kz550 just rebuild but wont start

Greetings to all,
I have been snooping around the site for about 2 weeks as I was just given an 81 kz550 that wasn't running. the old owner said it was pouring oil out of the bottom and had no compression. I am by no means a mechanic but figured with the Clymer guide I could do the work. I pulled the head, and found that the valve stems were so built up with carbon they were not seating. the pistons and the cylinders looked good so did nothing there. I lapped the valves and installed new gaskets all around. the oil gasket was missing about an inch of it . hence the oil pouring out the bottom. The cover was off on the ignition side and was completely gunked up. I cleaned it all up and got everything moving again
I expect the first questions will be.
1. do you have spark?- yes but it seems not to strong
2. do you have gas? yes in the carb and when I pull a plug it is wet with gas
3. is the kickstand up and the clutch pulled in? yes as well as the starter switch being on .

As I said I am no mechanic so please do not assume by my have having checked these items that I knew to check them in the first place. I looked at all the wisdom you all had posted and tried to track down from there where the problem might be.

Help!! summer is fleeing fast. and I just have to have some wind blowing in my face from riding down the road.

Rixrock

Be sure the battery is fully charged. Sometimes there's enough ooomph to turn the engine over but not enough for good spark. If you charge the battery do so on very low amperage - 2 amps or less. You can try to jump start the bike from another vehicle's battery, but do not try to jump start the bike from a running vehicle or battery charger as this can damage the electrical stuff on the bike. Ed

Thank you for a quick response. It is an old battery but has been on a slow 1 amp charger and seems to be really doing the job. The lights are really bright and the starter seems to be really cranking at full speed.

Did you possibly disassemble the advancer when you cleaned it?

If so, then it is possible you assembled it 180 degrees out.
This photo shows how the pointer of the rotor should point toward the "TEC" logo.

Also, read the valve train warning in my signture. You can use that page to verify valve timing in case that may be the problem.

Thank you. I will check this when I get home tonight. I did take it all apart, and thought it was put back the same , but I have done some stupid things over the years. also I noticed from your picture that the weight has a rubber idle stop. mine does not. will this make a difference and if so, where could I order some?

rixrock wrote: Thank you. I will check this when I get home tonight. I did take it all apart, and thought it was put back the same , but I have done some stupid things over the years. also I noticed from your picture that the weight has a rubber idle stop. mine does not. will this make a difference and if so, where could I order some?

It's really just a tiny chunk of rubber with some sort of glue on it. You can probably make them.

However, if it is missing, you should do all of your ignition timing (after it's running) using a timing light at the full-advance mark. That is, you have to time it at higher RPMs so the timing pointer is between the two parallel line marks on the advancer. (As described in the manual.)

Then without the rubber stops, the idle timing will be slightly retarded. You then add rubber, or glue, or metal until the idle timing is at the F mark, where it should be.

In addition to making sure the rotor is pointing the correct direction, you should verify the right coil is firing cylinders 1 and 4, and the left coil is firing 2 and 3. Also make sure the right coil has a small black wire to it, and the left coil has a small green wire to it.

Are the choke flaps missing?

Have you glued them shut? If so it takes a lot of trial and error to be able to start the bike regularly. I took a lot of life from my starter during this process

I ended up working late yesterday and today so haven't had a chance to get back out to the bike. But tomorrow she is all mine and I am hoping the suggestions will be the winning ticket. The choke flaps are there and seem to work fine. I did take the carbs apart and clean them, and have found some wonderful advice here on the site in regards to adjusting them. the old owner had drilled hole in the air cleaner for more air and completely trashed it. I ordered and now have pod air cleaners, but that was before I found this site and saw the large amount of feedback regarding them. I am hoping I will be able to avoid some of the problems many have had using them, once I get this bike started, thank you all so much for your comments and help.

rixrock