From Garage to road what to do.

I have a 79 kz650 with pods and I have no fuel in #3 cyl. It has been sitting for about 2 years with fuel in it on a trickle charger. It was able to be ridden home 2 miles on only 3 cyl. here is what I have done so far.

Added new fuel to existing 1qt of fuel
rode it home
registered and insured with DMV
checked all exhaust for heat #3 [cold to touch.]
checked for spark in #3 [hot& blue spark present]
Emptied old gasoline.
replaced fuel line and filter.
removed and cleaned pods
changed oil and filter
purchased new front tire [will put on this weekend]

I think my problem may be with the floats sticking in the closed position. I took off the plug and squirted carb cleaner in and it fired smooth for about 3 seconds then went rought again. Would it be feasible to remove the float bowl while still attached to the bike to clear it out or should I just do them all at the same time?

Also I have an oil leak from the half moon shaped wedge on the valve cover. how hard is it to replace the gaskets on the top of the engine?

I can upload pics if needed/ wanted

Thanks in advance...

Tim (newbie)

first thing i would do is drain all the gas out of the tank and out of the carb's and put a fresh batch in try that and when that dosen't work we will talk you thru cleaning them and by the way it is a pain to try to take the float bowls off when the carbs are still on the bike.

I already have drained all fuel, I was running the bike with straight fresh fuel from a 1 liter plastic bottle to see if it helped but it still had the issue. no fuel in #3...

Is it easier just to take the carb rack off the bike and do the cleaning all at once for each carb? I have no problem getting my hands dirty and I have done LOTs of carb work on single carbs in the past.

Also are there any intake gaskets which I would need to purchase to make it seal up correctly?

sorry i didn't read the post all the way no you won't need to buy anything other than carb cleaner the spray kind pull them off thentake the bowls off and remove all the jets spray carb cleaner in to every passage and blow them thru with compressed air don't seperate them. use a blow gun with a rubber tip so i gets a good seal..

The cylinder head cover gasket and cam end plugs are simple to replace. You can get them at Z1 Enterprises for about $20. However, you really should use a torque wrench (in inch pounds) to tighten the cover properly without stripping the bolts. If you don't have one, you will need one for other tasks along with a Kawasaki Factory Service Manual (nearly always available on eBay) so this might be a good time to justify the purchase. You'll eventually also need a torque wrench in foot pounds, but you can wait until you look at the torque table in the FSM to decide what torque range you want to buy. Incidentally, if the carb holders have never been replaced they may not be sealing tightly against the head. I would replace them while the carbs are off the bike. Ed

Awesome, so basically it is the same cleaning 4 carbs as it is cleaning one just have to do all 4 of them. I already read an article on syncing and I have done it in the past on volkswagens.

Also I already own all my own tools from the many beetles and busses I have built.

Does anyone know the specs in "/lbs off hand for the 79 sr650 valve covers? I dont have a book yet but I have the parts on order

-Tim

The FSM says the 24 6mm bolts that hold the cover on should be tightened to 61 - 78 inch lbs. Ed

Next time at the Wal Mart or any other auto parts store, buy a can of "Seafoam". It's a gas additive that will help clean out the fuel system. Follow the can for mix ratios.

It can also be added to the engine oil to smooth shifts. The website is www.seafoamsales.com

650ed wrote:

If you don't have one, you will need one for other tasks along with a Kawasaki Factory Service Manual (nearly always available on eBay) so this might be a good time to justify the purchase.

Try here too......
www.manualz.info/paginas/manuals/kawasaki.htm

MFolks wrote:

Next time at the Wal Mart or any other auto parts store, buy a can of "Seafoam". It's a gas additive that will help clean out the fuel system. Follow the can for mix ratios.

It can also be added to the engine oil to smooth shifts. The website is www.seafoamsales.com

This stuff really works!

ty guys, I never thought of using seafoam in a bike. Used it for years in cars and have some on the shelf right now. As soon as I get the carbs back on i WILL give it a whirl.

I just wanted to let you all know I found the problem with the bike. After looking forever it was one of the most simple problems to fix. BAD SPARK PLUGS!!! I cant believe that but it was the problem all along. For a while my middle 2 cyl would not work so I was CONVINCED it was a bad coil or coil ground or right side points. I traced everything with my multimeter and found no problems. then I took the plug out and started testing for spark. (I used an infrared temp probe to see which cly were hot and therefore firing before.) Turns out there was no spark.

After cleaning my carbs twice, setting float levels, changing points and going over the whole dang bike with my multimeter it FIRED up on the first kick with the addition of new plugs...

Lesson Learned.

Thanks for all the help

-Tim