84 kz550 hesitates, jerks, first gear. wont start.

Hi, this is my first post here. I just got a 1984 kawasaki kz550 ltd on craigslist. Ive probably ridden about 30 miles on it without major issues. The one thing i noticed most was the hesitation in low rpms (1500-3500) in first gear when taking off. Second gear is fine, its just first. After riding about 3 miles in traffic on a somewhat cold morning the bike died on me. It started back up but would die again when i tried rev it up or put it in first gear. It can idle, but not much else right now. Any ideas?

I was able to start the bike with starter spray but it died out without the choke on. Im thinking a carb cleaning should do it (the previous owner was surely did not clean them). Is this a good road to follow or a waste of time?

im sure it wouldnt hurt to have them cleaned. no tell how long its been

When it's running, do you hear any kind of a rattle or a slapping sound?

Carb cleaning is definitely a good place to start with those symptoms. Make sure to get everything taken apart and be sure you can spray carb cleaner in one side of a passage and have it come out the other.

Hopefully that'll be all she needs. If that doesn't do it, we can start looking at possible ignition issues.