sure there is enough gas in the gas tank, do not ask how I know that...lets just say that I was a newbie with these bikes once.

You will have a reliable ride, it will just take a little work, a few knuckle scrapes, and a few extra bucks to get it to become a reliable ride.

I like the colour of your bike, just like mine.

KR

ckotul wrote:

fixer5000 wrote:

on my 78 i put the choke on full. usualy it starts right up and rpms rocket up so then i put choke to about halfway. i think you need to check the voltage at your coils with the key on. sounds like a coil mod candidate

I tried searched for "coil mod" but can't seem to find anything. Do you have a link so I can read up on it?

Here is the link to the coil mod. Works wonders and cost less than $20!!

Just called a couple of places around here to find out how much it'll cost me for a carb cleaning and synchronization. $250 - $300. Whoa.

Could you give a little history on this fine machine. Was it sitting for a longtime? Is the gas new? What is the longest you have had it running? Have you ridden it for any distance? When it is running how does it run?...Russ

Russ Jackson wrote:

Could you give a little history on this fine machine. Was it sitting for a longtime? Is the gas new? What is the longest you have had it running? Have you ridden it for any distance? When it is running how does it run?...Russ

Was sitting for less than a week when I bought it. Guy fired it up after a little tweaking of choke and all was good. Gas is new. I've run it for about 30 minutes since I bought it on Monday, and everything seems fine when it's on the road. The only problem I'm having is when the bike cools down it's a pain in the @$$ to start again.

I too have been restoring a very low mileage 77 KZ650 this year. I finally got the bike back together enough this past week to run the engine. I had the carbs rebuilt with the help of a friend earlier this year. I have new fuel lines, new fuel filter, new gas, Seafoam in the tank(for conditioning purposes). When I started running the bike, I had the same problem as you- hard to start, battery would run down and hard to keep running until up to operating temp. One of my neighbors has a KZ650 and worked on them professionally for 18 years. He immediately identified a cam chain that needed adjusting. He made the cam chain adjustment(quieted the engine clatter down a lot), adjusted my idle, told me I need a carb synch, adjusted the ignition advancer, and I cleaned the contact points. Now the bike starts right up. My battery is an el cheapo the interim owner put in so I know that needs replacing. The ignition advancer adjustment is a little window between the contact points. There is a "T" that should appear in the center of that window when you are spot on with the adjustment.

Anyway, you probably can tell from all the postings and my lengthy reply that there are several things that need adjusting/maintaining on old bike like these. I would either spend the money or have a knowledgeable friend help with your engine/carb tweaking. My bike is now running like a champ and yours likely can too.

Ok... I'm tearing my hair out at this point. Talked to the dealer that I bought it from and they said that part of the maintenance they performed included cleaning and synching the carbs, replacing the coils and plugs, and putting in a new battery. I think I may be flooding the thing out because I can smell gas and when I pulled the plugs out to check them, they were a little wet with gas. They were also pretty black.

I can't get this bike started for the life of me. I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong with the choke?? Here's the order I'm doing things:

1) turn the fuel on
2) put the choke in the "ON" position (all the way up)
3) turn the ignition on
4) turn the kill switch to RUN
5) engage the clutch
6) press the start button

The bike will turn over, but after a few tries it stops sounding like it's actually turning over and starts to emit more of a clanging noise. Am I flooding it? If I am flooding it, how long do I wait until trying it all again?

I think some of the guys are right by saying you're not getting the proper voltage to the coils. I had the same problem, but mine included the wrong jetting in the carbs. I took the time and cleaned and greased every wire connection on the bike with di-electric grease. I have the relay and pig tail to do the wire-george mod, but haven't done it yet. I was intimidated by most of the things, specially cleaning the carbs, but with these guys help, got the old girl running hotter than heck. It starts great and sounds like a high speed electric motor. Get a manual and ask questions. Bob

What plugs are in it?

I noticed on your profile that you live in Ohio! How far are you from Cincinnati where I live? I guarantee that every person that has responded to your post wishes they could be there helping you but we don't always live close enough to do that. When I saw you lived in Ohio I figured if we live close enough I would be glad to help you any way I can. I am an actual bike mechanic and have dealt with a lot of these vintage bikes! It's kind of overwhelming when you have several people giving you advice (all good) but your really not familiar with much they are saying. You need to be taken step by step through the troubleshooting procedure so you can systematically come to the problem. I hope the other guys on here don't get offended by this message! I am only trying to help! My e-mail is burkes3gz@zoomtown.com if you are interested. Thanks

650ed wrote:

What plugs are in it?

Champion RN4C

According to Champions website, these are the correct plugs, so I think I'm good.

lrburke wrote:

I noticed on your profile that you live in Ohio! How far are you from Cincinnati where I live? I guarantee that every person that has responded to your post wishes they could be there helping you but we don't always live close enough to do that. When I saw you lived in Ohio I figured if we live close enough I would be glad to help you any way I can. I am an actual bike mechanic and have dealt with a lot of these vintage bikes! It's kind of overwhelming when you have several people giving you advice (all good) but your really not familiar with much they are saying. You need to be taken step by step through the troubleshooting procedure so you can systematically come to the problem. I hope the other guys on here don't get offended by this message! I am only trying to help! My e-mail is burkes3gz@zoomtown.com if you are interested. Thanks

Believe me, I'd be interested... if only I lived in OH. I think that having someone who is familiar with KZ's walking me through step by step is EXACTLY what I need. I'm actually in Northwest Indiana about 30 minutes outside of downtown Chicago, so if anyone around me is willing, please please please let me know! Thanks for the offer though!