H.E.L.P. S.O.S

Alright, I am over my head. I have been working on my kz650 off and on for the past 6 months. I got it running, I have done several repairs on it, with the help of this forum. Despite all my efforts, I am still struggling to get it running right.

My problem is that the bike will not start without starting fluid. Idile is up and down. Exhuast pipes get glowing red.

1) I have done the ignition wiring upgrade (relay and rewired)
2) I have gone through a few sets of coils, I am finally on a set of green's. I believe the ignition is good.
3) I have pulled the carbs off several times. Cleaned them using an ultrasonic cleaner and carb cleaner. I have reset them using the straw from a wd40 can. I have changed to pod style cleaners (when I got the bike there was no air box). I have not changed the main jets. I am having a hard time finding 110's ( which have been suggested) The local bike shop has 90's. I have searched on ebay, Z1 and several other sites with no luck. I have done the clear hose trick to set the floats.
4) I have adjusted the tensioner.
5) I have put new points.
6) New battery.
7) New Paint. Tried to take time off from turning wreches.

I am supporting my family on my one income. I am now i need of the bike for transportation. My car has lost reverse, the wheel bearing on one of the wheels is shot, and the brake rotor is warped. The car is a lost cause. It has over 200,000 miles on it. I NEED THIS BIKE TO GET TO WORK. I am in the clearwater Florida area. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I haven't even tried to start it in over a month. I plan on working on it tomorrow. I spent some time this afternoon looking for the main jets, no luck finding them. I have one place to try tomorrow, I hope they have them.

I plan on, if I can, change the main jets. And get a in-line fuel filter for the gas. Any other suggestions on where to look would be great.
Thanks

did you try here

z1enterprises.com/default.aspx

with the pods and 4 into 1 you are running lean, no amount of carb cleaning is going to richen up the mixture. That is why your pipes are glowing...

My bike has Mikuni Carbs. All I see on Z1 is Keihin Main jets.

Ok, so I need to get the main jets? Is there anything else I need to do in order to richen up the mixture?

Would being too lean, be the reason for the hard starting?

quader98 wrote:

did you try here

z1enterprises.com/default.aspx

Srobie1, try calling them. A lot of times there are things that aren't listed on their website, but they can still get them for you.

I have found that if you call them and ask, and if the parts are available anywhere, THEY can get them for you at a very reasonable cost.

srobie1 wrote:

Would being too lean, be the reason for the hard starting?

Yes, that is one possible explanation.

Other things to check:

valve clearances

compression

fuel flow/fuel level

mixture settings

Post edited by: Skyman, at: 2007/12/27 19:04

I will try calling Z1 in the A.M., if the shop I plan on going to tomorrow does not have them, Thanks.

I will also look into your other suggestions after I resolve the lean issue.

make sure to check valve clearance before ordering jets from Z1, you may find you need to get different shims as well, and it is nice to get all those things at once (cheaper shipping).


I never even thought about the hard starting part of your question...i was just thinking if your pipes are glowing then your pistons are not gonna be happy. If you run it lean like that for to long you will put a hole in a piston...and that will make it VERY hard to start the bike :S

Do you have a repair manual for your model?