Cylinder #2 Cold ('78 kz650)

Ed is correct....that is a great looking bike. THe back rest on the other hand is personal preference. :S

Since you have a KZ650 you should also check out the www.kz650.info site. There are over a 1000 members on that site with 650's.

Between this site and the other one, you will save a ton of money.

Good luck

YUKABODOS wrote:

Ed is correct....that is a great looking bike. THe back rest on the other hand is personal preference. :S

Since you have a KZ650 you should also check out the www.kz650.info site. There are over a 1000 members on that site with 650's.

Between this site and the other one, you will save a ton of money.

Good luck

Hahaha, what you dont like it? I was thinking I might invest in a larger one I saw a lazy boy with a free sign on it across the street... might try and mount it on...

Seriously though, I'll probably take it off but keep it around for touring with the girlfriend, plus it has a handy little pouch on the back for keeping things in! (If anybody has a smaller sissybar/backrest/saddlebags for a '78 kz650 let me know, I'd be interested buying some)

The windshield is pretty large and is kindof ghetto rigged to fit, but it blocks the wind and doesnt rattle around too bad. I'll take it off when it gets warmer out (snowing today) but definitely keep it around too for touring purposes

The bike is overall in decent condition, definitely some rust that needs taken care of sooner or later, there's an exhaust leak on one pipe. Overall It looks good enough for me right now - but I want to completely strip it down and do a complete paint and engine tuneup this winter maybe. Guess who will be holding my hand through that process...? (Thanks guys )

I've been checking out kz650.info as well, good stuff - thanks

...first things first... I've got to get this beast running properly! I've got a 150mi each way trip planned for less than a month away... gotta have 4 cylinders by then!

TeK9iNe wrote:

The #2 pilot might be clogged, or the carburetors need to be vacuum synced again.

Try increasing the idle (at the idle knob), until #2 cylinder starts to fire. Test by TAPPING the #2 exhaust header very quickly! QUICKLY! If it starts to fire, and you put your hand on there... :ohmy:

if it does start firing, those are pretty much the only things it could be...

Or your fuel level in the bowl is real low for some reason - thats where the clear tube verification comes in. You connect the tube to the carb drain and hold it up against the carb. Then open the drain screw and check how high the fuel level is.

GL!

Thank you my brother! Just did the idle increase test, it eventually started to sputter and intermittently fire on all 4. Didnt sound pretty but the #2 header started heating up! This probably means jet clog (pilot)? I'm happy Carb cleaning here I come - I might go buy the cheapest air compressor I can find to help this process...

Hey all

Just did the clear tube test, tested #1 (which is running fine) and #2 (the dead one) just to be safe and have a reference. #2 is definitely on the lean side, probably by 1/8" or a tad more, and could be the problem... or at least one of them. Do you think that this could be responsible for all the symptoms I've been having? Either way, its a start - I think I'm going to take apart the #2 carb and give it a cleaning soon anyway. I'm going to do all of them if time permits, and if the first one goes well.

Pulled the carbs. They were surprisingly clean, No plugged holes in any of the jets. #2 still doesnt fire with the rest. The only thing I think it could be is the choke... would that make sense? Once the other cylinders are warm and I take the choke off and start cranking on the throttle #2 starts to warm up... ???

Somebody please give me some advice here...

I didn't really clean or disassemble the choke because I didn't know how and it started snowing and was getting dark... anybody know how to check the choke, or have any other ideas?

(I dont have valve clearances or compression info yet... )

sft1662 wrote:

Thanks Guys

However I am now more confused... Just tested the plug wire (unplugged it while engine going and the engine almost died, there is definitely juice flowing through the wire, and the plug works because i switched it with #1 which was working fine) The plug caps and wires seem to be in good shape, soft, pliable, etc... and I did the spray bottle test and nothing happened, no visible sparks in the dark either... Does this more or less rule out an electrical issue?

I would love to check compression, but I dont have a tester...when I get paid I'm going to invest in a multimeter and compression tester. Plus I really dont want to find out something bad about the compression...

So I'll visually check the electrical connections tomorrow when its light out (no garage...) and change the gassy oil... then - next stop carb? (I'll do volt/compression tests ASAP)

Do I need to get new gaskets if I'm taking apart the carb, any special tools? I dont know if I'll get to this until the weekend...

Keep up the help guys I appreciate it

If you have a Vip auto parts store in your area they have loaner.
tools. I got a compression tester from there to test mine.
I had to put a $38 deposit down but get it back when I return it.
Many auto parts stores do this.

I've got a compression tester coming in the mail that should be here soon, so I'm just gonna wait for that.

Thanks though

Compression!!! warm - 130, 115, 115, 125 - this is on the low side, but I could only get the gauge finger-tight on 1&4 and not even finger tight on 2&3... this is also a second or so after stopping the starter when I could pick it up to look so the peaks were likely higher --- good enough!

Plug dry after running choke only on #2, plug dry after running and revving w/o choke on #2... what the hell man!? Pull the carb again - seems like it has to be the issue?

Hello. I just wanted to finish off this thread by saying that after a full-on pull everything apart, 8hr carb-clean-athon yesterday I found the problem. You guys were right, choke circuit was clogged via that little hole/tube in the float bowl... I should have found that the first time. Oh well, I now have squeeky clean carbs and a lot more knowledge on how to pull them apart. win/win.

I dont like reading "problem" threads that just end without anybody saying if they figured it out or not, so here ya go.

I have the same problem.

I spent 200 bucks at a shop and they cleaned the carbs, adjusted timining, rejetted, lowered float in #2.

Still, #2 is luke warm.

I previously tried everthing that has been mentioned in this thread.

One other problem I have. The bike will only start and run in the reserve position on the petcock. It will start in the on position, but only run for a few yards. I assume it is clogged and needs replaced or cleaned.

I'm not taking it back to the shop. I'm going to dive into it myself.

Maybe, I also have a clogged choke circuit in the float bowl.

I'm not sure what hole you are taking about.

Any ideas.
Thanks.

I'd check the rubber diaphram in the petcock as alcohol will attack and destroy the various rubber bits.

Some places are using E85 gas/alcohol mixes making motorcycle engines hard to start and run.

If you have vacuum controlled carbs, it might eat holes in the diaphrams there too.

Yesterday, I noticed that my bike had a pretty strong gas odor after riding it around.

Just thought it was another problem after getting the bike back from the witch doctor shop.

Anyway, after reading this thread and 70 million others - I came home from work and began inspecting the air box hoses. Of course, #2 had a huge crack in it and gas was visible on the bottom of the hose.

Obviously, I need new hoses as they are original.

But, do you think this could be the reason #2 has remained luke warm.

For some unknown reason, I never checked it out until Mfolks pointed out the Petcock issue. Thanks, by the way.

I guess Z1 will be getting another order from me. Ah, I love spending money.