Spark plugs, carbs

Plugs. In order
#1
#2
#3
#4
1 & 2 I see no difference
3 blackest
4 not as black.

Idles well. Bit clanky. Idle at about 1600 for smoothest.
At least one float issue. Left on prime overnight. Morning start difficult. Roared to 7000 rpm. Then died. Put back to on. Left it for a day. Next day normal startup. BUT... New noise. Actually what I remember from 20 years ago. A turbo whine sound from what seems top end. Always loved that. Short test drive. Parked overnight. Next day normal start. NO more turbo whine. Back to the clickity clack that it was for the last year. ( I had not ridden for 20 years). After parking oil was over full. It seems to have gas smell. Drained and refilled.

2 issues ?
Carbs
Cam chain tensioner

I used to do basic upkeep. Maintenance done by mechanic. Now, older bike, older rider, I am wanting and enjoying more shop work. But like Shultz I know nothing. Looking to learn simplest tasks and move on from there.

Runs well. Slight hesitation from low speed. No issues with long rides in the heat.

So. With simple in mind. Can I do a carb sync and run it for a while without dealing with the float ? Diagnose then move on to valves.?
And why aren’t any of you n Arizona ?????

Id do a valve lash adjustment first. Do you have a manual? With minimum tools and the ability To read you can pull it off. The cam chain adjustment is seriously easy. These two objectives will get you started and use to the manual.

I do have the kawasaki manual to work with. Also a second more in-depth kawasaki manual. I’m kinda out here in an area without help if I mess it up so I was hoping to take it very slow. Harleys and cruisers are all over the place, but no one else with taste and class for a vintage KZ. !

I understand your “out there” alone but you have access here to the best guys that bleed Kawasaki. Here’s what I would do. Make the assumption that your bike needs valve lash checked and adjusted, aslo the timing is off, and you need to adjust the cam chain tension.

Brew up a strong pot of coffee pour yourself a nice big mug full, maybe add a little Baileys, and head out to the garage. Pull out the factory manual. Set up a lawn chair next to your bike and start reading up on how to perform the above mentioned adjustments. Compair the photos in the manual to the actual bike. Get familiar with the parts of the bike called out. Put the manual down and study the bike and in your mind start to visualize how it would come apart. This will get you familiar with the part names, the processes and the way adjustments are made and how it’s all put back together...

As Mikaw suggested, get at least a factory service manual for your bike and read it a couple of times. The starting point is to make sure the valves are adjusted correctly then onto bigger and better things. You have to be careful when you set/adjust the valves so make sure you understand the process. In your opening statement you stated after a ride the oil was overfull and you had a gas smell. The oil will look overfull for a little while after you shut the bike off, but after a few minutes it should show the correct level. If it is in fact over full you may have other issues. You also stated you could smell gas. Did you find the source of the smell? Was there gas in the oil when you drained it out? All important things to know.

Rick H.

Yes. I am doing a long slow study. I enjoy learning about this. I sit in the sun on the truck tailgate next to the kz. Valve adjustment is becoming less frightening the more I read through it, from the manual as well as this forum. It would certainly be more enjoyable to also work with someone local who is knowledgeable

As to the oil level increase, I left the tank in the PRI position overnight. Next day start was difficult and the a high rev when it fired up. After that the oil level was high. I figure a float didn’t seat. I didn’t know how to tell if fuel was in the oil so I sniffed the oil and compared it to fresh oil. Seemed like a bit of gas smell in the drained oil.

Thanks all for helping get out of the starting gate

I sense confidence building. "I like it a lot"

Im glad Rick H bought up the gas in oil issue. That is something that will need to be addressed. It does sound like you may have a stuck float or a bad float needle valve. The fact that it was hard starting may have been a sign the fuel had overflowed into the piston cylinder, basically flooded. Another indicator is the revving off initial fire. There may have been excessive fuel in the cylinders. Leaving the petcock on "prime" allows continuous flow of fuel that will only be stopped by the float needles. I think without knowing it you disclosed a problem by leaving the petcock on "prime". Looking at the plugs I'd say your float needle problems are in carbs 3 and 4. Add a carburetor section to to your sunsoaked tailgate read. Ask away this forum is full of knowledge.

Where are you, Hawghunter? I'm in?Tucson.? I'm working on my KZ/GPz 750 hybrid.

I am camp verde.

I have been going on some short rides. 15 - 20 minutes. After each ride the oil level is a bit higher. Started with it at the low level After two rides it is at the halfway point. I don’t understand how it can do that with the engine running. It sat in garage 4 days, no increase in oil level. It seems to be running just as it had been prior to the high rev start. All four pipes are reaching the same temperature. There is no fuel leaking from the bottom of the air box. I pulled the fuel hose off and the tank does not leak when set to the normal setting.

Do you have an oil cooler? If the hoses trap the oil in the cooler and you change the oil and fill to lowest level, then start the bike the extra oil would get pushed into the crankcase while running. When parked the oil would return to low level as the oil is trapped in the cooler again.

The oil level in the sight glass will be higher normally when the bike is running.

Mikaw wrote: Do you have an oil cooler? If the hoses trap the oil in the cooler and you change the oil and fill to lowest level, then start the bike the extra oil would get pushed into the crankcase while running. When parked the oil would return to low level as the oil is trapped in the cooler again.

The oil level in the sight glass will be higher normally when the bike is running.

I do not see how this is possible. The reason that the oil is pushed out of the cooler while the engine is running is because the pump is removing oil from the sump and forcing it into the engine and cooler. For every cc that comes out of the cooler, the pump has taken a cc out of the sump.
I do not think I have ever had a bike that I could see the oil in the sight glass with the engine running. When the engine starts, the oil pump begins removing oil from the sump and pushing it into the engine, so the oil level in the sump is noticeably lower.