79 kz1000 police wont go above 2200 rpm

I picked up a 79 police bike. previous owner replaced all the cam chain rollers said it had a problem getting power to the coils. I fixed that. It was a broken wire to the coils. I cleaned the carbs and got it running. by the way it has the pumper style carbs. It wouldnt go pass 2200-2500 rpm. After that it was like the bike shut off. If you close the throttle it comes back to life, I cleaned the carbs good twice after that with the same results. I kept being told it had to be carbs so I took the carbs to cycle specialist and had larry mcbride put in rebuild kits after ultrasonic cleaning them. I thought for sure that was it. put the carbs back on and it did the same thing. I thought maybe it was the ignition so I put in the kawasaki IC ignighter ignition and it starts a little easier but still does the same thing. I pulled the valve cover and checked the timing marks and the 28 pin mark. The intake cam looked like the mark was a littie low compared to the head and the exhaust looked a little high but if I moved it one pin it would be too much i think. The 28 pin mark was correct but I noticed when I cranked it with the starter the chain would go slack and then tight again as the intake cam came around. I pulled the bolt on the tensioner to take up any slack as I slowly rotated the engine a few times. Put te bolt back in and used the starter and it did the same thing with going slack and tight again. That just dont seem right. I put it back together and started it up and there was no change.

Any Ideas? Im thinking of taking it back to the shop but I would rather save my money. lol.

I would take a quick look at the advancer on the right side of the bike behind the points cover and make sure it is loose. If it's not grease it up. It should move freely.

Yeah, I checked that it moves freely. Thanks.

Some non-carb possibilities ---
• Is the stock air box fitted and with a fresh clean filter installed?
• Are valve clearances within specs?
• Has the timing advancer been inspected for proper functioning and to assure that it's properly lubed and not sticking in the closed position?

Perhaps the carb pilot circuit is the culprit -- despite all the cleaning efforts.
It might be that the pilot circuit orifices into the bore are still blocked.

If gasoline was permitted into the freshly cleaned carbs without first passing through an in-line fuel filter, the pilot circuits may have become immediately re-contaminated.





Similar cleaning technique may be used on either style pilot circuit.

Has the clear tube test been performed on each carb to assure correct fuel levels in the float bowls?

Good Fortune!

Was going to ask about the airbox and filter, but Patton beat me to it.

well the bike was set up with an air box but when I got the carb off the boots between the carbs and air box was super hard so right now it has pod filters.

advancer is good. is lubed and moves freely.

When I put the carbs on I had an inline filter on them. Filter still looks clean. fuel is good.

Valve clearances are good. Except that clearance between the cam lobe and the cylinder head where the cam tried to use my pinkie finger as a feeler gauge. My kid came out and was watching me and decided to push the starter button. OUCH! End result not so good.

New air ducts are soft and pliable and are much easier to install than old ones. I don't know that the entire problem you are experiencing is due to pods, but the engine will run very poorly if you switched to pods without re-jetting the carbs. If it was mine I would just buy new air ducts, a new air filter element, and use the airbox. That would eliminate one large variable and may even correct the problem entirely. Ed

Any possibility that the mufflers are clogged?

Good Fortune!

hmmm... Never would have thought of clogged mufflers.

Thanks for all the suggestions and info on my problem that Ive been having. Today I went back over the comments and was thinking about what Ive done with the bike so far.The very first thing that I did was I pulled the air box before even trying to start the engine. I cleaned the carbs and put on pod filters. Then started trying to get it to run. Then the problem started and I thought those problems were pre existing. After reading through everything again I read 650ed post I thought he has a point and its the only variable that I hadnt explored. I wrestled with the boot for what seemed like forever and got the airbox installed.

I thought it wouldnt make a differance after every thing else I had done but I pulled it out of the garage and started it up. It ran better on start up right off the bat, but I wasnt convinced. I took it for a test down the road babying it till 2200. I gave it a little more and more and more and it just kept going! Runs great now. Its amazing the difference that it made. Some times you just have to go back to basics. Now to rewire the fairing or put lights on it and finish up the details and get her on the road again. Thanks again everyone.

I'm glad that was it! If you ever need to remove the carbs again you may want to consider getting new carb-airbox air ducts. They are quite pliable and make the job of installing them WAY easier. Ed

Yup, They are on order. thanks, Should I hook up the valve cover vent system that goes back to the air box?