Exhaust ?

Hey fellas, so I took my exhaust off wanted to see if i had exhaust leak and also to look at valves. Number 1 cylinder pipe had a whit residue in it . Wondering what that could be. ? Cylinder 3 was the one running almost 100° hotter. Also cylinder 4 is only valve open .  Just wondering what your thoughts are on those. Thanks I will get some pics.   82 kz750 

Most likely carburetors need attention.
Be sure to remove the old crush washers before installing the new ones. Also clean off all the old rtv and refrain from putting any more in there. If the seating area in the head and the face of the flange are clean and free of pitting, a new crush washer will seal just fine on its own.

TexasKZ wrote:

Most likely carburetors need attention.
Be sure to remove the old crush washers before installing the new ones. Also clean off all the old rtv and refrain from putting any more in there. If the seating area in the head and the face of the flange are clean and free of pitting, a new crush washer will seal just fine on its own.

Agree that RTV should never be used for an application like that.

With my 750, I had a difficult time getting a good exhaust seal.  The Kawasaki crush washer donuts are not very thick, and after fighting leaks, I cut a set of supplemental sealing washers out of exhaust gasket header material (metal mesh, coated in an asbestos like material) and used both those, and the KZ factory seals.  

Regarding the color of the exhaust valves, I also agree that the carbs need attention.

As with any 45 year old vehicle, you can be assured that maintenance is needed.  As a matter of course, any time I'm working on an old bike like this that's sat, the first thing I do is pull the carbs, and give them a full rebuild.  Also, replace the rubber carb boots on the head, and make sure the airbox boots on the back side of the carbs are air tight.  And, of course, adjust the valves.

My signature contains a link of things that new owners should review.  Just me maybe, but I don't even bother to start the bike until all these tasks are completed.