2000 KZ1000 ENGINE FAILURE

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for accepting my membership.

I need some mechanical advice and I would appreciate if you could help.

I own a 2000 KZ1000 Police with only 550 miles. It runs fine when cold, but after 5 to 10 minutes the engine loses power to the point that it won’t idle. If you leave it alone just for a few minutes, it will start again just fine, until it warms up, and the cycle resumes. I’ve done a few tests and this is what I found out so far:

- I removed the fuel tank and petcock and fed the engine straight from a bottle, nothing changed;
- I removed both air suction valves, and they look perfect;
- I tested the vacuum switch valve by blowing the air hose while someone else sucked the vacuum hose, and it seems to work fine;
- I tested the spark plugs and checked their gap, it all looks good;
- I tested the ignition coils using a timing gun, the gun still blinks normally while the engine is failing;
- The fuel and air filters look ok;
- I tested the engine compression, the measurements were between 9.5 and 10.5 kg/cm2;

I don’t know what else to do. I feel like removing and checking the carbs, but I’m afraid to tamper with something that is still factory adjusted.

Any clues? Thanks in advance.

Rafael, from Brazil

Check valve clearences and carburetion. Are carbs clean?

Welcome. Sounds like tight misadjusted valves.
Steve

Do check valve lash.

It may also be a cheap or incorrect type fuel filter that does not flow sufficiently.

Thanks Guys.

Since all replies mentioned valve adjustment, that's where I started. I put apart everything and checked the clearances.

Intake valves #1 and #4 have a clearance of less than 0.05 mm, so according to the manual, they're off limits.

Now I'm trying to get some extra shims and a lifter holder to do the job properly.

Am I on the right track?

Did you really mean only 550 miles!??

If Yes, you either have a ridiculous great find, a replacement Speedo or someone is lying.
If the actual miles are that low... I really doubt there is anything wrong except the induction or carbs are gummed up...
135psi-150psi in the cylinders sounds OK to me for now.

Yes, mere 550 miles, and it had even less when I bought it. There are a few in this condition in Brazil, I've seen one that is still in the wood crate. I've been told that someone imported them to sell them to the government, but couldn't, because in order to do so, one must have good credit score, and this importer had its score blemished by mistake by another company. The litigation lasted for a decade and the bikes had to be stored in the meantime.

missionkz wrote: Did you really mean only 550 miles!??
.

Couple years ago I bought 2001 Suzuki Bandit 1200 with 7 miles, really just 7 miles. Original owner bought the bike and forgot that he lived on dirt road. It was actually sand road, so bike couldn't be ridden there.

The other thing that is NOTORIOUS for failing hot and then "recovering" cold is the ignition coil.

missionkz wrote: I really doubt there is anything wrong except the induction or carbs are gummed up....

That would be the most likely suspect. You could drain the carbs from the float bowl screws then fill them with Gumout or any good liquid carb cleaner and let them sit a week. Then drain and flush with spray carb cleaner from the top fuel inlets.

If the pilots are gummed, that could cause the symptoms listed. The cold engine could run off the choke but once it gets hot, it won't idle worth crap unless the pilot circuits are clear.

OK, thanks for the tip, like I said, I have tested the coils while the engine is hot and failing, and they don't seem to be the problem, but I'll keep that in mind.

OK, thanks for the tip, I'll drain the carbs and fill them with cleaner while I'm waiting for the lifter tool.