KZ305 Rebuild...attempt

The JBM carb diaphragms were a breeze...the old retaining rings chopped right off with wire snips and the new rubbers slipped on like nothing.

I'm running out of things to screw up, but I'm sure I'll find something...

Possibly stupid question, but I adjusted the point gap per the manual. Do I need to do the static timing now too? Cuz that means I'd need to buy a circuit tester I guess, and that won't happen tonight...

Any change or adjustment on the points gap need a new ignition timing. You can do a static timing with an light bulb connect to the points.
Set the rotor to the "F" position and than rotate the timing plate until the bulb begins to dimm or flicker. It´the sweet spot between ON/OFF you have to find.

Okey dokey..as usual the manual, argg the manual.. The manual says to shut the ignition and run switch OFF, then hook the tester to breaker and ground, then handcrank it to the F near the L on the rotor...at which point you have no flicker, and no light, because the ignition is OFF lol.

I like your explanation better anyway...

 

Hmmm...I wonder what I'm doing wrong.

When the F for the Left cylinder is on the timing mark on the rotor cover, and the test light is hooked up to the left breaker spring and ground, the light is always on and the points are always open. (I thought the light would be off when the points are open, but that's how clueless I am). Regardless I see no way to adjust the back plate enough to get the light to flicker or to get the points to close. I can rotate the backing plate 45 degrees clockwise and a little less than that counterclockwise, but the points stay open and the light stays on.

 

OK...think I figured it out. I need to rotate the rotor one more full turn, then the points are closed but can be adjusted to be juuuuussssst opening. Although I don't know I'll ever get this test light to flicker. It seems to only have on/off but I'll keep trying.

Can someone confirm whether this sounds right or not? Because i can't do the right side properly if I'm not sure the left was done properly. 

and the drumroll begins...I'm only waiting for a new crosspipe gasket and a pair of main jets to arrive because one of mine walked away. Those should be here by Thursday so I should be ready to turn the key and see if it explodes next weekend. I'm still not sure I got the static timing right but if it fires up at all we'll find out I guess.

What if anything do I need to do or not do when I first start it up, or if I'm lucky enough that it runs, to break in the new rings? I haven't ridden in 3 years so I probably need to break myself back in too. 

Well it turns over, so I guess the rebuild is at least a partial success.   But costs keep piling up.

Now I think I need a starter rebuild, very slow turnover with a brand new fully charged battery. It might turn over well enough to start once I get the following solved, but its pretty bad. One bowl drain leaks and I've determined its not the drain screw by switching them so the carbs have to come off again. Grrrrrrrr.  Spose I could try shooting carb cleaner in it a few times first.

Before spending, I'd:
-Clean the starter ground
-Clean the connections on the starter relay
-Jump the relay (to check if it's an internal issue)

​​​​​Leaking float bowls could be:
-Gasket
-Fuel level too high
-Cracked or loose overflow tube
-maybe other things (lol)

Just thinking out loud. Finally picked mine up from the house I got kicked out of like 6 weeks ago, so we're both trying to get our underdogs back alive.

wrote:

Before spending, I'd:
-Clean the starter ground
-Clean the connections on the starter relay
-Jump the relay (to check if it's an internal issue)

​​​​​Leaking float bowls could be:
-Gasket
-Fuel level too high
-Cracked or loose overflow tube
-maybe other things (lol)

Just thinking out loud. Finally picked mine up from the house I got kicked out of like 6 weeks ago, so we're both trying to get our underdogs back alive.



 

Are the drain tubes at the bottom of the bowl part of an overflow circuit? Clear tube suggests it may be the float/fuel level

Starter checks out as the problem. But I think it has enough to turn over so I'm going to sit on it for now. This isn't a new issue. Its all coming back to me now

I thought maybe the float needles and seats needed better cleaning so I redid that, but the left side still overflows through the overflow/drain tube and the breather tube. At least the right side is fairly close to where it should be. I ordered new float needles because they seem a tiny bit deformed at the tips, probably from sitting in the seats for 3 years. I"m not sure I want to go messing with the float tangs until the new needles show up. Maybe I will try switching the floats left to right and see if the problem switches too.

I had the starter rebuilt at a local shop for under 40 bucks, the brushes were worn to a nub.  So maybe next weekend...

Weird. I switched the floats and needles over to the other sides and had no overflow, and only had to make minor adjustments to get the fuel levels right. Now I don't have to wait for the new needles and might be able to fire it up...or try to...later today.