any advice to help get 1980 kz650 ltd running

baught bike last week. ran like garbage. backfired. wouldnt run without choke on all the way. died unless throttle was open a little. cleaned out mikuni carbs and ran great! for 36 hours. now will start with choke on all the way then dies after a while. if i move pitcock to reserve position it will start then move to on position and try to take off it dies. do i need to take the carbs off again or do you think i should check my pitcock?

Post edited by: bubba_d, at: 2007/07/22 01:17

Post edited by: bubba_d, at: 2007/07/22 02:32

welcome, do you have a fuel filter on the bike? kind of sounds like there is not one and the tank is full of crap and its back in the carbs

thanks for the advice. it should have been a no brainer. my fuel pitcock doesnt stop flowing when i park the bike. this explains the gas smell that never goes away in my house. and i shouldnt just assume that i still have a full tank of gas. i did find that i have a filter on top of the pitcock and it was pretty clean. i also found that mky fuel line to the carbs was 1 inch too long causing it to kink. do you recomend rebuilding the pitcock or just getting a new one?

Save yourself the headache and get a new one, try Z1 Enterprises

well... too late. i already ordered a kit from z1. hopefully i wont be kicking myself. any tips would be appreciated.

bubba_d wrote:

well... too late. i already ordered a kit from z1. hopefully i wont be kicking myself. any tips would be appreciated.

The kits are a crap-shoot repair, but sometimes actually work, so don't kick too soon.

Has it yet been determined which carb or carbs is/are passing fuel through the float bowl overflow(s)? Could run drain hoses into separate containers to determine the guilty carb(s) as this would help knowing the particular carb(s) at fault.

Possibilities include: Float needle/seat closure (wear, damage, grit or crud); leaking float (fuel intruding into float); crack in overflow tube inside float bowl (hairline crack may be difficult to see); sticking float (installation issue); float level adjusted too high.

Hope float needles were kept with the same seats upon reassembly (mix and match risks leakage).

Properly set up carb should not drizzle fuel from overflow even if petcock left on (open) or in prime position while parked.

Good luck!

Post edited by: Patton, at: 2007/07/22 23:30

they shouldnt? the gas that has no way to stop flowing has to go somewhere doesnt it?

bubba_d wrote:

they shouldnt? the gas that has no way to stop flowing has to go somewhere doesnt it?

Here's the answer in an interesting thread.

Enjoy!