KZ440 Not starting

Hi, All

I have a 1980 Kawasaki 440 LTD (KZ440-D1) with 3500 miles on it (KZ440-D1).This is actually my roommates ride but I am going to be buying it, he has had it for about a year and it was running until about mid February of this year. We had drained the old gas put in new gas jumped the battery with a car battery left the car off the bike started up just fine after sitting for about three months in the DC winter took it for about two hour ride however I had to constantly adjust the choke and keep giving it gas otherwise it would just stall.

After this incident the bike was parked for about a month then we tried firing it up but nothing the battery was dead just we jumped it again and it ran for about five minutes while on the jumper cables after we unplugged it like two minutes later it stalled and would not turn back on. This was because the battery was drained. So after this about two weeks later we get a new battery and try to start it the starter and the engine is turning for about four minutes then it fires up for like five seconds but then turn back off and we are unable to get it to run we then checked the spark plugs and they are a dark ashy black. We just leave it at that this weekend I went and got new spark plugs.

Today I installed the new plugs and tried to start it but still no luck the starter turns just fine as does the engine seems like we are not getting a spark however the battery is new and fully charged and the spark plugs are new I pulled the spark plugs out to inspect them they still look new and I can smell gas on them. This is my first experience with a bike so I am unsure as to what it can be I familiar with car mechanics but not so much motorcycles.

Thanks for taking the time to read through this mess and thanks in advance for any input.

Cris

I am curious as to how much sediment had collected in the tank, and to how much filtration you have.

It seems that it could be one of (or both of) two problems, weak spark or fouled carbs.

The fuel drain, the battery replacement, the fouled black sooty plugs, the plug replacement,.... Still no start??????

I think it might be a carb issue. It seems to me that there was a tank flush (drained old gas, added new gas) that might have kicked up some sediment in the tank which then made its way down into the carbs.

Are the float bowl over-flows leaking now? (sediment might also have caused one or more of the overflows to start leaking).

Is there an in-line fuel filter?
Is there any way that you can check the screen on the tank petcock?
Were any carb adjustments made?
Were all plugs equally sooty, or just one or two (important)
Is it possible that there is damaged wiring?

I would recommend getting some "Sea-Foam" gas treatment (I found some for 'bout 4 bucks at Schucks Auto) and see if that might help (it might help clean out some of the dissolvable chunks of sediment that might be clogging carb passages). This is by no means a sure thing fix, but it is an inexpensive first try at a possible improvement of the situation.

I would clean, or replace the plugs again.
Check for spark visibly setting a plug against the head.
Treat the gas with Sea-Foam as per instructions on the can.
Get some starting fluid and get it firing again to work the chemical through.

Then post again....

First, you could well have fried the charging system with your car battery starting. I would begin this adventure by picking up a Clymer manual for the bike and going through the charging system to see what was fried.

Start with the battery and use a hydrometer to test each cell, then test the stator and regulator & rectifier. OK... once that is out of the way...

Consider that gas sat in the carburetors. You can't ride unless you are on choke (plug fouling exercise #1). This likely can be interpreted that your slow jets and possibly intnernal passageways are clogged. Clean the slow jets and clean internal passageways associated with the pilot system. That should cure what originally caused the abuse with the carb battery.

Good luck.

Thanks for the responses everyone!

I actually got it running I set the battery on the trinkle charger last night today I reinstalled the battery and it fired up about two minutes later. I then took a ten minute test run warmed it up and it ran just fine no stalling or anything. I then went ahead and changed the oil however there was a spring that fell into the oil pan that went on the filter. I did not notice this until I had emptied the pan and unfortunately had reinstalled everything and added oil back in. Does anyone have a clue what this spring was for its about 1inch long and 3/4 of an inch wide and its greenish. Also after that I went for another ride this time about an hour long I added some fresh 89 octane gas everything was smooth minus idle with choke off I would still idle at about 3500rpm therefore heating up fast at traffic lights does anyone have any suggestions on what I should adjust?

Once more thank you for your input.

If it's the spring I'm thinking of, it's the one that holds the oil filter in position. Without it, it may let oil flow past the filter (this is actually a protective feature, should the filter ever become too clogged, the oil will bypass it for engine survival).

Oh, and you really should only run 87 octane (unless you are not in the US and you have a different octane rating system).... higher octane is for higher compression engines...

Regarding the high idles, there are quite a few things it could be... from just an idle screw turned too much... to carb adjustment.... etc... time to get a manual!!!

Okay so the bike is not running again it starts up but then dies I get a loud knock from the right side of the engine right before it shuts off. I took the carb out to take a look at it was in ok shape i did spray it with carb cleaner in order to remove some light gunk it had. I checked the gas tank was also clean and had fresh gas. I am thinking now that it maybe the timing on the engine thats causing it to stall. As I was running the bike just fine this weekend just some hesitation between 1k-3k rpm otherwise I was able to take it to 9000rpm good amount of power when it was running it has new spark plugs. I did check them and there is some very light oil around the tip other than that she still look new. Any suggestions???

Thanks.

Hey. I have the same bike and also live in DC (clarendon). funny....i'm having a similar problem with the bike. i bought it 2 months ago and it it ran fine then. it sat for about a month until i got my license. then it wouldnt start. i took the carb apart cleaned it out and it started right up, but ran kinda shitty. boggy on the lower rpm's and would stall. also ran through a half tank of gas in about 30 miles. now....wont start again. just today i tried cleaning the carb again....this time with no results.

George?

Well that sucks I am thinking its engine tuning waiting for the weather to clear up to work on it some more also going to recharge the battery I think that might help some also. I'll let you know if I get it working.

Cris