TOPIC:

I purchased the bike from North Dakota and moved it to Texas my bike is running rich can I turn the fuel/air mixture screw counter clock wise 1/4 turn to fix the problem or will I have to rejet?

A good Kaw is like a good woman you can ride them all day;

more data needed on your bike,1000's were made from 77-04

Pull up your profile and edit your signature to include bike year/model. It would be good to know more about this before talking about adjusting the idle mixture.... like what kind of carbs, what type of jetting, what type of pipes/airbox... Where you at in Texas?

I have a 1978 KZ1000A2 stock air box, 42mm carbs,4 into 2 Mac pipe. You can smell gas and hear pops in the exhaust pipes. I do not know what size jets it has.

In Dallas Texas

Howdy Dallas! We have a bunch of folk from up that way. You might want to look them up. Some are pretty nice folk...

As far as your carburetors go, they are NOT 42mm... that is the OD of the intake side. They are measured from the side that hooks to the cylinder head and the ID is meaured. They would be VM26 I think.

I would first check to see what jets are in the bike to baseline jetting. With a stock airbox and aftermarket pipes, if the previous owner put a "jet kit" in the bike, it is probably WAY too rich. Just pull the carb bowl and use an 8mm wrench and remove the main jet holder from one of the outside carbs. You can then read the numbering on the main jet... that is the one in the middle of the carb.

If the main jet is either #105 or #107.5, the jetting is stock and you should look elsewhere for the problem. If the main jet is far larger... then you have a jet kit and need to rejet... one of the normal reasons that you will smell gas and get backfiring is incomplete combustion. This is typically caused by a weak spark. See the how-to in the Filebase called "coil powering" at:

kzrider.com/component/option,com_docman/...mit,5/limitstart,30/

I do not think I will be able to fix this problem. Do you Know of any good Mech/shops which can fix this in Dallas? I took a look at the ignition system and it has points should I replace it with solid state before I start rejecting?

very very clean bike.

Nice looking bike! As far as the order of work that needs done, follow the order given in a tune up sequence per the Kaw Factory Service Manual or a Clymers which basically has this sequence:

1. valve clearance adjustment
2. timing chain adjustment
3. igntion - plugs, wires, caps, points/condensors, timing
4. carburetors - synchronize, tune idle mixture, set idle speed

AFTER those things are done, jetting issues should be looked at. I would also recommend doing the coil powering modification already mentioned before doing any rejetting. This cures many woes often attributed to carburetors (I know! I sell and rebuild the darned things). It would be a great idea to replace the points/condensors ignition with a Dyna S (electronic) ignition. Contact www.z1enterprises.com as they are an authorized Dyna distributor and have great prices and customer support to purchase the igntion. They also sell matching coils and plug wire/cap sets. When I redo a bike, I replace all this stuff right from the get-go. It eliminates a ton of problems.

To find a local shop, contact these two KZRider.com members: Klacko Arai59

To send them an email, click on "COMMUNITY" in the pulldowns above. A list of members appears. Put the names of the folks I noted in the search box and their profile will come up and it will give you the opportunity to send an email. Ask them about a local shop or someone who could help you get rolling. Both live in the DFW area.

If you were closer, you could bring your bike over and I would be glad to help. One of the challenges with owning an older bike is that older bikes have some unique mechanical and electrical issues that modern bike shops are not good at dealing with. Also, most bike shops don't want to work on older bikes (because of these issue and getting parts) so finding a trustworthy local shop will sure enhance your ownership experience! Good luck and welcome.

Post edited by: wiredgeorge, at: 2005/10/28 08:55

I checked the main jet it is a 105. Every thing looks ok except the poping noise out the exhaust. All power ranges are good, idle at 1000 after warm up. The poping does stop after riding for 10 minutes. I think I flooded the engine buy choking to long at start up. I noticed the smoke was less if I chocked for 20 second and turned off chock and rest throttle above idle until it warmed up. (I read that if the system is lean it will pop like that) I order a DYNA ignition systwm I hope this will help. Do I have to replace the stock coils?

The carbs on your bike are lean at idle and this is generally where the popping comes from. Install some #17.5 pilot jets and your bike will start easier and warm up faster.

I have already gone over tune up steps. Go through these in the order I suggested and you will likely improve the overall performance of the bike. Get ahold of one of the guys I mentioned for a good shop in your area.

Off-Topic, Nice bike. I have a '78 almost identical, same color and all. Can you tell me what windshield you have? I'm considering adding one. Thanks.