In December, I bought a 1981 KZ440 LTD D3. I haven't ridden it yet. I'm new to motorcycles, so I bought the factory service manual straight away. Nevertheless, in January, I managed to do something stupid. I removed the engine so I could clean it and paint the frame. To make it easier to get the engine out, I removed the cam chain tensioner. I took the tensioner apart, cleaned it, and put it back on the engine, but I didn't release the spring because I thought I might want to take the whole thing off again when I put the engine back on the frame. And one day, with the engine on the bench and the tensioner NOT tensioning the chain, I adjusted the valves. I just completely forgot that I hadn't released the tensioner spring.
In March, with the bike back together, the tensioner in place, and the spring released and working, I adjusted the valves for the second time (the clearances had opened up a bit), cleaned the carbs, put new plugs, wires, and caps on the bike, and I started it. After adjusting the idle, the pilot screws, and synchronizing the carbs, the bike ran really great. Morgan carbtune was showing good vacuum. It idled great and revved great. Strong and smooth. Summer started looking really good. The only problem was a hanging idle when the bike was cold. I found cracks in the carb holders, so I ordered a new pair. They arrived a few days ago, I put them on, and the bike ran like crap. A spring had slipped off the choke mechanism, and one choke plate wasn't working. Fixed that, still ran like crap. I checked the valves, and the clearances were way open. I adjusted them for the third time, and the engine struggles to idle now. When I turn the throttle, it stalls. According to the carbtune, vacuum is almost non-existant. So I bought a timing light and checked the timing. At idle, the fixed timing mark should line up with the F mark on the timing advancer, but it's lining up with the T mark instead. Timing advancer and rotor have been oiled, and they move freely and smoothly.
If I screwed up the cam chain back in January, why did the bike run so well in March? The only changes I made between March and April are the new carb holders, which seem like a perfect fit, and I've been cleaning the electrical connections -- one wire at a time, so I don't get them mixed up. Summer doesn't look so good now. Thoughts? Thanks.
1981 KZ440 LTD
