Kick kick kick and it just won't run...

1983 KZ750 LTD K1.

Spark plugs are getting spark.
Carburetors are freshly cleaned and should be adjusted at least to functioning levels...
Fuel lines are good and fuel is flowing.
Oil is fresh, and has been pumped through the bike by the kicker at least 30 times.
Compression on the kicker is good...feels like it should...
Battery is good, all lights are go.

I get the kickstarter all the way down and it sounds like it's about to start ("vwoosh") but comes back up with no result.

The electric starter is non-functioning.

Any general ideas? I'm off to Google to troubleshoot...

Try spraying some starting fluid down each throttle bore before attempting to kick start. If it runs for a second or two at least you will know your spark and timing is somewhat good and most likely some kind of carburetor issue. Having said that, some things you may want to check would be the float fuel levels, dwell and timing, spark plug gaps, etc, ...

Is fuel actually flowing to the carbs, or just from the petcock? I know when I cleaned my carbs etc. the fuel lines seemed to airlock or some such, and I did an awful lot of kicking before I checked the carb bowls. :blush:

Hatchet wrote: 1983 KZ750 LTD K1...Spark plugs are getting spark.
Carburetors are freshly cleaned and should be adjusted at least to functioning levels...
Fuel lines are good and fuel is flowing...Compression on the kicker is good...feels like it should...
Battery is good, all lights are go....

If carbs have "enrichener circuits" (which add additional fuel mixture) instead of true chokes (restricts air), the enrichener circuit is designed to best function with the throttle slides in their full down position (i.e., throttle completely closed).

If not already doing, try starting the engine without touching the throttle grip.

Good Fortune!

Make sure kill switch is in "Run" position.
Key on.
Fuel on.
Choke on.
Don't touch throttle.
If bike still won't start check spark plugs. Are they wet or dry? Ed

Open your float bowl drain screws and check that fuel flows with the pet cock set to Prime. If that looks good, try opening your Idle Mixture screws up to 2.5 turns.
Maybe the Enrichment/ starter jet circuit in your carbs are still dirty/ blocked. How bad were the carbs?

Thank you all for the replies, I appreciate it. Lots of good advice here.

Fuel is indeed flowing down to the carbs, as the float drain screws are definitely letting out fuel. The carbs themselves were actually not that bad when I cleaned them out - I was expecting much worse than I found. To my knowledge, the starter jets are clear.

The float levels however I am less confident about. I don't think I adjusted those properly, but I was hoping to fine-tune them after getting the bike running...

Although the spark plugs were getting spark, admittedly they did seem a bit weak. They are dry and fairly black.

I am not touching the throttle at all.

I'll try the starter fluid and see if I get any results. I'll also try the idle adjustment screw trick (carefully) and see if that changes anything.

I'm hoping to figure this out without too much difficulty.

Hatchet wrote: Thank you all for the replies, I appreciate it. Lots of good advice here.

Fuel is indeed flowing down to the carbs, as the float drain screws are definitely letting out fuel. The carbs themselves were actually not that bad when I cleaned them out - I was expecting much worse than I found. To my knowledge, the starter jets are clear.

The float levels however I am less confident about. I don't think I adjusted those properly, but I was hoping to fine-tune them after getting the bike running...

Although the spark plugs were getting spark, admittedly they did seem a bit weak. They are dry and fairly black.

I am not touching the throttle at all.

I'll try the starter fluid and see if I get any results. I'll also try the idle adjustment screw trick (carefully) and see if that changes anything.

I'm hoping to figure this out without too much difficulty.

When using starter fluid, try opening the throttle when spraying two or three shots in each bore. Then when trying to kick start it, try to give it about 1/4 to 1/3 throttle as you are kicking. Don't forget to make sure your kill switch is in the run position. Good luck.

To say compression feels right on kicker, is like saying the dog ate my homework, you really have no idea what compression is. Just trying to be helpful, take the time and diagnose, otherwise you might get lucky, then you might not.

push it

Tried the starter fluid. No results.
Still haven't tried the idle screws...but I'm done for today (see below).

I went over the bike today and everything still looks good. I am 100% convinced that the spark plugs and fuel lines check out. The rest still looks good but I won't give a gaurantee.

Today however I noticed something. After giving the bike several kicks, a couple of times I noticed a pretty strong "kick back". I stopped messing with it after this, afraid to break anything...

I read online that some Triumph guys experienced no start and a strong kick back because their ignition timing was off.

Does that sound like a possible culprit?

*EDIT* Actually, I just realized a potential screw up. Here's the thing; when I was removing the electric starter chain from the starter clutch, the flywheel may have got moved in the process.

If it won't fire on starter fluid then you have an ignition problem.